𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 👨‍👦 … “𝐁𝐞 𝐚 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 …”

A brief story 🖌️ about leading by example.

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑚𝑒. "𝐻𝑖 𝐷𝑎𝑑," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, "𝐼'𝑚 𝑠𝑜 𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑏𝑎𝑐𝑘! 𝑇𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦?"

"𝐴ℎ 𝑠𝑜𝑛," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠, "𝑙𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙, 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠."

"𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝐷𝑎𝑑," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, "𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒? 𝐴𝑟𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡?"

"𝑀𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑖𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒, "𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠. 𝑊𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒."

"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒, 𝐷𝑎𝑑," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠.

"𝑌𝑒𝑠, 𝑠𝑜𝑛," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑠, "𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠. 𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑚𝑒, ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦?"

"𝑂ℎ 𝐷𝑎𝑑," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑠, "𝑙𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒. 𝐼𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠. 𝑁𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙, 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝑆𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑜𝑑, 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑝 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑠."

"𝐵𝑢𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑛," 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, "𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠𝑛'𝑡 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑. 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒? 𝐷𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑎𝑛?"

"𝐷𝑎𝑑, 𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙. 𝑊𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑑 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑘𝑠. 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑡'𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑖𝑠, 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒, 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡𝑜 𝑝𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟."

"𝑆𝑜𝑛, 𝑚𝑦 𝑠𝑜𝑛, 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠!" 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠. "𝐼 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡, 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑛𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒! 𝑊ℎ𝑦 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡?"

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 ℎ𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑠, "𝑴𝒚 𝑫𝒂𝒅, 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆."

I hope this story 👆🏻 makes you Pause … Reflect … and Decide on becoming a [n even] better example.

I wrote this story more than 15 years ago. Today I realized that this short story is an integral part of the series I am publishing about taking responsibility for living the life you want to live and in which way you can make that happen.

This story not only reminds me that actions speak louder than words …

I realize we can only become – and be – the best example when we are leading ourselves first.

📌 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞.