I was the oldest of eight, and went on to have eight children of my own, thanks to my wife, Janie. I believe that growing up in a large family is beneficial in a number of ways.

First and foremost, a large family provides you with your own tribe. Friends and colleagues may come and go, but family is family for all of your life.

Large families create a natural arena for practicing civil government. We learned from our parents the difference between right and wrong, and then created our own enforcement policies among us kids. As the oldest, I definitely had an advantage in this, and learned to lead early in my life as a result of leading my six younger brothers and my little sister.

Large families lend themselves towards resourcefulness. My dad instilled me the value of hard work, and I learned to earn at an early age. I had a paper route, then a paint contracting business, a gold and silver exchange and rental properties on my road to becoming a physician.

We were self-sufficient. Janie and I worked as newlyweds to pay for college and medical school. We did not want and did not receive any handouts, although my dad did help us buy a home eventually.

Large families create an incubator for ideas. There’s nothing like a close brother or sister to bounce ideas off of and brutal honesty is usually the result. My own eight kids are very close. They support each other’s business endeavors and are often called upon by one or the other to give advice, counsel and opinions about products or services they are considering selling. This has proven to be very valuable as they have gone on to become businessmen and businesswomen with families of their own to raise.

Large families create lots of opportunities for fun. This becomes more and more evident as time goes by. On any given week, there is either a birthday party, a graduation, an anniversary, a wedding, a baby shower or sporting event to attend in our families. If entertainment or fellowship is needed, we need look no further than one of my family members, a child or a grandchild.

All but one of my grown children live within a few blocks or a few miles of my wife, Janie, and me. This is quite a blessing.

Janie is the CEO, CFO and COO of our family. She has invested so much of her time and energy in making sure our family is grounded in our Christian faith and secure in our love and appreciation for them. While I have been out building businesses to support our family, Janie has been the rock in our family.

Together, with our family, we are Team Hotze.

What about you? How big was your family growing up? What did you learn from being a part of it. I’d be interested to know about your team!

Please share your comments.