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Balancing Fatherhood and Entrepreneurship

Writer's picture: Nasir RashidNasir Rashid

Updated: Oct 29, 2024


The Challenges of balancing fatherhood and entrepreneurship


When Stress Strikes: The Internal Struggle


Every so often, when things get stressful, when there seems to be a lot to do and not much time, especially when my wife complains about how little I’m doing with the children, the thought crosses my mind:


'Why am I doing this?'. Wouldn’t it just be easier to get a full-time job?'

My bills would be paid, and I would have more time with my family, but I know there is some deep-set, visceral part of me that wouldn’t be satisfied.


The Journey with TTG: A Decade of Commitment


I’m 38 and have now set out on a course of entrepreneurship with TTG that will likely last a decade (it’s already been three years). My eldest of three children is 12, and my strongest worry is about the children and how they are going to turn out. I know how important these next 4-6 years are for my eldest child and how his life will likely be shaped. This worries me.


Facing Reality: Time Is Moving Faster Than Expected


The other day it hit me, while lying in bed, that in a few years (less than 24 months), he will be in Year 10. I don’t know why, but that feels different



like it’s a change in him that will never return. I have to make sure I'm fulfilling my duties towards him and the other younger children at this time.


The Entrepreneur’s Dilemma: Regret Over Time Lost


I know, like all those who have traversed this path of entrepreneurship, that in the future, my only regret will be the time I lost with them at this age. It saddens me to consider the loss of their childhood already, and I must arrest any future regret now.


 

A Structured Approach to Parenting


Applying Business Strategies to Their Development


I will therefore approach their education and development in the same way I approach my business in some respects. I will set goals and a dream vision of what they need to achieve by 18. What will drive this is the type of person I wish for them to be. Well, less the type of person, but more the type of skills, knowledge, and experience I wish for them to have obtained.


Building Confidence and Critical Thinking


an image of a young confident boy giving a speech

I wish, for example, that they are confident in themselves and able to speak their minds to different audiences. I wish they can think critically and debate with the best of them. I wish for them to be well-read and always attached to books as their chosen pastime. I hope they are attached to a purpose beyond their immediate needs, one that gives them a reason to wake up.




Instilling Morality and Spiritual Depth


More than anything, I wish they are good moral people, adults who fear their Lord and never cheat. Not out of fear of getting caught, but because it doesn’t align with the type of person they are. I wish for them to be deeply spiritual, by which I mean they have the wisdom and fortitude to sacrifice immediate pleasures for delayed satisfaction.


A young girl doing charity work

 

Balancing Fun and Responsibility


Embracing Mistakes and Youthful Freedom


I want them to have fun. I want them to be able to go into their 20s and make the most of it. Every age has its fruits and blessings that, once ripe, will never bloom again. I often think I was too old too early in the way I led my earlier life. I want them to know it’s okay to make mistakes, and when they’re younger, mistakes are more forgivable.


A New Plan for the Future


I’m glad I wrote this because a lot of these thoughts have been percolating in my mind for a few days, and now I can grapple with and systematise them. I will put together long-, medium-, and short-term plans based on these goals. The immediate goals are quarterly, and the two older children will have their own to see, visualise, and work towards. I’ll update you on our progress.

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