Episode #32 – Nate Turner | Raising a “Supa” child in today’s world

Nate Turner – Show Notes     Nate Turner is a father, entrepreneur and motivational speaker. He’s the author of “Raising Supaman” and the upcoming book “Stop The Bus: A Critique of and Counsel for America’s Educational System.” Nate is also the creator of a program called The GPS, where he teaches parents on how to engage and become zealous advocates for their children.    For his first book, Nate published a collection of letters he wrote his son from ages two to 16. He says his motivation for doing this was the poor relationship he had with his father.     “When I realized I was going to be a parent, one of the things I wanted to make sure I did was that I didn’t mess up my relationship with my son”     The cards and letters Nate wrote helped his son start reading shortly after he turned three years old.     “They were actually more than notes. I mean they’re life lessons.”     Being part of a race that makes up a small segment of fathers is what makes Nate a Diversity Dad, as well his opinions and perspectives on fatherhood. Nate also says the challenges he’s overcome as a father contributes to him being a Diversity Dad.     “(Diversity) is so ambiguous and means so much to so many different people”     Watching his son grow up to be the man he’s become is one of the things that has Nate most excited about being a dad. His son finished in the top 1% for SAT scores, as well as being an All-American in track.     “There’s no one thing I’m most excited about. Just the journey itself has been phenomenal.”     He says one of the proudest moments he’s had as a dad is when his son ran a track meet at 8 years old, and won. After the race, he ran off the track and hopped into Nate’s arms.     “My proudest moment, I suppose, is just him being born and having the opportunity to be a father”     Nate developed an intricate study system based on neuroscience and other things such as nutrition, to help his son succeed.    “I’ve always felt responsible for his success and I’ve always felt to blame for his failure”    He says it’s his role to make sure his son has the right tools to navigate life.    “Whenever he needs me to help him avoid a pitfall or minefield, that’s what I do”     With his GPS System, Nate does a process called “backward design.” He asks parents a first set of questions involving what their hopes and dreams are for their children, and then ones involved parent’s engagement.  This will determine a two-part score, with a probability index of how likely it is their children will reach their goals.     “Any score of less than 100%, we help the parent with a roadmap to help them get there”     His biggest obstacle has just been not being like his own father.    “I just worry about consistently being his father every day and the other stuff I just don’t worry about”     Nate believes that nothing will happen by accident. If you want a great relationship with your kids, you’ll have to plan for it. To do this himself, Nate wrote a pledge consisting of 10 things.     His one piece of advice to other parents is to just enjoy every single moment of the journey.     INTERVIEW LINKS:     www.RaisingSupaman.com     https://www.facebook.com/RaisingSupaman/?fref=ts    @Supamans_Dad (Instagram)