Anxiety, Surrender, and the Magical Beauty of Things Happening at the Right Time
Danny Iny
The first weeks of life are truly magical.
My daughter was born just a few weeks ago, and it’s amazing how much personality is already evident in a baby that would seem to do little more than sleep, eat, and poop.
But no, the personality is definitely there, and every day I learn something new about her.
That, more than anything else, is why I’m so grateful to step back from my work for the next few months, to be completely present with my daughter, and my wife.
And thank goodness, because I see so vividly how quickly each moment is gone!
It feels idyllic, but I can’t help but reflect on how differently things could have gone – because on so many levels, this time has been years and years in the making.
Beginning with the pregnancy itself…
Trials, Attempts, and Fertility Clinics
When my wife and I first met, it was magic.
We first connected through a dating website, and met at an Ethiopian restaurant for our first date. Three hours flew by in the blink of an eye, and less than six months later, we were engaged.
It felt like a fairy tale, so we just expected the fairy tale to continue when we decided to start trying to have kids.
But it didn’t.
One month passed, then another, and then another.
Each month, despite our best attempts at timing the key moments, the strip refused to turn blue.
As the months passed, our confidence began to waver.
We started researching, and learning about all the things that could make it difficult for a couple to conceive.
Eventually, we made our way to fertility clinics, and began treatments. There were several unsuccessful attempts, and each time, our anxiety grew.
Was this just not meant to happen for us?
It’s amazing how much an experience like this messes with your head. On some level, I even began to wonder if maybe I’d used up all the good fortune I’d been allotted in life. Maybe I’d experienced a measure of success, peaked at 30, and it was all going to be down-hill from here?
Almost two discouraging years after we’d begun trying to conceive, we were still childless.
But then, it happened…
“Congratulations – you’re pregnant!”
I remember the moment that we got the phone call.
It was a warm day in August, and client was in town for the week to work with me at the Mirasee offices.
My wife got the call, and stepped into my office to take it in privacy.
I excused myself and followed her, but it was a short call, and she had hung up before I joined her. I found her in tears, and my heart caught in my throat.
But then she looked at me, smiled, and nodded.
It had happened, finally. We were pregnant.
We enjoyed a quiet moment of celebration together, before I returned to the conference room, as though nothing had happened.
Celebration turns to Panic
After so long trying to conceive, we felt a little bit jinxed, and were walking on egg shells for the next few weeks, hardly believing that it was really true.
But then, as it began to feel more real (thank you, morning sickness!), we began to process it all, and realized that a lot of things would have to change.
Because, as well as we felt we were doing, our lifestyles just didn’t seem to have room for the addition of a child.
For one, I was on the road far too much of the time; almost twice each month throughout 2014.
And in addition to that, both my wife and I were working 60-80 hour weeks to lead and grow our organization.
I realized with a sinking feeling that, the way things were looking, I’d be faced with…
An Impossible Choice
Now, I love my work, my team, our students, and the impact that we’re all committed to making in the world.
But at the same time, it all required (much like a child, ironically) a lot of my care and attention to survive, grow, and thrive.
So I could keep growing my company (with difficulty, since my better half was going to give birth and go on maternity leave), at the expense of being present for my daughter’s childhood…
…or I could focus on my daughter, and risk everything I’d worked to build; the success of my students, the livelihoods of my team, and the impact that we were all working to create in the world that my daughter will eventually live in.
What would I do? In my shoes, what would you do?
Salvation and Growth in Preparation and Timing
Fast forwarding to today, and clearly, it’s all worked out.
I’ve scaled back my hours dramatically, to only a few hours of work each day.
I’m present with my wife and daughter, to fully share and experience these first months of her life.
And at the same time, Mirasee continues to grow; last month we generated over $150,000 in revenue, and every day new systems, processes, and initiatives are coming online to help us grow better and faster into the future.
Now, I’d love to say that all this was made possible by six months of clever maneuvering on my part, but that would be a bald-faced lie.
Because while I did do a lot to let my business function without me in the last six months, the truth is that a lot of this was made possible by groundwork that I’ve been carefully laying since the early days, when it was just me and Megan at Firepole Marketing in 2011.
Those choices are what put me on the path to the company that I’m running today: 20 people generating multiple millions in annual revenue, and growing fast…
…even while I step back for months at a time to be with my newborn daughter.
And believe me, it didn’t have to be this way; there are way too many people out there who skyrocket to success, but plateau at the mid-six-figures because they’re holding their business together with both hands, and rolls of duct tape.
My Learned Appreciation of Setbacks and Timing
All of this brings me to appreciate the years that we spent fruitlessly trying to conceive.
Yes, it was difficult. I’m an impatient person, and hate waiting by nature.
But really, if circumstances hadn’t forced me to wait, I can’t imagine how difficult our lives would be right now, or how much I’d be missing out on.
So I’m grateful… and while my daughter sleeps, I begin to wonder…
What strikes me most about my path to where I am today is that, as intentional as it was, it was also incredibly winding, filled with false starts, and wrong turns.
The road has been challenging, especially because hardly anybody out there teaches what it really takes to go from a business that will inevitably cap out at six figures, and one that will grow and scale to seven figures and beyond.
Now, there are good reasons why this stuff isn’t taught; it’s complicated, nuanced, and only relevant to people who are on a growth trajectory that many don’t even aspire to.
And spending these last weeks with my daughter, I’m so grateful for the way that it all worked out, and feel a responsibility to share it with others who want to do the same.
So now, I’m faced with a dilemma, and I need your help.
Time with My Daughter vs. the Example I Want to Set for Her
Part of me just wants to forget all about this, and go play with my daughter, who’s beginning to stir.
And that’s what I’ll do. I’ll play with her, feed her, change her diaper, and maybe read her one of the high contrast black and white books that she loves so much, before putting her down to sleep.
But when she sleeps, I’ll come back to wondering: what sort of person has knowledge that can help others, but doesn’t share it?
Is that really the example that I want to set for my daughter?
Of course it isn’t, and so if enough people want me to, I’ll take the time when my daughter is napping to organize the lessons that I learned growing my business from 6 to 7 figures, so that I can share it with you.
But I won’t do it unless you really want me to, so I need your help.
Help Me Decide: Should I Share This With You?
I’ve learned to guard my time preciously, though, so I’ll only do this if you’re absolutely, genuinely interested to learn it.
So right now, I need you to help me decide.
Do you want me to share the lessons that I learned growing my business from 6 to 7 figures?
If you do, leave a comment below.
Tell me that you want me to do this.
Tell me what your ambitions are, and what you’d like these lesson to help you achieve.
Tell me that I won’t waste time away from my daughter by doing this.
If I hear from enough people below, then I’ll do it. Her nap time will be my work time, and I’ll commit to preparing a special training for you, sharing the lessons that I learned taking my business from 6 to 7 figures, and creating the freedom to play with my daughter.
Now, I hear her cry, so I’m going to pick her up and feed her.
I look forward to hearing from you below!
about author
Danny Iny
Danny Iny (@DannyIny) is the CEO and founder of Mirasee, host of the Business Reimagined podcast, and best-selling author of multiple books including Engagement from Scratch!, The Audience Revolution, and Teach and Grow Rich.
Read more posts by Danny Iny
pat
Congratulations Danny.
Indulge yourself in family and baby. Why not? You’re on a learning curve of your own. And you’ll swing back soon enough to a few hours with your business passion—another part of you. Likely your baby will teach you the next step or new form of evolutionary balance with family and business. Maybe something’s already simmering in your brain about that.
Chris
This seems to have sparked something of a firestorm, and since my comments were added to today’s Firepole email (I encourage anyone who saw the quotes Danny provided to read the full context of my comments above), I know that my comments are being seen, and I’d like to respond.
To Danny, the first thing I would like to say is that I appreciate what you do. I made that clear in my second comment but perhaps my critique would have been better received if I had started with that.
The second thing I would like to say is that I stand by my comments 100%. Whether you intended it or not, it DID come across as using your daughter to sell training, and I could see from the responses my comment generated that I was not the only one to suspect it.
Third, I think your name-calling is out of place. I do not pretend to know what goes on in your brain or heart — in fact my initial comment gave you the benefit of the doubt, saying “I’m sure you’re a nice guy and that you really do love your daughter.” Even in my second comment where I used the admittedly loaded word “sleazy,” I was careful to make a distinction between you and the tactics themselves. At no point did I call you names or make accusations. In your email today you referred to me as a “cynical malcontent,” and used the terms “viper” and “cruel.” I don’t think any of those labels apply to me or my comments.
Finally, I fully own the part of the email that applies to me: limiting beliefs. I certainly possess many limiting beliefs, and they relate quite specifically to abundance vs scarcity. Nearly all of the personal development work I’ve done over the past year has focused on this very topic, and I am aware of it every single day. I accept that. However, none of that changes my opinion that the marketing tactic used in this article to sell your new training is predatory.
I don’t think I’m a malcontent. Your characterization that perhaps I see you as “a cross between Mr. Burns and the Wicked Witch of the West, cackling with glee at the opportunity that my baby daughter creates for me to make a few extra dollars” is a straw-man and doesn’t apply at all. I think you’re only human, and as a human you make mistakes.
When that happens, somebody has to be the one to tell the Emperor he isn’t wearing any clothes.
Maria
Chris, I think it’s a matter of perception. I didn’t see it at all as you did. What if Danny genuinely wanted to share his experiences? Considering he’s now well-known and has an established business, should he give away the training because he’s mentioning his daughter? Why is this a mistake? So a person who writes a book describing their battle against cancer or drugs is using a predatory tactic? I think it’s kind of sweet he’s reflecting on probably the biggest thing that’s going to happen in his life: having a child. Nothing wrong with selling his services and sharing something personal. Honestly, your comment seems to be built on assumptions only. And yes, what you wrote is kind of cruel. I would have felt terrible if someone wrote something like that about me.
Lauri Wakefield
I was a little put off by a few (very few of the negative comments (even though 99% were positive) with regard to Danny putting together a course that would be designed to help his audience. I’m currently enrolled in one of Danny’s classes, and I can say that he delivers very high-quality teaching. I’ve taken other courses over the past couple of years, and his course is by far the best I’ve taken in terms of content and structure. Danny truly cares about his students and his audience whether they’re students or not. With regard to sales – without money coming in to sustain your efforts, you are not running a business, you are only volunteering your time, money and resources.
Adam Franklin
Congrats Danny and thank you for sharing your family’s journey to this point. As for you sharing your business lessons — yes please! You always add so much value and I want to thank you for your generosity. I for one am keen to keep learning from you.
Amy
(This is my second comment here, the first I made in response to the initial post, this comes after the recent follow up email.) I feel really compelled to write this, and after reading the last few comments I know I am not alone. And for all those who write, there are always more who feel the same but never comment, right? I have read every single one of the comments here, and I must say Danny, either you have have misread the comments, or you only chose to see what you were already looking for. In your email you said that people were concerned you should only offer this new information if it didn’t impact on time with your family. That’s not what I got from the comments. There were some unequivocal “yes’s” for sure, as well as some definite “no’s”, but mostly what I read was “not now.” You seemed to have been inundated with advice that family is more important than money, that the precious moments of childhood are fleeting and you should take time out to enjoy this, to focus on them, to be present. So many people said yes, but to offer this later. I too, now have a bad taste in my mouth. I feel I have been “sold” and that really disappoints me, as I have become a great believer in Firepole and partake in the ABM course. One of the very reasons I committed to this course was Danny’s authenticity. Like the previous comments made (and to be fair, some people did refer to this early on) I feel like you have used your daughter and people’s deep felt emotions about children and family to score points and make a sale. It just doesn’t feel right. One of the comments earlier warned of the compulsion of an entrepreneur to keep on working no matter what, and I have witnessed the destruction that does to a family first hand. Another, while congratulating you on the success of the Firepole monster business cautioned you “not to feed your baby to the monster” and it feels that is what you are doing. If you really read openly and without agenda what these comments say, I think there is an opportunity for a course or business here in teaching work/life balance – if you are prepared to let go of your initial idea and really listen to people. As one comment said, “if you can’t achieve that with a seven figure income, what hope is there for the rest of us?” What I take away from this is: it is more important for you to do another money making course right now than focus on a new born child (and with a seven figure business it’s not as if you “need” the extra income) and further, the course you choose to offer is one for those already making lots of money to make even more. What will you teach us? That to make lots of money you have to keep working even with your first infant not even months old? That is not the kind of lesson I ever want to learn, or the kind of sacrifice I ever choose to make for money. I am sorry, but a bit of the gleam has gone off the Firepole brand for me now.
Joseph
Hey Danny,
Excellent post my friend! Congratulations on the birth of your daughter! She will change everything in your life…. but for the better 🙂
Last year my wife and I had twin boys and honestly our world was turned upside down for about 6 months. Unlike you though, I didn’t have adequate systems in place in my business and it took a bit of a hit during that time. I’d love to know how you were able to set things up in your business to prepare you for this moment in your life.
All the best to you and your family!
Joey
Johh O'Reilly
Chris, if you look way back at the start of this thread, I observed that I thought Danny’s purpose was to develop a new way of collecting money. I really hoped that I was wrong, especially now that so many people have written with heart felt emotion, and I expected that Danny would respond to my thread denying my cynical comment. Unfortunately, I think my initial observation was spot on.
Chris
John,
Yes, I honestly have mixed feelings about Firepole. On the one hand, Danny gives away more good and detailed information for free than anyone else I’ve found. I have to hand it to him for that, and I’ve personally benefitted very much from the things he’s provided.
At the same time, he’s an expert marketer, brilliant at writing copy, and he knows exactly which strings to pull to get somebody to pull out their wallet. He’s obviously worked very hard and his skills have made him a lot of money.
The other side is that sometimes his tactics (like this one) come across as really sleazy. If you read the 1 star reviews for his book The Audience Revolution on Amazon, I can’t help agree with part of what they say (just to be clear I didn’t leave a review).
A lot of the stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Chris
Danny,
This post seems really heartfelt, and that’s what makes me uncomfortable.
Because yesterday when you sent the email saying “yes I will share it…for $200” it came off really strongly like you were using your baby daughter to sell your latest training.
Your words in this post are poignant, and because of the tender subject matter, people responded really emotionally…just how you want people to be to buy something.
I’m sure you’re a nice guy, and that you really do love your daughter, but I’m going to call this tactic not ok.
Jobi
Huge congratulations to you and your family. You already have the key – Quality. It applies to both raising a child and running a business – quality of time rather than hours of time.
Justin
Danny – what a great post. Kids teach us so much about ourselves – even before they are born!
I’m looking forward to reading what you have learned – and just wish you the best – as you start this new journey.
All my best!
Justin
Sandra Meers
can guarantee you 100% that you will not regret taking this time. My oldest grandson is snow 13 (unbelievable!), the youngest is 10 and was “grown up” enough to ask to speak at his grampie’s funeral, a poem he wrote a poem about his grampie!! It seems like only yesterday I was chasing his little butt off the stairs in our home.. I, too, worked far too much when my gtandchildren were little, but the memories I DO have are so precious…enjoy every second of your daughter’s childhood, you don’t want to miss a thing! You will never reget it. You once built your business to what it is today, and you will do it again, but not at the expense of missing a second of your precious daughter’s life… she will be grown far too soon ENJOY HER
David
Hi Danny,
Once again congratulations to you and Bhoomi on your baby girl. My son is six months today and time has really flown. I think you have answered yourself about sharing your gifts with others. You even have the solution on how you will do it.
What I will tell you very clearly is you will not be wasting your time. Personally I want to take my business to the upper five figures level and six figures by end of the year and then mid to upper 6 figures next year. I definitely want to hear how you did it.
Btw I have followed you since 2011 or 2012 and you are an absolutely a blessing.
So being their for your daughter is extremely important. Setting an example for her on discipline and helping others achieve their dreams is also a wonderful thing to do as a father.
But do it at your own pace…trust me, their nap times are sometimes not as long as we want 😉
I wish you the best and lots of blessings!!
Adrienne
Let me congratulate you and your wife Danny and I know you are going to find so much joy with your new addition to the family.
I can hear the dilemma in your voice and I don’t blame you. I think that’s why so many people struggle to make this all work but in the end they are doing it because they want a better life for their families.
I want to continue learning from you, I want to know the ins and outs of what you’ve learned over the years that got you to where you are today. I never want you to jeopardize your family for your business but at the same time you have so much to continue teaching us and I can only hope you’ll be able to fit that all in. I have a feeling you’ll find a way.
You, Firepole Marketing and your team rock and I have a feeling it’s only going to get better now that Priya Joy has arrived.
Congratulations again to you and Megan.
~Adrienne
Iliya
Hi Danny,
and congratulations once again! Thanks for sharing your story.
I think it’s been said enough already, but take you time.
If we didn’t want to hear what you’ve got to say, we wouldn’t be here. And I think I’m not alone in feeling we have more than enough to process already.
And probably you do too 🙂
So take your time, even if it’s just to feel excited.
Cheers,
Wendy Laidlaw Anderson
HI Danny
What a lovely, open and vulnerable post. I can hear your dilemma and I suspect its been triggered because of your very obvious abundant love for your beautiful daughter and your wife.
When we have children and marvel at what nature has produced, we can suddenly feel of the weight of the world on your shoulders. Any deep rooted insecurities may rise from the deep within and plague us. Will we be a good enough parent? Will i make her proud?
The fact you decided to take ‘time out’ is a big visible commitment to your family. And the reality is your daughter and wife are always going to need you available to them even beyond this early stage.
That was why I started my own property business so I could work it around my children. However the challenge I feel is not whether you grow your business from 6 to 7; (you have the drive, skill and determination to do that no question and obviously we all want to hear how) but how do you balance work and family. Its a hard thing to juggle your drive and ambition in work whilst being emotionally and physically available to your family.
But I suspect its that careful thing called ‘balance’ is what is the focus now and here on in. The careful balancing of your role as father and husband, with your role as entrepreneur and leader.
So my ambition right now are to keep my home – and I am eagerly trying to build a coaching and webinar practise up fast. And long term to have a Heal Naturally Coaching University certification program for endometriosis women so I can train them to educate and empower other women out of pain and infertility.
Very best wishes
Sharon
Life has seasons. There is a season for throwing yourself wholeheartedly into your business and there is a season for drawing back and relishing the time with your infant daughter. My daughters are in their 30s. If I tried to tell you how fast the years go, you might dismiss my words, but they do. They fly by.
There’s always time for one more business thing, but next month your little girl will look different. She will weigh more. She will be able to do more. The tiny one she is today will never come back. Just relax and enjoy it. It’s a gift.
Chautona
First, congratulations–not only on your new daughter but also on the wise decision to invest in her life. So many children of successful parents get token time with mom and dad–especially during those early months when “they won’t remember this anyway.” So cuddles while checking email, a propped bottle or phone conference while nursing becomes the norm rather than the exception. I can’t tell you how many times I had to force myself to stop doing “the next thing” and BE with a child. And I wasn’t a “successful professional.” I was “just” a homeschooling mom.
So bravo there!
But yes, you’ve learned something and you do want to teach your daughter to share, to provide, to invest in the world around her. Just keep wise and teach her that family comes first and people are always more important than money.
I’m sure you’ll find that perfect balance. How? Because you care enough to consider it. 🙂
Joseph Medina
Hi Danny! Here’s Joseph from sunny southern California! Congratulations again for such a wonderful experience you’re going through as a first-time father! I’ have four sons and only a daughter who is the “apple of my eye” as the saying goes.
Anyhow, I would love for you to share this interesting project with us, and I would welcome the invaluable information involved. And of course, by all means you need to do this because you want to, not because we are asking for it. You might need that time to catch up on your own sleep or private time with your wife. If you are willing to share with us, your loyal followers and subscribers, we will gratefully appreciate it.
Dhyan Atkinson
PS – one more thing. I have worked as a infant/child nanny part time for many years. You probably know that your daughter is not going to be on the schedule she is on for very long. Newborns sleep a lot. Older babies may or may not. If you haven’t already done this, you might want to get a really good behavioral development book. No baby follows the pattern exactly but if you know “what comes next” you can (first) be ready and (second) have things available to provide toys and challenges just ahead of her development. SOOOO much fun! I don’t know how you feel about the idea of ever leaving your daughter regularly with another person but I will share with you that I have worked so closely with the parents of kids I have cared for. I worked on my masters in early childhood development and psychology years ago while working in an infant/toddler center for 4 years. More recently I specialized in multiples: taking care of twins and triplets and once even quintuplets. Imagine THAT! For the past two years, on Friday afternoons, I take care of two wonderful twin boys, now 6 1/2 years old. I just went to their kindergarten graduation! There ARE wonderful, splendid, caring, loving people out there who can play with your daughter, keep her safe, warm, happy, fed and dry, and give her loving attention if you need to regularly set work hours. It can even be in your home. This work/child dilemma is AGE OLD and as I said above, it doesn’t have to be either/or or a loss on either side. There are solutions. You are so good at planning ahead, Danny. Plan ahead for this! And if you want to talk to me about this, please contact me. Dhyan
Dhyan Atkinson
Danny, yes, please keep going. I enrolled in ABM despite the fact that I have a sleep disorder, daily exhaustion, and other health issues all related to having had cancer two years ago. I enrolled because I believed you and believed in what you said. I work around exhaustion and depression. Much less fun than working around baby naps, feeding and play time but I keep going. I was struck by your comment about “what kind of person would have knowledge and not share it with others.” I have knowledge and my clients are routinely grateful for working with me but I have not been able to climb out of one-on-one consulting or into a business that will support me WELL. I am behind on ABM but am making progress with my health issues. I have lots of support and that helps as I walk on my own moment by moment. I don’t think life has to be either/or. I hope you will keep sharing your knowledge. I, for one, am grateful for it and will keep using it. Dhyan
Maria
Hi, Danny. I am happy that you and your wife finally fulfilled your desire to become parents and have been blessed with your baby girl. As for your dilemma, well… I’m afraid this is a decission which is totally up to you. Your expertise, what you have to say and teach is always great, and more than welcomed by all of us but I think that you should ask yourself if you positively can balance your work, and supporting this community, and taking care of your family.
You might set some boundaries just to make sure that both your family and your business get your attention or, simply, give it a try for a few weeks. Try and see how it goes for you to balance work and family and make your decission based on your own personal experience.
I believe you’ll always have the support of this community no matter what you decide. Go ahead, make a decission and be confident that, whatever it is, it will be the right one.
Kathy Michaels
Danny,
I would love for you to do this and would welcome the invaluable information. You need to do it because you want to, not because we are asking for it. You might need that time to catch up on your own sleep or private time with your wife. If you are willing to give it to us, your loyal followers, we will gratefully appreciate it.
David Herz
Dear Danny:
We all have knowledge that we can’t possibly share. And sometimes, when we can share it, we can share it with the world, and sometimes we can just share it with one, who might not even understand. And sometimes the only way we can learn is to make our own mistakes.
I don’t think you are asking the right question though. It doesn’t matter what we want. This is your life and it matters what you want.
You obviously have a passion to make a difference in the world. But now you have Priya Joy and you are passionate about her as well. The question is how to honor both.
I don’t think the lessons I learned series honors the Danny I know, unless that’s the theme that really has you jazzed at the moment. Where is the engagement and the iteration in that process?
While it’s for you to figure out, and iterate, and see what resonates, I do have a suggestion. You have put in your ten(s of) thousand(s) hours. You have created a powerful structure (firepole) to make sure your message powerfully shows up in the world. If it suits you, step back and be the sage guide. Let your staff handle the day to day (maybe even turn over your e-mail account to one of them to handle), and let them answer the questions as they know Danny would. But when they come across a question or comment, and they think “I wonder what Danny would say,” or “I bet Danny would love to address this,” then let them forward those to you.
Pick one a week, or a theme a week, or even every other week, and share your thoughts, and if they all seem to have parallels in the raising Priya Joy, that’s fine too.
You have a lot of time to set a great example, but I’m not sure you even recognize the great example you are already setting. You are showing her that it’s okay not to know, and that it’s okay to look out into the world for help, and that the world will reward you for engaging with it. You are showing her that even successful people, or maybe especially successful people, are constantly forging a path, and though it may wind, and not be as direct as the one’s that will follow, there will be a greater satisfaction in knowing that it is their own.
So keep asking, and keep playing, and keep exploring, and engage with your child as the intrepid explorer, bold adventurer, and simply outrageous human you’d like her to be, and she’ll become that.
All My Best,
David R. Herz
Parenting Coach
Peter
Hi Danny,
I’m so glad for you and Bhoomi and, of course, for Priya. Only you know whether you can juggle all those balls in the air. I’m retired, and can manage on that or go for more. At this stage in my life I don’t have a six figure income, and am not yet dreaming of a seven figure income, and don’t really dream even of a six figure one. For different reasons, I am as much sensitive to time management as you are, though my health has been excellent. I want to add that when I was weighing whether to join in at Firepole, it was Bhoomi that I spoke to on the phone, and with whom I placed a little testimonial in your behalf. Your transparent caring for your client outcomes, your building around that is what I resonated with. My characters–I’m a novelist–tend to be helpers. I’m constituted to wish you and family well.
Kyle
Yes, Danny, I would like to learn from you. I’m 30, just had a baby girl of my own, and have so much more that I need to learn. Life is too precious to give up most of it to a job that’s taking and barely giving anything back.
To a brighter future!
dlschroeder720@gmail.com
Hi Danny,
I’m not sure what happened, but I did leave a comment the other day. Congrats on your little one. Ours are almost out the door, so we’ve been there and did that.
They grow up fast, spend time with her. As she gets older take a ‘date’ once a month. My husband did that with each of the kids and it was something the all remember and enjoyed.
The nice thing about having your own business is being able to take time when needed. Work and family life is a delicate balance and when worked at a right pace it is a win-win situation.
Please go ahead with your plans to tell us tour transformations from 6 – 7 figures. I’m working on each of my businesses. One I expect to grow exponentially in the next year.
Thank you for all that you guys do, keep up the good work and I look forward to hearing more!
Urna.B
Congratulations to you 2 and welcome to the world to your new born baby girl!
Dany, Thank you very much for sharing your beautiful stories with your insights about the world!
Dany, you and your Firepole team are the one of the world changers. I was one of your students of ABM class, I’ve learned more valuable knowledge from this class, I’m glad that I took this class, which I’m still learning more and more :). So, I just want to say this quote to you:
“I have never been especially impressed by the heroics of people convinced they are about to change the world. I am more awed by those who struggle to make one small difference.” Ellen Goodman
Wish you best!
Joumana Nasr
Congratulations Danny on your bundle of joy!
Thank you for your transparency as well. My husband and I went through the same kind of experience and I still remember the monthly disappointments, fears and agony. But now, many years and 2 grown kids later, I can still remember those days like they were yesterday.
As for your sharing the lessons you learned growing your business, of course we want to hear about them. The question is: knowing your generous nature, your transparency and your commitment to serve, can we stop you? 😉
Paula Richey
Congratulations to you all, Danny, Bhoomi, baby… 🙂 Life is different and new for all of you!
Seven figures may very well not be something I’ll see in my lifetime – by me or anyone else in my niche! I just need to get off the ground now. And so do you, as a parent. You need time to hit your stride, and honestly you aren’t ever going to find it because kids are funny that way and change up the game every other day, and the difference between six figures and seven is not something anyone desperately needs. My opinion is that if you want to create it, go ahead – it’s important that you stay in practice, and that your baby sees that example too. If you don’t really want to, then it isn’t worth it and it’s important that your baby sees you setting priorities. Whatever choice you make, make it a conscious one and own it. 🙂
Susan Olmstead
Good Evening, Danny:
Your “Heart to Heart” felt comments are very refreshing and much appreciated! It is not easy trying to creat a “Balance” and good organization in work and family life. However, you and your wife are doing a great job as caring, loving parents! It does have its ups and downs but the rewards are tremendously greater!
As far as learning how to build a 6to7 figure income, this will help give me further continuous incentive and motivation as an
entrepreneur. It is always fascinating to read other individual”s bios of how this person has succeeded. I find it spreads great mentorship, leadership and sends the message to never give up your dreams! Therefore, I am really looking forward to where you have been in the past, present and future!
“Congratulations” and “Good Luck!”
Michael Zipursky
Hi Danny, great share and congratulations on what you and your team have achieved.
Katina Vaselopulos
Hi Danny,
Again congratulations for being a father. Greatest blessing in the world being a parent!
Our children become our best teachers. I have four children and nine grandchildren, and they still challenge me everyday. I would love to have the kind of money you talk about; not for me but because I could use it to bring some happiness to the world.
I know you would too. That is why I will tell you not to bury your dreams but work for them when your daughter is asleep, even if it might take you longer to reach your goals. Give her a hundred percent when you are with her and divide the rest of the time between your wife, your own needs, and your work.
That way you nurture and inspire your daughter and also create a legacy that your daughter will be proud to continue.
As for me, I gave everything to my children–still do. I work on my own vision, never giving up or ignoring, but in the sidelines and between times. As much as I love learning from you, I am too old to join your class or be striving to build a business.
I wish you all the best. I know you will have it.
Blessings of abundant grace to you and your wonderful family!
Dolores Storness-Bliss
Hi Danny,
From my perspective there is no rush for you to write about how you grew your business to 7 figures. I am just starting my business and am already up to my eyeballs in information. So if it was up to me I’d say take the time with your family now.
Chrissie
Hi Danny
Congrats – very happy for you all.
You are already luckier than the majority of new fathers, so enjoy this time. I look forward to reading more about your new campaign – I have no doubt it will happen, as you have the freedom to enjoy fatherhood while maintaining and developing your business at the speed that suits you. Go for it!
Felisa
That was a lovely story! I believe that there are some things that are really meant for us no matter how long it takes. Your patience and understanding while waiting for your baby is inspiring. Congratulations!
And of course I am eagerly waiting to hear how to grow a business successfully. Coming from someone who is an expert, I want to learn from you.
amioladeep
Congratulations sir! I am inspired by your commitment to being the great dad that your daughter needs you to be, and the diligence plus ingenuity with which you have built your business over time. I’m learning a lot from you and would like to know how you took your business from six to seven figures.
Frank
Hi Danny and Family!
I like you Danny.
There is not one blogger in the IM world as real and transparent as you.
I have read reviews on Amazon, and Google about you. Your students, your customers and your critics all say you are the best out there. I have been recieving your emails and studying the Free material for over a year.
I learned about you thru Stephanie and I like her too.
I even talked to her on the phone 5 yrs ago.
In answer to your question,
Yes!! Please continue if you can. I am a single Dad, I adopted my daughter when she was two months old.
She is a beautiful 13 year old mow and just yesterday she told me she wishes we could live together.
Let me say I got tears in a mano second and I need to provide for her and pay my bills. Debt and despair has clung to me for the last decade and now I believe my only hope IS Your course for me to become the Dad My daughter needs.
The cost is not an issue for me, its more like, Where can I get the funds to pay for your course?
Please continue to be the Daddy and loving husband your family needs and if you can time permitting of course, be the Mentor and helper for Dads and Moms like me who choose to work for themselves and provide for their families from the comfort of our homes.
Thank you Danny for keeping me on your mailing list. Thank you for sharing your life with us. Thank you Mrs Inny for sharing Danny with us too!
Don Karp
I love that you are doing with personal sharing in this blog. Isn’t that a part of today’s entrepreneurship? Something you have not done much of before? But there is no cookie cutter strategy, as far as I am concerned–even your programs need a personal approach, in my opinion. Sorry I cannot help you as I have no interest in a 7 or more figure business. All I can say is keep sharing. It may pay off more than the money.
Marcy McKay
What a lovely, lovely post, Danny. I TOLD you babies were life-changing. We’d love to learn from you about going from a 6-7 figure business, but please work at a pace that’s conducive to the changes in your life. Blessings~
Paul Roberts
Danny.
Congrats to you, Bhoomi, and baby Priya.
What a terrible dilemma to pose to your readers!
I love your insights and thoughtfulness. I know you are very disciplined.
BUT NO! please don’t do this this new program until after you are done with your early months with Bhoomi and Priya.
We’ll wait. Don’t sacrifice this time. It’s not like even stepping back you don’t already still have a full plate. Adding something more will require compromise at some point. The information will be just as valuable to Firepole readers in three or six months.
Emily Lock
Congratulations, Danny.
My immediate reaction was ‘What a great marketing ploy – make them beg!’
But actually… I can see where you’re coming from. You can’t neglect your audience, not because we might go elsewhere – you’re too well-established for that – but because you owe us your loyalty in return for ours. That’s the deal.
This is a special time for your family, but to be honest, your baby won’t notice if you’re not there for a while. My advice? Have a week off now, but save that long break for when your daughter’s old enough to know you’re missing, in a year’s time.
When the time comes, and if your staff are as good as I think they are, your audience will be fine. No one is irreplaceable.
You’ve built a monster-sized business, but you don’t have to feed your daughter to the monster.
Sue Rumack
Absolutely YES, I would be interested in what you have to say. Your post got me a little teary eyed in places. Having raised my kids as an entrepreneurial Mom, working those 80 hour weeks, it was a tightrope balancing act to be there and here at the same time. My kids are grown, my business morphed into other directions, never quite reached 6 figures but did give me satisfaction and income. Now, in my latest entrepreneurial incarnation I would love to reach 7 figures. My daughter’s business is already there. So there is something to be said for what our children learn from us. The answer is YES, if you can maintain harmony and balance within yourself while being all things to all people.
Cassiopeia Lancaster
Hi, Congratulations on the newborn baby.
In reading your post, I’m glad that it didn’t sound all business like.
Too serious posts turn me off.
What made me like you, is the fact that you prioritized your family.
You should go for it, with what you’re planning.
I’m an aspiring author, I have a blog, and I’m trying to finish my novel.
The sole focus of my writing is building long-lasting relationships, parenting and promoting child raising techniques based on parents’ experiences and research-based topics.
If it would be possible, I want the guardian program to materialize in real life.
I’m studying psychology and writing on my own. Also, building my own business.
I hope I answered your question and also I hope that my answers help you.
Good luck, looking forward to hearing from you soon. 🙂
Greg
Welcome to fatherhood! It’s a wonderful time to just drink the love from your family. As you know Ryan L. repeats the quote that people don’t know what they want until your show it to them. Your child has wants and needs. So do your clients. If you treated your clients as your own children, what would you give to them?
Jan Moore
First Danny, I’d like to say that I’m thrilled you now have the family you’ve been longing for. I admire the fact that you’ve created a business that can run without you.
However, this post has left me feeling depressed. In the past few months, I’ve received dozens of emails hyping making a 7-figure income. It’s for those for whom a 6-figure income just isn’t enough. Enough for what, I’m wondering. Why not jump ahead of the crowd and write about making a 10-figure income?
Keep in mind, having millions in the bank is actually worth nothing – until you spend it on something. Perhaps that’s why it includes so many zeros. Warren Buffett is one of the big money makers I admire – because he has already given most of it away. If money is just a game for you – play on.
Some of my favourite books will give you an indication of where I’m coming from: Man’s Search for Meaning, Voluntary Simplicity, The Small-Mart Revolution, How much is enough? and Money and the Meaning of Life. You might want to read these while your daughter is sleeping.
How much stuff do we each need to buy in order to be happy? How many more landfills can we create? The ocean already has an island of junk the size of Texas in it. Before you write your 7-figure program, perhaps you can blog about why you need that amount. Often people want a big house so everyone in it can have their own “personal space” – so face-to-face time is limited. [ I believe Paul McCartney and his wife Linda deliberately chose to “live small” with their children. ]
The reason this post has hit such a nerve with me is that at age 61, I have already lost too many friends and relatives at a younger age than me. Many died with their dreams still inside them. Some died with relatively little money in the bank. Others died as millionaires. What they have in common is they are all dead. Choose wisely!
When people are lying on their deathbeds, these are the common regrets:
They wish they had lived life on their own terms, not taken life so seriously, spent more time with family and friends than at work, had fully expressed their true feelings, and had realized they could have deliberately chosen to live a happier and more fulfilling life. Those who pursue meaning in life are better able to handle their mortality than those who chase after material wealth. Those who can live well on less have the richest lives.
I currently have four more friends seriously ill and facing death. I will not be pursuing a 7-figure income. For those who are choosing that path – please ask yourself why.
Hope you don’t regret asking for input.
Cathy
Congratulations on becoming parents! Becoming a parent is one of the most amazing gifts ever. Even though I’m new to your course, ABM, it’s so refreshing to hear you tell us about your journey to get your precious little girl. As a mother of 2 and grandmother to 10, I can tell you the years blend together too fast. I wasn’t able to be home with my children much……..a huge regret, but a necessity. Thankfully they turned out well and are raising wonderful children – whom I now can enjoy because I work from home. It’s like getting a second chance without the worry!
So – having been there, done that – enjoy your time being a new parent – work will always be there, but maybe not as you envision at this time. Share with us what and when you are ready. I absolutely love your posts and they keep me plugging along, but I’ve learned that babies don’t wait. I have a feeling that precious little being will inspire you to do more of what you love – we will be here to cheer you on.
beckyleealexander@yahoo.com
Wow! Remembering how awesome it was to share every possible moment when my own now middle aged children were babies. Just to watch them nap was an opportunity to sketch a portrait. It’s very special of you to take time from those very precious moments to help us to find our way. Thank you Danny! And congratulations to you and your wife.
Valerie Leroyer
Hey Danny.
Congrats to you and Bhoomi, and thanks for this beautiful post. So nicely written. But it is when emotions are very strong, that we find the power to express them with words.
I can only agree with what has been said above, especially from Rebekah and Sean, and many more actually!
You know we all want to learn more from you!! I’ve known you since 2011, and watched you supersonic growth. Incredible. And you’re never short of ideas 🙂
But that growth had a price also: many, many work hours.
And now, with Bhoomi, you’ve made a choice: build a family.
I made that choice a few years ago, when I adopted my son. And since 2011, I’ve been taking courses on the net to build an online business.
As a single mom, it’s been a constant “fight” to keep everything in balance. I never missed a school activity with my son, never! And now, he is graduating from primary school in 3 weeks (you will see a lot of school buses in Montreal pretty soon, as they all go to La Ronde to celebrate!). I’m so happy, I did all this with him, for sure. Because those special moments will NEVER come back.
So, the hardest thing for me, was (and I should say, still “is”) to ACCEPT that I’ll build my business much slower than what I would have liked.
To accept to slow down and switch gear, is your next challenge: stop thinking “business” and think “leisure time with my family”. I agree you can write when your daughter has a nap, but then you have to put yourself in the business bubble (so to speak) and sometimes it might be difficult.
You asked us, your audience, and many people here have kids. So the best example you can set, is to take those 3 months off, as you said, and stop writing posts and emails (though most of those are pre-written…) !
Just relax, and enjoy the ride!
Amuses-toi et vraiment, profites de ces heures très particulières avec ta famille.
Valerie.
Samir
Hi Danny,
So cute! I guess it would be a matter of short time before she’s ready to join the school. You could enjoy these moments with her as much as you want perhaps this event would never come back but you could always resume your business.
Jamie
As a “Mother on the Far Side of Childhood,” I concur with all those who are trying to emphasize to you how quickly the childhood years with Priya will fly by. I was an entrepreneur (owned an ad agency and bridal attire shop grossing a quarter of a million dollars in 1980) before I had my two children. I also had trouble conceiving. My first child was born 3 weeks before I turned 35. I had sold my bridal business and was blessed to be able to stay home full-time with my kids. Now, at 60+, I’m working on writing, publishing, and marketing several books to fulfill some latent dreams and be able to donate more to charity. I’d love to hear your secrets, but not at the expense of your family! These years won’t be back! You’ll never regret putting your family before your business, but you would ultimately regret doing the opposite!
Youna
Hi Danny,
Congratulations to you and your wife!
As much as we would all like to learn to build a 7-figure business, don’t put too much pressure on yourself at the moment. Enjoy the little things…babies can change very quickly, and that time is so short. Before you know it your daughter will be heading off to school and you’ll wonder where the time went.
Take your time, and when *you’re* ready, we’ll be here waiting patiently.
Enjoy your babymoon.
Youna.
Joey
Danny,
Great story to share. It is extremely personal and thank you for sharing it. It is posts like this that show all aspects of you and the business you run.
To your success,
Joey
Sandra Gonyier
Congratulations to you and your family! Having been a student since almost the beginning of Firepole Marketing I know you have already thought most of this through. Yes, there are bumps and grinds to overcome but you have done it in the past and I thoroughly trust you will do it in the future.
So having said all of that I am definitely up for more information/class/course to go to the next level of income. In fact I look forward to it. (I really can’t see you not sharing it with us…)
Have a great time with your family and your pursuit of your passion!
Lindsay
LOVE this post. How thankful I am that you are as open as you are with us regarding your specific journey. I would love if you would share how to go from 6-7 figures. As you know, my aspirations are very high. I want my business to not only have 7 figures but also to be leaving a legacy behind. For my children, for my industry, etc. I have extremely high ambitions and it’s so helpful to learn from others that have already achieved those!
Best to you and Bhoomi (and your new daughter of course)!
Lindsay
Lou Dalo
Whoops, I was thinking Bhoomi when I wrote “Dani”… Of course, I meant Danny! 🙂
Lou Dalo
Congratulations again, Dani and Bhoomi on receiving this wonderful “little” gift – that now I see you wanted so dearly that you persevered through the challenges.
As for your question, and your quest, I would love to see you write about your experience in between diaper changes and naps.
I know very few people that perceive detail and nuance like you do, and write with such honest and intelligent eloquence.
If you decide to go ahead, I’ll be sure to make a special place and time to read every word.
Lou
Victoria Tulloch
Hey Danny,
I would absolutely love a course on going from 6 to 7 figures for a business likes yours. This is exactly what I’m trying to do. I’m interested in the key watermarks you crossed, the key inputs to achieving growth each year, which of the business model components contributed the best and most sustainable growth, the talent you had to hire, expectations around profit margin vs reinvestment, considerations around taking on outside investment…too many questions! This is the kind of stuff you hope to learn in an MBA or from a good mentor but it’s hard to find education that relates to this kind of business or straight up saas growth models. So yes please…
Re the parenting – work is an unfortunate reality of parenting so find the moments and routines that work for you and value and stick with them. And most importantly strive for an equal and open approach with your partner so you can both take advantage of this beautiful new stage of your family lives.
Good luck and look forward to hearing about your new course.
Victoria Tulloch
Sorry to clarify I meant there’s loads of education for big biz or how to scale straight up saas startups but not much on this sort of business. Thanks and look forward to hearing next steps.
Ernest Rosenberg
Hi Danny,
We have a children’s prayer book that will touch your daughter’s heart when she is around 3 years old.
Share the lessons you’ve learned so we can get this book widely marketed.
With love,
Ernie
P.S. Send me your address and I’ll mail you a copy of the book.
Taryn
Danny –
As a very new student and member of the Firepole community, reading posts such as this not only make me all the more grateful to have found nd chosen such an amazing community of people. As a human being, reading your post – and the many, many well-thought out pieces of advice from people whose lives you have touched by being true to yourself – indeed, the embodiment of a Beacon of Light if ever there was one – genuinely strengthens and renews my faith in humanity.
I believe Neil and Rebekah gave you sound advice. Indigo, also, made an important observation that bears repeating:
“People will always want as much of you as you will share, so it can’t be about that. […] What are you wanting your actual life experience to look and feel like throughout each day? If you can’t feel free enough to make that choice with a 7 figure income, what hope is there for the rest of us?”
That being said, if you feel so inclined as to write about something that undoubtedly has value to your community, then write about it. But may I humbly suggest that when Indigo wrote, “so it can’t be about that”, she was most likely right. Your gift for writing, and for connecting with others through your writing, is a very real part of your identity. As is business and marketing. However, they need not always be tied to each other. Perhaps begin by writing about what you have laid out for us, but without deadlines or any attachment to the final product. In other words – write, because it is what you do. But be open to other things.
I recently heard a great podcast in which Austin Kleon, of “Steal Like An Artist!” fame, said that when creating, always document the process, as the process of creating is often just as important as the creation itself.
Perhaps you could try this approach:
Imagine you have been given a year off of work, with pay, to write about whatever you are passionate about. You can write as much or as little as you want, at your leisure, and you can shift gears in whichever ways you want: You can posit that from a socioanthropological perspective, Martial Arts training sets an irrefutable precedent for contemporary inquiry into replicable models for Peak Productivity systems, only to abandon it next naptime to outline a more intuitive approach to teaching Effective Communication within relationships based on new developments in pre-semiotic Cognitive Behavioral Psychology. Or you can adhere to a more linear, direct approach (see today’s blog post, above, by Danny Iny).
The catch?: You can only write if, when, and about whatever it is you feel best warrants your writing about – be it a breakdown of what you did during X year at Firepole, how magical your first date with your wife was, or how your heart ached and nearly broke as you witnessed all the beauty of the Universe contained in Priya Joy’s tiny face as she smiled up at you in the sundown of the moment just before slipping off to sleep in your – her father’s – arms.
Peter Sandeen
Hey Danny,
Definitely interested to hear what you’ve seen as the key things to go from 6 to 7 figures). I think we’ve talked about a few of those things already, but if you’re putting something together, I’m interested 🙂
Talk soon,
Peter
Becky
Danny – Congratulations to you and your wife. I think your decision is awesome – wish I had the luxury of being able to do that myself when my kids were born. It goes quick – embrace every moment you can!
Nicki Kelly
Hi Danny,
I also wish to thank you for sharing the above post. It gave me a much better understanding of you as a real person, not just as my new, favourite ‘marketing guru’.
Regarding sharing your wonderful success story with us by writing a whole new book on your experiences whilst your little baby girl is asleep, I will most likely go against the tide and say this:
I am already TOTALLY overwhelmed by the amount and great quality of important information you have for us on your website.
If you were to print it all out and put it ‘nose to tail’…. the sheets would probably go from earth to the moon!
I haven’t even read 1/3 of your existing material because I am trying to balance life, my new blog, my ABM course and feverishly blogging on other websites [as recommended].
Were you to present me with yet another amazing series of important articles or books, I would have to simply glance at it and put it aside to be read when I retire.
So from a personal point of view, yes, I think that book should be written because I know it will contain important information and anecdotes we can all learn from, but does it really have to be written right now??
Why not simply enjoy your time with the family, keep a good strong eye on your business, offer some “guest posts” on your own web pages, but leave writing the book for later….because I will [hopefully] be way too busy with my new blogging business to read it in the near future.
Meanwhile congratulations again and please enjoy these precious moments. My own ‘child’ is 38 years old already but I always wish I had more time with him as a baby…Those days just flew by. What a shame.
Susan
Danny, congrats on the new baby! You are shaping up to be a exemplary dad. It sounds like you are simply asking if enough people are interested in a 7 figure business training to make it worth an investment of your time. Personally a 7 figure business does not appeal to me. I’m old enough to know that it’s just not all that important. However, a replacement of full time income is appealing. And that is the information already available via the existing ABM. If there is just one thing I would ask you to focus on teaching is how to run an online business that doesn’t require pushing affiliate products onto my list on an almost daily basis (which I see so many people doing. It is annoying to no end to be on the receiving end of constant pitches) Nor do I want to be doing constant product launches full of hype where I have to send out promotional emails 3 times a day. If you can help there, that would be amazing.
JacquieB
DEAR DANNY
Thank you for sharing your soul and congratulations to you and Mrs; welcome to Baby daughter into this world. I hear your dilemma but really there should be no stress. There is this thing called work/life balance which you seem to be doing very well. I admire your wanting to share the time and work in caring for your daughter. We also need your knowledge and expertise to help us carry on our business. So do hang in there. Plenty love to your growing family.
Marlene McPherson
Danny, Thanks for your openness as always. Time with your daughter is key at this time. This time will never return, it comes only once. You can put down your ideas but devote your time to this new change. Enjoy yourself with your new addition.
Kit Cassingham
Danny, while I don’t have children, I still want to keep balance in my life – which is just what you described – as I grow my new business into a money maker. It would be a great service for you to share your approach. Thank you for even offering.
Tracy Sohl
I am very impressed. I feel that I can learn alot from you. In fact, I just learned alot just from reading this article and all the comments. You comparing your business to raising a child helped me look at my business differently. My life is the mirror image of yours. My business is a new born and my children are young adults. My son just graduated from high school and my daughter just graduated from college. I spend less and less time with them and more and more time with my new baby (my website). Though, once in a while, there is an emergency or special occassion, where I must leave my new baby to attend to my grown children. I now know that I have all the experience I need for raising a business as I have raised two great kids to adulthood.
I loved how you pulled your audience into your vortex through a personal opening. It is very powerful. I also noticed that your question was very specific. “when the baby is napping” caught my attention. What else would you be doing if you aren’t working on this new project? I know you won’t be staring at the baby when she is napping. You basiclly told us that you will be working on this great new course for us to take and you get to do it while the baby naps, so you won’t be missing out on spending time with her. And you did it in a way to make us feel more connected to you and your family. That way, when it is time to buy, we feel obligated to support you because you are doing it for us and not for yourself. Guilt – what a great sales tool!
Congats! And good luck on both of your new babies!
Sophie
Hi Danny,
First, congrats to you and your wife: it is such a great and fulfilling time in life to become a parent and build relation together with your new born baby.
I am a mother of 3 girls and an entrepreneur, and know how to balance personal and professional life can be a struggle, but take the time for your family and baby: time taken together will never get lost and never come back.
I will greatly appreciate to learn about your journey from 6 to 7 figure business and the way you balance it with your family growth, but the take the time you need.
Kind regards from France,
Sophie
Jacqueline Vick
My warmest congratulations. My husband and I never got to experience that joy, so don’t miss a second of it. As for the program, I’m not to the point where it would be valuable at this time, but I hope to be there in a year or two.
Steve
Danny:
You do what you gotta do.
I only have one child – a daughter. She is now 28 and I wonder where the time went. That’s not true. I do know. I spent it working 12-16 hour days in the Navy while on shore duty, and when the ship was in port.
So while I was fulfilling my moral obligation to provide for my kid, I paid a higher price than I realized at the time. Heck, the neighbor taught my kid how to ride a bike. I was too busy working.
I’d give anything to read her bedtime stories, color the coloring books, sing songs, and all of that other stuff once again. I’d spend a lot more time smelling the roses along the way.
While I’d love to pick your brain for all I can get, that’s me being totally selfish. We’re all adults here. We’ll figure it out. You’ll never get these moments back. Enjoy them while you can. She’ll be asking to borrow the car before you know it.
Children are a blessing from God. Enjoy the moments. You’ll never get them back.
Tracey
I know how much time with our children is important. I have one in RIT and another in high school. I am such a newbie to all this. I think I may not be far enough along to offset the time you would take away from your family, I got started looking at this because I was tired of worrying everyday if I was going to have enough money to make my bills. I live in a smaller town in upstate NY which is dying since IBM bailed about 20 years ago. I am here for my kids but I need to survive. I want to have an income that doesn’t matter where I live. Something I look forward to doing. But I am also not near ready for employees either. Ultimately I will gladly take any information you choose to share but ultimately family is the most important. There are little for only a short while.
Manny
Your story is an inspiring, and these are very special times for you and your family.
Sometimes it seems as if the road of life take us where we are destiny, instead of the opposite.
We all have the idea and the believe that we are in control, but life is the one controlling us. And sometimes a well develop and mastered plan is all you need to buy the time you need and accomplished more with less.
As I read your story and the miracle behind it, and the greatest of the gift, your daughter. I see how everything in your life is connected and that there are not accidents just a series of compound causes and effects that carries the day.
If you feel your story will help many of us, why keep it to yourself? Share and know that when you plan your seed today, it would not only benefit the ones around that will become like a forest around you, but will provide to you and others that trust and respect you
Sarah
Congratulations on your new addition! She will change your life 🙂
Joseluis
Spend as much time with your family as you possibly can. Life is too short.
And if you have enough time – yes – I’d love to learn how you went from 6 to 7 figures.
Congratulations Danny !!!
Fiona Prince
Mazel Tov to you and Bhoomi!
I am so happy for the two of you. I am sure you have heard this quote from Bryon Dyson, but if not here it is for you and all your readers 🙂
“Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit – and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.”
I have never had children, but when my husband had a quadruple bypass in 2011, I had to step back from much of my business and figure out what I could keep doing and what I had to stop.
I decided to take my retirement instalments. I will often drop everything because my husband wants to talk with me; or go for a walk; or take me for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a movie. We travel at least twice a year and go camping during the summer. My time with him is precious; our time together is precious.
Technology allows me to stay connected wherever we are; when we are home I have my in-person clients; the emails are always waiting. Work is a rubber ball.
Now, four years later, my husband is healthy, my business is thriving and I am doing what I love. With your help, I am growing my online audience and expect to have good things to report to the Mastermind group in a few weeks 🙂
Now, I know I am a solopreneur and not responsible for the livelihoods of employees; however, I think you and Megan have built a strong team. You and Bhoomi deserve a break and time with your daughter. When she is sleeping, you will work. It’s what you do.
We are a rubber ball. We will be here when you are ready.
renee baude
Oh Danny,
How sweet the three of you must be!
We share similar stories even though I’m a generation ahead of you 🙂
I thought about just emailing you but then thought that maybe my story that dovetails with your story might be helpful to others.
My husband and I also had trouble staying pregnant once we did get pregnant–similar but different to your situation–but the feelings are the same! Our multiple losses made us different parents–not better–just different. The fact that I had babies into my 40’s also had an impact on how we parent. How we make decisions about schools and directly impacted the choice my husband has made with his work.
Once that first baby popped out . . . I knew that my life would revolve around him. I knew that it could all be put on hold. And I did. I don’t regret one single moment. Now I have 13, 11, 9 and 7–and slowly I’m discovering my special something to offer the world. Will I make 6 or 7 figures? I don’t know. Do I love my work? Absolutely!
What I do know is that every night I go to bed with no regrets. There isn’t a bank account that can hold all the hugs, kisses and books I’ve read (over and over and over!) I’m rich in other ways.
My guess is that you will discover your own balance sheet of work, love and parenting. We will always want more from you 🙂 You can have joy in your father’s heart as you fall asleep at night and still have a different kind of energy and excitement as you step into the shower in the morning.
Enjoy every moment.
Deidre Mimbs
Hi Danny!
Congratulations again to you and yours on the birth of your baby! 🙂
I understand how quickly time goes with your babies. The old cliche about “they grow so fast” is a cliche for a reason. I wouldn’t want to take time away from the precious new arrival. If you have time to work in lessons without distracting from her, I am always happy to learn from you and your team.
Thank you for all you do and for sharing another chapter in your life.
Best Regards,
Deidre Mimbs
Monica
Congratulations to you both. I did not read anybodies comments so this may have already been said. This is a precious time with your newborn and it is time you will never get back. Yes, information for making the move from 6 to 7 figure incomes is valuable. Does it REALLY matter if it is available now? You talked about perfect timing. Perfect timing may be six months or a year from now. I know you want to teach your child by example but as she sleeps, another example is that when she wakes up, “I am here for you”. Life experience changes so quickly as a newborn. Many patterns of life perspective are formed pre-verbally. It is a tremendously important time that will impact her for years to come. You have created a short time when it is not necessary to split your focus. You told us it was happening and why. Stick to your decision. Parents spend their entire lives letting go of their children. Enjoy today. We will be here when you get back. Someone sent me this the other day. It speaks to the value of giving your children enough experiences of being held. eightysevenminutes.com
Karen
Thank you so much for sharing that with us. I think it’s terrific that your priorities are so well aligned. The only other one I’ve seen thus far that teaches this is Justin Livingston and I’m sure it would impact people greatly. As “the nanny” I often wondered what the thought process was for people who choose to not be part of the first year of their children’s life to make money/impact others. We so learn from them that it’s really ok sometimes to just slow down and appreciate the present moments as just as valuable to the process, if not more so 🙂
Sheron Chisholm
Hi Danny, Great article, moving story. I just enjoy continuing to hear from you by your blogs. Ideally it would be good to have another course to help with my business but I’m not at the point you are speaking to yet. Inaddition, think you have to do what feels good to you and is in line with your values and goals. I am accepting of either way you choose. As a child who grew up with a father who was mostly working and then when home was not interested? or too tired? to really spend quality time with me I can easily take the side of spending quality time with your daughter. Knowing your work ethic I believe she will eventually learn that from you, but the first few years are the important ones in terms of learning the values, attitudes and beliefs that you want her to learn and when establishing the bond and relationship that will last a life time. The work ethic side of it will come later when she can really comprehend what you are doing and why.
Sheron
Susie Briscoe
Dear Danny,
You already know you and Bhoomi have my heartfelt congratulations and love; I have experienced much of the heartbreak associated with wanting to be pregnant and the wonder of it happening. This wonder increases and grows with each of your child’s days and years.
I’d love to continue reading and sharing in this adventure with you… as a friend but also as a student. Your insights and the way you refine your own thinking always provide me with simple yet awesome learning.
So in your own way and in your own time, please continue with this theme.
love and hugs as ever,
Susie xx
catherine
Danny,
Congratulations to you and Bhoomi on being new parents! I encourage you to spend lots of time together — these are precious days. I also encourage you to continue to share your expertise with all of us ABMers when you’re ready. In a strange way, we are your “children” too as we grow our businesses, or maybe we give birth to our businesses and you’re the grandfather. 😉 I think you can do both — spend lots of time with family AND share your expertise. The balance will be different — and it should be — for now, mostly being a dad and husband, very little being a teacher and mentor. Take your time, enjoy each day — when your head and heart are ready, please share what you’ve learned!
Mary Alice
Do it when it feels right for you, Danny. I remember sewing a winter coat for myself during our daughter’s naps. Winter was almost over by the time I finished it, but I still have that coat, although it hasn’t fit for years! I keep it for the memory. Enjoy with Priya the days, months and years , as they fly by. I was so glad I was a stay-at-home mom during those precious first years. Keep your hand in the business, but remember what is most important to YOU and your family. And as someone else said above, don’t forget to sleep when your precious daughter is asleep!
Angie Dixon
Danny,
I definitely want to learn this. I’ve recently been thinking that I don’t want to grow my business because I have no time outside of work as it is. I’d love to create something I don’t have to spend 70 hours a week on.
Byron
I totally agree with Patricia’s comment above.
All the best-
Brian
First off CONGRATS to you and Bhoomi!
I think its all been said already in the comments before mine but of course we would all want you to do this…I for one will take any knowledge you have to share 🙂
Balancing is an almost impossible task…when my first daughter was born I was working WAY too many hours at my startup and simultaneously studying for my MBA. When my second daughter was born, I was busy trying to sell my startup to a large corp. When my third daughter was born, I was fully entrenched in “corporate America” and trying to create my next start up to escape…
In all three cases I made the decision to sacrifice on the professional side and probably cost myself a few opportunities in my career…but honestly if I could go back I might even pull harder to the personal side. Your kid(s) never get younger and their firsts only happen once. So while I REALLY want you to keep teaching all of us…focus on your baby girl and Bhoomi and we will all have to deal with whatever leftover time you can spare.
Patricia Weber
Congratulations to you and Bhoomi. When my son was born decades ago, a friend of mine told me something I always remember. “Children are on loan to us as long as God wills it.” Even if you are a non-believer, the loan part makes sense. And personally, I want to appreciate that loan, help it grow in interest and honor that gift.
Like a few people here it’s not up to me to tell you how or what way to go at this point. That’s a decision for contemplation and discussion between you and Bhoomi.
I know because of the wonderful human being you are, your decision will be the right one for you and your family.
Thanks for sharing this lovely post.
Brenda
I’m truly happy for you and your wife. I agree wholeheartedly with Patricia. There’s nothing more precious in life than the gift of loved ones. There’s no greater gift to give them than your time.
Few of us have the option that you have to spend your time with your family. Even when I really couldn’t afford to take time off to be with my daughters, I did it anyway and I have never regretted it. They’ve told me that they were glad I made that difficult choice, too. More stuff and easy living wasn’t worth what it cost their friends’ families. Some things are simply priceless. You’ll never know how much that time will mean to you, your wife, or your daughter until it’s too late. You’ll never get it back again.
I hope you’ll never think that providing knowledge about becoming richer is more important than your family. It’s not selfish to love your family enough to put their needs first. If you can find a great balance and not skimp on quality or quantity time with family or with your sleep or health, then by all means, share. Just don’t ask us to choose for you. And please don’t use your family as a marketing tool. That would just be low and I don’t think you would stoop to that. Please tell me that you wouldn’t do that!
In the end, happiness, peace, and satisfaction are found in contentment. I wish that for you and for your fans and followers.
Saundra Scott Adams
Danny,
Congratulations on your new daughter. You can take it from me that there is nothing in life that will give you more pleasure, stress and exhaustion that raising your children. When you look back on this time, you will likely understand that nothing in life has been more important than the time spent with your family.
My children were all three born within 29 months ( no fertility problems) and caring for them was sometimes exhausting but also very satisfying. They taught me so much about life as I watched them grow and mature. I learned a lot about unconditional love, compromise and giving. My children are now in their 40s and I am so proud of each of them that I still have a hard time believing they are mine. I too have always worked long hours, had larger than life jobs and been very successful professionally, but nothing I did gave me more pleasure and satisfaction than my children. Raising them is the single most important thing I have done with my life.
That being said, I believe you can have both family and a successful professional life. It is a matter of balancing your time. If you can still be there for your daughter and tell your story when she is sleeping, we would all love to hear your story. We have learned so much from you that we would never tell you we are not interested in your story. We would love to hear it, but we do not want you to sacrifice precious time with your daughter.
Enjoy this very special time in your life !
Saundra
Carlos
It great that you ask. From my part I would say that Yes! Please give us the time and teaching to grow our businesses that far and that big 7 numbers! On the other hand, I wouldn’t say that it isn’t a thing of choosing whether to spend nap with your daughter or in front of your lap developing this great course for the beacons. From here life will never be the same, ever. If you’re planning that in the future you’ll find the time to start a new course or whatever, you’ll see that your girl will have new necessities, new challenges, new things will come day after day: like the first time she speaks, the first time she stands, the first time she walks, the first time she eat by herself, the first time she goes to school (by the way, remember that book I sent you: “Polo the little chicken”, about the first day?) while everyday will be the first day for something new worries will appear, like getting rid of things in her way that you didn’t realized she could get hurt when she is starting to walk, or that you should get adapted to get her sleep on time…And so on, a never ending to-do list for raising kids. So, to resume, the day is today, take the time to give us that awesome course we are all waiting for, because you won’t find the right time in the future, the day is today! Kisses to your beautiful girl! And congratulations again!
Indigo
Congrats on opening to the awareness that the point of life is enjoying it. The actual experience of love flowing and happiness filling you is far more nourishing than the mental excitement and reward of seeing what you can successfully create with your business, isn’t it? And having a child is what causes a lot of people to realize that for the first time.
Being productive, having an impact, learning and growing, improving, seeing what we can do as we watch ourselves become capable of more and more… and the money that’s like an easy way of keeping score, but just an artifact of the entire process… well it is all wonderful. And of course we’d love to learn about how you’ve set up a strong foundation for yourself so that it was later possible to go past the 6 figure plateau (where I honestly am stuck myself right now).
However, you can teach us this in a couple years. What I hear is the pattern of hyper-productivity you’ve been in while you built your business trying to compel you to reignite your love affair with it. It wants to be #1 again.
To mix my metaphors, oh sure, it will settle for just a bite for now. All you have to feed it is nap time for creating this new thing that is so important. But what you don’t realize is that the real snack is you, and once it takes that first bite, it won’t stop.
So answer your question this way: People will always want as much of you as you will share, so it can’t be about that. What are you wanting to experience in life right now? What are you wanting your actual life experience to look and feel like throughout each day? If you can’t feel free enough to make that choice with a 7 figure income, what hope is there for the rest of us?
John Lee Dumas
Congrats brother! Missed you at TTT but you had a decent excuse 😉 IGNITE!
Kitty Bucholtz
Hi Danny! Congrats again on the new baby!! 😀 I’ve been praying for all three of you!
I’m in both your ABM and CBL classes, and my course is about to launch. I’ve been concerned that the amount of work it would take to continue to grow the classes (I LOVE to teach) will take away too much from my fiction writing (my first love!) and I’ll have to give up one to have the other. I’m trying to balance growing my reader audience with ABM while growing my classes with CBL. And right now I’m spending most of my time on the classes side.
I’ve been telling myself to just relax and not try to grow the classes too much so that I don’t lose my writing time. But then I wonder if I can grow the teaching side in a way where most of the work is automated, and I’m literally just teaching live, not doing all the other things it takes to have an online course. Or maybe I don’t realize that I’ll simply have to plan to take only a modest income for myself in order to hire enough people to do all the non-teaching work, freeing me to BOTH write and teach. So then, yes, I’d have to grow my revenues in order to hire more people. And I’ve always dreamed (while in jobs I didn’t like) of creating a company that balanced putting people first, both employees and customers, so that both sides were happy and well taken care of. 🙂
If you can help me do this, I would LOVE your help! I think all that could happen if I could grow the company “my way” – which sounds similar to the way you’ve grown your company. Looking forward to hearing more!
Mandi Ellefson
Danny, I have been in awe about what you have accomplished with Firepole Marketing. Everything you put out is amazing. I would love to see the world hear this message because the typical way is: work 80+ hours a week and be successful OR be a dedicated mom/dad and sacrifice your success and mission in the world. You are a perfect example of how to create a 7 figure business that runs without you. There is a way to work dramatically less, help more people, and make more $ and I do hope you share it with the world.
I know this is possible because I help my clients get there. The world needs more of this because too many of our most brilliant entrepreneurs give up the dream to go back to the cubicle because that is what they think they need to do to put their family first. Thanks for standing for a higher way of providing value to our clients and our families. I am right behind you in this effort. Congrats friend.
Leo
a) Congratulations! I love hearing about timing. “When the student is ready, the baby will appear.” 🙂
b) I don’t understand why this is even a question. Of course we want to hear anything you feel you have to offer (and probably several things you don’t).
Belinda Rosenblum
Congratulations, Danny!
I just had my 2nd child, a baby girl, last week. She is such a blessing.
Great post, thanks for sharing.
Belinda
Jerome Stone
Hey Danny –
I am so very happy for you, Bhoomi, and your extraordinarily blessed daughter, who was definitely born into an awesome family!!
Thanks for sharing your story and the vital reminder that what we’re working towards isn’t a financial goal; it’s a quality of life and a pursuit of a life’s vision, while also creating “something” by using our strengths to help others.
So very happy to be part of the “bigger family” that is Firepole Marketing.
Take care,
Jerome Stone
Community Advocate/Liaison
Firepole Marketing
Gary Greenfield
Wow, Danny! Given all the heartfelt comments, you have struck a powerful cord with your tribe!
Your call to action asked for feedback on whether sharing what you have learned in building your business would be of value. My answer: Of course it would!
However, of even more value would be for you to hold off until you can share an additional dimension of your experiences. The experiences to which I refer are those of how you continued to grow your business while staying true to your desire to be very present with your family during this amazing time in your lives.
In other words, wait six months so you can catalogue your experiences at this time in your family’s life. Then, share with us how those experiences have enhanced your knowledge and skills at continuing to build your business.
Whatever you decide make the driver about your family not what we need. We’re with you regardless!
ling | business-soulwork.com
Thanks, Danny, for sharing your experience. I have been through similar journey with fertility and can totally relate. I feel like I am going through the same thing in my business right now and this article is a great reminder that everything has its own timing and rushing it can be counter-productive. (Much needed message for my Type-A FOMO part!)
Barry J McDonald
Firstly congrats on your daughter. I remember my first and taking him home, (when I look back I can see how naive I was compared to now.) But sometimes I think not knowing what’s ahead made sure that it didn’t overwhelm me. But enough about me, keep at it, your words of wisdom aren’t falling on deaf ears.
Leanne Regalla
Huge congrats to you and Bhoomi, Danny!
Of course we want to learn these things from you!
But where’s the rush?
Just relax and allow yourself to “be” for a while, the right time will come when it comes, and you’ll know when it does.
I think your main challenge – same as all of us – will be to learn how to scale your business from 5 to 6-figures and then to 7 without putting in all those killer hours and missing out on all the joys of life.
That may be the more valuable lesson for all of us. 😉
Susan
Hey Danny…Hope you will share those lessons learned. The time crunch really only gets tighter as the kids get bigger and, as a mom of young teens, I could use your lessons, too!
Congrats on the new baby!
Elke
Congrats on the birth of your child. I loved what you said about timing. God has a way of testing our patience and we don’t always understand until the right time.
I’d love to read your lessons on growing your business to spend time with your family. I’m a couple months away from working full-time for myself and know your experiences would be valuable.
PaulMcglinchey
Danny – I’m not anywhere near being concerned about going from 6-to-7 figures, yet. But it would be good to know the groundwork to lay now, as you said you did, at the beginning stages. And, like the others, I’m always interested in anything you have to teach.
Best of health and love to your family. Thanks for everything you do!!
Daniel Ulin
Danny, thank you so much for this extraordinary post. Really happy for you and your family. You continue to model fantastic personal and professional behavior, and this, in conjunction with your outstanding product quality and killer customer service, is why I remain a rabidly loyal fan! Daniel
Sean
Hey Danny,
It’s always so wonderful to read a post that’s personal before professional, and rare to see it done so well.
Listen to your heart, your family, and your audience. They’ll provide the perfect compass together.
Edward
Danny,
Thank you for your willingness to be so open and personal. That is so rare and refreshing. We all wish blessings on you and your family, and your new adjustments to fatherhood.
Of course we want you to teach us the lessons you’ve learned, but you have to determine when that is right for you.
We will continue to wish blessings on you and your family, whether the lessons come sooner or later.
Jessica
Well, duh 🙂 And you know well that this is exactly where I’m at with my business, so the education will be extremely valuable.
Big congrats on having your little girl. I get the fertility issue, but I’ve chosen (perhaps regrettably) to walk a different path.
Rick
Danny,
Stop reading these and get back to your family!
I know you won’t so I’ll echo everyone’s comments on the fleeting time spent with your child and wife.
Firehose (intentional spelling) marketing already offers so much support, materials, resources that we really wouldn’t need more. Anyone that has been part of your audience for a length of time could piece together how you got to be in the position you are.
It is ok to not fill your time with work projects. The time you have elbowed out for your 3 month sabbatical should be dedicated to just that. Seriously, stop reading. You may perceive that you have more time to create and expand your touch on the community. However, the community is not asking for it.
One thing to consider though is if this additional work and commitment will allow you to spend more time with your family later on. Could this be a few minutes a day of work now that may blossom into hours with your family later?
We appreciate your concern and diligence in caring for us. Use those same qualities in your immediate and long term care for your family.
Sincerely,
Rick
Gail
Thank you for a beautiful heartfelt, wisdom filled blog.
My husband Larry and I are just starting ABM, registered in his name.
So we are starting from the beginning and have quite a ways to go.
So for us, there is no rush. I have found that when I rush and strain it is counter productive anyway.
Take time with your family.
And yes, we also do have some very big dreams, projects we want to bring to the world.
Those dreams will take a lot of money. So eventually, when our foundation is built we will likely be very interested in learning the next steps for growth with youl
Gail
Correction of website, I entered an incomplete one by mistake in my first post and did not want to mislead anyone.
Virginia
Danny, your wife and daughter are primary for you, now and in the future. Since you already know you don’t want to return to 60 hours plus and traveling, your projects in the future will naturally fall into the category of what you most want to share. If it is comfortable for you, and the Firepole team (whom you obviosuly have high regard for), then go for it. Find your comfort zone, which in this case, is a good thing.
Ursula Nieuwoudt
Congratulations to you both. You will see: she will be the very best for you. Children teach you everything you need to know. Brilliant stuff. And btw: yes, please. Very much. Hugs from Africa.
William
Danny, I’ve been privileged to know you from the early days when it was just you and Megan. In my opinion, your answer lies in what you’ve already described: a rhythm of caring and resting.
You’ve already created a body of work and a team able to curate that body of work. In the past month I lost two good friends, and a third made it back out of ICU. Observing people’s reactions at end of life events made it clear to me: at the end of your life, what you did or didn’t do with your daughter will by far outweigh everything you did at Firepole Marketing.
Life doesn’t stop today. As your daughter grows older, you will still have plenty of opportunity to make even more contributions to enrich our lives. There’s no rush.
Just one opinion…
Indigo
Another great comment I completely resonate with. Thanks for sharing this.
hanuman chalisa
this is a really awesome post comment
thanks for your effort to write this post
have a good day
Kullah Anderson
Well, to be frank, if you have to ask the answer is obvious.
rakesh
Congratulations Danny. Gods blessings. I love the time and effort that you take to deliver this amazing content…keep it coming buddy
Susan Poole
Danny – I’m not sure that I have anything to add that hasn”t already been said above – except that in hindsight, my answer would be no – don’t do it. It is so hard to imagine how quickly the time will fly and you will never get another chance to spend this time with your wife and daughter.
I was left in a position when my children were 2 & 4 that required me to become the sole support for my family and I had to build and keep a career that would ensure we had (what I thought at the time) were the basics for survival. I was wrong – it is amazing how little we need to financially survive – and I will never get that time back with my sons. I regret it everyday.
Maybe it would help if you think about this as an opportunity to set an example for your daughter – what values do you want to demonstrate in regards to the value of family? Can you really shut it off the minute she starts to stir, or as she drifts off in your arms?
I only have my story (and 30 additional years of living!) to base my advice on. If this is something that you need to do, then the way and timing will become clear. The universe has a very interesting way of getting what it wants – and the timing that works for it!
All the best, and please give that little girl a big hug for me!
Susan
John Williams
Congrats again Danny. I find it interesting that you ask us. We honestly want everything you want to give us but where is your heart? Where do your thoughts constantly lead you? Seems that’s the path. When she was a newborn, I had my daughter right next to me while I met clients (thankfully understanding ones) and when I worked as a freelancer growing my business. When she needed anything, I was right there. We stared at each other alot, shared everything and laughed much. That time was priceless and I share it even though I worked hard to fit everything in. 20 years later we are still tight. Just the way it should be. You are absolutely doing the right thing. Keep up the good work.
Terri B
Danny, Congrats on your new baby, you are Blessed. I tell all new parents to nap when the baby naps because you running on fumes for the first few months at least, with that being said, take turns napping and when it’s the wife’s turn you work so that’s every other day, I feel this is fair, now go sleep, for tomorrow you work for us!
Suzan
Hi Danny
what is the difference withe ABM and what you are thinking of sharing?
We are all faced with difficult choices but I have learned that the answer always lies within us.
Keep well
Kathleen Tozier
Hi Danny,
I’ve already told you personally how impressed I was when I first learned you were taking a baby sabbatical, as it so aptly demonstrates your people-first commitment by honoring your commitment to the most important people in your life: your wife and daughter. And seeing firsthand the work you’ve put into making sure your students continue to have what they need and be supported while you are taking this time just furthers that proof.
For me, having you share the lessons would be invaluable, because right now I’m struggling with finding the balance in continuing my forward momentum, capitalizing on my wins, and not getting so far ahead of myself that I lose my flexibility, dedication to my family, and commitment to my own health and well-being.
I’ve lived and worked for more than two decades with chronic pain and depression, and yet have accomplished many things. The most important of all to me is bringing the message to women that we can care well for ourselves while still pursuing our calling and passions, and part of that, for me, means living what I teach: taking care of my health first.
That said, my goal is to nurture my business/clients well AND continue to nurture myself well at the same time, while reaching for 6-7 figures, for my own livelihood, of course, but more, to be able to pay it forward, ultimately.
So, yes, I want you to do this!
All the best,
Kathleen
dkgraystone
Do it, Danny.
There’s a balance to be struck, as you’ve so clearly pointed out. For each of us, the point of equilibrium looks and feels different. Discovering that point is a process, not a single decision — and the point keeps shifting on us as our responsibilities and desires change, and our capacity and understanding grow.
It’s also true that we encounter the occasional plateau in our efforts to move forward and grow without destroying the most important part: the enjoyment of the process with those closest to you. That IS the reward, after all, rather than whatever you’re left with at the end of it.
I like the idea that whatever we’re doing in the moment is exactly what we should be doing. It doesn’t matter whether it’s struggling with a life-decision from which we’re to learn a critical lesson or find new balance, or scratching our heads over a business issue that demands attention and a more creative approach. If you learn from the experience, you get greater enjoyment from the process and your capacity increases. If you don’t learn from the experience, than you’re going to be facing the same lesson(s) again, one way or another.
Sounds like the new arrival in the family has triggered that need to shift your own point of equilibrium. It’s great that you’re sharing all of it with us and letting us watch (and maybe even participate in a small way).
So keep sharing your lessons. Give us what you’ve got, and keep it coming. You don’t strike me as being an “either/or” kind of guy, and your track record to this moment would seem to bear that out.
Who knows? Maybe we’ll get to share our own processes with each other, and we’ll all get to learn new stuff.
Cool. Enjoy every single moment with your family.
Maria Adams
Congratulations to you and your family! I was so touched by your posting. Thank you for sharing such a personal story and weaving it together with the business side. Best wishes to you learn to navigate family and business!
I’m interested in how you quickly built your business to the level it is today. But even more so, I would love to see in the coming months how you’re able to balance the work vs. family dynamic. It’s very clear that family is a priority for you, unless many experts in your field. So I would be excited to see some posts/training related to having it all (if that really is possible). God bless your family.
Penny
Danny,
Congratulations to you and Bhoomi. Welcome to the wonderful world of parenthood.
As our daughter approaches her 31st birthday, (how is that even possible?), I remember those first months like they were yesterday. They are indeed precious!
As fantastic as your training is, I would have to say that for me, right now, I wouldn’t take advantage of the new training. It’s just not applicable for the current stage of my business, and until I get to that stage, I won’t know that it ever will be applicable.
The one thing that I really connected with in your post was the self doubt. I’m 56, but lately I find myself wondering far more frequently if I’ve ‘used up’ all of my good karma. I’ve always felt (at such a deep level that it was never even a conscious thought), that things would always get better. I’m now windering if that’s actually true.
I’m making conscious choices daily to keep improving every area over which I have control, but that seed of fear and doubt has been planted.
Thanks, in part, to things I’ve learned from you and your team at Firepole, I’m managing to keep it pretty well pruned, and keep movimg forward.
Thanks for sharing such a personal post.
Linda Martin
Danny,
Great post and like others, I admire how you combine your thoughts about your family with how to grow your business. You are so creative and amazingly consistent (and persistent) and I would love to continue to learn more about how you do it. I have 6 children and 13 grandchildren and I identify most closely with you from this post. There are many ways to set examples, some of them planned and perhaps more, the way you are who you are and do what you do. You are working at being authentic- the same person at home and with your daughter as you are at Firepole Marketing. That’s a very important lesson and one you can only give if you are true to who you really are, in all situations, by being aware and present. Congratulations to you and your family and keep sharing and teaching…my mother is reaching the end of her life but the many, many things I learned from her will never end.
Suzanne Kendrick
One for our side! When we too went through the touch infertility journey. Whenever one of our friends that we made who were also infertile had a baby come into their lives I am always so pleased.
My project now is a game changer for my country, New Zealand. I am working on a project to lift the digital business skills of all New Zealanders. Digital inclusion. Digital Transformation. Digital Business Literacy is what our charity is all about.
Doing a few jobs right now….to put it mildly! Anything that will help streamline our processes, help us to work better collaboratively is of interest.
BTW have you heard of http://www.holacracy.org/. We are creating an organisation based on this structure. I think you might quite like this.
We have some similarity in our business
João Reis
Yes, I want you to do this. Was waiting for approval? Don’t! You owe yourself this. And registering experiences while the baby sleeps will be enjoyable for you, IMHO.
And from father to father, congrats! May the powers of heaven look after your house and your family, blessing y’all.
Stay awesome!
Susan Jones
Danny, if you don’t organise your thoughts on this and share them, I will personally come over there and annoy you until you do! 😉
You undoubtedly have a lot to share and contribute on that topic, and you should – BUT – is now the right time?
The last thing I would want for you is to fall into the trap of taking time out, only to find a shiny new object to distract you from your real intention during this time. If you are going crazy and you need a project to occupy the time when you don’t need to be on deck, then go for it.
But also know that it is okay for you to just BE right now.
You don’t need to produce anything or create anything if you don’t want. Absolutely give yourself permission to do nothing but be there for Bhoomi and Priya for a while – and to be there for yourself.
It WILL go quickly (yes, I know everyone says that) and what parenting requires of you in the next 2 months or even the next 2 weeks will be different than it is now. Maybe sit with enjoying the ride for a while. 🙂
Whatever you choose to do, whether you outline this training now or later or never, will be the right choice. Go with your gut.
Indigo
Susan speaks for me too. Well said.
Amy
Hi Danny and congratulations to you and Bhoomi! Like many others here, I would love to hear more abut how you manage work/life balance ongoing, than the 6 – 7 figures trajectory. Income is so important, especially when I think about offering the best life experiences to my children – schools, trips and so on. But more important is the fleeting experience of life, especially childhood. We often dedicate 3-5 years on a college/university education, or on getting a business up and running, and yet when raising a human being we try and figure out how to “fit them in” to our other commitments. To me as a woman, your goal of setting an example is especially poignant – I want my boys to understand a woman can be a great mother and also work, and that work is not something I simply do for money but also for enrichment, for giving to others. But I never want work to be at the expense of their sense of feeling I have time for them as priority in my life. Soon enough they will be at school and work will be different. Soon enough they will be leaving home and my chance to help them, support and guide them will be over. I am in a strange sad and beautiful place now where I have a beautiful 3 year old and 9 month old, and a dear family member with only weeks to live. Kind of thinking about what is most important now. Any help on that is what I would like to hear.
Dianne M Daniels
Congratulations Danny and Bhoomi on your beautiful daughter! Big (((hugs))) to you both and a gentle hug and kiss for your baby girl…I am not nearly at the level of some Firepole fans, since I’ve not yet grown my business to 5 figures consistently, let alone 6! I enjoy your emails and your training, but it all seems so far above me right now. I am interested in SO many things that I find it hard to focus. I’d love to hear more about how you decide WHAT to focus on.
Distractions abound – I have a general “focus” area in women’s self-esteem and self-confidence, and I’m trained as an Image Consultant and want to work in that area, but I find myself at the same time fighting the urge to “slow down”, as I’m in my early 50’s. I don’t want to give UP my business, but I’m not burning to make a million a year with it either.
Not sure if that makes me a less-than-optimal client for Firepole, but it’s what I want. If I grew my business to a solid 5-figures – in the $50K per year range – I’d be perfectly happy to maintain at that level. Higher would be okay, too, but not at the expense of my quality of life and my desire to spend time with my husband, adult children, and grandchildren. I’d love to build an “anywhere” business that I could run from a laptop or iPad from anywhere in the country…I love sharing what I know, and already have a podcast to help me share my experience and expertise with a wider audience.
I think I’m rambling, so I’ll stop here…but above all, please take care of your family. Love what you’ve done with the company and I love hearing the stories about your family!
Sophie Lizard
Oh, Danny, I want to hear everything you have to share… but then I remember that photo of you holding Priya in the hospital and I just want you to spend all your time enjoying family life!
Prioritize hugs and sleep above everything else, and you can’t go far wrong. 🙂
If you DO decide to teach us how to handle that income leap, though, here’s what I want to learn:
– What happens if I ever run out of niche audience? Do I *have* to go broader to build my business higher?
– Oh gods, the financials. Don’t let them get me. How do I stay on top of all the money stuff as my business gets bigger?
Big love to you and Bhoomi. I’ve put a little something in the post for you guys – hope you”ll like it when it arrives! 🙂
Mary T Kincaid
I absolutely believe that each of us is responsible for our own success, but having said that, I also believe that you are better at everything when you take a little time to pursue what you love doing and are obviously good at.
I appreciate having access to the lessons and the mentors, you and Christy, who helps me with my homework. I would just be floundering without the help you offer me. Marketing is so foreign from my deposition and my background.
If your not completely exhausted and need to nap too. I remember that if my children went down I went down also from the sheer lack of sleep, please continue to expand our horizons. A balanced approach to living will make you a better businessman, a better husband, and a better father.
Congratulations. Enjoy the blessings of this new stage in life.
Barb Johnson
What a wonderful post! Thank you.
I love reading everything you write. Keep it coming when you can.
I raised 8 children and can tell you, those years fly by before you realize it. You are wise to treasure your time.
But also, when you can, give us more.
Shannon
First, CONGRATULATIONS again to you and your wife!!! What a wonderful blessing and treasure to have a daughter.
Second, YES! Absolutely! I’d love for you to share how you built your business to its current level BUT not at the expense of time with your wife and daughter.
Having said that, it sounds like you have the whole time management thing pretty well under control and your priorities straight. 🙂
Lauren
Congratulations, Danny! I’m so happy for you, your wife, and your daughter.
If you can balance giving us more information while still experiencing everything that you want to with your family, I would be honored to continue learning from you.
Joan Stewart
Danny:
Congratulations to you and Bhoomi. And thank you for sharing with us the ups and downs of this most beautiful time in your lives.
One of the many things I admire about you is your willingness to share, in your blog and with your students, the mistakes, setbacks and disappointments you’ve encountered along the way and what you’ve learned from them. It encourages me to to slog on, during those days when everything seems upside down.
Right now, I’m up to my ears taking registrations and planning my first pilot that I learned how to launch in your excellent Course Builders Laboratory. I’ll be training authors on how to use email marketing to create SuperFans. But when I come up for air next month, I’ll certainly be curious about what you’re planning.
Go for it!
Rebekah Jones
Good Morning Danny,
I just read your Anxiety, Surrender, and Magical Beauty post…your personal post to which I thought I would send a personal response and I did but then I received your auto response email. 🙂
Of course, I would like the training and I’m sure others would too. BUT…Danny, you are asking us to decide for you whether or not you should take time from your daughter and give that time to us —- not a fair question. If you do it and everything works out ok; Baby Iny still gets “Daddy” time; Mama Iny doesn’t feel neglected; then…great! But if you do it and Baby and Mama do not appear to be as happy as you would like then you will resent not just the time you spent prepping the training and presenting the training but you will on some level resent us.
Now do you see why your question is unfair? We can’t make the decision for you nor should we be put in the position of choosing between your daughter and us.
Please trust me on this Danny: you are brand new at being a dad. You are going to have similar decisions to make for at least the next 18 years. No one can make the decisions for you nor should you expect anyone to. For your parenting to be effective, you and Bhoomi need to parent as a team; make your decisions as a team; never let your daughter witness any parenting discord.
You and Bhoomi are the ones who need to make the decision regarding whether or not you should prep more training.
Here are a couple of things you may want to consider:
Time passes so quickly! I know. My son will be 35 in August and it seems just like yesterday I was holding my precious little infant son in my arms.
As I mentioned to you not long ago, you’ve trained your Firepole team well. Now it’s time to let go…breathe…and trust. Let them show you what they are made of.
Hugs,
RJ
Post a new pic of her on facebook when you have a chance, ok? 🙂
Neil Weston
Nice post Rebekah, 😉
Rick
Rebekah,
My thoughts as well. How did you plagiarize my unwritten copy? 🙂
Rick
Rebekah Jones
hmmmm……great minds?? 🙂
Andrea Walford
Beautifully said Rebekah – and it 100% hits the mark.
Rebekah Jones
Thanks Andrea! After I submitted my post I begin to think perhaps it was to blunt. So I really appreciate the support from you and Rick. 🙂
kaplanmargaret@yahoo.com
Ditto what Andrea said about your post. I believe everything you said but couldn’t put it as well.
Thanks and I add my Congratulations for the new baby.
Rebekah Jones
Thanks Margaret!
Peter DeHaan
That’s a great question; my answer is maybe.
My struggle is more with a lack of opportunity than a need for technique. I suspect your focus will be more on techniques.
I also don’t want to hire any employees, so my solution would need to rely on outsourcing and freelancers.
(Thanks for sharing your story; it brings back many memories.)
Neil Weston
Hi Peter,
I think that one of the primary benefits of applying techniques is to create that much needed opportunity.
There are many things that you may need to do to create balance in your business and life, without the need to hire or outsource new people.
Happy to help with any thoughts in any way that I can.
– Neil
Peter DeHaan
Neil, if it will help me identify opportunity, then I’m in!
Betsy
Thank you Danny! What a wonderful post! And congratulations!!! I’m so excited for you. I just love your story – and how self aware, introspective, and generous you are. It is a gift when you share your thoughts and learnings with us and so of course I want all the knowledge you can share!!! I would love to hear how you built your company from six to seven figures. It’s hard for me to know what will be most useful in theses lessons. But I know how well you analyze things and explain them so I know it will be extraordinarily helpful to me and others. So please please do it!
Nancy
Congratulations, Danny. I’m so happy for you and Bhoomi. Thanks for sharing your experiences in this post, and I really hope you’ll go forward with this project, which sounds extremely valuable and very different from any online business training I’ve seen. As my own business is starting to grow, I want to make sure that its growth doesn’t make ever-increasing demands on my time. The lessons you describe sound like just what I need to plan the future of my business in a way that will be sustainable over time.
Valeria
First of all, congratulations for your baby!
And yes, I would like to know more about a new system, but I think that your family is more important than this.
Jeffrey Veffer
Hi Danny-
Congratulations again to both you and your wife on the birth of your daughter. It is indeed a special time in your lives that you will never be able to “re-do” so I really urge you to continue to “live in the moment” and enjoy/experience everything this unique time can bring you.
I remember the first few months of my son’s life – I had to restrain myself for hoping for the next stage of his life. Like his first night’s sleep, his first words and first steps. I wanted to cherish all of the moments and now looking back I really enjoyed how much of a person he was, even at that early age!
I do want to hear your lessons, but as well, how you were able to have balance (or the challenges?) between the successful business and the other things in your life. I am interested to hear what others have to say as well!
Neil Weston
Hi Danny,
Thank you for being so open and frank.
Mate, one thing you will learn as you grow older is that life is all too short and time literally flies.
I also have a daughter who recently turned 18 and who is now at Uni.
One thing she always says to me is, “Dad, I love you so much, because you were always there for me.” That is beautiful to me.
Now like you, I have had high pressure jobs and working 80 hour+ weeks and often 7 days a week.
But one of the things that my daughter loved was swimming and she actually got pretty good at it qualifying for backstroke, butterfly and freestyle at National level. (Totally hopeless at breaststroke – so, so glad she was not born a frog).
That meant extra pressure on me to be up at 4:30am every morning to take her to morning training then take time off work at 3:30pm to take her to afternoon training and then be back at work by 6:00pm to catch up on the missed hours and more for the day.
Then of course, there were swim meets during summer that were on Friday Nights, Saturdays and Sundays, plus weekly meets for Winter and Summer State and National Titles. The odd Winter short course meets were also held over a number of weekends during the Winter months as well.
Then there is helping her with her school work and now University study and assignments.
You feel absolutely exhausted and run off your feet, but do I have any regrets – no way!
Except for one thing – its all still seems to have gone way too fast with it all being much of a blur in distant memory.
So number one thing – if you are not doing it already, is take heaps of photo’s and video’s of your daughters life. You really cannot take too many – whether you start looking like a Japanese person or not! 😉 Those recorded memories are priceless.
And one of the side benefits from it was that it also taught her responsibility at a very early age.
How many kids at 7-17 years of age wake up at 4:30am of their own volition – even during the freezing months of winter – so that they can be following that black line in an outdoor pool by 5:30 am. That takes guts and dedication – a discipline that they will carry forward for the rest of their lives.
So Danny, in all honesty, make sure that your business is running smoothly, efficiently and effectively without you at least for the next few months.
You created an automated message saying that you would not be applying yourself 100%+ to your business over the next few months and any decent clients should respect that and give you all the time that you need.
Until you mentioned it above, I had absolutely no real need to “want you to share the lessons that you learned growing your business from 6 to 7 figures”.
Now, I would love to hear all about that, but for me it can wait until you are able to devote more time to it, without any hint of neglect to your family.
Just one more thing.
I eMailed you personally last week about life and business balance.
I would fully understand if you have not had the opportunity to read that as yet.
However, I intend to produce more on that over the coming few days – plus a few other related things.
I hope that these items help you maintain that crucial balance over the nest few months, without either feeling that you are neglecting your business or your clients or, on the other side of the coin, feeling that you are neglecting your family.
So feel free to keep in touch, but also ensure that your family is your number one priority.
You have a recently expanded the team working for you, it is now their duty and obligation to ensure that your business progresses as it should, but at the same time, you are able to take all the time needed to devote to your family.
Kind regards and best wishes,
– Neil
Michael Bloom
Danny,
Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal post. Again, wishing you and your family a long, healthy life together with your sweet daughter.
I would love to hear the lessons learned. Your teachings and posts are always so practical, provocative, and thoughtful. I am proud to be a member and student in this community.
One of my biggest challenges is trying to break away from my work at times. I find myself devoting 60+ hours per week to my work and through weekends. As you, I love all that I do but I know this is not a sustainable pathway.
Will enjoy learning more from you about how we can shed the guilt that we must be working longer in our business to produce the best results. Personally, I have lost both parents who I cared for and 10 others people close to me to cancer and other illnesses over the last 5 years. Life is precious and I want to keep growing my business and thoroughly enjoy life outside the business at the same time.
Look forward to all you share going forward.
Best wishes always,
Michael
Sarah Kohl
Danny & Bhoomi,
Congrats on the birth of your daughter! Life is just full of twists and turns. And this is a delightful event.
Thanks for sharing that is hasn’t been all unicorns and rainbows; it gives me a more realistic idea of the ebb and flow of building a business in the midst of living life. In my opinion what matters is resilience. I look forward to what you will share about how you manage ‘work-life balance’ in this new phase of your life.
Karen
What a beautiful post! While I would love you to share your business insights with us, I also know how precious this time is with your daughter. If you can do both, awesome! I would welcome the information. But if you only have time to do one thing, then I don’t have the heart to tell you to spend your time writing about business rather than enjoying your daughter!
Jenni
Well said, Karen. Danny, this represents my view, too. Enjoy your family first, but it’s fabulous to learn more from you. Thanks.
Allen
Great story, Danny. Babies changes lives and, if raised carefully and thoughtfully, are the source of both the greatest joys and the greatest sorrows we can experience. I have no doubt that you and Boohmi will be great parents.
As to your question about where to go from here, I suggest that you go where your heart leads you. If that includes sharing the lessons you’ve learned, then I think you should (by all means) do so. I know that there are many here who would really appreciate it.
Enjoy learning to balance.
future.flying.saucers
Congratulations on your sweet baby!! My husband and I went through 4 years of infertility and treatments. The doctors gave up on us and then one day we were pregnant. The Lord, the giver of life, is good!! And it is because I have 3 babies now that I can’t blog as I like because I homeschool and take care of them the majority of my time. You will find as your baby grows that priorities change. New needs are met, but the blessings are priceless. I have learned a lot from you that I do not have time to implement. LOL Time is precious. Don’t waste it making tons of money. What good is making money when you end up slaving away for it and not being with those you love the most? Make enough to be take care of needs, yours and others. Then forget the rest. Money is temporary. Relationships are eternal.
Jack Johnson
Hey, Danny –
Again, huge congrats to the whole family! 🙂
I really appreciate your openness in these posts. I’m not sure if it’s the same in Canada, but here in the U.S. we tend to compartmentalize our lives, acting as if work, family, and play are independent of each other – when in reality, there’s just life and what we choose to do with it. I find a lot of value in hearing about the choices you face and make in the process of growing your business (and family). So yes, please keep the info flowing! 🙂
Blessings,
Jack
John O'Reilly
Clever, using the birth of your daughter to launch yet another campaign. I admire your ingenuity.
Jasper
While congratulations on the new baby are in order, I do agree. I’d love to learn a subtle marketing approach (if there was one), where I didn’t get bombarded by affiliate emails touting this webinar, training, ebooks or event. People are smart and have services to offer. However, it has quickly become hucksterism and anything is fodder for marketing a product or service — even kids.
Tracy Sohl
I agree with you, John, – Danny is clever. Who wouldn’t want to learn from him?
Danny, your going to be a great father. Your insight into the human mind is magical. Just keep in mind that your daughter may have the same abilities and use them on you when she is older. 🙂
Patricia
Congratulations on being a new dad!! I hope that you’ll be able to spend as much quality time with her as possible. 🙂
marc
Keep the info coming
Jennie Whittaker
Hi Danny,
What a beautiful, refreshingly different post. It’s nice to see a more human side to the business, sometimes to me it feels these 6-7 figure companies are living the high life in blissful happiness with not a care in the world, and I know that isn’t always the case.
I completely, 100% sympathise with your fertility problems. It took me and my husband 3 years to finally conceive our now 3 year old son and I know how much pressure it puts on a relationship, so much pressure. So congratulations on your wonderful little girl.
With regards to your question, naturally I’d say yes, I love learning from you and firepole and try to take in as much as I can, but, as a mum, working full time in a 9-5 job whilst desperately trying to grow the business I love in my spare time, I know how precious your time is and how quickly it disappears, especially once you have a child.
If you feel you could offer this without it impacting too heavily on your family time, then yes, I would very much enjoy the learning experience.
Take care and my love to your family. It really does go so quickly.
Best wishes,
Jennie
Chris Obeng
Danny congratulations once again! Of course go for it but at your own pace as we all understand that you have more obligations.
Nancy Wilson
Yes, you should share your experiences with us. I know your daughter is amazing and can fully understand your desire to spend every minute with her – and you should spend as much time as possible with her, but you also need to continue following your personal dreams as well. Life is never one-, or even two-dimensional. It is full to over-flowing and must be lived to the fullest.
Your experiences and knowledge are important to all of use who are still trying to find our own way – the young, the not so young and the older (me).
Thanks for asking.
Mieke
Hai Danny,
Fantastic you shared this, its LIFE.
I get your point. Can only say: keep going on you daughter/family and Firepool marketing. I have never seen it work on long term when someone contracted his influence.
On your question, I am not yet at 6 figures so 7 figures is not yet interesting for me.
Still this planet needs defenitely more straightforward, working technology on how to run a business.
I learn from your marketingcourse and am very happy the way its build.
So defenitely interested when I get there to learn from you again.
Enjoy your time!
Mieke
Kate Tyler
Im “off schedule” doing my homework because I read your email. A few thoughts… I can say this because I have over 30 years on you, 2 grown kids and 3 grandchildren. Always keep in mind your child is only a child once. The time you spend with her cannot be replaced and is invaluable. She will remember those times that you were there as she grew. That is not to say you should not work on the business you have created..but how much is the question? You are in the position to oversee the good people you have in place, so utilize them to your advantage and in a way that is complimentary to your lifestyle. I would love for you to share your expertise of course, but you could do it over the long view over time ( so you have time) so as not to feel rushed. We all don’t need it this second! I for one am very busy with your business master class…how much more info can I absorb???:). Do what works best for your family. I will understand. Enjoy your gift !
MIchelle
Danny,
You have had such great success in business — made with difficult choices and unexpected outcomes — that parenting will be more of the same, but in a completely different way. You will question if you were too stern with your daughter because she cries when you tell her “no” and you will wonder if your not making her eat her vegetables will backfire on you later. Just like business, parenting is a guessing game. And with a different set of skills and some new knowledge, I have no doubt that you will make a wonderful father. Be true to your heart and you will be successful. All my best.
Maria
About your “This made me sad” email.
As you well said in one of your emails, there’s always going to be people making nasty comments about what you do, no matter how good you are as a professional or as a person. Many of us have been raised to perceive money and ambition as something dirty. I just believe the people who made those comments are probably pissed they didn’t have the same idea before 😉 I don’t see anything wrong with sharing your personal experiences if you are OK with being exposed. When I met you, you were struggling to make your business grow. Some years later, you’re doing great, giving work to a whole team of people and selling products that make you money but also help others grow their businesses. It’s quite an achievement. I say, go ahead and ignore negativity. I also strongly believe that you can disagree with another person’s attitude or opinions in a respectful way. No need to call you “sleazy.” It reflects badly on them.