The honor of my life is to be a Dad.
Over the years I have restructured my entire existence around one concept: Quality Time vs. Quantity Time as a Dad.
I used to swoop in for the big moments of my children’s lives to say I was there, using the phrase “Quality Time” as my cover while chasing financial success, hiding behind my favorite hobbies, and just being busy.
But then something flipped in my brain when I realized even that Quality Time was compromised by my mind being elsewhere, my heart not in it even when I was present.
So I began the quest for Quantity Time.
Restructured my business, my thinking, my definition of success, and downsized everywhere in order to accomplish the desire:
– Traded my Escalade in and got a Subaru Outback;
– Left the Rented Office and moved into the Home Office space;
– Raised my performance fee to only do gigs a few times per month so clients had to convince me they really wanted me there (rather than me compromising my fees to work within their needs and not mine);
– Retired from public events which took up too much time and were no longer fun;
– Committed a month to live in a motorhome and travel the U.S., all while turning away gigs and 6-figures worth of offers we could have used but kept our commitment to the family trip.
In other words we brought our kids along everywhere we possibly could.
Life became business became existence.
This is eternity here and now.
I have missed many a boat in life as far as what others suggest I ought to have accomplished by now, but I’m not missing the boat of Quantity Time with my kids anymore.
Bringing kids into this world is a huge Promise and Quantity Time is now truly Quality Time and back again. It’s a wonderful cycle and the smartest choice I’ve ever made.
To the Dads out there that might resonate with this thought, I hope you’ll join me in The Promise to Family, to 100% Presence, to Quantity Time becoming true Quality Time.
Happy Father’s Day to all.
10 Responses
At the end of your life you will never say, I wish I had spent more time on stage. Love your message! You have lucky kids to have a dad with his priorities straight.
Totally agree Janette, thank you for the thoughts and the comment.
Happy Father’s Day, Jason! So glad you are spreading your message around the world! Sending love to you and your family. Blessings!
Hi Jackie! Thank you for your kindness you spread. Love to you and your family.
Happy Fathers Day to you Jason! And to all you other dads too!
And to Nathan! Thank you!
Quality time cannot be scheduled. It only pops up unexpectedly because I am spending quantity time with the family. When that quality moment shows up, I learned to stop everything and focus on that child and that quality moment, whether it lasted 5 minutes or 5 hours.
Thanks for continuing to share your life.
Great reply Terry and awesome example of how to do this. Thank you!
A beautifully written example of what a fathers commitment and love can be that resonates with me deeply. Thank you for inspiring me, yet again, Jason.
You inspire me as a father, friend, speaker, mentor…thank you Brad!