World-Class Dad

I posed this question to myself recently. If I could only pick one of these, which one would I want on my tombstone?
 

World-Class Writer

World-Class Coach

World-Class Speaker

World-Class Podcaster

World-Class Dad

 
I wear those different hats quite often. Yet, one clearly sticks out. It’s an outlier.
 
World-Class Dad.
 
I know it might sound corny, but it’s the truth.
 
Being a Dad is the only role in which the people that I serve didn’t sign up for me to serve them. My kids didn’t choose me. I chose this role. And for me, that role is forever. I may write, coach, podcast, and speak for a bit, but it’s not forever. It’s not daily either; it comes and it goes. However, being a Dad is a lifetime commitment.
 
Speaking of podcasting, I have been fortunate enough to interview over 325 people over the past 6 ½ years. They have ranged in scope from successful CEO’s, to coaches, to athletes, to media personalities, to astronauts, to writers, to speakers, to chefs, to musicians, to actors, and more. When I reflect on my reasoning for having them on, it almost always comes back to the fact that I thought they were interesting people. I love interesting people, those who are willing to do something big or unique. I find them inspiring.
 
And yet, I am wondering why is it that we as a society (me included) don’t seem to value world-class Dad’s the same way we do world-class ___________ (fill in the blank). I even think we value world-class Moms, who we know have been the bedrock of our society for many generations, over world-class Dads. We celebrate Moms. We honor them. Yet, where is the celebrity and celebration for our world-class Dads? Where is the Hall of Fame? Perhaps we need one. When I am with my friends and we are discussing inspiring people, we rarely talk about the Dad who is incredibly present for their children and modeling high character behavior. In fact, we often excuse world-class performers for their inability to be world-class Dads along the way. We give them a pass. 
 
The truth is our society undervalues world-class Dads. And that’s a damn shame. We often undervalue it in ourselves and undervalue it in others as well. Let’s change that.
 
I recently had a client watch me interact with my 7-year-old son. The next day the client told me that he loved watching me with my son and he simply said, “You are a great Dad.” Man did that hit home. I felt a sense of contentment and it came at a time when I really needed validation. That same day that same client witnessed a scary experience that my son went through when I turned my back to him. I wasn’t sure if it was my fault (upon reflection it wasn’t), but it shook me up quite a bit as I replayed what happened. And in that shakeup, it hit me: life is short, I don’t know what will happen with my kids, but I aspire to be a world-class Dad more than anything else. Whether I get validation from others or not, I want the peace of mind of knowing I did the best I could.
 
If you are fortunate enough to be a Dad, I hope you’ll join me in striving to become a world-class Dad too. After all, I am not sure there is a better marker of success.