The Lessons Your Children Will Learn

My friend and fellow #DadsAsPrincipals leader, Todd Schmidt posed the following question on Twitter: What is one lesson you hope your children learn from your example?

This stemmed from audio captured from Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints quarterback, telling his sons, "You can accomplish anything in life if you're willing to work for it." These words were spoken after Brees had just passed Peyton Manning as the NFL’s all-time leading passer.

Recently, on a Monday night, I had just sat down. I turned on ESPN to the Monday Night Football game for a little white noise while I was about to do some work. It just so happened that as I tuned-in, the Brees family (his wife and four children) appeared on the screen as they were being escorted down the sideline in preparation for the record being broken. Immediately afterwards, Brees hit a receiver down the sideline to set the record. History.

I loved this for two reasons. 1) To think about everything that went into that moment being possible is amazing. All of the preparation, and all of the work. Everything. That one moment is the product of a countless number of parts to make that accomplishment possible. And 2) To see his family, on the field, to share that moment with him was special. What I want more than anything from this life is to make MY FAMILY proud of me and the work that I do. It was evident, on Monday night, that Brees had my made his family proud.

So...back to Todd’s question that he posed. What’s the one thing that I hope my children learn from my example? It’s hard to pick just one. Too hard. There were so many great examples from many people that I admire and respect on Twitter. I’ve been stuck here for almost two weeks. Ready to hit publish, but not having my one lesson identified.

How am I supposed to pick just one? I can't. I have three. Attitude. Love. And Persistence. They’re all three essential lesson that I must pass along to my children. They’re all three essential things that are interrelated to one another. I hope that I am a model of these things for my children to witness. I hope that I engage my children in conversations about the value of these things. I hope that my children persist, love, and embody an attitude that allows them to be happy and successful individuals.