Turns Out My Dad Was Right About These Three Things
As a typical child and even adult growing up and experiencing life, my dad always tried to impart some wisdom to me.
His wisdom came in the form of short snippets and maybe an example and was never long-and-winded. It turns out I was not always good at receiving it — for whatever reason — and did not give it enough heed at the moment.
I never disregarded it. I took it at face value and acted. Maybe you grew up the same?
Here are three things he tried to impart, and I sort of shrugged my shoulders upon hearing them, but he turned out to be quite right.
1. Family Comes First
“Your friends might seem important now, but always remember you start and end with family.”
In retrospect, this was probably his way of reminding me about family and also trying to position the fact that friends come and go. Still, family is usually there forever (unless they are unbearable).
The advice probably came when I was trying to prioritize things or events with friends OVER family, hence not being well received at that specific moment.
As I grow older and see where things are headed, it is very clear to me that he was right – family is very important and endures for the whole ‘ride’ of life.
2. Your Friends Can Define You
“You are who you hang with.”
This wisdom also probably came at times when he observed I was probably hanging out with or mirroring the behavior of the wrong type of people.
It was equally not well received or respected at the moment of impact. But, once again, he was right. As I look back on the twists and turns of life, I can easily point to times I underperformed or was off-track and see I was ‘hanging’ with the wrong people.
Conversely, I can look at times when things went very well and see that I surrounded myself with the right people.
I also look back at my old neighborhood(s) and can see those that made it out to some degree of success and those that did not. They all had the same characteristics of hanging with the right or wrong people.
I find myself really striving to stay close to a handful of people … because they make me better — and I hope I do the same for them.
3. Conversations Matter
“Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about things, and great minds talk about ideas.”
He actually did NOT make this up but did quote it often. This one was probably better received as I aged, as it makes such great sense.
Being around folks, or myself, sometimes getting caught up in the ‘gossip’ trap, it is awfully tedious to sit around and hear or talk about others … just a waste of time.
The things and ideas in life are the things to get excited about and talk about … and do! The gossip or petty stuff is just a waste of time and is almost like an infection. The more you do it, the more you get sick.
So, it turns out Dad (and Mom) had lots of wisdom … and just wanted to circle back to it and give it a NOD!
Originally posted on Forbes.com