Dear Boogerbug,
Good morning sweet girl. You’ve been so cute this week on Skype. Very energetic and chatty. You also broke my heart, telling me that you wished I lived in Dallas instead of Atlanta.
Oh, how I wish I was close to you. One day you’ll understand.
I hope.
Your mom texted me that y’all were doing some fun stuff last night and today. Last night you were supposed to be going to a play, A Charlie Brown Christmas, and today you’re supposed to be riding the Polar Express. I’m sure you’ll have a blast, and I hope you cherish the fun of the memories you’re surely starting to make.
Because of your comment about wanting me to live closer to you, and because you are sometimes fearful of new places or people, I want to share with you about what makes you grow. Not your body, but your mind.
Obviously, there are genuine times when you should be scared of strangers or weary of new things, but there are two sides to every coin. Encountering, experiencing, and living through new people, places, events, and ideas is what makes you grow and develop into a new person.
One of my business “mentors” talks about how at each stage of growth for an entrepreneur, the entrepreneur has to reinvent themselves and become a new, better version of themselves.
For example, if you have never hired an employee before, there’s a lot to learn. You have to learn employment law, employment tax law, how to deal with the IRS and employee taxes, when to submit tax reports, human resources issues, discrimination law, etc. There’s a lot to learn and if you’ve never had an employee before, it can be overwhelming. It’s uncomfortable!
So, what do you do? You learn it as you go, and eventually, you’ll learn what you need to know. And from that day forward you don’t have to worry about hiring employees anymore because you’ve already learned how to do it correctly.
In computer/business terms, you were version 1.0 of yourself, and now you’re version 1.5 or 2.0 because you learned something new that is a major upgrade from your old self.
Rinse and repeat this process of facing uncomfortable challenges and learning. You get smarter, better, faster, and those experiences stick with you for your whole life.
In my case, being apart from you is dreadful. I hate it. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s also motivating, so I’m growing. It’s what motivates me to write to you for the future in these letters. It’s what motivates me to build a better business so I don’t ever have to worry about the expense of traveling to bring you to Atlanta or for me to travel to Dallas.
You mean the world to me, and no matter how far apart we are, I will always love you and do what I can to be the best daddy you could hope for.
I love you so much. Smooooooch! Blow! (we give those kisses at the end of all our Skypes and I love them).
Miss you Elliebelle!
Love,
Daddy
P.S. What do you use to cut the ocean?
A seasaw.
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dad @ startwithadollar.com