I’m not a perfect dad. I get mad sometimes. I say stupid things with too loud of a voice sometimes. Sometimes I miss opportunities to show love to my ladies. I could go on and on… but again… you get the point.

One thing I do get right though is this… I date my daughters… five of them… every week (the sixth is 9 months old so we don’t do dates yet… but soon).

It’s amazing but somehow one date has the power to eliminate lots of goofs! It is such an important tool for parents that I want to reflect on it a little bit with you.

A few thoughts about dating your daughter (or son):

• It doesn’t take much. We budget $1 per date. One frosty from Wendy’s costs $1.08 (so I have to foot $.08 from my change jar). The library is free. So is the park… and a lot of other things. Sometimes I take them to the mall or the dollar store so they can buy something with their money.

• It doesn’t take long. We take one hour per week. It’s amazing how much can happen in one hour when you shut down your phone and focus on your daughter! Sometimes we cheat and go longer.

• It doesn’t seem like much today. It will be invaluable when they start dating a pick a husband. Someday some boy is going to come along and tell her she’s beautiful. She won’t be overwhelmed because she’s heard that a million times from me. Someday some boy is going to try to impress her… he’d better be good because I do things like open the doors for my ladies and teach them to expect that from the boys they date. In short, our dates are getting them ready to pick a man.

Dating your daughter (or your son) is so important that it’s worth telling other people and activities “No.” It’s worth putting on your calendar every week. It’s worth whatever it takes to make it happen!

Don’t let money or time or distorted perceptions rob you and your daughter (or son) of this incredible gift!

By the way, this was my date last Saturday! (We split a frosty and read a book about princesses… and giggled a LOT!)

I just read something that took my breath away… a story how the fear of failing again robbed Rob Wayne of $2.6 billion and incredible prestige!

Wayne was a friend who proved helpful in persuading Job’s partner and lead computer designer Steve Wozniak to leave HP and bring his designs with him to the newly formed Apple Corporation.

There was a meeting in which a partnership agreement was written up between the three of them, and that’s where we pick up the story…

…the division of shares and profits was clear—45%-45%-10%—and it was stipulated that any expenditures of more than $100 would require agreement of at least two of the partners. Also, the responsibilities were spelled out. “Wozniak shall assume both general and major responsibility for the conduct of Electrical Engineering; Jobs shall assume general responsibility for Electrical Engineering and Marketing, and Wayne shall assume major responsibility for Mechanical Engineering and Documentation.” Jobs signed in lowercase script, Wozniak in careful cursive, and Wayne in an illegible squiggle.

Wayne then got cold feet. As Jobs started planning to borrow and spend more money, he recalled the failure of his own company. He didn’t want to go through that again. Jobs and Wozniak had no personal assets, but Wayne (who worried about a global financial Armageddon) kept gold coins hidden in his mattress. Because they had structured Apple as a simple partnership rather than a corporation, the partners would be personally liable for the debts, and Wayne was afraid potential creditors would go after him. So he returned to the Santa Clara County office just eleven days later with a “statement of withdrawal” and an amendment to the partnership agreement.

“By virtue of a re-assessment of understandings by and between all parties,” it began, “Wayne shall hereinafter cease to function in the status of ‘Partner.’” It noted that in payment for his 10% of the company, he received $800, and shortly afterward $1,500 more. Had he stayed on and kept his 10% stake, at the end of 2010 it would have been worth approximately $2.6 billion. Instead he was then living alone in a small home in Pahrump, Nevada, where he played the penny slot machines and lived off his social security check. He later claimed he had no regrets. “I made the best decision for me at the time. Both of them were real whirlwinds, and I knew my stomach and it wasn’t ready for such a ride.”

He could have had $2.6 billion. Instead he lives alone in a small home in Nevada playing slot machines and living off of a social security check!

Why?

Because he was scared to fail again.

Please! Listen! If you’ve failed once… failed big… be careful that you don’t allow your fear of failing again to keep you from the biggest breakthrough of your life!

Betty (fake name) has a great plan for her money but a stingy heart. Unfortunately she won’t be able to enjoy her money as much as she could.

The man/woman with a generous heart and a strategic plan is the person who will have the most and do the most with it!

A good plan by itself is not enough. A good heart by itself is not enough. It takes both!

I’ve been reading “Thou Shall Prosper: Ten Commandments for Making Money“. Dave Ramsey recommends this book all the time.

Written by Rabbi Daniel Lapin, this is a  great book on business, and is also packed with wisdom on personal development, living life with joy, and leadership insights too! It is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time!

Reading a couple of days ago I came across this quote and I have to share it…

“…if who you are and what you do fail to bring the success you desire, it is not sufficient to merely do different things; you also need to become a different person. The best way (and perhaps the only way) to become a different person is by forcing yourself to do different things until they become second nature.”

Of course I believe that there is also and perhaps more fundamentally a divine power available to all who will ask that not only points us in the right direction but also gives us the power to move towards that which is good and right.

Having said that though, the decision to embrace new habits and make bold new decisions is a critical one in the process of evolution!

SO… what new action(s) are you going to take up this year as you become the 2o12 version of you?

I just watched this TED talk by Cameron Herald entitled “Let’s raise kids to be entrepreneurs”. This is amazing stuff!

A couple of my favorite takeaways:

• Stop paying your kids an allowance. Start teaching them to look for opportunities to earn.
• Stop reading stories to your kids every night… give them a chance to create stories of their own.
• The disease of CEO’s = “Bipolar disorder” (Steve Jobs, Ted Turner, Winston Churchill, etc.)
• His stories of entrepreneurship as a child are amazing… and doable for any child! They just need permission and urging from a wise parent!

The list goes on and on… this 20 minute talk is important and could change your child’s future! Check it out!

You would have to make a decision:

Do I want the $20 bill more than coffee and donut? If so say “Thanks but no thanks” and move on.

But if you want the money then you have to decide, “What will I set down to take the $20 bill?”

As you head into 2012 you are going to have to make this decision many times and on a bigger scale than donuts and small bills. You get to decide what you will set aside and what you will take this year!

I pray that you will set down the small things to reach for and take the big things! Set the donuts and coffee down and take the money… go for the big things… the better things… the best things!

“I think there is something more important than believing: Action! The world is full of dreamers, there aren’t enough who will move ahead and begin to take concrete steps to actualize their vision.” — W. Clement Stone

Oh this grips me.

One of Sherri’s and my dreams is to be debt free… to step out of the bondage imposed by debt. For that reason I have secured a second job… a “concrete step to actualize [our] vision.”

What about you. What dreams do you have? What are you doing to actualize them?

I’d love to hear from you on this one!

After 14 years together I still have a crush on her. Sure we have our rough spots… just like everyone else, but I’ve got to tell you… this girl still makes me want to chase her and keep my game on!

She is a strong leader, a great mom, and she possesses lots of common sense, patience, and determination. I’m proud of her, challenged by her and inspired every day to be a great man… because that’s what she deserves.

I love this girl!