Though not a comprehensive list, these 7 truths represent the foundation of my Leadership-dad philosophy. I strive to model these behaviors, as well as reinforce them through stories and lessons.
Curiosity fuels an interesting life. The day you stop being curious, you simply stop being useful. Don’t just ask why, figure out how. As Dr. Bruce Perry, MD, PhD (@bdperry) posits, curiosity leads to experimentation, which leads to mastery and finally confidence.
Problem Solvers = Entrepreneurs.
OPTIMISM
You are going to fail. Seek out new experiences like they are gifts on Christmas morning. In time you will fail less and win more, but without the failures you won’t know how to appreciate the wins.
Positive Attitude = Positive Influence
Resilience
Life is hard. The older you get the harder it gets. When you are a kid, you can’t wait to be an adult so no one tells you what to do. Unfortunately, those rule making teachers and parents don’t go away, they just turn into police, politicians and spouses.
As Catherine McCarthy, PhD. posits in her blog post How Can You Thrive? The difference between success and failure is attitude.
Attitude = Prosperity
BE COURAGEOUS
Don’t be stubborn or fool hardy, but never compromise your core values. Few things in life warrant risking your life, everything else is negotiable. That doesn’t mean you just roll over either. The art of negotiation is that the other person walks away feeling they won, too. Don’t fight to win, fight for what’s right.
Courage = Strength
FAIRNESS
Life may seem unfair at times, but focus on those things within your immediate control (e.g. your treatment of others). Follow a higher sense of fairness. Treat others with equal or greater respect than you treat yourself. And, remember that all people are created equal. Never treat another less than you and never allow others to treat you less than them.
Fairness = Equality
FAITH
Faith in God, faith in yourself, and faith in love. These three things pulled me through most of my life. Many would ask me about my confident positive attitude and this would be my answer. I know that God has my back, that I can do anything and that I my loved ones are my safety net. These beliefs never let me down. My biggest failures occurred when I didn’t trust in all three.
Faith = Confidence
You may not ever discover your purpose. You will not know all the people you influence. If you seek meaningful work that allows you to contribute to something noble, then you will fulfill my dreams for you. More importantly count your blessings because faith in God will take care of your needs. You can concentrate on creating abundance within your family and others. Wealth does not mean financial gain, as much as it means financial well-being providing you the means to follow your passions.
Wealth = Quality of Life
These guiding principles helped to shape me and I believe they will help to positively shape my kids, too.
Please tell me what you think. What did I forget? Do you disagree? Agree? What are the most important things you teach your kids?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Related articles
- Teaching My Son To Be A Man (artofmanliness.com)
- Measuring the Wrong Things – Has the Scientific Method Been Compromised By Careerism? (scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org)
