Pilot Episode 1 - 100%Dad- Intro and honesty

Welcome to the 100% Dad podcast. Today is going to be a mixture of two: our introduction and our episode one. So we only do these in one take. We're not going to edit them just because my general philosophy is if you can't do it in one take, you suck. So don't do it. I'm going to be drinking coffee. If that bothers you, too bad. It is early. So what is 100% Dad? It's a, it's a forum for men, dads specifically, to step back up, be real men and real leaders of their homes. And you know, my feeling is we've had a few decades of misinformation and low expectations, but we are fighting the very wrong presumption that dads are the family idiot, a goof, sports-obsessed incompetent loaf. We want dads to be strong for their family, to know where they stand and why, to lead their families in the right direction. There is a revolution coming. Dads are stepping back up in the family. Men are becoming real men again, and that is good for dad. That's good for mom. That is good for kids, good for the family unit, and good for our communities. And 100% Dad is here to provide the forum for support, education, and encouragement for dads everywhere. Now, this all started in 2014, and I was worried I would be dead by the time I was 30. Now, that's a story in itself. I wanted to make sure the business didn't crumble and dissolve if I died unexpectedly. Since that was the only source of income for our family, I felt it was important for my wife to know what she needed to do the very next day after I died to ensure she had an income, or at the very least an asset to sell. So I began to put together a binder of how to run the business from day one on who to call and what to say to the mundane details of day-to-day operations, even the long-term hopes and strategies. Everything was written down in detail in a 3-inch-thick binder, and it even included post-death notes to team members. And it was creepy, it was morbid, and it was awesome. It was downright genius. In fact, I thought it was so smart to help my future. Sorry, I thought it was so smart to help the future of my family, with or without me, that I started thinking really heavily that if I could replace Townsend the business owner and operator in text, then I could possibly replace Townsend the dad in the same way. Now, it's not a direct parallel, but That's when I began to kind of jot down thoughts and notes to my two boys. Now, there were two at the time, and now that was 2015. Nowadays I got three, and I think we're done there unless something special happens. About halfway through writing that text, I started to change the audience from my boys to just anyone reading it, and it seemed that this might not only be a good tool for my boys, but it might be a good tool for other dads as well. I finished my first version of the book in 2015, and at that time I called it Trying to Be Awesome: The 2015 Edition. And I had a friend edit it, and in early 2016 we kind of reformatted it some and renamed it Trying to Be Awesome: The 2016 Edition. And that's about the time I had my third boy, followed by my third business, because every time I have a kid I've got to start a new business. Russell Coffee Service was started when Levi was born, Auburn Group when Ryder was born, and Florida Best Vending and Micromarkets when Aiden was born. Needless to say, we were very busy in 2016 and in 2017, of course, juggling life with that many moving and talking parts. Once 2018 came around, I had this nagging desire to put out this content, uh, I, you know, I feel a shift starting to happen with dads and an overwhelming desire to return to nostalgic manliness, to step up and be the man of the house, to lead their families, to hold their value systems true, to be a better generation of man and a better generation of dad that has ever been on this planet. And so here we are finding ways to express content, creating a forum for discussion and education. And breeding a support system for dads everywhere. That's our goal. That is our ambition. And you know what? I really think this is going to work. Now, a huge disclaimer, and everyone hold me to this, this is not me telling everyone that I am somehow superior to them at being a dad. I really don't care as to the specific details and technicalities of how you parent. That's your prerogative. I just care that you're paying attention to why you do it that way. Put some actual thought into one of your biggest freaking jobs, being a dad. I'm just putting my thoughts out there because, well, it's my platform. And worst case scenario, this thing is a colossal failure from a followers and listener standpoint. But at least there's a recorded history for my boys to know how I intended to raise them and how I would expect them to raise their kids. It's good for our family. It's good for our name and our legacy. I don't care if you duplicate them. That's not the point. That's not the purpose. In fact, for a lot of you, trying to replicate my life would be bad for you. For my family, they're important. For your family, you do you. I don't want to be the guy that tells everyone exactly what they need to do to be a good dad. I'm the guy who tells you my opinion and gets y'all to think. About why you are doing what you are doing. The why is all that matters. If you're thinking about the why, then you're set. This platform contains my thoughts, my opinions. But more than that, it's a group of common thinkers, good dads, a place to look for counsel advice. It's a place to brag about being a good dad. It's a place to surround yourself with common men. So if I start acting somehow like I'm on my high horse, just punch me in the face, kick me in the nuts. That's not what this is meant to be. Watch the videos, read the content, comment, email, engage the content, give me your opinion. I'm listening. Episode 1: Dad's Model— the honesty we wish other people had. Does it drive you crazy when you catch people lying? I don't get it. It's often the smallest things, and by that I mean if they were honest, we wouldn't even care. Lying, embellishment, misleading have all become almost a norm in today's culture. Dads, let's fight back with brutal honesty and raise a generation with the same integrity and morals as ourselves. Why do this? Why do we as dads need to care about being honest? Well, I got a few answers for you. For starters, you will build real credibility and be a strong influence on your kid's life. Because if we lie to our kids, we're going to lose credibility. And they're just not going to be able to decipher what lessons were lies and what lessons were real. We're losing our credibility. If I teach my kids to tell the truth and then ask them to lie about their age at the park so I can get a better price, I'm sending the message of, in our family, we only tell the truth when it's convenient and we lie when it is advantageous for us. If we lie in one aspect of our lives, then what makes the other things we teach them true? Past and future is no longer reliable. If we want to have credibility, if we want them to absorb the real good lessons, we have to have credibility with them. You know, you will be modeling high integrity for them to witness firsthand with eyes and ears. You know, nothing sticks better than when you see lessons in action day in and day out. The old lesson— what is that? How does that phrase go? More is caught than taught. If you want your kids to be honest adults, nothing will be more important than seeing you be honest consistently. It's going to expose you, show the real you, your failures, mistakes, and shortcomings. Those become learning opportunities. You know, none of us parents are perfect, but we do need to be 100% honest and build credibility with our kids so that we are an effective influence in their lives. Even if we mess up, we should go back and admit it in order to save our credibility. It is better to say, you know what, Dad messed up when I did whatever. I'm sorry. Here, let's use this as a teaching moment. This is, this is what Dad should have done. This will establish the bond that I'm there for my kids, and even though I'm not perfect, I'm going to do what is best for you. Kids are sometimes way more perceptive than we give them credit for. I, I really think it's important for us to realize that our words and actions are under constant scrutiny because these kids watch and learn from us. This is going to parlay into other aspects of your life as well. And it's going to have profound effects. And let's detour for a second. So, you know, this is a focus on the dad aspect, but directly and strongly relates to our relationships as a husband, a friend, a customer, a son. Honesty impacts your whole life. And integrity is key here. Being honest with people means not misleading or lying to them. Because eventually your BS is going to unravel and you're going to be left with no friends and no career. Now I can hear some naysayers out there, you know, but you lie about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, and are you really going to tell your kids about, you know, sex, rape, or molestation at the age of 4? And if the honest answer is not age-appropriate, then we need to admit that, buddy. You're not old enough to know that answer. I'll tell you when you're 11. You know, Santa and the Easter Bunny, those are all just fine things in the Russell household. You know what? Santa Claus lives in the North Pole. That is a fact. We don't need to divulge that Santa is a fictional character, but the fictional character does in fact live in the North Pole with his reindeer. We are age-appropriate with our kids when it comes to make-believe and superheroes and hard life facts. If my kids or some stuck-up parent want to call me out on that aspect of honesty, I have no problem defending my position. At a young age, I'm all about encouraging my child's imagination and creative influences. I will fight imaginary ninjas in our fort with my boys. There's no need to sit them down and explain that there's no ninjas and it's not a fort, just sheets and boxes. I am also willing to protect their innocence. Revealing too many hard life facts at a very young age will take some of the joy and innocence out of their childhood. They just aren't ready. Children are not adults. We should not treat them as such. When we have raised them to be awesome adults, then we can treat them like adults. You know, I'd love to hear some stories and thoughts. You can email them to Townsend@TownsendRussell.com and of course find us everywhere on Facebook, 100% Dad, on YouTube, 100% Dad, on Twitter, 100% Dad, on Instagram, 100% Dad. Now they don't let us use the percent sign, so it's 100Dad on Instagram. You know, the, the podcast and the blog are on the website TownsendRussell.com or 100percentdad.com. I am Townsend Russell with 100% Dad. We're over here preaching for dads to step up, be real men, and real leaders of their homes. Thanks for listening.