Corey Smith is the proud father of four wonderful children. They provide the foundation for everything that he does. Corey’s daytime job is that of a serial entrepreneur. In addition to developing websites for Dealer Marketing Systems as their Chief Web Architect, he maintains a business and technology blog, just launched CopierCatalog.com and is working on about 10 other projects. You can also find him on Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn.

I have been a father for almost 8 years now. With four children, life can get a little hectic. 

Like all the projects I take on, there is so much that I have to learn as I go. Although others have experienced fatherhood before, no one has experienced exactly what I am experiencing and so no one can really guide me through it.

I like to look at the positives more than the negatives because I think it helps to keep me centered. Here the top five reasons I love being a father.

1. Having the joy of four little children in my life everyday. They are my friends. I know that no matter how much I mess up, they will still love me. Well, at least now while they are little, but I hope that stays true for the next 60 years.
2. My little "helpers" for when I build shelves, mow the lawn and work in the garage. Okay they don’t really help, they actually make the project take longer, but it is still fun when they think that I couldn’t have completed a job without them.
3. Seeing the joy of learning on their faces. When they learn something new and apply some new bit of knowledge, it is a thrill to witness. How did we every lose that spirit of discovery?
4. I get to get on the floor and "rough-house" and be a kid myself. One of the favorite things my kids enjoy is getting on the floor and jumping on Dad. All I have to say is, "I think I am going to take a nap," and lay on the floor and four kids come from all over the house to play.
5. Striving to be a good Dad makes me a better man. Without my children teaching me things like how to be thankful or how to share, I don’t know that I would remember on my own. By teaching them the right things to do, I get to remind myself.

Being a Dad is hard work. It is not easy to give up what I want to do for their sake. The challenge is worth it. The time is worth it. But it is only worth it if I do it right. If I try to be a Dad half way, it would be a waste of effort and time.

Corey Smith is the proud father of four wonderful children. They provide the foundation for everything that he does. Corey’s daytime job is that of a serial entrepreneur. In addition to developing websites for Dealer Marketing Systems as their Chief Web Architect, he maintains a business and technology blog, a news source for the office product industry and about 10 other projects. You can also find him on Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn.

Civil disobedience in the house. Mass destruction. Defiance of order and peace.

Yeah… I have four kids.

Fortunately, I have a smart wife… with a budget.

My wife reads a lot. She then modifies what she learns to fit our family. She has always taught me that positive reinforcement provides much greater results than anything negative ever could (you can catch more flies…).

One night, about three months ago, she went to the store and came home with a fish bowl and a lot of decorative rocks.

She had a new idea.

She put the fish bowl on top of a platter that she had and then put all of the rocks around the fish bowl.

The next day, we had a great conversation with the kids. Here were the rules.

1. If you are kind to someone without being asked, we put a rock in the fish bowl.
2. If you help someone without being asked, we put a rock in the fish bowl.
3. If you are happy, we put a rock in the fish bowl.
4. If you are obedient the first time, we put a rock in the fish bowl.
5. If you are considerate of others, we put a rock in the fish bowl.

Get the idea?

We told our children that when all the rocks were inside the fish bowl, we would get a trampoline. The seven and five year olds both understood right away. The three year old figured it out in about an hour. Even the two year old wanted to earn rocks.

We put as many rocks in as we could so they could see progress. (Of course, when we were getting to the goal too fast for our budget, we pulled some out after they were asleep at night… I know… we’re mean.)

They began finding ways for us to put more rocks in.

They said, “thank you” more.

They were nicer and more respectful.

One day, the seven year old was being mean and we pulled some rocks out. That behavior stopped very quickly.

Now, we have a nice 14′ trampoline and the kids love it. (I hope there are no broken bones in our future)

They are now working toward their next reward (which they picked).

Oh… there are still days that are rough. There are still moments of chaos. But, kids will be kids. At least they are learning that there can be a reward for good behavior. And they are learning how to be nice to each other… without Mom and Dad going too crazy.

Really, though, I think the biggest benefit is that now Mom and Dad are more conscientious of rewarding good behavior instead of always harping on bad behavior.