20 questions to ask your father on father's day - Al Arnold Part 2

Ep109: 20 Questions to Ask Your Father on Father’s Day Pt2 | with Al Arnold

If you’re listening to this now, my hope is that you’ve already listened to part 1 of this conversation with my dad. If you haven’t yet, here it is: Ep108: 20 Questions to Ask Your Father on Father’s Day Pt1 | with Al Arnold.

As I mentioned in part 1…

For a long time now I’ve wanted to sit down and do an interview with my father to ask him the big questions about life that we seldom (if ever) really discuss. So for this Father’s Day, I decided it was time to prioritize this conversation, even if it meant having to suffer through the perils of recording on Zoom as opposed to chatting face-to-face.

This episode is a very special and personal one that I recorded for me, not for social media shares, not for search engine optimization, and not to grow an email list. This one is for me. But my hope is that listening to today’s conversation inspires you to reach out to your parents (if you’re fortunate enough they are still alive), or your siblings, or those who helped shape the person you are today so you can have an honest conversation just like this one.

This is the second of my two part interview where I’ve created a series of 20 specific questions I’m calling “20 Questions to Ask Your Father On Father’s Day” (which can of course be repurposed to suit your needs). These questions were inspired by a similar exercise from high performance coach Brendon Burchard in this Facebook post.

If you’d like to use the same 10 questions I asked in this second part of this interview, here they are:

YOUR FAMILY

  • How did you meet your spouse, when, and how did you know they were the one?
  • Were you scared to become a parent?
  • What is your proudest memory of being a parent?
  • What three words would best describe your approach to being a parent?
  • In regards to both their careers and life choices, what is the most important thing my children should focus on?

YOUR LIFE

  • What three words would you say best describe who you tried to be in life and how you want to be remembered?
  • What were the three best decisions you’ve ever made?
  • What are you most proud of in life?
  • What message do you have for your spouse that you want her/him to always keep in mind about you and your relationship together?
  • What are you most thankful for?

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Useful Resources Mentioned:

Ep108: 20 Questions to Ask Your Father on Father’s Day Pt1 | with Al Arnold

Ep120: It’s Never Too Late to Get Stronger (and Become a Ninja) | with Ginny MacColl, ANW

Parenting Resources for Creative Professionals

Guest Bio:

al arnold photo

Al Arnold has been working with struggling readers for fifty years as an elementary classroom teacher, elementary principal, and instructor at the university graduate level in a program for certifying reading teachers and reading specialists.

He has always been engaged in studying the science of reading and struggling readers and applying it in his work. The elementary school where he was the principal received an award from the Education Trust in Washington D.C. for improvement in reading achievement.

In 2007 he established a reading clinic to implement and further refine the techniques and curriculum he has learned and developed to remediate struggling readers.

Arnold Reading Clinic

Arnold Reading Magic iPad App

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Zack Arnold and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).

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Zack Arnold (ACE) is an award-winning Hollywood film editor & producer (Cobra Kai, Empire, Burn Notice, Unsolved, Glee), a documentary director, father of 2, an American Ninja Warrior, and the creator of Optimize Yourself. He believes we all deserve to love what we do for a living...but not at the expense of our health, our relationships, or our sanity. He provides the education, motivation, and inspiration to help ambitious creative professionals DO better and BE better. “Doing” better means learning how to more effectively manage your time and creative energy so you can produce higher quality work in less time. “Being” better means doing all of the above while still prioritizing the most important people and passions in your life…all without burning out in the process. Click to download Zack’s “Ultimate Guide to Optimizing Your Creativity (And Avoiding Burnout).”