What do you want to be when you grow up – and how can you get there?

We live in a world of opportunity. Now, more than ever before in history, average people have the chance and tools to do anything they want with their life. It’s a sad fact that even with the near endless resources that tools such as the internet provide, there are still plenty of people out there that either don’t want or don’t know how to use them to get where they want to be.

The first and definitely the hardest step for most people is deciding on what it actually is that they want to be. There are limitless choices out there from fireman to astronaut to restaurant owner to professional surfer. It’s well worth the effort to do some soul-searching to get a handle on what it is that most appeals to you. And don’t sell yourself short either. Think of all of the people out there that are actually doing the job that you dream of. Chances are there’s more than one person already doing it, and that with a bit of effort, you can be doing it too!

Which brings me to my second point. Don’t let anyone convince you that you are less than anyone else. Every person that has succeeded in attaining their dreams was once in your position. Granted they may have started earlier than you or taken a different path to get them to where they are, but don’t let this discourage you. If you’re starting towards your goal later in life, the only thing this changes is that you need to be even more focused and determined to achieve your goal. Remember too that you have an advantage over everyone else by the simple fact that you can draw on your own unique experiences to get you where you’re going. Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective on things to give you the advantage.

So now that you’ve got a vague idea about what you want to do, you can start making inroads into getting started. The first thing to do is to find out the bare minimum you need to work in your desired field. Chances are, you will need some form of education, such as a degree of diploma, and you may even need relevant experience. Use the internet to gather as much information as you can, but don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call around.

Once you’ve worked out the minimum credentials you need, it’s time to get to work completing them. Most people at this point will likely give up, so if you can power through this most difficult section, you’re over half the way there. To be honest, it’s very daunting making changes to your life. You’re probably going to have to give up some things, like free time and spending money, but ultimately, this will not be forever, and the achievement of your goal will make it all worthwhile.

When I went through all this, working towards a computer science degree by distance education, I wanted to give up after the first couple of years. I didn’t feel like I was making any progress, and was getting discouraged. Lucky for me, my wife talked me into staying. She gave me 3 reasons why I should keep going:

1. The time is going to pass anyways. In 5 years would you rather look back and say, “Wow, I just finished my degree – that wasn’t so bad after all” or “If I ha stayed at uni I’d be done now, but since I dropped out, I’m still in a rut”.?
2. Look back on how much you’ve already achieved. 2 years of part time study looks really sad on paper because it amounts to only a handful of subjects. Looking at it in the context of the whole degree however, I realised that I was 1 full year through – well on my way! Never underestimate your achievements. They build up over time without you even noticing them.
3. You only live once, so if you’re not working towards your goals, then what are you doing? The answer to this, I realised was that every minute spent doing anything other than achieving my goals was a waste of time.

In this day and age, anyone can do anything they want. You may have to start smaller than some other people, or work harder, but ultimately, if you focus on your goals and work hard every day to achieve them, you will be unstoppable.

Written by Shaun Daws 11-12-2008

How to be more productive while sucking the marrow out of life

This year has been a very busy year. In the past 12 months, I’ve walked inside the Great Pyramid, moved countries/hemispheres, got a new job, fathered a child, bought a flat, completed a semester of university, bought a car and raised funds for charity, all while making time to spend with my wife, family and friends. Looking back, I find it amazing that all of these achievements are behind me, and the only thing that has really suffered is this blog (sorry everyone, I’ll promise to write more often).

In the process of going through this I’ve learned a lot of lessons on how to keep organized, and how to get the most out of each day. Below is a quick synopsis of what I’ve learned:

1. Just do it: I’m not going to reference the old Nike commercial on this point (damn I just did!). The important thing here is that you’re better off getting straight into doing whatever tasks you have on your plate immediately, rather than procrastinating. Make this a habit. I used to be the worst offender – I would leave everything until the last minute, then try to do everything at once. I’ve found that by diving straight in (especially to the unpleasant tasks), I get everything out of the way quickly, so that I can enjoy the feeling of accomplishment later.
2. Make a list: In order to make the most out of “just doing it”, it’s important to make a list of all of the things that you want to get done. This can be everything from taking out the garbage to enrolling in a course. The important thing is to get everything down, then start as soon as possible. My advice is to do the easiest and smallest stuff first. This will give you a psychological boost that may help you to get the rest of the list done.
3. Plan to do nothing: No person is a machine, so it’s really important to schedule some time to take a break. Even though it may seem counter-intuitive, taking a few hours out here and there can actually increase your productivity while you’re performing your tasks. Included under this heading is making sure that you have enough sleep. You can do the occasional late night/early morning, but on the whole, aim to get 8 hours a night.
4. Have a goal: There is nothing more demoralizing than having nothing to look forward. For this reason, it’s important to set goals and milestones for each of your tasks, especially the big ones. An example is doing university part time. If you think about the next 10 years toiling away after hours, then it will be easy to get discouraged. Work towards the end of a subject, then the end of a semester, year, halfway, etc. By keeping your focus in the short to medium term, while at the same time trusting your long-term plan, you can do anything.
5. Decide: A wise person once told me that the worst decision you can make in life is not to make a decision. I want to make a quilt or something emblazoned with this saying. So many people I know have watched years of their life slip away without achieving anything. It’s really important to stop every now and then and chart out the course that you want your life to take. Remember, you only get one shot at life (allegedly), so make it a good one!

And basically, that’s it! Keeping things simple and organised is the trick, so get out there and start doing it!

Written  by Shaun Daws – 4/11/2008

How to succeed at an interview

Mastering the Interview is an essential skill for any worker. Most people will work a number of different jobs in their life, so to ensure that you have the best chance of getting the pick of those jobs, here’s a few pointers.

Be On Time

It’s important to remember that an interview is like a game of chess. Every move you make will affect how you are perceived by the inveterviewer. With this in mind, be sure that your opening move is to be on time. No company wants to employ someone who’s always late, and that’ exactly the impression you’ll make if you arrive even a few mintes after the appointed time. Make sure you know exaclty where you are going for the interview, and make sure that you leave yourself a 10-15 minutes grace time before the interview starts, in case of traffic problems or wardrobe malfunctions.

Look your best

Like it or not, humans are programmed to pay more attention to attractive people. In general, the better you look, the more persuasive you will be, and the better chance you have at passing the interview. This isn’t to say that unattractive people don’t find work, but what it does mean is that you should make every effort to look your best.

In an interview situation, it’s normally better to be over-dressed than to be too casual. Men should always wear a suit, even if applying for a low-level job. There is no outfit that a man can wear that will make him look better than a suit. It’s a simple and essential part of your wardrobe, so if you haven’t got one, buy one as soon as you get a chance.

It’s also important to ensure that you’re properly groomed. Having interviewed many people, I can speak from personal experience that if you have unbrushed hair, ratty fingernails, and/or BO, then you’ve immediately lost points with the interviewer and may not end up getting the job, even if you’re qualified for it.

Prepare

Most interviews will follow a standard format. Basically, the interviewer wants to establish 2 things: are you technically proficient enough to do the job, and are you going to be a good fit in the company.

Passing the first part should be easy, since you’ve most likely applied for a role based on a description which you think matches your skill set. It’ still very useful to run through a list of technical questions that you thin your interviewer might ask and prepare some answers to handle these questions. You may already know the answers off the top of your head, but it always helps to make sure that your thoughts are organized.

The fitting in side of the interview is often where people fail at the interview. It’s important that this stage of the game is essentially a popularity contest between you and any other interviewees. Bear this in mind when you’re at the interview and make a conscious effort to be polite, articulate and confident.

Some companies make a point of asking a series of “situational” questions that are used to gauge your reaction to a hypothetical or past experience. Examples of this are, “describe a situation where you had to give someone bad news” or “you have an irate customer on the phone, who hasn’t received the product your company sold them. How do you handle the situation?”. These questions can be difficult to handle off the top of your head, so prepare in advance how you would answer questions like these. Before the interview, make a list of the following:

• A bad situation that you managed to resolve
• An example of a time that you worked as part of a team
• An example of a time you had to break some bad news
• Your best trait (Pick something that a company wants to hear like “I’m really reliable or I’ve very detail-oriented”)
• Your worst trait (This is a bit of a tricky one, since it’s designed to get you to shoot yourself in the foot. Try to think of something that sounds bad, but can actually have positive connotations for a company. An example would be: I’m a bit of a workaholic…)

The list of possible questions is endless, but if you have a few key situations in mind, it may help to answer similar questions. Remember, that if you can’t think of an example from work, you may be able to get away with an example from your life outside of work. If all else fails, just make something up. It’s better to give them a bit of a story than to sit there racking your brain in silence.

Psychology

Psychology plays a huge role in an interview. Any advantage you can give yourself on a psychological level is important. Really understanding the psychology of interviews can take a bit of time and practice, but here are a few tips.

1. Wear glasses if you have them. Most people tend to associate glasses with intelligence.
2. Dress nicely. As mentioned above, dressing well increases your attractiveness, which in turn increases your likelihood of being liked.
3. Look the interviewer n the eye. Eye contact shows the interviewer that you are confident.
4. Speak in a clear, level tone at a normal volume. Speaking to loud can put interviewers off, and speaking too softly will make the interviewer think that you lack confidence.
5. Mind your manners. People respond well to good manners. Standing up before shaking hands, saying please and thank you, and generally being polite will never hurt.
6. Sit up straight. Slouching can give the impression that you are lazy or disinterested. Sit or stand with your back straight and your chin up.

Speak!

One problem that a lot of people face is that they clam up when they’re feeling shy. They might answer in single-word sentences or mumble. It’s really important to try to get a dialog going with your interviewer. Start the interview by asking a few chit-chat type questions about the weather or about the interviewer’s weekend, or whatever. If you can turn the interview into more of a conversation, then the interviewer will be more inclined to relax, which will help you make a favourable impression.

The interview process can seem quite daunting at first. Some people put it in a similar class to public speaking, but with a bit of preparation and a nice set of clothes, you’ll be landing that dream job in no time!

Written  by Shaun Daws – 26/09/2008

10 ways to grow your savings

Have you ever noticed that it’s much harder to get ahead nowadays than it seems to have been for the Baby Boomer generation? Gone are the days when a janitor or nurse can own their own home and have money leftover for a car. Many people are facing the prospect of renting for life, barely scratching out a living, despite what should be deemed as well-paying jobs. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight, with housing becoming ever more unaffordable, and petrol prices on the rise. So what can we do?

Well, all we can do is wait it out, and in the meantime, SAVE as much as possible. But how?

In this article, I hope to be able to demonstrate how a few small changes in behaviour can have you saving up to buy that house in no time.

Disclaimer: This list has been compiled based on my own experiences, and no formal financial training. I have found these techniques very helpful, and hope you will too. Many of these items assume basic things such as you are willing and able to work, and aren’t an idiot. If you are at all unsure about these suggestions, or don’t understand them, please see a professional financial advisor.

1. Create a budget

Just the word Budget is often enough to send most people into a boredom-induced coma. The fact is, if you keep on top of it, it’s actually quite easy. All a budget is a list of everything you have coming in and going out. The more detailed the budget, the easier it is to see where the money hemorrhage is coming from. Start by writing down all of your bills, including rent, car payments, etc. Be sure to put some money aside for saving and going out. It’s always good to stick a bit in the Miscellaneous column too, just in case.

2. Pay Yourself First

This one I actually got from one of those bargain-shelf self improvement books, but I’ve found it to work anyways. Basically what it means is that when you get paid, have an idea of how much you should be saving and put this aside before you allocate money for shopping, rent, etc. The best way to do this is to write up a simple budget, which lists all of your regular outgoings and your income. Hopefully, you should have a bit

leftover, which will represent your savings and spending money. Put the savings bit aside now – a reasonable amount is 10% of your net pay- you shouldn’t miss this too much as most people will fritter away more than this on random junk without even realising it. By all means, if you can afford more, then put more away, just make sure you don’t leave yourself short. It may not seem like a lot right away, but as long as you keep on adding to your savings each time you get paid, it will soon start to mount up.

3. Get a separate account

It’s relatively easy and cost-effective to open a high-yield savings account these days. Many banks will offer special savings accounts with high interest rates if you put in a minimum deposit. The interest is not overly important for our purposes, though. What is important is that the money is removed from your day-to-day spending account. By keeping the money one step away, you are more likely to forget about it and only spend what you have allocated yourself. It will also prevent you from accidentally overdrawing fromyour bank account and having to make up the savings again some other way.

4. Develop multiple income streams

Having multiple sources of income may sound difficult to achieve, but it’s really not that hard. There are many ways that you can achieve more income. For example, if you put your savings into a high-interest account or term deposit, you will receive an income from your savings, without having to work a day for it. By leaving the interest in your account, you can more rapidly increase your savings via compound interest (earning interest on the interest you were paid in previous months). When looking for a high-interest account, make sure that interest is calculated daily, that there are few or no account keepng fees, and that there is no risk associated with the account.

There are many other ways to earn money from alternate sources. These include a second job, stock dividends, advertising revenue from blogging, etc. Be creative. There are a lot of jobs out there, and hundreds oof ways to make extra cash. Just remember that if someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

5. Get educated

Ultimately, the best way to save more money is to earn more money. It’s a well established fact that people who spend the time and money to get an education are normally rewarded with increased salary and better job options. A university degree is often ideal, but don’t discount trade and technical schools, night school and distance education. There are thousands of courses out there in all manner of subjects that may give you the edge you need to change jobs or get a promotion. One thing to steer clear of though is those private “schools” that offer a fast-track to success with a guaranteed job. Normally, these quick-fix schools will charge the earth for their training and though you may end up with a new job, chances are it won’t be that amazing role that the guy on the advert landed.

6. Shop smarter

We live in an age of disposable products where everything from shoes to cars are replaced on ever-increasing frequencies. To a large degree, this wasteful practice is hard to avoid, but making a converted effort to buy items that will last can save you a lot of money in the long run. the key to doing this is to spend your money as much as possible on things that will last long and that you will actually use. For example, do you really need that juicing machine? Be honest with yourself. Is this thing going to sit on your counter for the next few years, having only been used once or twice? If so, then why waste your money? If you are going to use it all the time, then why not spend the extra $50 and get the best one? It will likely last longer and work better while you have it.

7. Ask for more

One of the most stressful experiences anyone faces at work is asking their boss for a raise. The secret to getting this to work is knowing your own worth within the company. If you are a good employee and feel you are worth more to the company, then go ahead and ask. Remember, it’s a rare employer who will just offer you more money. Ask and you shall receive!There’s an excellent article over at the Art of Manliness that does agreat job of explaining it all.

8. Know what you can claim

Tax time for many people can be a very stressful time, especially if you run your own business. It doesn’t have to be this way. You can quite easily turn tax time into payday by following these few simple rules:

1. Keep receipts for everything

2. Get organised – have a place to put your receipts at least. Ideally, you’ll want to sort them for easy retrieval at tax time, but just having them all in one place is a good start

3. Get a professional to do your tax. There are dozens of things that you can claim on your tax return that you may not even be aware of. Hiring an accountant to do your taxes only costs a little, and can in some cases yield a large tax return.

9. Make your lunch

This one may become apparent once you’ve done a budget, but people nowadays spend a huge amount of money buying their lunch every day. By spending a few minutes each night or morning, you can save hundreds of dollars a month. Another major benefit of making your own lunch is that you’re in control, so you can have whatever you like. This can be a great way to stay in shape too.

10. Work smarter, not harder

Finally, the way to make the most of your money is to try go maximise your returns with the least amount of actual work possible. This can be done using all of the techniques outlined above. Once you’ve mastered these, it’s time to start looking at other ways that you can improve your circumstances. The more you work on improving things, the better you’ll get at it, and the better off you’ll end up being.

These are just a few tips that I’ve developed over the past 30 or so year. If you have any suggestions or experiences that you think would be of benefit, please feel free to share them!

Written  by Shaun Daws – 24/09/2008

Face it…you’re going bald

There are several conversations that it would be nice to be able to have with your dad, but that you most likely never will. One such conversation is the dreaded topic of hair loss. Let’s face it. If you’re reading this blog, then you’re probably young enough to still have your hair, but it’s likely that your wife or girlfriend has already noticed that patch starting to spread over your scalp.

wtf?

Baldness is DNA’s little joke on men around the world. Generally, the more testosterone you have coursing through your veins, the more likely you are to experience premature baldness. Why this is the case, nobody knows, but it’s important to make sure that you don’t let it beat you.

Men dread going bald more about as much as women dread getting fat. It makes us feel like we’ve somehow done something wrong to offend God and that his punishment for us is to walk around like some mange-ridden dog. The fact is, there’s not very much you can do about it. The more you try to hide it, the worse it looks. Toupees and wigs are a poor subterfuge, which may, if one’s lucky, fool a few people, but inevitably, there comes a time when you’ll have to fess up to the masquerade, and admit that you’ve lost your hair. You could otherwise walk around wearing a hat all day everyday, but if anything, this will draw more attention to you as people try to work out what you’re hiding. Drugs and surgery may seem like the last resort, but many of these treatments are expensive, and some even lead to impotence, chronic pain and other health problems

The final solution

There is, however, an alternative: It may be time to shave your head. Taking the plunge to shave your headfor the first time takes balls. You’ve spent a lifetime with at least some hair on your head, and in a few minutes, those days will be gone. It’s something akin, I imagine, to deciding to become a nudist. Once the deed has been done, however, you will immediately start feeling better. There are several reasons for this.

The first reason you’ll feel better is that you no longer have to hide the fact that you’re losing your hair. It’s kind of like jumping instead of being pushed – you’ve kept your dignity and nobody can take that away from you. No longer having to worry about your bald spot yields a tremendous sense of relief, which stays with you for the rest of your life.

The second reason you’ll feel better is that now you don’t have to worry about combing, styling, and to a lesser degree, washing your hair. This leaves you with more time to devote to other aspects of your life, for example, learning to shave correctly.

The third reason, and one that often comes as a big shock to most men who take the plunge is that there are a lot of women out there who find bald men attractive. When I say this, I don’t mean weirdo’s that are also into S&M and small animals, I mean normal women, like your girlfriend, or your friend’s girlfriend It may be that there’s some evolutionary correlation between the loss of hair and a woman’s ability to recognise this as demonstrating an increase in virility, or it may just be that shaving your head makes you look like a hardass. Either way, women like it, so what more reason do you need?

Shaving your head is easy and takes about 10 minutes. You can pick up set of electric clippers for less than it used to cost you for your last haircut, and will last anywhere between 1 and 5 years depending on the quality of the clippers and how well you look after them. remember, you don’t have to go all the way to the scalp at first if you don’t want to . Start with a #2, which is still pretty short, and work your way down to a #0 as your confidence increases and your remaining hair disappears.

Written  by Shaun Daws – 23/09/2008

The Shave your dad forgot to tell you about

Shaving has always and will forever be the single most important lesson that a father should teach his son. Now, when I say “Shaving”, I don’t mean just slopping some goop on your face and going for broke with a $20-per-quadruple-blade,vibrating plastic razor, I mean doing it properly with a metal-handled, double-edged razor blade.

A bit of history

A long time ago, way back when your granddad was a boy, men used to visit barbers, and trust them to expertly shave off their daily growth with a simple “cut-throat” razor. These constant visits to the barber were a great experience for the most part, however, men longed for something cheaper, easier, and safer.

About one hundred years ago, there lived a man named King Gillette. Before you ask, no he wasn’t actually a king, that was just his name. He was a salesman looking to make a name for himself via a brand-new selling technique, which he apparently also invented. He saw the need for a cheap shaving option, and seized upon the idea that a man could use a simple handle, and attach to it thin, mass-produced metal wafers that could be used to scrape off facial hair. He would sell the handle for a low price, and create a dependency for these tiny bits of sharpened metal that became known as razor-blades.

This was the beauty of the system. You could go out and buy a pack of 100 blades, which represented some 400 shaves for only a little more than the cost of a single barber shave. Gillette’s idea revolutionised the industry and was the precursor to many other great inventions that were marketed in a similar way (think video games or DVDs).

Ok, but why bother?

So, now that you know how it began, you may be thinking, “But that was 100 years ago – surely today’s technology is far superior – why take a step back?”. To answer this question, it’s important to understand that the improvements made were to the sales model, not to the razor.

 A typical double-edge razor blade pack of 10 might set you back about $10 (it would be even less if demand were what it used to be). Compare this to one of the latest 3 or 4 blade “systems” and you’ll realise how much more money the shaving companies are pulling in now.

DE razors are beautiful in their simplicity. A single, inexpensive blade has2 sides, which means it will last twice as long as a single-sided blade.Since there’s only 1 blade ever touching your skin at one time, there’s less irritation. Single bladed razors don’t clog up with gunk, so are easy to clean.

Modern-day blade systems by contrast are expensive, they have several single-sided blades which get used up quickly. They can get gummed up with shaving cream and become unusable even if they are still sharp. They have a pre-set angle, which means that no matter how long you shave with them, you can’t significantly improve your technique.

Don’t get me wrong. A modern blade will still give you a close shave, and they are marginally easier to learn with, but once you’ve gone DE, you’ll never go back. I like to think of it as similar to driving a car – you can learn an automatic more quickly, but driving a manual is sooo much better once you’ve learned how.

Great, so where do I start?

Warning: Once you have started, DE shaving can be very addictive. Many men before you have fallen into the traps of Razor Acquisition Disorder (RAD) and Blade Acquisition Disorder (BAD). For more information on these terrible afflictions, please visit http://www.badgerandblade.com

There are a huge number of variations on what to buy, how much to spend, and other such considerations. I would recommend starting small, giving it a try, and going from there. Below is a very short list of things you’ll need in order to get started:

1. A Razor: This is the hardest part of the process because there are hundreds of razors out there to choose from. Some pharmacies will sell simple DE razors made of plastic. These are fine to start off with, but won’t really give you a full DE experience. Many people inherit DE razors from their dad or granddad, so ask around, and you may be able to come up with one. Most people nowadays tend to find quality razors online either from eBay, or by Googling for razor supply shops…have a browse to see what you can turn up.

I would recommend having a look at the Badger and Blade website before making any purchases. There are hundreds of forum posts detailing every aspect of DE shaving, so it’s an excellent resource for the new DE shaver, and they’re newbie-friendly too!

2. Blades: Blades usually come in packs of 10. They can be difficult to find at first because they tend not to show up in the usual places. If you don’t see any double-edged blades in your local pharmacy, ask at the counter as they will sometimes keep them back there since they are potentially dangerous. Most shops stock basic, but decent brands like Wilkinson Sword or Mercur. These blades are fine for beginners as you won’t really notice a difference between blades until later down the track.

3. Brush: It’s important to get a quality shaving brush. They come in several different types and styles. As a rule of thumb, the cheapest ones are made of boar hair, which is coarse and doesn’t absorb much. Stay clear of these, since they take longer to work up a lather with, and tend to poke your skin a bit. The expert’s choice are badger hair brushes, which are excellent. These tend to be quite expensive, and come with the morality tax of having come from a living creature. If, like me, you don’t want any animals to have died to give you a close shave, I recommend the Body Shop’s synthetic shaving brush. It’s nearly as good as a badger brush, is soft and durable, and only costs a few dollars.

4. Shaving cream or soap: There are a myriad of shaving creams and soaps out there, so it’s hard to know where to start. In general, you get what you pay for. Look for all-natural products with few ingredients. You want something that smells nice and generates a good lather. Again, Badger and Blade is a great resource. Personally, I would recommend grabbing a tube of cream from the Body Shop when you go to buy your brush. Remember, good creams may seem a bit more expensive than the chemical-ridden junk sold next to disposable razors, but a small tube of the good tuff will last ten times longer than the average can of goop.

The Shave

OK, so you’ve got your razor, brush, cream and blades, and you’re all rearing to go. Since it’s quite difficult to describe exactly what to do in writing, I will defer this part to the experts.

I refer you to the legendary Mantic video series on YouTube.

These videos are an excellent resource for the beginner DE shaver, and discuss purchasing equipment, techniques, and everything else you’ll need to know.

Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoy your shaving and are as happy with your new close shave as I am. The key things to remember are to research before you buy, and apply as little pressure as possibly – let the blade do the cutting.

Happy shaving!

 

Written by Shaun Daws (September 22, 2008)

About Dad’s Workshop

For generations, it has been tradition for fathers to pass down the wisdom gained from their own life experience and their own hand-me down advice to their sons and daughters. This rich tradition has been followed for possibly thousands of years, yet in the past couple of decades, the world has seen an erosion of this tradition.

Somewhere in the mid-eighties, a phenomenon know as “latchkey kids” arose. These were children given house keys to let themselves in after schools since their parents both presumably at work.

Having both parents working was meant to allow parents to be able to afford to give their kids everything they always wanted, and enjoy a much higher living standard than they otherwise would with a single income. It has become evident that this plan was not as successful as it was intended to be, with the result being increased divorce rates and kids essentially raising themselves.

An entire generation of latchkey kids have now grown up and are facing the challenge of having children of their own. These new parents are finding it difficult to cope with the pressures of the world created by their parents, largely as a result of not being given adequate guidance as they’ve grown up.

As with most things, there is a silver lining to this story. Left to their own devices, latchkey kids have learned to source the information and tools they need in order to survive. They have learned to leverage technology to allow them to work smarter, rather than harder, in order to keep their heads above water. Some, like you, my good reader, have the luck to stumble across repositories of knowledge salvaged from previous generations, that allow them to fill in the gaps left by their too-busy parents.

With this in mind, welcome to Dad’s workshop! Here you’ll find articles designed to ensure that those lessons that our parents and grandparents learned are not lost on the younger generations.

This site is mainly geared towards fatherly advice, and so will mostly be relevant and exciting to all of the sons out there, however, there will be many daughters that may find the information in these pages useful, so I highly encourage everyone to have a browse for an article or two that interests them.

I hope you enjoy your time here, and appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Dad