Way down yonder in New Orleans…
Last week I was lucky enough to be a part of the Annual Dad 2.0 Summit this time located in the breathtaking Crescent City. This was my third (say what!?) Summit and I felt like I was prepared to handle the rigors of countless speakers, panel discussions, and workshops. Loading up on my vitamins (thanks Smartypants!), hand sanitizer, and Ibuprofen, I made my way down to The Big Easy.
Being a Stay at Home Dad, I love being surrounded by fathers who care so deeply about changing the perception of modern fatherhood. The conversations that pop up during coffee breaks and happy hours prove to be my favorite part of the summit. Although I do enjoy the nuts and bolts of professional blogging and connecting with brands to create content marketing campaigns, which Dad 2.0 does an excellent job of showcasing, what really inspires me is having real conversations with fellow writers and dadvocates (is that a thing?) plus meeting real people behind these supportive brands. Sharing experiences with the LEGO team about my building background as a child and now seeing my kids with their blocks was a really neat moment. It was these face to face discussions that lay the foundation for real relationships. The truth is we are all here together, sharing ideas, goals, and struggles. The fact that ANY conversation can begin with “tell me about your kids” is pure gravy.
The thing about following an entrepreneurial path is that the motivation must come within. How difficult is it to be the tough boss, the lazy employee, the early bird, the late comer, and employee of the month when its only you? It’s quite difficult. But you must balance it all and still try to have a successful “business”. This is the place to learn all this and more…I sound like an infomercial, but its true! The programming over the last three years has been exceptional and always engaging. My only request would be to have less conflicting events – but- you can’t do it all and I suppose that is a nod to the successful speakers that the team behind Dad 2.0 consistently offer to its attendees.
A huge highlight for me was listening to the closing keynote speaker, Jaime Casap. Jaime is the Global Education Evangelist at GoogleEducation. As fathers and active advocates for a brighter tomorrow for our children, I can think of nothing better than embracing better education. He spoke of innovation and technology and its role within our schools. It was fascinating and uplifting to think about teaching the next generation, our children, to problem solve and find solutions to problems that may not even exist. Think about that nugget the next time you ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up- they will probably end up with a job that doesn’t exist yet. Forward thinking at its finest.
An overall theme at this years Summit was the idea of getting after our goals. #getafterit
One thing I can say for sure, after starting the year off being motivated and surrounded by the beauty of New Orleans and the inspiration of so many great Dads….I look forward to getting after it throughout the whole year.
“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” – G. W. F. Hegel
