Yo, Business Dads! Show Them Pictures

A few Saturdays ago, my two oldest boys and I went on a lazer tag adventure.

We battled. Our testosterone raged.

They complained that I was a “camper.” (Apparently, that is a warrior who sits in one spot and does not move around the battlefield.)

As usual, my 13 and 12 year boys destroyed their ol’ dad.

I kept it close, though. I insulted and talked trash, but I didn’t back it up.

Afterwards, we were all hungry and sweaty. So, we headed off to satiate our pangs at Chick-Fil-A.

What we saw was a great life lesson, and I need to do more of it.

She was a customer service force

We waited through the line and ordered our food. Since it was Jack’s birthday (the 12 year old), I caved and let both boys get a “special drink” (i.e., Dr. Pepper).

After all, Mom was not there to thwart our high fructose corn syrup cravings.

After we found a table, a girl brought our food over. She was kind, courteous and efficient, as you would expect.

No big deal so far.

What happened next was the key

As she went back to the counter, I noticed that she speed-walked. It was like an athlete in those Olympic speed walking races that no one watches.

This girl hustled. She took care of customers. She served everyone with a smile and speed.

She was everywhere.

I wanted my boys to see this and to imprint their brains with a picture of hustle. So, I ordered them to put down their nuggets and hold off on the “special drink.”

We watched this young girl motor around the restaurant and do her job. It was awesome to see tenacious work ethic in action.

As we resumed our eating and discussed what it meant to hustle, I thought, “Jeff, you need to do more of this.”

“You need to give your children more short “success” movies they can save to their brain’s hard drive.”

The challenge to us dads

Dads, we must be intentional about looking for examples to point our sons and daughters to. Let’s show them what hustle looks like. Let’s show them what they have to do win in life.

Of course, we need to model this ourselves. We are often the most profound influences on their lives.

But, they need more.

Find examples and show them what it takes to succeed.

We have a tendency to be passive. Let’s reject passivity and be active and present in our kids’ lives.

I am always telling my boys to hustle up when they work. I often try to motivate them to move “like they have to finish before they can go play.”

That works sometimes, but my words mostly fail.

Humans think in pictures. Our culture is constantly bombing them with pictures, and most of them are negative.

So, let’s be aggressive about pointing them to the right pictures. They need this from us.