Author Archives: Greg Hague

About Greg Hague

I am an entrepreneur, attorney, author, motivational speaker, pilot, and world motorcycle traveler. First and foremost I am a dad. And, I am the founder of www.savvydad.com. My new book, How Fathers Change Lives, is a "Chicken Soup" collection of stories about remarkable dads... 52 examples of doing it right. What they say. What they do. Best advice. The stories are inspiring, touching and fun. The life lessons are great. This book has been recommended by some very special people including my friend, NY Times #1 Best Selling author Harvey Mackay ("How to Swim with the Sharks.."). In its first month it received over 50 five-star Amazon reviews. Learn more about Greg. Follow Greg on Google+

Fifty-Dollar Dad

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“Live as if tomorrow is your last and you will never regret the yesterdays passed.”

—Brian “Trigs” Hague

Today’s story is about Phil, the fifty-dollar dad.

Jack is an enterprising young lad. The youngest of four boys. Definitely driven.

fifty-dollar dad

He’s been working extra chores for two weeks. Saving up. Just a few bucks more. Rationing his snack money. Selling old baseball cards. Whatever he can.

50 dollars. A dream to most 8 year olds, but not to this little man. Jack saves while his brothers spend. He works while they watch TV. $4. $9. $17. $29. $44. $49. And then, he is there. Fifty bucks in his hand. Jack has a plan. READ MORE 

Small Potatoes

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“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear you speak.”

—Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today’s story is from Art Ernst.

During the Great Depression of the middle 1930s, my dad and his brother, Roy, decided to trade a bushel of my Uncle Roy’s potatoes for a bushel of Dad’s apples when they ripened.

Bushel of potatoes

Small potatoes

After visiting Uncle Roy and Aunt Edith one Sunday, as we started to leave for home, Uncle Roy said “Oh, by the way, I have your bushel of potatoes ready.”

Our car had no trunk so Uncle Roy placed them next to me on the back seat. I observed how clean and large were those potatoes. But, upon removing them from that bushel basket, we found smaller ones in the middle. When we got to the bottom, there was several inches of dirty, dinky little misshapen potatoes. READ MORE 

Daisies & Dads

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“Some people don’t believe in heroes. They haven’t met my dad.”

—Anonymous

My dad? Quite simply the best. He can do anything. Build anything. Be anything.

daisies and pearls

Doggy/Daddy dates

My friends all had the same generic Barbie dollhouse. My dad built a custom, three-story doll mansion for me.

My friends had pretty lunchboxes. Dad painstakingly hand-painted custom lunch bags with pretty murals and colorful characters for me.

All the furniture in our house… bought in a store? Nope. Handmade, by Dad, perfectly styled for the 70’s decor. READ MORE 

Alvy & Me? We Only Lack Biology

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“One of the biggest needs in our generation is for men to step into the lives of boys to train them, equip them, and cheer them on to grow up as they begin the process of ‘manning up’.”

—Dennis Rainey

Today’s story is from Melanie Jongsma.

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines father as “a man who gives care or protection to someone.”

Groovy young family

Groovy young Jongsma family, 1970
(Melanie far right next to her dad Allen)

Care. Protection. Indeed. Real fathers are not a product of biological luck. True dads help and protect, no matter the bed they’ve slept.

It’s why men who step in can be great dads with no biology at all. Step dads. Granddads. Coaches. Teachers. Mentors. Each with a chance to change lives for the best.

Melanie Jongsma, our guest today, is a professional writer, editor, and wordsmith extraordinaire. In Melanie’s words, a snapshot of her dad, a father in every sense of the word. READ MORE 

Guns N’ Roses N’ Dad

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“I mean we all need a second chance sometimes.”

—Joel Osteen

Story contributed by Andrew Loos.

Every kid should have the good fortune of throwing an awesome high school party his friends will talk about for years. In Kansas, where I grew up among a group of fervent teenage metalheads, it was a God-given right.

highschool years

Andrew and his dad Doug circa 1992

So naturally when Guns N’ Roses and Metallica announced they would be making a stop in my hometown on their world tour, I seized the opportunity to plan such a shindig before we all departed for the concert. Like so many tragically missed opportunities in our young lives, this concert-of-a-lifetime happened to be taking place on a school day. But we weren’t going to let that stop us.

Mom was out of town with my brother at tennis camp and Dad, out of town on business. In hindsight, it almost seemed too perfect. So at 9:30 a.m. that day, we gathered at my empty house to get the festivities started. READ MORE 

Bored? Here, Read This.

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“Books can be dangerous. The best ones should be labeled, ‘This could change your life.'”

—Helen Exley

Story contributed by Barbara Shallue.

I was seven or eight when I uttered that inevitable childhood chant to Daddy, “I’m bored.”

“Bored?” he said, handing me an old, mildewed copy of ‘Black Beauty’.

“Here, read this. You’ll never be bored again.”

I was hooked.

Here, read this

Barbara Shallue and her dad

I’m Barbara Shallue. I’m a writer, blogger and photographer. I can trace my passion for words and images back to Daddy’s early tip. And Daddy was right.

As long as I’ve had something handy to read (and I try to make sure I do), I’ve never been bored again. Besides Anna Sewell’s ‘Black Beauty’ — and hence, every horse book I could get my hands on — Daddy got me hooked on historical fiction. READ MORE 

What My Father Taught Me About Being An Entrepreneur

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“Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

Author Unknown

Story contributed by Brad Handler*

Brad Handler entrepreneur

Brad Handler

My younger brother, Brent, and I are fifteen months apart. We grew up with a father obsessed with business and real estate. Any time we passed a lot for sale my dad would take his eyes off the road and wonder aloud if the parcel was a good buy. My mom had to remind him every time he had my brother or me in the car, to pay attention and not let his eyes wander. He was constantly looking for the next “big deal” in Denver’s real estate market.

Other kids would play catch with their dad but not us. The only competitive sport in our house was Monopoly. My dad, brother and I would spend long weekends in marathon games at the kitchen table. Dad would coach each of us on how to best build an empire. He’d then go off to work on Monday morning and build his. READ MORE