Happy new year! In the spirit of renewal, I wanted to give you something to challenge your notions of fatherhood by sharing a talk with someone you probably don't often think to ask "what makes you a father"?

In this talk, I am joined by Dr. Samaad Keys (check out A Sip with Samaad), who along with his husband, are exploring becoming fathers via surrogacy. It's a process I knew nothing about, and it made me ask the question "why are you choosing to become fathers?".   His answers will teach you a lot about what it takes to be a man, a father, and a leader.  

We cover:

• Why they chose to pursue becoming fathers?
• What does fatherhood represents to him?
• Why don't more gay men pursue fatherhood?
• How he and his husband think about teaching their kids about masculinity.
• How fathers can create safety for their kids to communicate (and the dangers of not providing that safety).

Open your mind and give a listen. I am convinced that there is a lot of learning from people who actively choose to be a fathers.

How many of you have end of year performance reviews at your jobs? Do you do the same with your family?

I sat down with my daughter to ask her how I'm doing as a father.  We covered:

• What she thinks a father is supposed to do
• What things I do that make her feel good
• How it feels when I travel and am not around
• How she describes her dad to her friends
• How she envisions me as a grandfather in her life
• How she's adjusting to having a baby brother
• What thing she would like me to do more of in the coming year

I hope this gives you some inspiration to seek feedback from your children. 

See you in the new year!

I did a cross country trip with my 2 kids, and am officially over it.  We have holiday travel & international plans for 2024, but I'm now rethinking all that.  

Do you know how I can travel better?

Listen in and DM me suggestions @brianleeshields on IG!