Over the last decade or so, the term Memento Mori has become rather well known. It's a call for men to wake up, get off their arses and seize the day. It translates as "Remember you are mortal" or "Remember that one day you will die". While this perspective is certainly needed, it's only 1/2 of the equation, and, I believe that it is actually making it harder for many men to make decisions that move them forward

Confession time: I used to be in Amway. Yeah, it's a bit odd for me to even think back on that time. But, I was young and it was my first introduction to the concept of being successful. Coming from humble beginnings as I did, the idea of making it big was tremendously powerful. If nothing else, I learned how to dream for the future I wanted and saw a few examples of other people who started with little and made much.

I've heard from a number of fathers how they long for their kids to know the joys of an 80s childhood, free of technology and plenty of time outside with your friends. I've often longed for this as well...even as an adult! There is no mistaking that the world we live in has changed. Things have gotten soft and along with it, ourselves and the next generation are softer. But, there are some good things as well.

At the end of the day, we have more opportunity to be the fathers we want to be, not just the ones society pressures us to be. We each have an opportunity to be the greatest dads of any generation ever.

Heat sells. It gets clicks and comments and shares and is the primary tactic used by the average media. Some heat is good, no doubt. Truth can be a type of heat that we need to refine us.

Light, on the other hand, can be used to showcase goodness or draw our attention to a problem, but it does so without inflaming the situation. Generating light instead of heat is a skill for sure, and it's one that every man should hone.