My 7-year-old grandson made two great discoveries this week. First, he found this small pocket in his new blue jeans and dad explained that it was a “coin pocket” although not many people carry coins these days. Two days later, my grandson found a coin on the playground at school and deposited it right in that pocket. Later, he described it as “a great day.”

The story spread around the family like a wildfire. Everyone loved this little boy’s joy at such a simple pleasure.

Wouldn’t it be great to hold onto that joy of childhood? To live in that time when life was uncomplicated, and the small coin discovery defined it immediately as a great day?

We do have to grow up. But do we have to give up that child inside who enjoys simple pleasures?

In my training as a Positive Intelligence coach, I have learned to keep a childhood photo on my desk. In this photo, I am wearing a Civil War style hat that I still remember receiving as a gift. I am holding my right arm aloft and yelling “Charge.” Two of my brothers are in the photo too. My dad has his hand on my shoulder and a serious look on his face. The contrast between us is stark. Dad has responsibilities, bills, family obligations and so on. Not until his retirement did you see the smile return to his face.

When I work with business leaders in Vistage, I often ask them what their life was like as a child. I see smiles. I hear stories of camping trips, vacations and summers with grandparents. But I also hear hard lessons about harshness, difficult tasks, and silent or missing parents.

Our decisions and lives as business leaders are shaped – often unconsciously – by those childhood days. There is nothing we can change about those life events except the way we look at them. The harshness of a parent’s actions can make you be a better, more empathetic leader. The hard work can help you better understand the need to balance work and play.

And the missing parent? One of my Vistage members floored me last month when we carried out the “Six Word Story” exercise. While his absentee father clearly left a mark on his youth, he had turned it around. He and his wife have a full and health relationship with their four children. His six-word story read as follows:

“Father left home. Best dad ever.”