It all started fall of 2021. My second child was on the way and I felt unprepared. Our first boy was born in March of 2020 and I spent the last year and a half just floating, drifting, along. I was always reactive. I never planned or prepared for anything. Which is weird though, as a Scout, I was always prepared.
But this time it was different. I want to make a change, an impact in my life. I turned off the music on my daily walks and turned on a podcast. I wanted to start challenging myself more. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to say, “yes” more.
It was later that year, I help co-found a non-profit, Second Fire Project. Where we plant trees for campgrounds throughout the US to replace the bundles of wood sold. This was my first, albeit tiny, step in to entrepreneurship. It felt good to make a difference. It was this feeling I wanted to keep alive.
2022 came and went. I started to listen to podcasts consistently. Never took any real action. Played passively in my life. I still yearned for more though. I started to read a bit more. I read about 10 books in 2022. Not bad for a full year of reading.
2023 was a big year. I kept reading and listening. I kept learning. We went on a vacation and I didn’t like the way my body looked. I started to get the quintessential “dadbod”. I didn’t like it. I was drinking more than I should have. I started to work out. I started to make changes in my life that would move the needle.
I started the blog. With our pending 3rd child on the way, I wanted to leave something more. I wanted more than just pictures. This blog was born just a few months before our baby. Like in 2021, I wanted to feel a difference in my life.
Early 2024 comes and I’m home a bit with the baby, the blog slips a bit. I’m just focused on family and focused on my wife and kids. I go to an event in March. Still feeling good about my journey and progress and at this event I’ve barely seen the tip of the iceberg. There’s still more untapped potential in me that I can extract.
I talk to one of the speakers, Sam Kaufman, and he asks me, “What do you really want to do in life?”
I answer, “I want to help men be better dads.”
Sam responds, “Ok. So do it.”
The rest in history. I came back to the blog with a vengeance. What was the occasional post became a weekly post. It was called “Dad.First” which was to “Be a dad, from the first thing in the morning. Each day”. I slowly realized that maybe it wasn’t the best name. It could have an ego aura about it.
About 6 months after Dad.First the name changed. It became “Be A Successful Dad”.
Be A Successful Dad is to identify what success is to you, not society or friends, but to your core. What does success mean to you? How does it look? What daily actions do you take? Then get after it.
Each person should have their own value of success and once identified the path is clear. The actions needed to move that needle in that direction are laid out. All you have to do is work.
If you need help with finding your success, let me know.
I can help you find your success and give you the tools you need to move your own needle as I have moved mine.
Be A Successful Dad 