Kids and Money, Part Three
Success, Work Ethic, Adversity and Time
Success, Again
As the most direct male role-model in my children’s life, I am going to…
Live Below My Means – because it frees those who follow me
Train Every Morning
Listen & Apply The Best Advice I Can Find
Change in the face of valid criticism – I can handle bad news
What this have to do with competition through my kids?
I choose the game I play with intent.
I’m trying to be a better version of myself.
What’s the game your children see you play?
Actions Show Values
Work Ethic
We have a saying in sport,
You can’t coach motivation.
We can drive our kids to practice but we can’t make them do the work.
So, what do we control?
Time
Attention
Praise
Our Actions
Leaders need to be seen to embody the values of the family.
If you work your butt off, and the kids never see it, then they won’t model your behavior. You might find they model your fatigue.
We give time and attention to helping the kids make an association between fun, work and success.
Like learning about compounding, we want to create a positive association with work.
We use sport to create the association.
Find a something your kid enjoys.
Pay attention to the work required to improve.
Praise effort, not results.
Ideally, share the experience with your kid.
Fun - Work - Success.
Sport challenges kids to be:
Resilient
Courageous
Persistent
Healthy
Enthusiastic
With that skill set, they are ready to direct their own lives.
They’re also going to be a top-shelf prospect for any recruiter.
Success is in the toolbox, not the victories.
Finding The Win
Not all families are sporty.
They don’t need to be.
For yourself, and your kid:
Where is the “win” in your life?
What can your kid excel at?
If they are disengaged, then are you engaged?
Might they be mirroring family habits?
If I see a kid do something well (sport, kindness, reading) then I go out of my way to give them props.
Let kids demonstrate mastery.
Around my house, I am quick to point out when my kids do something better than me and I acknowledge my mistakes.
Adversity
Sport is a great way to introduce kids to adversity.
We limit scored sports and avoid judged sports altogether.
Until Middle School, the only competition our kids did was 7-weeks of summer swim league.
Allocating Time
While the pandemic sucked, personally.
My kids had a blast.
Why?
Everything was closed, the only option was Mom & Dad.
We created memories, together.
Do Something Big & Local
Take Pictures
Post The Pictures Where Everyone Can See Them1
The game being, “fill their world with positive memories of Mom & Dad.”
The desire to keep making memories will motivate you to take care of your body.
Win-Win.
Long Term Results
Don’t expect results absent time allocation.
Don’t expect results from words.
Results require consistent action.
Being an exceptional parent has long half-life. We influence events well beyond our lifespan.
There aren’t many legacies with that kind of duration.
For you and them.
Consider a scrapbook - my son has three volumes of trips with me.