125 – New York Times Best Selling Author Bill Danko Lost His Father & Brother, Tony, to Multiple Sclerosis

Transcript:

Dad to Dad 125 – New York Times Best Selling Author Bill Danko Lost His Father & Brother, Tony, to Multiple Sclerosis

[00:00:00] Tom Couch: The Special Fathers Network is thrilled to be sponsored by Rubin Law. A multi-generational law firm dedicated, exclusively to serving families, raising children with special needs. It’s not one thing they do. It’s the only thing they do. To find out more, go to rubinlaw.com.com, rubinlaw.com or call (847) 279-7999 and mentioned the Special Fathers Network for a free consultation.

(847) 279-7999. Rubin Law.

Bill Danko: That’s a joy. And likewise, when you have the opportunity, like I had with my brother, you know, he had a good attitude. He was a faithful man. You know, he was, you know, spirituality and religion were important to him. I don’t think he could have survived as long as he did without, uh, without having that faith.

I, I truly believe, you know, was he ever [00:01:00] upset or despondent? Yeah. But you get over it. You had a good attitude.

Tom Couch: That’s David Hirsch’s guests this week. Bill Danko, a father of three and a New York times bestselling author. Bill had a brother, Tony who had Ms. And sadly died in 2015 at age 68, but through faith and an incredibly upbeat attitude, bill keeps keeping on and we’ll hear his story on this Special Fathers Network, Dad to Dad podcast.

Here’s David Hirsch.

David Hirsch: Hi, and thanks for listening to the Dad to Dad, podcast, fathers, mentoring, fathers of children with special needs, presented by the Special Fathers Network.

Tom Couch: This Special Fathers Network is a Dad to Dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs through our personalized matching process.

New fathers with special needs children connect with mentor fathers in a similar situation. It’s a great way for dads to support dads, to find out [00:02:00] more, go to 21stcenturydads.org.

David Hirsch: And if you’re a dad looking for help or would like to offer help, we’d be honored to have you join our closed Facebook group. Please go to facebook.com groups and search Dad to Dad.

Tom Couch: And now let’s hear this conversation between Bill Danko and David Hirsch.

David Hirsch: I’m thrilled to be talking today with Dr. William Danko of Niskayuna, New York, who’s the father of three grandfather of five, a retired professor from State University of New York at Albany and a New York times bestselling co-author of the 1996 book, the millionaire next door, and more recently richer than a millionaire, a pathway to true prosperity bill.

Thank you for taking the time to do a podcast interview for the Special Fathers Network.

Bill Danko: Wow, thanks for inviting me.

David Hirsch: You and your wife Connie been married for 46 years and the proud parents of three adult children and five grandchildren. You were also the brother to Tony. One of your older brothers who was incapacitated at age [00:03:00] 23 by multiple sclerosis and died in 2015 at age 68.

Let’s start with some background. Where did you grow up? Tell me something about your family.

Bill Danko: Okay. Well, I’ve always lived in upstate New York and had a good public school education. Before that thinking about college, my prospects were limited in a sense. Because I, my dad died when I was five years old.

He was 38 and my mother didn’t drive. And, and in fact there were some relatives that live two counties away from me in upstate New York that I never knew existed until about five years ago when, uh, A graduate student at the university said to me, you know, I think we might be related. I said, right. And so I asked her, okay, who was blazed [00:04:00] Danko?

And she said, without missing a beat, that’s my great-grandfather. Okay. And we went on from there. So it was very limiting in terms of, uh, My sphere was, you know, growing up in this, uh, you know, small town in upstate New York when I was ready to apply to colleges. I applied to Sienna the university at Albany and Harvard.

I still have my rejection letter from Harvard. It’s very, very nice me down nicely, but I got into Sienna and the state university. So I went to the university at Albany, just because of the economics of it. As it turned out, it was, uh, a very good choice. I got a good education, met some good professors and, and it really spurred on my career and my interest in education.

Excellent.

David Hirsch: I’d like to go back a little bit. Um, from what I remember, you’re the [00:05:00] fourth of four children. Your, um, dad was a world war II Navy veteran. And what did he do for a living?

Bill Danko: He, uh, well, his education was limited to a 10th grade. But he had a heart of gold and he was directed, you know, he did the right thing and world war two by signing up, even though he had his first child already, patriotism was alive and well, and he served in the Navy and the, yeah.

Asian theater, the South China seas specifically, and did what was right to defend the flag and our freedoms. So, I mean, I really look at that as a character. I mean, even though he died when I was five, it was certainly something. When I look back at the historical records, you know, he served with honor.

And then when he came back, he worked with, uh, uh, GE and, um, Well, he wore a neck tie. So it wasn’t a really blue collar [00:06:00] because you know, the pictures I see with him and, uh, in the GE photos, he’s wearing a neck tie and a suit. So that’s, uh, that’s something I think. Okay. But, but he worked with his hands. He, he designed a machine tools.

It was a very good skill that he, uh, acquired maybe through his Navy years. And it just goes to show you don’t need a college education to be productive. That’s lesson number one.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, I’m sorry to hear that. He passed away at such an early age and, uh, when you were only five, was it a multiple sclerosis?

Is that what

Bill Danko: it was? And, and when I look back, you know, in the research of Ms and how they were treating it at the time, Heavy doses of steroids, steroids to alleviate the AMS, but it was the steroids that probably contributed to his ultimate demise.

David Hirsch: Do you have much of a memory of your dad or not really?

Bill Danko: No. I really don’t. Um, it’s uh, [00:07:00] in fact, the only memories I have are of him standing on forearm, crutches. You know, it’s there, wasn’t a lot of interaction in that sense. Uh, you know, not playing baseball or throwing a football around, he just, couldn’t

David Hirsch: sorry to hear that. And I can only imagine what it was like to be your mom, but what’s four kids and, uh, your dad in a declining situation had such an early age, uh, what a burden that seems like it would have been.

Bill Danko: Yeah. And yeah, my mom who just died in 1998 at the age of 84, you know, she was a high school graduate. It didn’t have a lot of, uh, you know, technical skills and, but she didn’t spend a lot of money either, but what she did have was love for her family and that’s perhaps one of the best things you can pass down, I think.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, two important characteristics, you know, one from your dad about [00:08:00] being Patriot and doing the right thing. And then, um, the love, and I think when I think about a mother’s love, I think about it’s probably as close as we’ll ever experience unconditional love.

Bill Danko: I think so, you know, and my mother even took care of her mother and heard the cleaning, uh, days and years seems like forever, but, uh, She, she really, um, put her heart out there and got the job done.

So let’s

David Hirsch: segue to a special needs. Uh, first on a per a level we’ve made reference to your brother, Tony, who was diagnosed at his age 21. I’m going to guess about your age 16. Did you have any experience with special needs prior to learning about your brother’s diagnosis?

Bill Danko: Again, just witnessing the, uh, [00:09:00] deterioration and the health of my grandmother and the brief encounter with my father.

You know, you know that, um, song a hush little baby don’t you cry, you know, the real version of that. The first verse says, hush, little baby. Don’t you cry? Don’t you know, your mama was born to die. I mean, it sounds pretty stark, doesn’t it? That

David Hirsch: sounds right.

Bill Danko: Yeah. You know, we grow up with these sanitized versions of what a nice little LA nursery grime, but, um, again, I have to go back to my father.

Yeah, that was the very first funeral I went to. And I guess when I was five that’s when I realized that I don’t know if I called it mortality, but I certainly realize that we’re all on the same path and we have a one-way ticket and I got it when I was, you know, understood or began to understand at the [00:10:00] age of five.

I know a lot of people who have come and gone through my life and. I’m saddened by it, but also I can’t lament it. It’s we just got to do what we can to make life filled with dignity as much as possible.

David Hirsch: So, um, I’m wondering, um, when your brother was diagnosed, uh, what was your reaction? What was the family’s reaction to all that.

Bill Danko: Well, initially it’s, you know, there are various, uh, strains, if you will, of Ms. And some other folks that I know in the community have what is called the intermittent. Strain. And most of the times they have good days and sometimes they have bad days, but the point is with, I don’t know if this is actually the technical term, what my brother had, but it was [00:11:00] a ratcheting down.

And I think it was called chronic progressive. Ms. So it never got better, you know, if, if he lost the sense in his fingers, uh, they never got better, then it goes to this hands and then it contractions too. Yeah. He would say, come on, you just pull my arm down and just straighten it out. Jeez. I don’t want to break it.

And you can break it, but you gotta be gentle. Basically. He was, uh, by the time I got him, so to speak as primary care or a responsibility in 1996, I mean, I had to feed them, bathe them, dress them, make sure he got the right medical care and. Kept them out of a nursing home. And, you know, and that’s one of the good things about being an academic, I suppose, you know, you make your own schedule, you don’t want to abuse it by any [00:12:00] means, but, uh, you have some flexibility in terms of, uh, when an aid doesn’t show up, guess who’s the aid

But every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, I was to personal aid and that’s, uh, that was quite an experience and it was good. It was good. I wish I could do it again. I really it’s a missile.

David Hirsch: Yeah. That’s pretty powerful. Um, was there any meaningful advice that you got, uh, that helped you put all this in perspective?

That’s again, not lost on me that your dad died of Ms. Your brother was diagnosed with Ms.

Bill Danko: I don’t know anything can prepare you other than love, really. That’s I think the only thing that will prepare you, when you say I have to get it done, I will get it done, you know, and you can make it fun. I mean, fun.

If you will. You know, I used to drive a Mercedes pretty cool. [00:13:00] I traded it in for a wheelchair van and, uh, Yeah, a Honda Odyssey, then you buy the new car. Then it goes to a chop shop in Michigan and they, you know, lower the floor and rearrange some wires and you get it back and you get great parking spots, but, but it was absolutely incredibly important, you

David Hirsch: know?

Yeah, well, uh, thanks for, uh, emphasizing that, uh, the used Mercedes to the, uh, a wheelchair, uh, adapted van, the very vivid image in my mind. So I’m sort of curious to know what impact Tony situation has had on his other siblings, your brothers and sister, as well as the rest of your

Bill Danko: family. Well, you know, you gotta be realistic.

Am I? Well, his brother who is 11 years older than I, he lives 250 miles away. I mean, it’s just, wasn’t [00:14:00] practical to say like, come on, you gotta come here every weekend or every other day, that’s just, wasn’t going to work. And my sister, um, you know, was happily married and, you know, lived mostly in Florida that wasn’t going to work either.

That’s even further away. And, uh, and boy and my sister, Jay’s just, it was last October. She and her husband died in a car crash. It was just, um, trying to avoid a deer, hit a tree. She died instantly. My brother-in-law died a week later. Man. Talk about a sudden impact. They were getting ready to get down to Florida.

Hey, life goes on though, right?

David Hirsch: It seems like there’s been a revolving door of loss in your family from a very early age and then throughout and a very poignant. Um, thank you.

[00:15:00] Bill Danko: But none of us will escape it now. That’s it? Oh yeah.

David Hirsch: There’s very few absolutes in life, but that’s one of them.

Bill Danko: Yeah. And you know what.

Uh, I have a goddaughter in Los Angeles. Who’s a funeral director and, uh, she, uh, Yes, private moment. We’ll say she puts the fun in the funerals. Okay. No, but she takes the job very seriously. I told her she could take care of my, uh, details when the time comes and she said she would

David Hirsch: well, um, you have an interesting perspective on things.

And, uh, that was pretty clear to me that you’re a glass half full type of person. And I think part of that has to do with the battle test. That you’ve been subject to starting at a young age.

Bill Danko: Yeah. Cause you know, having taught almost 10,000 students at the university, you hear all sorts of comments and questions and [00:16:00] complaints about, Oh, this is too hard.

And I remind them, you know, what hard is hard is digging a ditch and a rainstorm. That’s hard. What we’re doing at the university is having fun, exploring ideas. And as long as you look at. Your vocation of whether it be the research and it’s fun doing the reading and the, well, not so fun doing the writing, but when it’s done, it’s fun.

Um, you know, that’s, that’s a joy. And likewise, when you have the opportunity, like I had with my brother, you know, he had a good attitude. He was a faithful man. You know, he was, you know, spirituality and religion were important to him. I don’t think he could have survived as long as he did without, uh, without having that faith.

I, I truly believe, you know, was he ever upset or despondent? Yeah. But you get over it, you know, it’s he [00:17:00] had a good attitude.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, it sounds like, uh, his attitude, um, is infectious, right? Because if you see somebody in a situation like you’ve described with your brother and they’re positive and upbeat, it’s hard to feel sorry for yourself.

Right. It’s hard to have a pity party for yourself when you know, somebody else’s, you know what they wouldn’t give to trade places with you.

Bill Danko: Exactly. Cause there’s somebody always worse off than you.

David Hirsch: So I’m sort of curious to know if there’s any supporting organizations that you or your family relied on for Tony,

Bill Danko: you know, not in the secular sense, but, but I really have to say the Catholic church was a. Incredibly important. And again, even with having the van [00:18:00] was important, uh, there really was no excuse in, uh, you know, getting to mass and, uh, we did it.

Yeah. That’s the best support group.

David Hirsch: Well, thanks for sharing. So, uh, let’s uh, switch gears and talk about, um, the books you’ve written. And, uh, the first, I think, as the Seminole book that you had partnered with Dr. Thomas Stanley, and from what I remember, he was also at university of New York at Albany. At the time that you were collaborating, was he a mentor to you?

Because he was a little bit older? Or what was your relationship with him?

Bill Danko: Yeah. It was a consumer behavior class in 1973 that I got an a in, but he liked my attitude about how I approach problems. And he invited me to take part in his very first study of the affluent market. So it all started then in [00:19:00] 1973, he encouraged me to get my MBA under his direction at the same university.

And then right after that was completed. He went on to go teach at, um, Georgia state university that I went to RPI to do a PhD program at the lolli school of management. But then in 19, uh, 93, even though we had done from 73 to 93, a number of academic articles and some consulting studies in 1993, he called me up and said, look, I got this idea called big hat, no cattle.

And I could say, well, what are you driving at? He goes, it’s about people who look like we have money, but don’t okay. This was intriguing, you know? Cause you have a nice hook here about who the pseudo affluent are. So we did some more, a survey research, a nationwide survey. [00:20:00] I did the computer analysis on it and in 1996, the book was published and it’s been a runaway bestseller and still, still selling.

Okay. I love the backstory.

David Hirsch: Thank you for sharing. One of the most important takeaways for me when I was reading, rereading the book, the millionaire next door, where is that? There’s seven factors that you and Tom had outlined. We could go into all these and have a robust conversation, but the one that really has struck me and maybe it’s because I’m the father of five now, adult children.

And, you know, we’re sort of at that point, as they’re leaving the nest and starting lives of their own, um, trying to figure out, well, what role, if any, do we want to play from an economic standpoint? And I’d like to drill down on this bill, because I think it’s super important. And I’d like you to share with us what it was that you and Tom were focused on, on this economic, outpatient care.

[00:21:00] Bill Danko: Yeah. You know, the wisdom of Warren buffet comes into play. He famously said, give your children enough so that they can do anything, but not so much. They can do nothing, you know? Well, what is the best gift you can give the next generation? Well, how about a good education? How about good health care things that are, uh, I don’t want to say intangible, but things that are really lasting, you know, you’re grateful.

I know my own children are grateful for the fact that, you know, their undergraduate degrees, you know, were largely subsidized by mom and dad. And they’re grateful because they have a lot of their friends who are in debt. Still, so parent EOC is really economic, outpatient care, I think is really about good parenting.

Yeah.

David Hirsch: Well, it’s easy to talk about. I think it’s more challenging to draw the line, you [00:22:00] know, uh, at what point do you stop paying their insurance, their cell phone bills, underwriting their vehicles and things like that. And, uh, you know, not all parents are on the same page, right? And one of the things I always fall back on is that, you know, we shouldn’t do for our kids, what they could do for themselves and give them an opportunity to do it on their own.

Right. Because I’ve seen way too often, not only from a personal perspective family-wise, but from a professional perspective when mom and dad are always just quick to pick their kids up and don’t want them to, to experience any failure. Um, and I think that that’s. How we become more resilient. That’s how become more self-sufficient is to have to do things on our own and figure it out.

And I think that’s the message I took away from the concept of this economic out-patient.

Bill Danko: Yeah, I did a presentation a number of years ago on the West coast. Um, [00:23:00] It was parents who are software engineers and their children were in the same luncheon session. And the emphasis was about economic outpatient care.

I can tell you, the parents loved the presentation and the kids hated me what it’s called tough love. Isn’t it?

David Hirsch: Yeah. And it’s just, uh, you know, making them physically responsible, right. Helping them be, not making them, helping them become physically responsible.

Bill Danko: Again, millionaire. Next door came out in 1996 and still selling.

But you know, that pivotal period, you know, when I had the primary responsibility for my brother through 2015, until he died. Really made me not question, but really think about what is really valuable in life. And that really became the, uh, the inspiration for, uh, the next book richer than a millionaire that, you know, in that book, it reiterates and reinforces the same [00:24:00] concepts in the millionaire next door, but it takes on another aspect inspired by Benjamin Franklin when he said, you know, do not depend so much on your.

Prudence and for Galilee and industriousness, excellent things. They are. Because it can all be blasted without the blessing of heaven. And therefore we must always be charitable to those around us because there’s always those in need. And when you think about that wisdom for more than 250 years ago, I mean, it’s classic.

I mean, but look in Christianity, we have Matthew 25, don’t we, you know, that what you’ve done to the least of these you’ve done unto me. Yeah. One of the pillars of Islam is almsgiving being charitable Judaism. I mean, it’s big on philanthropy and I think it’s a Isaiah 58 that talks about very much the same things that are in a Matthew 25 in the new [00:25:00] Testament.

It seems like a universal idea that we have an obligation to help others, not the government helping, but. People helping people on a one-on-one basis. I really think that’s not only wired into the religions, but also, you know, when you think about what Benjamin Franklin said, well, that became really an important part of richer than a millionaire because we demonstrate that you can have, um, Great wealth and score very low on the so-called happiness or subjective well-being score.

That’s incorporated in the book and there are other people will have modest wealth who score very well in high on this subjective wellbeing. And so when just my. Like we’d looked up the prodigious accumulators on the under accumulators of wealth. We can do a contrast and compare of the well adjusted versus the [00:26:00] maladjusted and the things that make the well adjusted so well, adjusted are truly they’re God-centered they believe in the golden rule of doing onto others as you would have them do onto you.

They’re at peace with their soul. I mean that inner peace, I mean, that is so valuable. We live in a stressful world than if people can just understand the things I have in their life are valuable, then they don’t need other external things, you know, be happy with what you have as really the message and richer than a millionaire, because money.

Yeah, but when he buys good healthcare, when he buys good cars, good neighborhoods. But what about the inner peace.

David Hirsch: You’re touching on a really important issue. And, um, I’d like to. Reflect on the book, which came out in 2017. So just a few years ago [00:27:00] now, and it wasn’t lost on me that you dedicated the book to Tony, your brother.

And there was a quote in the front of the book that said in all ways, spiritual Tony was far richer than a millionaire.

Bill Danko: Yeah.

David Hirsch: I thought that was really touching.

Bill Danko: Thank you. In fact, uh, my coauthor Richard van, this, uh, Came up with that maybe his wife did. I don’t know, but he’s the one who said, you know, we got to dedicate this to Tony and a boy and it just so happens that on the, uh, Tony died on a July 16th, June 15th, June 5th was his birthday.

And that’s just so happens that my wife and I, and we’re at the, uh, the van ness household for a little barbecue happened to be Tony’s birthday. They did not know that, but that happened to be the very last birthday he ever celebrated. And that’s. Boy. So it’s, it’s, it’s touching, it’s rich and [00:28:00] with gratitude, I’m glad they suggested that particular dedication.

And you know, the more I think about it and the older I get, you know, it really comes down to, um, well, love your neighbor. It’s as simple as that. Look at all the problems we would solve with loving our neighbor.

David Hirsch: Um, I’d like to switch gears and talk about the Milton and Mary, um, Danco golden rule awards that were started in 2001 in memory of your parents.

How did that come about?

Bill Danko: Yeah. One of my friends at the university sorrel Chesson he was in university advancement and we went to lunch one day and I told them about this concept.

I want to create a scholarship. And he said, well, what’s important to [00:29:00] you. I said, well, the most important thing to all of us is time. He goes, well, let’s make it about time. And it’s about students who give their most precious resource to others. Volunteering their time for the greater good. And boy, there’s a, it’s on my, you know, my personal webpage at the university, the, the whole list of winners, but every single one of these winners, you know, from the year 2001 to currently, I mean like this year’s winner is a volunteer fireman.

And what really struck me on his essay about when he applied for this, he goes, I will go into burning buildings to save others. You know, it’s not that it’s bad to make cupcakes for a school luncheon, but I will put my life on the line. And that really struck me because I know my father. Was also a volunteer fireman [00:30:00] and, uh, that’s uh, so it’s, it’s very fitting.

So he gets to donate half the money of the scholarship and to a worthy organization. And who did he pick? He picked his volunteer fire company, which is a bonafide charity, their five Oh one C3 organization. And he gets the other half to defray expenses. At the university. So, yeah, it’s um, when I look at my father’s life of service, not only in the Navy, but also a volunteer fireman and really never seeing him complain about anything he had to do, he had a sense of duty.

I think then seeing my mother, how she took care of her mother, well took care of her husband too, for that matter. And then raised her children. Me being the baby. Right. She a man [00:31:00] that’s I can’t when people complain about how hard things are, I just don’t want to hear it. Just do it.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, I think it’s a great testimony to your parents and, um, I, I’m hoping that other people will be inspired to do something.

That would be befitting their family, whether it’s their grandparents or their parents, or, you know, even, um, a friend, right. Who has been an inspiration to them. And, uh, you know, it’s not so much about the money, right?

These are thousand dollars scholarships. They’re not gonna change the world individually, but what you’re doing is you’re.

Helping people focus, helping young people focus. And in this case with students at New York university at all.

Bill Danko: Yeah. And we also have two of them at a teal college in Western Pennsylvania, where my wife went to school. Uh, they’re named after her parents and grandparents, but it’s the same basic format of, uh, the givers of [00:32:00] time.

David Hirsch: Yeah. I love it. Let’s switch gears and talk about advice. Um, I’m wondering if there’s any advice that you might be able to offer someone a sibling or. Parent for that matter as it relates to, um, being there, being present.

Bill Danko: You know, I think parenting is crucial. I really do. Um, you know, I was fortunate to have some uncles, uh, in my father’s absence, but what happens when you have no family structure at all?

Um, something’s going to fill the void. You’re your friends. Acquaintances strangers. There’s a lot of dysfunction in society because of that breakdown on the family. And we’re not doing a service when we. Look, even on our tax structure. I don’t know if it’s still true. The marriage tax, you [00:33:00] know, you were better off being single than you were being married.

I don’t know if that’s been fixed in the IRS code or not. I mean, I have a CPA who takes care of that, but there is a definite breakdown on the family and boy, and we’re getting to be an older population too. And who is going to take care of all the infirm people don’t have family structure. What are you going to do?

Put them in a, a nursing home with strangers who are just think of it as a job. You have to have somebody who has love and compassion to help those who can’t help themselves. That’s probably the best lesson I could give. I mean, look again, money is important, you know, they say, you know, it’s like oxygen, you kind of miss it if you don’t have it.

Right. Yeah. Right. But, um, One of the, the graphs in a richer than a millionaire we ask ’em what’s your current net worth. [00:34:00] Okay. That’s a unknown number. And then we asked the question, how much do you think you need in order to feel wealthy? And it’s a curvilinear relationship and the graph is in the book, but basically at around $5 million is where the curve bottoms out now.

Well, we asked somebody, well, if you have 500,000, now you think you need two and a half million. If you have two and a half million, you think you need five. If you have five, you think you need eight. So fortunately at the K’s a little bit there. But when you realize the media net worth in the United States per household is about a hundred thousand dollars.

Now, if you’re above a hundred thousand, you’re doing better than average, right? If you have one and a half million dollars, you’re already in the top 10% of the distribution, and then we can talk about, well, gee, is that real estate in those [00:35:00] liquid assets? You know how you’re paying dividends? But my point is when you get to that $5 million Mark, that is plenty.

It is plenty, but yet there are some people say it’s not enough and they’ll continue doing what they have to do to get there more and more and more. Remember, there are no pockets and burial shrouds never forget that.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Point well-made. So. I’m wondering if there’s anything else you’d like to say before we wrap up,

Bill Danko: I want to say, look, this is really a, um, a wide ranging conversation we had, and I’m glad, uh, you, you, uh, sought me out to talk about not just the typical stuff on the research, but.

What it means to be a compassionate, human being and caring for others. And, uh, and I hope it’s a lesson that my children will embrace. I hope [00:36:00] others will embrace. And through the scholarships, you know, I talked to each one of these winners and interview them and yeah, I know they have hearts of gold, so I know it’s out there and we have to encourage more of it.

It’s as simple as that, that’s fabulous.

David Hirsch: Bill. If somebody wants to learn more about your books, the Milton and Merriam Danco golden rule awards, or to contact you, what’s the best way to do that?

Bill Danko: Well, the best email would be wdd9125@gmail.com. That’s also my post office box nine one two five. I also have a Google number that has nine one, two five for phone.

So everything is nine one two five, but wdd9125@gmail.com will work and about the richer than a millionaire. There’s a number of interviews and articles that are [00:37:00] it’s a well-populated site, but it’s literally richerthanamillionaire.com. No spaces. And, um, that I know if you Google, uh, William Danko, they’ll probably find and know more things than I know about myself.

It’s, it’s, there’s a lot of stuff out there, but, but those two things that my email, uh, certainly I respond to, uh, to serious inquiries of course, and, but the richer than a millionaire.com we’ll give, uh, some of the best. Overview of career and about my colleague rich fan on this and what we hope to accomplish.

David Hirsch: We’ll be sure to include that in the show notes, bill, thank you for taking the time in many insights. As a reminder, bill is just one of the individuals. Who’s part of the Special Fathers Network, a mentoring program for fathers raising a child with special needs. If you’d like to be a mentor father or are seeking advice from a mentor father with a similar situation to your own, please go to [00:38:00] 21stcenturydads.org.

Thank you for listening to the latest episode of the Special Fathers Network, Dad to Dad podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. The conversation as much as I did, as you probably know, the 21st Century Dads Foundation is a 501 c3 not-for-profit organization, which means we need your help to keep our content free, to all concerned. Would you please consider making a tech selectable donation? I would really appreciate your support, which also please share the podcast and post a review on iTunes to help us build our audience. Also remember to subscribe, to get a reminder when each new episode is produced.

Bill, thanks again.

Bill Danko: Thank you.

Tom Couch: And thank you for listening to the Dad to Dad podcast presented by the Special Fathers Network. The Special Fathers Network is a Dad to Dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs through our personalized matching process. New fathers with special needs children connect with mentor fathers in a similar situation.

It’s a great way for [00:39:00] fathers to support fathers, go to 21stcenturydads.org.  That’s 21stcenturydads.org.

David Hirsch: And if you’re a dad looking for help, or woud like to offer help, we would be honored to have you join our closed Facebook group. Please go to facebook.com groups and search Dad to Dad. Also, please be sure to register for the Special Fathers Network, biweekly zoom calls held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.

Lastly, we’re always looking to share interesting stories if you’d like to share your story or no of a compelling story. Please send an email to David@21stcenturydads.org.

Tom Couch: The Dad to Dad podcast was produced by Couch Audio for the Special Fathers Network. Thanks again to Rubin Law for supporting the Dad to Dad podcast.

Call Rubin Law at 847-279-7999 and mention the Special Fathers Network for a free [00:40:00] consultation.