My sons grew up. I never stopped learning. That pretty much explains why I still write Letter to Sons.
Where Letter to Sons Started
Letter to Sons began many years ago when my sons were teenagers.
I was going through a divorce with their mother and didn’t have the opportunity to spend as much time with them as I wanted.
I wanted a way to pass along some of the lessons I had learned in life—hopefully helping them avoid some of the stupid mistakes I had made at their age and beyond.
It started simply. I wrote lessons on individual pieces of paper. Eventually those became blog posts. Later I started making videos.
The format changed.
The purpose didn’t.
I wanted to pass along lessons to my sons.
Then My Sons Grew Up
Something strange happened along the way.
My sons grew up.
They’re both men now, out in the world building their own lives. I’m proud of both of them.
But I’m still here. And I’m still learning.
I’m still traveling. Still reading. Still exploring. Still making mistakes. Still discovering things about the world and about life.
And I’m still finding stories worth passing on. Maybe some of those stories will be useful to my sons someday.
Maybe they’ll be useful to someone else. That’s enough reason for me to keep going.
Learning From My Father
My father is part of the reason I think this way.
He was a fantastic father, and I learned a lot about life simply by watching how he lived his.
One of the lessons I learned from him was: Play the hand you’re dealt well.
My father wasn’t dealt a particularly good hand early in life. But he didn’t spend his life complaining about it.
He made the most of what he had. He eventually built a distinguished military career and retired as a colonel.
I learned something from watching him do that.
Not because he sat me down and explained the lesson.
I learned it from his story. And maybe that’s part of what I’ve been trying to do with Letter to Sons all along.
Letter to Sons – Stories Worth Passing On
When I look back at everything I’ve created over the years, I’ve really just been sharing my experiences.
The subjects vary because my curiosity takes me in a lot of different directions.
Different roads. Same journey. But I’m not interested in telling anyone how to live their life.
I don’t have all the answers. Instead, I’ll tell you what I experienced, what I learned and what I think about it.
You can decide whether any of it is useful.
What Comes Next for Letter to Sons
So what should you expect from Letter to Sons moving forward? Nothing radical.
This is a refinement, not a reinvention. I’m going to keep exploring the world. I’m going to keep learning.
And I’m going to keep sharing the stories I think are worth passing on.
My sons may have grown up, but being their father didn’t end when they became adults.
Neither did my curiosity. And neither did my desire to share what I learn along the way.
If something I create helps my sons—or anyone else—live a better and more fulfilling life, then it was worth passing on.
And that’s why I still write Letter to Sons.
I am Doug Keating, and this is my letter to my sons.