Yesterday was my daughter’s 25th birthday.

I came across the following DEEmail I wrote when she was nine.

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Last night, I had a date with my daughter, Gina.

She came over to my apartment and put on her bathing suit. Being the intuitive guy I am, I asked her if she wanted to swim. She said sadly, “No, because you won’t want to come in the pool.” She knows I am not a big fan of the pool, but this was her date, so I surprised her by saying I would. And man, am I glad I did.

She laughed and giggled the entire time we were playing in the water. She loved it, and because of her joy, I loved it too. Stephen Covey explains it beautifully, and I’m paraphrasing: “You do things that you might not necessarily love to do, but you do them because of the love you have for someone else.”

After the pool, we went out to dinner. She likes to go to this bar/restaurant and always sits next to me in the booth where we play tic-tac-toe (strange how I almost always lose) and hangman. I asked her if I should have a steak or a burger, and she advised me to have the steak and said she’d “eat all my French fries for me.”

As we share a decadent chocolate dessert, she tells me she has made up a song and wants to sing it to me but is embarrassed to do so. I told her that I would love to hear her song.

When we returned to my apartment, she sang a song with beautiful lyrics that blew my mind. I ask her if she made it up, and she assures me she has. This leads to a discussion of music, specifically rock and roll.

She saw my John Lennon collection and asked me who he was. We talked about the Beatles, and I showed her their first album. (She tells me that George is “hot.” Good lord, she’s nine years old!) When she hears it, she can tell what a Beatles song is (I have trained her right!). We listened and danced.

I drove her back home, and we talked non-stop the entire time.

What a night to remember. It was one of my best dates ever.

So what does this have to do with business and making DEEnero?

Absolutely everything.

You see, I have structured my business around the lifestyle I want to have. I can take time off when I want and do what I want; my business does not dictate my lifestyle; my lifestyle dictates my business. I work not for money but for what money allows me to do.

But the truth is, having more money would not have made my date with my daughter any better. It was perfect as it was.

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I hope you enjoyed that as much as I enjoyed re-reading it.

Kick butt, make mucho DEEnero!

Dave “Teary-Eyed” Dee