24 David Bacon was born a great uncle (in case you are trying to figure that one out: his sister was already a grandmother when he was born)

As we do this session I am in lockdown with four three year olds and two four and a half year olds, so times are interesting. Dave Bacon is an amazing man and Dad. Dave’s thoughts about Being a Dad are remarkable and his own story is remarkable as well - for instance each his dad, himself and his son were all born in a different century. Dave and his wife Heather have 3 children who are 11 and 7 - he also has twins. Dave is the Founder & CEO of Better With Bacon, recognised as ‘Best Places to Work’, ‘Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch’ and he has been on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies three times. He is an avid skier and very active and holds numerous board positions in altruistic and charity causes. Dave’s father, Ernst Bacon, was a famous composer who had 6 children, 11 grandchildren, 1 great grandchild. Dave was born in 1973. At that time his dad was 45 years his mom’s senior. He was born a great uncle because his sister was already a grandma and of course his niece was older than him. The session is really fun and beautiful. Dave opens up on his own upbringing and all the different perspectives and viewpoints he grew up with in such a unique family setting - think about a 85 trying to parent a ten year old. The overarching theme of his upbringing was always the arts and the beauty of all things. We cover the amazing gift Covid has given us - which is having more time together as families and we talk about how we each handle COVID as families. Dave shares some amazing tips on how he manages to improve his relationship with his children and I have to say he seems like an extraordinary human. For instance the one time his 8 year old had the idea of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro for a fundraiser for a local school, two years later they did just that - and raised USD 103.000. A simple idea became something amazing. Dave also shares how his kids and the family deal with death, how he tried to solidify his kids' impact on himself and how the arts and music impacts their lives on a daily basis. The most powerful takeaways for me as a dad where: Mandate your children to participate in the arts. Keep a field note for each child, don’t date the entries, give it to them later in life. This way they will know the impact they had on you and the world around them in a powerful way. Show your vulnerability to your kids. Make sure they understand you, too make mistakes, all the time. 1.000.000 seconds are 11 days, 1.000.000.000 are 31 years. Our children are multiple time billionaires which is a lovely concept! Kids must know that their ideas matter and also that their ideas are actionable. Allowing my kids ideas into my life is a great excuse to celebrate our relationship. Get everybody to write down three things they are grateful for and read it out over dinner.