On Thanksgiving Day, after a three-week writing sabbatical, I return – renewed and refreshed thanks to two books, The Power of Full Engagement and The Power of Story. ----- “What have these business books got to do with parenting?” you ask. Everything. ----- We all know that parenting is one of the most demanding and important jobs there is because the store never closes and the impact has long-lasting repercussions. To do a solid job, we need to be fully engaged. ----- Engagement, yikes! This is one of those words I dislike because it’s so full of judgment. Yet it also very crisply captures the core of one’s behavior. Let’s define it right here right now as the extent to which a parent actively participates in their child’s life. ----- For me, as with every other attribute on my Dashboard of Humanity, the numbers go up and down. The authors argue, very reasonably, that engagement has everything to do with two other things I never would have considered: our energy level and our purpose/story. ----- Factors such as sleep, food and water intake, rest breaks and breathing mightily affect one’s level of energy so they should be optimized. While I’m fit, I’ve discovered that I should be eating less food (only more often). I also need to take more breaks in my day and introduce interval training (short bursts of intense physical activity) to my not-quite-frequent-enough aerobic (and until now non-existent anaerobic) workouts. Hello muscles… ----- Equally important is one’s story – the one we rightly/wrongly tell ourselves about our life vis-à-vis our desired imprint upon the world (purpose). It turns out one of the voices I’ve been listening to belong to two bad bananas from my childhood who were not fans. Their comments had a huge impact on me, personally and professionally, and it’s only by changing my story that their voices have become diminished. My purpose (another term that makes me quiver) is to connect and inspire through great words, deeds and innovation. ----- This means that going forward, my written opinions – particularly those about parenting – must be more consistent, more carefully conceived and considered. My actions also must become a bit more measured; not so much as to dim my wit but with greatness on my mind, I had better become more helpful toward others – especially my own family. And whatever products/services I (co)create must truly connect and inspire. I’ve done it once with a lot of help from my friends (with FAMILY MATTERS) but now must pick up the pace, marketing this game with alacrity while working diligently upon other creative tasks too. ----- With renewed energy and purpose, I hereby publicly commit myself to this noble-sounding but truly heartfelt quest. Greatness is an aspiration, not always a reality; time will tell whether I make the mark but I will certainly be reaching for the stars from now on. Happy Thanksgiving to all and thank you for your kind words and support along the way.