Occupation: CEO and President of E.P. Breaux Utility Services and owner of a financial service company with Primerica
Wife: Britney
Children: Monet, 15; Eden, 13; Collis IV, 11; and Briton, 5
Hobbies: Working out
Collis Temple III wears many hats: CEO, entrepreneur, husband, and father of four. Between leading E.P. Breaux Utility Services and running a financial services business, he still finds time to coach, work out, and spend meaningful moments with his children. Collis shares his daily routine, parenting philosophy, and the lessons he hopes to pass on, from affirmations at the beginning of each day to resilience learned while playing sports.
WHAT’S A TYPICAL DAY LIKE FOR YOU?
COLLIS: To get a little bit of me time, I wake up at 4:30 and work out until six. Then I wake up the kiddos so they can get ready for school. I shower and get ready while they’re making their lunches and grabbing something to eat for breakfast on the way out. We ride to school, and depending on the day, I start meetings around eight o’clock.
Britney and I attempt to have a daily lunch together. Sometimes we can get away—her mom is a huge help. On Wednesdays, I coach my son’s AU team with some other great dads. Monet, my oldest, will ask me to bring her lunch, and since the school isn’t that far, I’ll sneak away and do that every once in a while.
Weekends are where we really shine. We go to Mt. Zion First Baptist Church on Sundays—or at least we try. It doesn’t always work out because someone usually has a game. Between volleyball, track, soccer, and basketball, it’s pretty much sports all weekend.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST SURPRISING THING ABOUT BECOMING A DAD?
COLLIS: When I think about my dad, I remember always watching him. As a parent, I feel like the best parents are always “on.” A lot of people say you can’t always be on, but I think that in order to be the best, you have to always be on because they’re watching.
WHAT QUALITIES DO YOU HOPE TO PASS DOWN TO YOUR CHILDREN?
COLLIS: Discipline and mental toughness. I hope they’re able to have those two traits, because they still can be who they are at the highest and best level. If they’re going to be the best version of themselves, I think those traits will serve them well. I don’t want them to be like me. I want them to be like themselves, but I believe those two things can help them be the best versions of themselves.
HOW DO YOU BALANCE THE DEMANDS OF A CAREER WITH FAMILY LIFE?
COLLIS: My wife helps out a lot—and also calendars, calendars, calendars. There are things I know I need to do and things I’d like to do. For instance, my son wants to go play golf. When you go play golf, you have to block out two-and-a-half, three hours, right? So it’s just making the time, because I know he really wants to do it.
HOW HAS MARRIAGE SHAPED YOUR APPROACH TO FATHERHOOD?
COLLIS: I grew up with boys, and I was the oldest of three. I have a much younger sister, but we didn’t really grow up in the same house. I’m 46 and she’s 22, so parenting my daughters is different from parenting my son. I saw how to parent boys, because that’s what I watched my dad do. Britney has helped me because of her own experiences. We use something called STARS: Structured, Technical, Action-oriented, and Relational. I’m action-oriented and really structured. Britney is big on relationships, with some action-oriented. She’s helped me see things from a different perspective. It’s not better or worse, it’s just different.
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO MAINTAINING A STRONG PARTNERSHIP WHILE PARENTING?
COLLIS: Communicating.
DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE PIECE OF ADVICE BRITNEY HAS GIVEN YOU ABOUT PARENTING?
COLLIS: Well, not just in parenting; this is just a general piece of advice: Not everybody thinks like you do.
YOU’VE ACHIEVED A LOT IN YOUR CAREER. WHAT LESSONS DO YOU CARRY OVER INTO YOUR ROLE AS A DAD?
COLLIS: Three things apply to everything in my life: coachability, focus, and work ethic. Coachability comes from observing people who have raised solid, well-adjusted adults. I’m always open to hearing their take on parenting, and I try to apply the things they’ve done well. Work ethic is just like marriage. If it’s important to you, you have to work at it. It requires effort. And focus goes hand in hand with that. I put in the same focus, energy, and effort for my family as I do in my career. So really, it comes down to coachability, focus, and work ethic.
WHAT VALUES DO YOU PRIORITIZE IN TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN?
COLLIS: I’d say valuing people over things, valuing having integrity, and affirming who they are as people and what their potential is.
HOW DO YOU USE AFFIRMATIONS WITH YOUR CHILDREN?
COLLIS: Early on—even before they were born—I started using affirmations with the kids. Britney adopted the practice as well. All of them can repeat their affirmations anytime, and I hope it’s been burned into their subconscious, shaping how they see themselves. We have them say things like: I’m a leader, I’m a champion, I’m a child of God. For my daughters, I add, I’m a princess. My oldest, when she was four or five, asked to add another one; she wanted I’m a winner, and we also added I never give up. That, to me, meant she understood and owned what she was saying. These affirmations are foundational to who they are and how they see themselves.
WHO WERE THE BIGGEST ROLE MODELS FOR YOU GROWING UP, AND HOW HAVE THEY INFLUENCED YOU?
COLLIS: Absolutely, my parents. All the things I just talked about, the coachability, focus, and work ethic, both my mom and my dad modeled that for me.
HOW DO YOU MODEL RESILIENCE AND PERSEVERANCE FOR YOUR KIDS?
COLLIS: I think sports play a vital role. My kids are fortunate. They don’t face major life challenges. They have both parents, almost all their grandparents, and they haven’t lost anyone. So they haven’t had to overcome serious hardships. That’s why I believe it’s important to put them, even if it’s in an artificial way, into situations through sports where they have to struggle, work hard, and overcome obstacles. If they want to succeed at a high level, playing sports has been the way.
IF YOU COULD GO BACK AND TALK TO YOURSELF A WEEK BEFORE YOU BECAME A DAD, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?
COLLIS: Don’t take any of the time for granted. I have three more summers with my 15 year old, and I wish we had made a few different financial decisions early on to make sure we could take bigger family vacations. We kept saying, “We’ll wait until they’re old enough to appreciate it,” but then we kept having kids. Now, she’s traveled a bit, but I would have loved to take more trips together. But, we still have three summers with all of them, and hopefully we can get her to join us sometimes, even as we travel later on. The main thing I’d tell myself: Don’t take the time for granted.
Rapid-Fire Questions
Favorite spot for date lunch…Cecelia Creole Bistro or Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
One word that best describes your family…dynamic.
Favorite movie…Coming to America.
Favorite food…filet mignon from Ruth’s Chris Steak House.
Hidden talent…The talent I have—people who watched basketball at LSU 20 years ago know about it. It might be hidden now, but it wasn’t back then.
