It’s hard to imagine that a single phone call can change one’s life, but it happened to me. During 2000 and 2001, I worked for a company that frequently sent me to visit their customers in Europe and Asia. These trips frequently lasted several weeks. I had been working overseas in Europe when I got the phone call that changed my life. I was just climbing into a taxi in Paris when my mobile phone rang. It was my daughter who had just turned seven. She was eager to chat with me after my long absence. After a few sentences, she said, “Daddy, come home.” I tried to explain to her that I was in a faraway country. I told her to go to find the globe on the bookshelf, and then explained how to trace with her finger the distance between Los Angeles and Paris. She did this, and then she stated quietly and firmly, “Daddy, I want you to come home.” I chuckled and tried to explain how long the flight would be from Paris to our home. She said, “Daddy, I don’t care. Come home now.” The call continued in this vein for quite a while. Later that night, I lay awake in my hotel room, staring at the ceiling above my bed, wondering about the phone call. It suddenly occurred to me that my daughter figured out how to dial an international number in order to reach me. I realized that I had missed her first phone call, and many of her school events, and probably some delightful moments together. And in a rush, I realized that I had missed most of her sixth year by traveling overseas constantly. I made my mind up that night to change careers. I was back in Los Angeles within 24 hours. The next day, I drove to see my boss in San Diego, and I tendered my resignation to him. No job was worth missing my daughter’s childhood.

If you listen carefully to your child, you can sometimes hear a great deal more than the mere words. Sometimes you can hear a message about how you should live your life.