Our community is comprised of entrepreneurs and artists and creatives – folks who have chosen incredibly difficult professional paths that often don’t offer any safety nets or guarantees. Nonetheless, we regularly hear that being a parent is a far greater challenge and so we asked some of these folks to open up to us about the things they’ve done as parents that they feel will have a meaningful and positive impact on their child.
Jill Barghelame | Wife, mom & owner of Arete Warriors
Our family motto is “We are a positive, happy, smart-working, hard-playing, fun family who makes the world a better place”. You can see that joy and attitude are a big part of who we strive to be. That doesn’t mean life is all smiles. My kids have enjoyed a storybook life, but my husband and I have endured great suffering before they came to be. We are keenly aware that years are not guaranteed. This reality taught us to focus on what’s most important. I think the most important gift we can give our children is unconditional love. That does not mean spoiling. I think there’s a fine line between the two that many of us crossover often. We are big fans of taking responsibility for ourselves here. Discipline is a word we use often in our house. We take pride in achievement that comes from hard work. We accept and welcome the fact that on the other side of continued effort and struggle, we are often rewarded with that feeling of accomplishment. That satisfaction does not come when things are handed to us. Read more>>
Tori Rerick, PharmD | Mindfulness Guide
As a parent, I believe one of the most important things I’ve done is allow myself to be human in front of my children and share my self care practices with them. I show my honest emotions and ways to process them as an invitation for my children to do so with me. This has created open communication which I think is refreshing for kids to experience. We apologize when we get upset, we celebrate and dance when we feel happy, and we take deep breaths to find our calm. The impact that I see in my four year old is a supportive, solution-focused individual. It’s awesome to witness. Read more>>
Larry Legend | Songwriter & Recording Artist
Being the father to my son Jeremiah was the best thing that has happened to me. The most important thing I’ve done as a parent was not giving up! I felt like I went through a fair amount of issues that clouded my mindset and i had no motivation to look for any type of positivity for an outcome. My son being 3, has so much personality that he does get a little frustrated when things don’t work out how it’s supposed to but I encourage him to continue to try and look at issues in a different point of view. Read more>>
Betsy Clark | Mindset Chaplain ~Your Mindset Matters
When my son and daughter were young (5 and 7 years old), we signed them up for 4-H. We bought both of them their own rabbits and built the hutch for them. Then we said, “you are on your own, these rabbits are yours to care for.” They decided to create a rabbit business and breed their rabbits. They funded their rabbit business by helping my husband and me in the family business. Through 4-H and rabbit shows they developed award winning rabbits. Which not only built their business, it increased their confidence to speak in public, A benefit of learning how to show your live stock before a panel of judges at a young age. Another aspect of 4-H is you have to keep meticulous books on your livestock. This created a discipline on how to systematically track your activities, finances and balance your books. Both of my children went on to get advanced degrees after college and incurred minimal debt because of the years of mindfully following good business and financial practices. Read more>>