Be A Dad Every Day: A Letter For Father’s Day Jonathan Herrick Dear DAD’s, As a fellow DAD, I understand what comes with the role of fatherhood. Long days, late nights, financial pressures; but there are an abundance of joys that cannot be matched by any other part of being a father. I wake up every day and head off to the office looking at the blessings I have – my kids. Father’s Day is not about us. It’s a reminder to work on building a relationship with our kids by encouraging their dreams, spending time with them, and showing them love. They grow up faster than we think. Encourage their Dreams In the book, The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, a professor at Carnegie Mellon who is dying of cancer, delivers his last lecture – a father’s lifetime of advice into one talk. He talks about how his parents always supported his dreams growing up. In fact, they let him paint whatever he wanted on the walls of his room to nurture his creativity. He even painted an elevator in his bedroom and he said looking back he wished he wouldn’t have only made it go to the 3rd floor. How can we support our kids’ dreams and goals? Their lives are bigger than starting on a sports team or fitting in at school. Our goal should be to help them achieve their goals and leave their legacy. It starts with acceptance and encouragement, no matter what grand idea they have in their head. Spend Time With Them There is no substitute for being there as a DAD. In fact, Don, my partner in the business, is great about taking time out of his busy day to be present at his son’s events. It speaks volumes to his kids who love to have their dad by their side but it also sends the right message to our company. Family is important. Your kids are watching you just like your employees are. You have great influence with them so make your actions and your time count. The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have. ― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture Show them Love I talk to so many of us fellow DAD’s and for some reason showing love to our kids is hard. It shouldn’t be. The key is getting to understand how each of our kids receives love. There is a great resource called The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. If you are as serious about sharpening your dad skills as growing your business, then you need to check it out. It’s a game changer for fatherhood. There are a number of ways to show your son or daughter that you care: Quality time, Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, and Acts of Service. For example, my daughter is reminded she is loved when I give her words of encouragement or leave a note for her before school. My son knows I love him when I spend quality time with him and (believe it or not) he still loves to be tucked in every night. Learning to speak your kid’s love language will go along way in showing them you care and let them know that they are important. My mom once said: “Becoming a DAD is the easy part, being one…well, that’s the tough part.” She was right. There are days where being a DAD isn’t easy. But would we have it any other way? I wouldn’t. Being a father is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. We get the joy of helping these little people turn into inspiring adults before our very eyes, reaching for their dreams and leaving a legacy fueled by our leadership. How amazing is that?