For several years, a dad attended my workshops. Frequently, he reminded me that the most important lesson his father had passed on to him was, “Take care of your business.” He spoke about the business of life. I understood that advice had two elements. The first was to understand YOUR own business. Not to follow…
Annually during this week of Father’s Day, I usually talk about the impact that dads can have on their children. In Take Them by the Hand I wrote, “Of all the things we do in our lives, as adults and parents, the most important may be to teach and guide our children.” And then continuing…
In the classic movie The Shawshank Redemption, Andy Dufresne puts it succinctly to his friend Red, “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really, “Get busy living or get busy dying.” Recently, I wrote about losing a good friend named Harold. I attended his funeral and I was honored to speak briefly. In…
Harold C. Dixon …
Celebration of a Life Those of us who follow baseball know that last week Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. The most visible part of that annual celebration is that all the players on all the teams wear number forty-two on their jerseys – Robinson’s number when he played for the Dodgers. After breaking…
Spoiler Alert Before you read the rest of this article, here are a few points I hope you will take away and share with your children. Love your neighbors. Even when you disagree with their actions, don’t hate the actors. Tell your stories respectfully, but passionately. Go outside. Appreciate community and cherish the opportunity to…
I wrote this article originally in 2021. It speaks to a broad range of acceptance. I thought it was worth remembering once again that listening to understand is a good habit; broadening our perspective is healthy and inclusion is not a bad thing. From 2021: As a licensed attorney I must attend continuing education…
My Window The view from my home office looks out onto a cul-de-sac. Recently our neighborhood has begun to “turn over” as long-time residents have retired, others have answered career opportunities and they have moved on. In their place, we have welcomed new families mostly with school-aged children. Girls and boys ranging in age from…
In a few weeks, we will hold our yearly Evening with Be There Dad event. This annual gathering is a time for dads to reflect on the “big picture” of fatherhood. The theme for discussion this year will be “beyond carpool line”. Specific Lessons, Experiences and Skills I have written often about enabling our children…
Recently there has been a lot of talk about making sure our country is a meritocracy. Meritocracy has been defined as a society in which people are chosen and moved into positions of success, power and influence on the basis of their demonstrated abilities and merit. Meritocracy That is not a totally undesirable aspiration. Knowing…