Do not miss your children's childhood. Do not be away 200 nights a year as I was. Do not put strains on your marriage or family.

What makes this story so remarkable is that throughout my early childhood I had ongoing learning difficulties particularly in mathematics. I struggled to learn the multiplication table and no matter how hard I tried I simply couldn't remember 6 times 7 or 7 times 8.

I get stubborn and dig in when people tell me I can't do something and I think I can. It goes back to my childhood when I had problems in school because I have a learning disability.

All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent. After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood.

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.

Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples - where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping The Sports Authority which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised.

It's the continuation of everyone's childhood to see these young children who grow up full of life full of intelligence full of a sense of wonder. And within an instant they're gone from this world. It's terrible.

Because of my faith and my imagination I was able to enjoy my childhood even though it was tough.

I had this wild imagination. I was never me. All my childhood photos I'm in fancy dress playing a Russian refuge or Marvelous Mad Madam Mim.

Writing gives me the opportunity to explore ideas play with language solve problems use my imagination and draw on my own childhood.