

ABOUT SCOTT
My motivation for writing this book comes from a number of places. Firstly, when I had my first (and only) child eight years ago, I was completely fucking oblivious to the shitstorm that was about to erupt in my life. To be completely honest, the first six months was a breeze for one main reason, my baby slept very well.
At around the six-month mark, something happened though. My daughter stopped sleeping, and when I say stopped sleeping I mean those exact words, “stopped sleeping.”. When this started we thought it was just a phase that she would quickly grow out of and that we were lucky that she slept well for the first six months as we got our bearings as new parents. Well, that phase turned into a living nightmare of two years where I could count on one hand the number of full nights of sleep, I had the privilege of achieving.
I owned a wellness centre and was the sole practitioner at the time. I had to drive 30 minutes on the highway to get to work and still to this day I don’t know how I didn’t kill myself from falling asleep at the wheel on those drives.! I slowly disintegrated into what felt like the “Living Dead” and shuffled my way through life like a zombie for the next two2 years.
What went wrong? I gained roughly 15 kg (35 lbs). My diet was horrible. My exercise routine was non-existent. My business was struggling, and we were having trouble keeping up with paying all of our bills.
On top of that, I was depressed and I was drinking too much. My vision for my life was gone. My passion for my relationship was at an all time low (ie no sex to be seen anywhere). And, most importantly, I was not being a good Dad.
On the postive side, I did learn how to sleep while lying on the couch and pushing the pram back and forth. This seemed to be the only way my bub would sleep!
After about two and a half years, the sleep situation finally started to improve for my kid. If you are not aware of the effects of chronic sleep deprivation, it might seem as though once you get a good night’s sleep, you’d begin to feel better.
However, the opposite is actually true. You feel worse! It probably took another year before I began to feel somewhat normal again. The good news was that I was no longer experiencing chronic sleep deprivation. But, the bad news is that my life was still in shambles.
I wish I had the wisdom, knowledge, resources, community, and accountability to pick myself back up and get going with life.
But I didn’t.
I felt like I was a lone tree in the forest and I was lost. Truly and utterly lost. I trudged aimlessly through life for another year or so and simply existed. Life wasn't horrible, but it was great either. I wanted more. I wanted better. But, I didn’t know where to start or what to do.
Looking back I am truly not sure how I did it, but somehow I managed to climb out of the shithole that was my life and eventually make it to where I am today. It wasn’t easy. Actually it was fucking hard. I didn’t have a Playbook to help guide me through the process. I didn’t have the support network and community that would have made the process so much better and more fun.
My journey is not over. Not by a long shot. And I am not exactly where I want to be in life, but I am a whole lot closer to the life of my dreams. I lost all the weight I had gained (and then some more) to be in the best shape of my life (at 43 years old).
My diet and exercise routine are also dialled in. My business has exploded over the past few years. I now have one of the most successful practices in Australia that allows me to easily pay all my bills and take a few holidays every year. My investment portfolio is growing every month and I am setting myself and my family up for financial freedom for years to come.
I have an awesome relationship with my daughter and we keep getting closer every day. I’m proud to say I am the coach of her netball team and love being called “Coach Scott” by the team!
I now have a clear vision and purpose for my life (which includes the Daddius retreat) and a plan to execute and achieve it. The passion is back in my relationship, which is in the best place it has been since my daughter was born. And I have a great community of like-minded people that surround me and push me to greater heights than I could ever do on my own.
My hope is that this book will help the Dads out there that are wanting to be BETTER. Better Dads. Better husbands. Better providers. Better health. Better sex life. Better finances. Am I missing anything? I believe this book and the accompanying 30-Day Challenge is just the right thing for Dads to make life BETTER.
Secondly, I want to mention my relationship with my own Dad. My Dad’s Dad (my grandfather) was a no hugs, no kisses, no affection of any kind, “grow up and be a man” kinda Dad. He provided for the family on a monetary basis and that was about it. And my Dad followed suit. My Dad was a man of few words, just like his Dad. I only remember my Dad telling me he loved me a couple of times and hugs and kisses were as rare as a leap year.
To be honest, I totally get why my Dad was (and still is for the most part) the way he was. He was raised that way, and therefore raised me, my brother, and sister, the same way.
We all do the best with what we know in life, and being a parent is no exception to that rule. When my Dad had me he was in his mid-20s. I was the third child and it was 1975. Not a lot of advice, knowledge, or support for Dads back then!
I decided early on that I was not going to repeat my Dad’s parenting style. In the 21st century there is a lot more resources, knowledge, and support, and I want this book to have a pivotal part to play in the journey Dads take to becoming BETTER.
I hope you enjoy the book!