Fatherhood Quotes: 12 Questions For Everyday Dads-Vol. 3

What are Fatherhood Quotes?

As fathers, I believe that there are a lot of common questions we ask ourselves.

What do we want to pass down to our children? How do I want them to measure success in their lives?  What do I want to influence them? Where do I fit in all of this? When should I just stay out of the way? How much of myself do I really want them to inherit?  These, and lots of other questions, are things I think of often in my quiet moments.  I have a feeling other dads do the same. 

I also believe that we are living in a really cool era of fatherhood.  A lot of us are more involved in our children’s lives than past generations.  That is pretty awesome. Parenting, from a male perspective, has changed a lot in the past several decades.

How does this change in fatherhood influence some of these big questions?  I think every dad has something interesting to say about this. That’s what Fatherhood Quotes is. What are the big issues that you, as a dad, think about?

My intention with this series is to ask these 12 questions for dads that really try to get to the heart of what it means to be on this crazy adventure called parenting.  

If you are a dad (or know a dad) that would like to take part in Fatherhood Quotes, please reach out to me.

Fatherhood Quotes Vol. 3

Todd Ferris

For round 3, I am proud to introduce Todd Ferris. I have known Todd for about 15 years and he is an amazing guy and an unstoppable force of positive energy.  Todd has built an extremely successful real estate business, Ferris Property Group, over the past several years.  Running the business along with his wife, Megan, they are always quick with a joke, a sincere interest in others and a keen sense of business.  I am not surprised by their success.  They also host a popular podcast called The Boom Real Estate Podcast.  Tune in to laugh along with the Ferris family and you will probably walk away with some great insights on how to grow your own business.

As a successful business owner with his wife and the father of four children (I don’t think the snake is an official member of the family), I was excited to hear his views on fatherhood,  success, what scares him as a father and the hopes he has for his kids. Thanks, Todd, for taking part in this series!

Your Name: Todd Ferris

Your Age: 39

Number of kids and ages: Logan (9), Zoe (9), Kaia (6), Macklin (3)

1. In one word, what does being a father mean to you? Responsibility (Not in a bad context, but in an overall context of having the responsibility to do so many things that resonate in and around your kids.)
2. What piece of parenting advice did you get before having kids that stands out as being most helpful? Stop at 1 (doh!). Be involved. The time will fly!
3. If your child (children) were to describe you in one word, what would it be?  Fun
4. What is your best guess as to what your child will be when they grow up? No idea, but whatever it is, it better be financially sound enough to support me!
5. If you could choose one book for your child to read as an adult, what would it be.  Why? I think the last book I read outside of real estate and sales books was To Kill a Mockingbird.  Don’t know if that would make my short list for them.
6. Do you remember the first thing you ever said to your child?  What was it? Get a job!
7. As your child becomes an adult, how do you want them to define success in their lives? Cheesy, but if they’re happy, not just momentarily or occasionally, but continuously over time, they’ve made it!
8. What quality about yourself would you most like to pass on to your child? Rugged handsomeness!  Good question, but no idea.  It’s hard to say as I feel like it makes me come across as being conceited as well as wishing they weren’t themselves.
9. What is one material object that you want to pass down to your kid?  Why? Photo albums or files, to remember the good times and my rugged handsomeness.
10. What is your biggest fear as a father? For any of my kids to get hurt, whether physically or mentally. It will and has happened and we don’t always protect against it, but knowing that it will happen again and is out of my control is really hard to bear.
11. What quality about yourself would you least like to pass on to your child? See response #8.
12. If you and your kid formed a rock band, what would you name the band?  Six Apples or Nickelback 2!

Thanks Todd!

LOOKING FOR MORE GREAT THOUGHTS ON FATHERHOOD?  CHECK OUT VOLUME 2 FEATURING THE EXTREMELY TALENTED MUSICIAN, STEVEN POTACZEK.  HIS ANSWER TO THE FIRST QUESTION CHANGED THE WAY I THINK ABOUT PARENTING.