For fathers, manliness means living up to the responsibilities you have to your family. – All In: How Our Work-First Culture Fails Dads, Families, and Business
It’s not enough to have a big salary.
It’s not enough to have a spot in the C-suite.
If you have those things and have hurting relationships with your spouse and kids, you’re not successful. I don’t care what society says, you’ve failed.
You need to be as intentional about your relationships as you are about your work.
If you spend lots of time reading about marketing, or business, or success, you need to be reading about parenting and relationship skills to.
That means, blocking out time regularly to be with those you love. Knowing what the love language is for your spouse and your kids, and then actually using it to communicate love to them.
A question that my 6-year-old asks almost every day is “Are you done working yet dad?” It doesn’t matter if it’s 9 am or 3 pm, she wants to know if I’m done work and can hang out with me.
I find this question very frustrating. Because I’ve never worked out of the house, she has no idea that many parents head out at 6 am and come back at 6 pm. She has no idea that most parents can’t help her with math at 10 am in the home office while everyone works together.
It’s easy for me to fall into the “when I was your age my dad left at 6 am and came back at 6 pm kid. You don’t know how good you have it.”
As if saying anything like that will change how she feels.
Built into her daily frustrating question, is what really matters to her. She doesn’t notice when income is low, or when I’m stressed. She just wants time with me.
Remember, that the money you earn has no bearing on your personal value. Remember that your success hinges not only on money but on the relationships you build.
Be as intentional about those relationships around you as you are with the business work you do.
Have an awesome day!
Curtis
PS: If you’re ready to start taking business and family seriously, let’s talk about your plan to make that happen.