To listen to the Lou Holtz Podcast, please click Play above. To listen to it on your personal device, please download from iTunes. (If you received this post via email, you can go to the online blog to listen.)
Lou Holtz is so insightful, and his voice is so soothing to listen to, that no matter what he's talking about, he sounds like your sage uncle who's seen it all and can speak wisely and matter-of-factly on any subject. So I hope you get a chance to download this pod from iTunes.
In the meantime, here are some highlights:
Holtz on work:
Whatever you do, you have to have fun. If you have fun doing something, people have fun watching. If it’s a drag to do something, remember Tom Sawyer painting that fence, acting like it was so much fun – and then people wanted to pay him to do it themselves. Whatever I’m going to do, I’m going to have fun doing it.
Holtz on his greatest accomplishment:
People ask me my greatest accomplishment. It’s not in coaching, it’s not in speaking, it’s not in TV. My greatest accomplishment by far is my family. You’re only as happy as you’re unhappiest child, and we are blessed with four wonderful children who are happily married with no marital problems, financial problems or drug problems. We’re just blessed.
Holtz on the obligation of parenting:
There’s no more important role that you have in life than being a parent. Your obligation as a parent is not to be well-liked. It’s to make your children the best they can possibly be. And that can only happen when you have standards and you demand they live up to them.
Holtz's four axioms of good parenting:
There are certain axioms you have to remember in parenting.
1. When they need love and understanding the most is when they deserve it the least.
2. Never criticize the performer – only criticize the performance. Never criticize them personally.
3. The most important thing a father can do is to show them how much you love their mother.
4. Never praise your children’s friends for a quality they can’t acquire. Praise their politeness, for instance, not their eye color.
On teaching kids responsibility:
From the time our children were two, they had chores to do. Even if it was just putting a fork on the table...Sometimes people look for praise from their children rather than understanding their obligation is to lead their children, to prepare them for life...My son had a job from age 14. I got a work permit for all four of our children. And many of them worked in fast food. Buecause I wanted them to see how nasty the public could be to the people behind the counter, so they would never act that way. And they had to save half their money. I think if we get them to work at an early age and understand responsibility, it helps their self-image. I was a little tough on them, but we also had fun, and laughed. I played ball with them.
The five assumptions he lives by:
1. Everybody in this world wants to be happy.
2. Everybody wants to be successful.
3. Everybody wants to feel needed.
4. Everybody wants to feel secure about their future.
5. Everybody wants to go to heaven.
Try to prepare your children for these. Teach them how to make good choices.
On the importance of family:
The family is what keeps society going. And your obligation is to get your children to make good choices. If you can get your children to understand that choices have ramifications, and that they have to live with the rewards or consequences of those choices, you’ll be fine as a parent.
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And don’t forget: You can LISTEN TO MY OTHER PODCASTS, including Lou Holtz I, Victor Cruz, Eli Manning, Magic Johnson, Joe Torre, Don Mattingly, JR Smith, Archie Manning, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Robert Wuhl, Dave Winfield & Brian Cashman, by clicking >> HERE. <<
