It’s a myth to think one can somehow make up for lost time. Rebel Dad wrote recently about a story in the Mercury News about Don Lebeau, a former executive at Cisco. In 1997 he left a high paying career where he worked 20-hour days (that year he made $13 million) so that he could spend more time with his family. Rebel Dad commented that “it’s a great piece on how it’s never too late to come home again.” And while I agree that it is great that Lebeau did eventually decide to make his family a priority, how much better it would have been if he’d made that decision earlier. In 1997 his youngest son was 13, his daughter was 17, and his oldest boy, now 30, had already left home.

Lots of parents have to work. I’m one. But work should never be a priority over one’s family. Never. Family first, career second. That sometimes means setting your ambition aside and doing what is right for your children. And don’t kid yourself about how much better their life will be after you’ve made your fortune. Children don’t care how much money you make. Lebeau’s youngest son, now 20, said, “We weren’t that close. We just didn’t know each other that well.” No amount of money in the world can make up for that. When your son or daughter is 20, and someone asks them what they think of you, they should say: “I love my Dad. He was always there for me.”