Be your kids’ biggest fan

I listen to the My First Million podcast for the hosts’ (Sam Parr and Shaan Puri) insights into business trends.

A recent episode stuck with me (I forget which episode). And I think the story resonated with Shaan and Sam too.

Shaan told a story about his business partner’s (business partner Ben to be exact) father. The father goes above and beyond for his kids (who are now adults). Business partner Ben’s father would adopt one hobby/passion of his kids. And not half-heartedly, he was 100% committed. 

Shaan shared that if one of the kids shared they were a Cavaliers fan, the father would correct them and say we’re Cavaliers fans.

That’s love right there! 

I encountered a similar example when reading a parenting blog post by Ryan Holiday (my favorite author). Ryan shared a story about Jim Valvano’s dad (Jim was an American college basketball player).

In high school, Jim told his dad he was going to be a college basketball coach and win the National Championship. The next day Jim’s dad pointed to a loaded suitcase in the corner of the room. Jim’s dad said he had packed his suitcase and will be at the National Championship game when he goes. 

The children of this world could use a lot more dads like Jim’s and business partner Ben’s.