It is our honor and privilege as parents to be able to model and mold the behaviors and values we want our children to have as adults. Watching them grow and experience new beginnings and insights proves to be one of the most rewarding feelings ever imagined… especially if we’re able to see it firsthand. With this is mind, it’s my absolute pleasure to share with you this wonderful example of the difference we can all make in a child’s life:

Roberto Daniel, one of the 11 Grateful Leaders featured in Grateful Leadership, recently passed the torch of acknowledgment down to his two sons when he gave them IIL Publishing’s latest book, You’re Totally Awesome! The Power of Acknowledgment for Kids. The behaviors within gratitude and acknowledgment are ones he believes in wholeheartedly and displays wherever he goes with both his employees and family alike.

In this photo, we are seeing Roberto’s two sons—Pedro Henrique, age 13 and Marco Antonio, age 10—the moment after he just gave them their gift of gratitude. I feel that by doing this Roberto has let them know just how important these skills and values are in both the world around them, and more importantly, to him. They are ideals he hopes his sons will take to heart the very same way he has. And hopefully, they will take pride in it and have some fun in the process.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention this last bit of information Roberto was kind enough to send to me:

“Last but not least, the upbringing of my children could only be possible with the strong help and partnership of my beloved wife, Cristiane, with whom I’ve been in love since 1989!”

It’s obvious that the feeling of love, gratitude and acknowledgment are deeply important to Roberto. If we want to have our next generations go from great kids to grateful leaders, this is a wonderful way to make it happen.