Episode #16 – Rodney Kellum |Former workaholic turned Fatherpreneur

Rodney Kellum – Show Notes  Rodney Kellum is a former workaholic turned fatherpreneur. He’s focused on helping parents start and automate their business for the purpose of helping them become more present and engaging with their children. Rodney also loves spending quality time with his family, as well as occasionally playing pickup basketball on the weekends.  Rodney was raised to believe a man should go to work and provide for his family, almost dying at the job. He learned this from his hard working father and grandfather. When he became a father himself, he decided to do all it took as well, which actually was his detriment. “That way to work was wrong; the idea you have to go to work at a place all day and your kids get one percent of your time is no longer necessary” It took some life altering moments and threatening situations for Rodney to change this thinking on “work”. “In reality, I wasn’t doing what was best for my family” In 2008, he achieved what he thought was his dream job, by becoming a video editor. The position was very demanding, but he says the accomplishment blinding him to what was really going on. One day, he couldn’t stand and had severe chest pains, and discovered his left artery was closing. “If I were to have died at that point, I would have left my family with literally nothing. My son would have known me as a hard worker, and that would be it.” Around that time, while watching his son in the evening, he was asked to go into work to do a task that could be done from home, online. Rodney refused as was let go the next day. “It showed me I could choose my son” Rodney feels that the most exciting thing about being a dad is getting to be part of someone’s life forever, and to guide them to be the type of person that God wants them to be. “(Being a father) almost allows you to have a second childhood through their eyes” “Everyday is exciting because you don’t know what’s going to happen” When he first held his son at the hospital, he made a promise that he would always be there, always love him and do whatever it takes to provide the best life possible. Rodney feels the biggest obstacle he had to overcome in becoming a dad was his own mindset.  He had to experience those multiple dramatic events in his life to make the decision to change the way he thought. “When we become providers for our family, it’s hard to open up to another way of doing things” “Until you get to the point where you decide you want to change, any other step you make doesn’t matter. Once things get uncomfortable, you’re going to go back to your safe zone. He recommends that fathers look at the starting line, not the finish line. Start with the decision, then make one small step at a time to reach your goal. Rodney’s advice to Diversity Dads: “Choose everyday to be present and engaged. If you lived and parented every day like it would be your last, how would you do things differently? Do that. You are your son’s example of manhood. Even though you think he’s not paying attention, as he grows older, the things he saw you do or not do, are going to be the things he does or doesn’t do…” INTERVIEW LINKS:www.Fatherpreneurship.com (blog, articles & resources)@Fatherpreneur (Twitter)[email protected] (email)

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