Welcome to Scott Hammond's Blog at BecomeABetterFather.com. Check out Scott's newest book, Every Day Dad.

MICAH HAMMOND–PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Name:  Micah Hammond

 

Profession: Kid

 

Years in Business:  About 9

 

Family Info: Large

 

Hobbies: Construction of amazing contraptions from duct tape, cardboard, and other household items

 

Activities of Interest:  Legos, Video Games, Mine Craft, anything with Video

 

Burning desire: To become King/Ruler/Emperor

 

Something no one knows about me:  Has an amazing tender heart

 

Keys to Success:  Total, absolute creativity—-Is able to move on after blowing up

 

Favorite Quote: “Jack Ass—Turd Sandwich”—-Learned from elder brother Jacob and delivered to older brother AaronIMG_1310

10.5 THINGS MY DAD TAUGHT ME ABOUT BUSINESS—STUFF MY DAD SAID

October 20, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

 

“If you’re in business for just the money—you’re about half paid.”

R.L. Hammond (1921-2004)

My dad was an insurance agent in San Diego County in the 1970-80’s. He lived a life of serving others and his country in WWII. He taught and tutored me in much of what I know and do in business today.

The following practices/ideas of his are sure to ratchet up your business acumen:

  1. BE KIND TO EVERYONE—“It doesn’t cost anything to show kindness to others, Scott,” he would say. Be nice. Play nice. A smile and a small kindness go a long way.
  2. HAVE A FIRM HANDSHAKE/SHAKE HANDS AND GREET PEOPLE- People love to feel important (because they are!). An appropriate handshake and a greeting really affirm others and establishes rapport-quickly. Give the gift of appropriate touch.
  3. TELL GREAT STORIES—People live in stories…We all relate to a good tale and learn more from a compelling story than a lecture. Stories bring relevance to our topic and to our relationships.
  4. BE A GOOD LISTENER—This tells people you affirm them and value them. Empathy is a powerful relationship builder and establishes credibility, reliability, and shows you really care.
  5. BE AN ABOVE AVERAGE SPEAKER—Learn the art of public speaking. Good speakers know how and what to communicate and when.  You can learn to speak well if you apply yourself to the disciplines and use the tools available to you.  “Go to a Toastmaster Meeting”, he would tell me.
  6. HAVE AN AWESOME SENSE OF HUMOR—Laugh sometimes. Have fun with people and stop the somberness that permeates some business cultures. Be appropriately playful with people who like to play and laugh, and cultivate the ability to really laugh at life.
  7. DEVELOP LIFELONG RELATIONSHIPS—Be the person who reaches out and calls and takes the initiative in your relationships. Be that person who spends the time and effort to get to know and serve others. Givers really do gain!
  8. GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT…FREELY—Be that person who can freely affirm, encourage, and genuinely build others up in a truly authentic fashion. Heck—tell those you love how you feel.
  9. BE A GIVER—Share your life, world, resources, experiences, gifts, and time as freely as you feel able and willing.  Be that person who “walks the talk” in your actions and your words. Give to others expecting nothing in return—you will be blessed.
  10. BE SPECTACULAR ON THE PHONE—Learn to use the phone like no one else. Make purposeful and powerful calls that build rapport and relationship. Learn to network using the phone to make great calls and reach out to those you hope to build alliances with. Know how to relate to people via the phone on a regular basis.

10.5. BE YOU—Just be yourself not a second rate version of someone else. Trust yourself, be   yourself and others will resonate with the “authentic you”.  There is only one of YOU—be the best you possible and you will succeed in life, business, and awesome relationships!

 

R. L. Hammond

PARENTING TIP #10.–TO KNOW IS TO LOVE

June 23, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

To know is to love…

As you learn more about who your children are and how they have been designed–how they are wired…

Let them know and discover  more about yourself as well. Let them in on YOU.

Disclosure and being real and open as a parent is key to developing a healthy relationship with your kids–for a lifetime.

Can you keep it “real”?…or do you tend to put on a “parenting self”… as you deal with your kids.

My twenty-something kids call this being “Legit”.

Children can smell a fake a mile away—do the know you, like you, and trust you?

Only then you can have a great relationship!

Have the goal of no one in your family being afraid of another family member.

Let patience, kindness, love and the willingness (courage) to trust and be trusted as you move forward as a family.

Authenticity is the key—can you be real and keep to the role of a great parent…Yup!

 

4th Annual Fathers Day Writing Contest

May 27, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

In honor of Father’s Day and fathers everywhere….

www.becomeabetterfather.com is sponsoring our 4TH Annual Father’s Day Writing Contest.

We want to know our readers opinions of what it takes to be a AWESOME father.

We value your opinion and would love to hear from you and what you think makes a great dad.

The question we pose is:

” MY DAD MAKES A DIFFERENCE  BECAUSE__________________.”

That’s it!

Here are the official rules…

  1. Write about what you think an AWESOME father is (A poem,essay, or other writing form) LIMIT 300-500 WORDS and simply email to us!
  2. Email your entry to sjhammond@suddenlink.net
  3. You must have your entry posted by midnight, Pacific Standard Time, June 30th, 2011.
  4. July 1st, 2012, the lovely Mrs. Hammond will pick a winner based on what she think rocks!
  5. The winner receives a free full one-hour consultation with Scott Hammond, an Every Day Book,  a full-featured blog post on www.becomeabetterfather and much more!
  6. We will post an entry on this blog in July  2012,  containing links to the winning entry…… so you will get a free link out of the deal.
  7. You will win an autographed copy of the Every Day Dad: the Guide to Becoming a Better Father!!

That’s it and good luck! The question remains:   “MY DAD MAKES A DIFFERENCE

THE HAMMOND BOYS

BECAUSE__________________”

Best,

Scott Hammond FO-9
Father of Nine

WWW.BECOMEABETTERFATHER.COM

WWW.EVERYDAYDAD.COM

PARENTING TIP #6.–LET THEM HELP

May 26, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

There is such a thing called “Buy in” in life and business and child rearing.

Give your child the opportunity to have some “buy in” in your everyday living at home.

There is a lot Junior can help with and join in with you in daily choices around the house.

Let her choose dads tie in the AM…or maybe just the dress shirt or pants.

It can be her area of responsibility to keep dad looking sharp!

There are 1000′s of ideas to choose from–Be creative!

One thing my son and I do is shave together—He has no blade!

This is a great example of enjoining in a common and bonding “guy” activity.

Begin to look for these opportunities and grab them today.

Remember–You don’t HAVE to but you GET to.

You can shift your paradigm as needed!

You are the parent and the initiator and the one who is able and accountable for a relationship with your child.

It is all up to you–Carpe’ Diem today!

Be that dad or mom you want to be and you will leave a positive legacy and a life of significance.

2 Musketeers.

PARENTING TIP #5.–Create Some “Special Time”

May 13, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

Create some special time with just you and your child.

Just that intentional 1 to 1 time can yield big relationship dividends.

Name 1 thing you can commit to and JUST DO IT!

Burn that bridge and get that date with your kid into your mental or actual day-timer today!

Set up a standing date AND also be spontaneous.

Both in concert will benefit your relationship for years to come.

Remember this:  Quality Time comes from Quantity Time—-You must invest your precious time.

Name the activity then—movies, outings, sports, trips, food,  chores, projects and so much more…….

You don’t  HAVE to do this—You GET to…

It is not because she has earned this time, but because she needs this time with dad.

What do you say dad?

Parenting Tip #4.–Give Them Some Responsibility

May 5, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

Give your kid some custom fitted work.

What I mean is this: find some small responsibility that is perfect for your child.

Convey to him that he has been carefully selected for this special job.

Pick something that is age and ability appropriate and assign it—do it in writing or a chart if necessary.

There are 100′s of small responsibilities to choose from—pick a few.

Here are a few categories—Home, car, pets, yard, kitchen, food, garage, trash, dishes, laundry, and the list goes on….

This assignment will do 3 key things for the family.

  1. Create a sense of value and worth in Junior–She will feel awesome as she is successful and told so.
  2. You as a parent will have a lighter load–Now you can spend that quality time with her or some YOU Time.
  3. There will develop a family culture of teamwork–You will all begin to understand and experience family team contribution paradigm.

Start today and be smart–”Let” them pick out some pre-arranged chores and take ownership.

Chart it and hold accountable. Keep it fun and encourage and reward with frequency.

You and they will be glad you did–You are the parent and the leader: make this happen today!

 

Parenting Tip #3.—Demonstrate your Love and Show Affection

April 28, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

As parents, be demonstrative of your love for each other.

Show appropriate physical affection.  Do this parent to parent and parent to child as well.

I am reminded if I refuse to hug my teen girls, there are PLENTY of young men ready to fulfill my duty…

Our kids need regular, appropriate physical touch—so does our spouse. So do I!

The kids need to see in each parent  nurturing, gentle love and , when needed, the firm-yet-respectful love.

This “tough love” can manifest in a “courageous conversation” (not lecture dad!) or in simply doing and saying the right thing–always in a spirit of love.

Show your love today—Be a “hugger”—Surprise them by being that person who is warm, loving, and not afraid to show it.

BTW: say “I love you”—regularly, and mean it.

 

PARENTING TIP #2.–STICK TOGETHER!!

April 21, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

As parents, we need to support each other’s decisions as we train our kids and raise them into adulthood. 

If you are not willing to support each other’s parenting decisions morally or philosophically, do not implement the parent action until you can.

This is the essence of Parental Unity. think, act, and be as one as you parent!

This will likely require meetings between mom and dad to make proposals, listen, adjust, refine, compromise, and convince.

Change will be the outcome—change in approach, attitude, and perhaps outcome in the way you parent.

The key here is this: Are you willing to lay aside SOME of your past parenting paradigms–you know the stuff your parents did.

be committed to arriving at a place you both can accept and support as a team. otherwise , you’ll be divide and such division will be sensed by the kids.

It is in their and your interest to reach agreement and become unified as you parent together for a lifetime those you love and are in a parenting role with.

Hot Tip: Hold hands next time you have a “courageous conversation” with your child. First off–it will blow their mind.

Then, they will see you are in unity and may even listen attentively as you both speak from the strength of your new found unity.

Go Team!

 

Parenting Tip #1—For the Difficult Child

April 14, 2012 by  
Filed under Scott Hammond

Parenting Tip number one.

Show and speak united as parents –Be United and mutual in your communication to your children.

As often as possible, address your child together, preferably holding hands as you do.

When addressing your children as an individual parent, always represent the “parent team ” and speak accordingly.

Speak and act as one unit—be in common on how you handle issues, communication, and problems with your challenging child.

We tried this with our son Micah—We held hands and spoke our truth for that moment.

It really blew his mind!  He couldn’t believe it—he sat there quiet and watching and listening!

Try it today—Make it real and “legit”… Can’t fake unity.

You’ll be surprised

Hey Micah!

at your results and response!!

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