Our lives are measured by:
The individual people who’s lives we have blessed
Archives For Leadership
http://youtu.be/8nif01WZ9aI
I have to thank my wonderful wife Marilyn for sharing this video with me and with sharing this belief. We are raising our boys to follow their passions. According to the popular saying:
“If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
My twist on this popular quote:
“If you make your passion your profession you will never work a day in your life.”
If we do follow this sage advice perhaps we will then heed Fredrick Douglas’ admonition:
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
After watching this presentation I am looking forward to reading Superteams
Source: https://www.wired.com/2012/10/ft-savage-first-car/
Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame relays his experience in learning how to parse complex systems which is a skill that he has used professionally ever since. Savage explains:
Every repair followed the same progression: (1) I don’t know how, (2) I can’t afford to pay someone else to do it, (3) I have to do it, (4) hey, that wasn’t so hard!
One of my teenage sons’ favorite shows is Mythbusters and while they may not yet appreciate the similarities they too have been learning how to deal with complex challenges. In the post I relayed the my son’s experience in diagnosing, disassembling and repairing a broken van door. Savage reminds us of the power that comes from solving these sorts of complex problems:
there’s a huge difference between not understanding something and not understanding it yet
Unfortunately, not enough people have the courage to try even the simplest of tasks. The following anecdotal story reveals just how pervasive this may be. My wife broke a windshield wiper the other day and went to local Canadian Tire for a replacement. At the check out the clerk asked if my wife would like a bag and my wife responded that a bag would not be necessary because our youngest son, Caleb, was going to immediately install the wiper–which he left to do. The clerks response was surprise and then turned to encouragement. She told my wife that most people had the shop install wipers even though they often had to wait a long time. The clerk went onto praise my wife that we had given our son a wonderful gift in teaching him how to do these sorts of things.
While I appreciate the kind words, I am also saddened and concerned by this experience. Replacing a windshield wiper is not even a task that my boys, or I, would consider complex–it is just something we all have to do. Teaching my children how to deal with complex systems and to solve problems shouldn’t be considered a gift–it is my responsibility as a parent. If I want my boys to grow into men of character who can positively contribute to society, they must not only learn how to solve ever day complex problems, they also need the courage and confidence to be able to tackle future problems that currently do not exist.
Are we as parents, schools and society doing enough to prepare our children to solve the complex problems that face society and the world?
Study: Spending time with Dad good for teen self-esteem – CNN.com
I have always believed that after my responsibility of being a good husband to my wife, my other number one responsibility is to help my boys grow into strong men of character who can contribute to society. This is a responsibility that I have to take seriously and over the years most of the choices that I have made with respect to where we live, the work I do, and how I spend my time have focused on ensuring that I am available for my family. James Dobson of Focus on the Family stated that:
morality, values and beliefs are not taught rather they are caught
and it is very difficult to catch these foundational traits if there is no one around for children to catch them from.
It is reassuring to have one’s beliefs confirmed by thorough research. The CNN article points to a recent Penn State study that found”
The more time spent alone with their fathers, the higher their self-esteem; the more time with their dads in a group setting, the better their social skills.
The study also reported that one-on-one time with Dads started to drop at age 15 and that
Dads get in just over an hour of one-on-one time with first and second-born kids each week.
This is very sobering but it is also very useful to know that your children need you as much if not more as they move into their teens. With my recent change in my employment status and the exploration of opportunities, I have been considering the wisdom of NOT moving back into an executive suite position. My two boys are 14 and 16 and I am realizing that my boys need me now as much as they needed me when they were younger, then it may be wise to make sure that my next position or project doesn’t take me away from my boys when they need me the most.
It may also be wise to make sure that over the next 3 years, I create the best learning environment for my family and boys and ensure that they have as much time with me as they need to grow into men of character.
