How to raise sons in a positive way?

I have two sons and I like to ask other entrepreneurs how they raise their sons so that I become a better dad. I asked entrepreneurs worldwide what they do to raise their own sons.

Boys want to be taken seriously, to be allowed to discover the world with curiosity

Katharina Pommer is CEO of Mindshift and she explained that sons ask their fathers a significant but unconscious question: Are you proud of me? Based on this, they direct their decisions and actions and observe whether they make their parents, especially the father, feel proud. “Therefore, one of the most important values I teach my sons is: I love and respect you just the way you are. Boys want to be taken seriously, to be allowed to discover the world with curiosity, and to be given the appropriate space for exploration, first and foremost the trust placed in them and not outdated expectations that we may place in the future man”, so Katharina. Most boys try things out — want to understand the world through action, experiment immediately; Girls, on the other hand, often want to know what it’s all about before they act! Therefore, most girls have an advantage at school.

Katharina Pommer is CEO of Mindshift where she helps families and business owners. You can find more about her business here: https://www.mindshift.family/

Focus mainly on your family and secondly on your business

For Justin Breen, CEO and Founder of BrEpic, “Family is everything. All of this other stuff is just gravy. The best part of being an entrepreneur is my sons (8 and 7) get to see that this life is possible from the start”. Justin and his sons are talking about entrepreneurship all the time, the joys of being an entrepreneur, and what it takes.

Justin Breen is CEO and Founder of BrEpic; you can find more about his company here: www.BrEpicLLC.com

Always influence indirectly with the “cool uncle” syndrome

Steve Sims focuses on integrity and credibility when it comes to the values of his son. The more credible you are, the more you can do with other people. “Your word is your bond” so Steve; just make sure that they really do what they say. One way to influence your son indirectly is through the friends of your son; win their trust and make sure that they say the right things to him.

Always try to speak to the man that he should be in the future instead of speaking with him as a child. Focus on the man he should be in the future instead of the child who is standing in front of you.

Steve Sims is CEO of Bluefishing and SDSims; you can find more information about his business on this website: http://stevedsims.com and also with his son https://sims.media/

Create an environment where they tell always the truth and be honest

Tiji Thomas is an investor and philanthropist and mainly taught his children freedom and independence. Through the businesses that he built over time they saw and learned entrepreneurial skills. Tiji f.e. gave his son the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” just to build awareness about finance and wealth-building, or he supported ideas that his children had and supported them. More important than entrepreneurial skills is first of all the base to build an environment where his children always tell the truth and are honest. That’s according to Tiji the core of his children and the starting point. So, no matter what happens he taught them to be honest and truthful.

You can find more information about Tiji on his website: https://tijithomas.com/

Have fun and be a kid again when you raise your son

See life through their eyes and implement this also in your private and business life. According to Brandon Straza, it is a magic time and life will be more joyful if you see life through their eyes. Be interested in the topics that he is really interested in and try to start conversations in these areas. One thing that Brandon also does is he is listening to Jim Rohn in the car during the ride to the school and they are also speaking about these topics.

Brandon Straza is the Founder of The Success Finder You can find more information about the Success Finder here: https://thesuccessfinder.com/

Kids cannot course-correct their emotions; adults have to be the ones to take the emotional lead.

Jason Feifer is Chief Editor of the entrepreneur magazine and I asked him how to stay calm during difficult situations. “It becomes easier over time, as you realize that your own stress as a parent will only make bad situations worse”, so Jason. A kid cannot course-correct their emotions in the way that an adult can. So even when situations are frustrating, and even when it feels unfair, the adult has to be the one to take the emotional lead.

You can find more information about Jason on his website: jasonfeifer.com

Love him unconditionally and be in the moment. There is no time to waste. There are only memories to earn.

Thomas Helfrich is CEO of Instarel.AI and shared some of the values that he shares with his sons:

Be respectful. Especially to the women in your life.

Be you. Everyone else is taken.

Be Bold. Only fear not taking calculated risks.

Live. Don’t wait to live. Be in the present.

Dream. Think of what you want to become and go chase it.

Passion. Show interest and emotion as you navigate your life.

Honest. Be honest with yourself and others.

You can find more information about Thomas Helfrich on his website https://instarel.ai/

Approach most things as conversations with your son

Ashley and Brian Bogert are the Founders of Brian Bogert's Company and shared their insights about parenting. Ashley takes a deep breath when she is feeling triggered by her son and pauses before reacting or speaking. “Our son becomes very defensive when he perceives that he is in trouble or senses angry energy from us. As soon as his defensiveness kicks in it become extremely difficult for him to have a conversation without becoming elevated himself”, so Ashley. Therefore she approaches most things as a conversation and allows her son to ask questions, which leads to more successful resolutions, according to Ashley.

You can find more information about Ashley and Brian Bogert on their website: Brianbogert.com

Kids don’t want more, they just want us more… in the house

Oftentimes we focus on work and on our business but the one thing that kids are really interested in is to be with us in the house and spend more time with us. They don’t want more things, they want us more, so Richard Mulholland founder of presentation powerhouse Missing Link.

Another thing that Richard is also doing: Ask yourself at the end of the month or week: What could I have done better as a dad?

Richard Mullholand is the founder of presentation powerhouse Missing Link. You can find more information about Richard on his website: https://msnglnk.com/

We are emotional beings. All emotions are part of it.

Roger Widmer is Co-Founder ParkourOne and Etrefort and father of three children. He is looking forward to the challenges with his children! “We learn and grow together in every situation. Change is the only constant in life. Better to master a difficult situation together than to be lonely and bored”, so Roger.

However, he is sometimes energetic and impulsive. And from his point of view, this is right and important. “We are emotional beings. All emotions are part of it. Affection, joy, fear, sadness, or even anger. My children, my family, and friends — so also my sons may and should get to know me authentically and emotionally”, so Roger. However, there is no situation and there will never be one that could question his love for his children! If he overreacted or misunderstood or misjudged something, he is never too proud to apologize sincerely. Mistakes are a part of life.

Roger Widmer is the Founder of several businesses. You can find more information about him on https://etre-fort.com/ and https://parkourone.com/

Build an alliance with your wife and decide together on topics

Having a wife that supports me is the most important thing in my opinion. Speaking about things and creating a strategy to be consistent with our sons is very important. Children are very smart and they will find the weak point within the system and use it to their advantage. So, speaking with my wife and deciding as a team is very important in my opinion, so that we act as a team!

Yakup Özkardes-Cheung is Content AI Manager and helps entrepreneurs create content on a scale with AI Tools. You can find more information about Yakup on his website https://www.contentmentoring.com/ and http://contentaishow.com/