214 | Bob Goff on Context, Fainting Goats & Being Secretly Awesome
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Bob Goff
Bob spent decades as an attorney, trying to figure out how to live a whimsical, impactful life. These days, he calls himself a "recovering lawyer" because after practicing law for 25 years, then becoming the Honorary Consul to Uganda, he gave up his law firm to pursue writing and speaking full time. He's a New York Times bestselling author several times over, runs a popular weekly podcast, and recently turned farmer at The Oaks just outside San Diego, California.
Show Notes:
Focusing on the context of the moments and seasons with our families helps focus on what is important.
3:45 - It's just like, give context, you're only here, so wanting to be these memories that they're going to drop into a relatively small box of mental pictures they'll have of, of what it felt like to be raised in your family. And so super intentional about that, but curious and always looking for context.
4:55 - Having ideas to surprise his kids - keeping things secret to
8:00 - Living a "no capes" kind of life.
7:50 - So there's some rationale behind living a "no capes" kind of life to not make a big deal about it. If faith is important to somebody listening, then Jesus talked about that. And you know, if you stand on the street corner, make a big deal about it. Yeah, then you get a little golf clap here. But if you just don't, dude go live a no capes kind of life, then you get to talk to Jesus about it forever, which is really a problem for a guy like me who writes books and speaks because I talk about everything, right? And it's not because I'm trying to make people think I'm swell, I just am talking about the thing of the day. And but I realize in doing that, Jesus's words like, you've had your reward. And so I would do a couple of capers that you haven't told anybody about. Just do it because it'd be awesome.
9:37 - Fainting goats and Sweet Maria
10:20 - Jeff Zaugg - Adding a "label that adds life" over our kids and spouses
10:40 - What if we had nicknames for the people we loved?
12:56 - "And you could do that as an awesome dad to just hover. I think that's the first thing God did over the Earth. He just hovered. Hover over each person your family like, what is kid number one need that I could only uniquely provide them. Because if they need a ride, they could get Uber to provide. They'd give em a ride. But just say, is there something else they uniquely need that only I could provide and then hover over your spouse and hover over a couple of friends for a moment? And did you say, like, what are they uniquely need that only I could provide."
14:44 - How Bob managed to stay connected to his daughter attending college in Seattle.
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16:43 - Four-part framework for intentional fatherhood -- Sign up at: dadawesome.org/LIFE
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17:52 - The story of the Wake Up Fairy from Love Does for Kids
18:47 - Jeff asks Bob to be the "Wake Up Fairy" for dads
19:19 - A challenge to dads: "Quit your job. Like, literally that's it. I would say nine out of 10 of the people I know, male and female, are in jobs that were great on the day they got them, but they've changed. New Day, New You. And still, there you've changed. And the job didn't. And so I would just say just quit."
21:32 - Story of a pediatric brain surgeon who quit his job. "No, he actually really loves what he does. He just needed to reconnect with his family. And when he got that right, then everything sort of fallen into place."
22:24 - Sometimes we wait for, you know, just all the right things to line up before we make a move. What about make the move and then say, OK, so this is a fixed point. What needs to change and you're going to figure it out. All the things that made you successful in the previous job will make you successful.
22:59 - "That was a stupid economic move, but it was an awesome new creation move, and I think that's where we want to do. Start making some really neat new creation moves... to actually live in it... why not actually live like see yourself in the mirror is like, what is Bob possible?
25:09 - "Constantly saying; "what's possible", not what's familiar, but sometimes the familiar will get in the way of what's actually possible"
28:02 - Bob's stories about what he is learning from his time at San Quentin State Prison
32:19 - "There's something really beautiful. I think we can do that as you continue with this work, you're doing with DadAWESOME that everybody gets fed. Somehow they get what they need, but you got to know what you want and you got to overcome what's just merely available and say, get your head on a swivel and say, What's actually what could I do to influence what I want?"
33:27 - Bob's prayer
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