Tim McGraw Turns Hardships Into Valuable Life Lessons

Tim McGraw has a terrific career, a wonderful wife and three precious daughters, but the entertainer admits he could have fallen into a whole different direction in life. Tim grew up in what he characterizes as a dysfunctional family, with a step-father whose alcoholism contributed to an unstable and sometimes scary home.

"I had two choices," the Louisiana native tells The Boot. "I could be the same way, or I could learn from examples of what not to do, and that's what I chose to do. I knew early on that my life wasn't going to be like the one I saw around me. I made a very conscious decision that it wasn't going to be that way."

Tim describes life with wife Faith Hill and their three daughters, Maggie, Gracie and Audrey, as normal, saying, "We are very blessed ... Despite what we do for a living, we try to keep it as normal as we can. It's not perfect by any means; I have had disappointments and I have disappointed my family, but everyone does. If you expect to be perfect you will be disappointed."

The singer says he and Faith, who grew up in Mississippi, take the lessons they learned as youngsters and try to pass them on to their daughters. "My wife and I grew up poor, in lower middle class households. Although our parents worked hard and tried their best, we didn't have a lot," he says. "I believe one of the best educations you can give a child is to travel the world, and we've been able to go to great places and take the kids on fantastic trips and have a lot of fun."

But Tim also cautions that as privileged as his daughters may be because of their parents' respective careers, they also are taught to appreciate what they have and what they've been able to do in life.

"I try to instill in them a sense of humility that everyone doesn't have these opportunities and chances. You can't take them for granted, you have to take advantage of them and try to learn something," he insists. "I tell Maggie and Gracie that there will always be someone smarter, prettier, or more talented, but they'll never have the opportunities you have, and if you don't take advantage of it then you are disrespecting that other child who wishes they had them."

Tim is getting ready to release the highly-anticipated album, 'Southern Voice,' on Oct. 20.