The Greatest Dad Blogger You Never Heard Of

Somewhere in the almost 10,000 posts on this blog is one that talks about how I taught Frank Sinatra how to sing.

And maybe if you look hard enough you’ll find one where it says I taught Michael Jordan how to play basketball, Babe Ruth how to play baseball and William Shakespeare how to write.

Maybe you’ll find something in there that talks about how I taught Einstein math and Newton science.

None of these things are true but maybe one of my kids will grow up and become the next Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or some other legendary figure.

And if that happens, well then I’ll be able to say I helped change the world in a major and profound way.

But if none of that is true and none of my kids cure cancer, solve global warming or do something so big the world has to stop and notice I’ll be ok.

The Greatest Dad Blogger You Never Heard Of

Last week a relative asked me how long I have been blogging and why they haven’t heard of me. I told them I have been doing it for more than a decade and that Jack isn’t my real name.

They asked why and I told them how it all began and explained I have been semi anonymous for years now. It is not really a secret but then again I have built a ‘brand’ so I didn’t want to destroy it.

When they asked me if I was concerned about missed opportunities I sort of shrugged my shoulders. Life is a series of missed opportunities.

There are the women I didn’t date or marry, the houses I didn’t buy and the jobs I didn’t take.

Add the flights I chose not to take, the buses I didn’t board and the classes I chose to skip.

But I don’t look at life that way because that is far too negative. Doesn’t mean there aren’t moments where I have been frustrated or upset because I wonder what would have happened if I had gone left than right but most days it is not an issue.

Think about the legends I mentioned above and ask yourself who taught them to do whatever it is they are famous for.

Can you name them?

Do you have a clue as to who they might be or have been?

Should you know their names? Does it matter?

I don’t have an answer for you because I think it depends on why you want to know or why you think people should know.

If people said I was the greatest dad blogger they never heard of I would shrug my shoulders and say ‘so what’ because without more context the comment lacks meaning and substance.

The Desire To Be Remarkable

Yet I would concede I have a desire to be remarkable because I have a dream to turn this writing into something more than I have.

Writing is what I do for a living, but not in this format and in a perfect world that is what would happen.

I’d write these throwaway posts and comments about this and that and get paid for it.

Maybe that would happen if more people knew of my work and read these words.

Sometimes I think about how I teach my children to figure out what they really want so they can build a road map to get whatever it is.

And when I go down that road I ask myself if I am listening to my own advice and wonder if maybe I need to work harder on putting together a portfolio of posts that does a better job of showcasing my skill.

The hard part there is trying to figure out what posts those would be. Would I take some or all of those that are listed here or would I grab more recent stuff.

Maybe it would be fine to just grab the last five or so and list them like this:

• Do We Need To Shout ‘Help Me!’
• Be Present Where You Are
• Do You Know How To Ask For Help?
• The Best Part About Watching Inappropriate Movies
• Of Fear & Failure

Hell, I know a couple of those are good because people keep talking about them. I know some of those are good because I often dislike my work and I don’t dislike them.

Yet if I have learned anything from blogging and from real life work it is that people are funny and you can’t always predict what they will like.

Some of the posts that people have told me they love are the same ones that have been pointed as junk by others.

There is no accounting for taste.

This Is Why Joy Matters

This is why joy matters to me or more clearly this is why I tell people the secret to success in blogging is having fun.

Placing words upon paper makes me crazy but it brings me joy and that is what keeps me coming back time and time again.

It is something I look for in the masters of different activities. I want to know if they feel joy when they do whatever it is they are known for.

I think about it in relationship to my kids and their careers too. They are still years from having to work for a living but I wonder if they will find something that brings them joy and enough cash to live as they want to live.

If being the greatest dad blogger you never heard of puts me in a position to do the things I want to do and live as I want to live than I am good with that.

I don’t have to operate from a definition of remarkable that encompasses notoriety and fame. There are multiple paths and ways to obtain it.

That is something I want my kids to understand too.

And if you ask me if I care about who taught all those legends to do whatever it is they do I will say I am curious because I don’t just telling stories but because I like hearing and reading them too.