FRIDAY ROUND-UP!

Every Friday we bring you the Friday Round-Up in partnership with DadTrends.com, a companion site to TheFatherLife.com! Cool stuff worth passing along… Enjoy this week’s roundup! And have a great weekend! -TFL

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FIRST LOOK: 2009 NISSAN MAXIMA (Motor Trend)

“In 1989, Nissan introduced the third-generation Nissan Maxima — arguably the most important model in the 32-year history of this car in the U.S. Why? Because of a little 4DSC sticker it plastered on the rear side windows. Car geeks know this stands for Four-Door Sports Car — a bold claim at the time, but one Nissan backed up with a sport-tuned suspension and a 190-horsepower V-6, mated to a five-speed manual. With our current crop of 260-horse Accords and Camrys that may not seem like much, but back then it was enough to get the Maxima SE whispered along with the likes of Benz and BMW. Perhaps Merc and Bimmer comparisons are what Nissan is aiming for now, with its all-new, seventh-generation Maxima. The 2009 Maxima represents a return to the car’s 4DSC heritage — at least that’s what Nissan marketers hope to invoke with the addition of the very same stickers on the rear windows.”

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NEW DAD PERKINS, LIGHT-HITTER EVERETT LIFT TWINS (AP)

“MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Little Lyla Perkins finally stopped crying about 6:45 p.m. on Sunday night, signaling to her new daddy that it would be OK to go to work the next night. It was the first bit of peace and quiet Glen Perkins had enjoyed in about 17 hours, since the Minnesota Twins pitcher got a 3 a.m. call in Kansas City that it was time to come home for the birth of his second daughter. When he hopped the 7 a.m. flight to the Twin Cities on Sunday, Perkins wasn’t sure he would even make it to the Metrodome on Monday night, let alone deliver the best start of his young career against the New York Yankees.”

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HOW I OVERCAME SUCCESS ADDICTION

We’re thinking this is an older article, but still a good one; and relevant! Featuring Tom Sterns of CEO Dad. Enjoy!

“When he was running his own headhunting firm, Tom Stern was a self-described workaholic and absentee father who focused maniacally on his professional success. Then tragedy struck…

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DISNEY’S NEW BOY-CENTRIC CHANNEL, XD: Brace Yourself for a Male Hannah Montana (Babble.com)

I started twitching last Thursday when I heard that Disney is launching a new network called Disney XD, geared specifically toward boys. It’s too late to lock up America’s daughters: Disney has been courting them ever since Prince Charming’s animated lips first touched Snow White’s in 1937. But until now, Disney has been so busy trafficking in princess fantasies (ancient and modern) that they’ve mostly left boys alone, unless you count the omnipresent marketing of Pixar properties like Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean.

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THE BEST SHAPE OF YOUR LIFE (Best Life)

“Three busy men. Three fitness and nutrition plans. Three strategies that changed their lives…and just might change yours. With each rung he climbed on the corporate ladder, commodities and equity trader Alex Gordon also loosened his belt a notch. Gordon served as an officer in an Israeli Defense Force paratrooper unit in his early twenties, where the strict regimen trimmed his weight to 185 pounds and his waist to 32 inches. “They train you until there is no fat left on your body,” he says. “It was like wringing water from a wet towel.” Then he stayed lean on a diet of triathlons and marathons. The Manhattanite clocked his personal best of 3:26 in the New York Marathon at 28 years old and 190 pounds. But with success at the trading desk came added responsibilities. “Business lunches, ideas dinners…every opportunity I had, I took clients out,” says the 40-year-old. “It was steakhouses back to back to back: Smith and Wollensky’s, Del Frisco, Peter Luger.” Gordon’s visits to the gym went from medium rare to rare, and his weight slowly crept up until it reached 231 pounds and his waist measured 38 inches. “I still went to the gym, but I didn’t have a training plan, so I had no consistency, no focus.”

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HOW TO BE A GREAT DAD – 12 AWESOME TIPS (ZenHabits.com)

I’m often asked about raising six kids, and being productive and achieving goals and changing habits in the midst of raising so many kids. But here’s the thing: I do all the other stuff, the productivity stuff, because of my kids. They, and my wife, are my reason for being. It is my lifelong goal to be the best dad possible, and while there are many ways I can still improve, I think I’m a pretty great dad already, when I sit back and think about it. I know there are some readers who are just starting out in their careers as dads, and this post is for you…