Welcome again to anyone that stumbles across these posts.

If this is the first one you are reading then please check out The ‘Why’ page for a little insight into how this project came about and why it means so much to me. If you have already watched that and are still interested then below is the first letter I wrote to my beautiful daughter and was the beginning of all of this. And lastly to my daughter, my wife, family, and friends, I love you dearly and I am so grateful that I have the chance to share this with you.

28/12/2017

The Beginning

“It always seems impossible until it’s done” Nelson Mandela

Where to start? This first passage has been a longtime coming. I have been mulling over the idea of writing to you for quite some time and like a lot of things in life, it got put off and put off and stayed just an idea in my head. I recently heard some good advice from someone I look up to, Scott McGee (I’m sure I will talk a lot about him over this project), and that was that if we don’t start the projects that we are passionate about right now, we may never get the chance. We take life for granted and go on believing that there will always be more time around the corner but that’s simply not the case.

So here I am, It’s the 28^th December 2017 and you’re currently in your Grandparents toy room with your mum. I’m sitting on their deck and hearing you laugh and giggle with your mother brings an involuntary smile to my face. We are a few days past your second Christmas and it has been a lovely little break away with family. I have cherished watching you play and interact with everyone, you are certainly not shy, and I love that about you. You are so full of personality and cheek, not always the good kind, but you wouldn’t be my daughter if you weren’t.

You have been amazing through this busy period of travel and events but are definitely going through a ‘I need to be with mum at all times stage’. In all fairness you are teething, and it has been a bit hectic so it shouldn’t stick around for too long and your ridiculously bright smile makes up for most of it anyway. It is actually one of the first things that everyone notices and comments about you, your smile and how happy you always are. You instantly brighten up any room that you’re in and I hope that is a quality that you will carry with you forever.

Anyway, back to this project and the whole point of it. I wanted to leave something for you to read, turn to, learn from and share in the event that I wouldn’t be here to share them with you myself. I’m by no means the most knowledgeable person around but I love to read, listen, absorb and discuss everything from training to philosophy to success & happiness and I would hate to have not left any of the lessons I have learnt/ am learning so far, in my short 27 years, to you. Like I said earlier I have spent the last year and a bit of your life expecting that I will always be around to answer your questions, guide you and help you grow but that may not be the case and that makes me grateful to have started today. I will continue to write until I come to a stage that I no longer can and I hope it will help you in your life.

I don’t want this to feel solemn or anything as, to me, it feels like it is one of the most important and happy things that I will do in my life. You will notice that I have an affinity for quotes and will use them a lot over the coming pages, that and many nods to the people I look up to in life. In this situation I will add this quote by Deuteronomy Rabbah “In vain have you acquired knowledge, if you have not imparted it to others.” This quote explains one of my personal core values from the last few years as I place an extremely high premium on helping others in absolutely any way possible, no matter how big or small it may seem. I can only hope that I pass this value on to you as I believe that it is one of the most important values in this world.

You are not far off 14 months old now and I already couldn’t imagine my life without you and your beautiful mother in it. It’s always going to be a biased opinion but you are the most wonderful little girl in the world darling, and I can’t wait to share my writings with you.

I was talking to your Grandfather the other night and mentioned that I was compiling some writings for you. I asked him if he had to give one sentence of advice from his 69 years of life, what would it be? He gave me a simple but important line “Find your niche in life and whatever it is, do it well”.

Until next time sweetheart,

Dad