A Legacy of Hard Work
I have a faint memory of being woken up early in the morning. It was usually dark out and my sister and I would be in our pajamas. We had to get into the Volkswagen Beetle (The Bug) so my parents could deliver newspapers in our neighborhood before dawn.
Delivering newspapers was a second job they took on to make ends meet while my Dad was trying to get his company launched. As a small child, I remember having one car. Mom helped Dad get the papers delivered before he had to go to his regular job at his shop. On weekday mornings, we shuffled from our beds to the backseat of The Bug, laid down with our blankets and stuffed animals (no seatbelts back then), and drove up and down the streets making sure neighbors’ newspapers were in their mailboxes before they awoke. Once the papers were delivered, we then drove Dad to work so Mom could have The Bug to get us to school.
It’s unclear to me how long their two-job-gig lasted, or for how long they managed a family of four with one car. I just know they worked really hard in those early years.
As Dad’s electroplating business started to take off, he didn’t need the newspaper delivery job anymore. Instead he worked overtime at his company on Saturdays. My sister and I often got to go with him. It was a total treat. We’d sit at the secretaries’ desks, scroll blank sheets of paper into their electric typewriters, and pretend we too were at work. We’d create our own invoices and memos. Sometimes Nicki would go outside to the front entrance, ring the doorbell, and I’d greet her as if she were the customer. She’d wait in the lobby for her appointment, help herself to candies from the jar, and I’d call her in for her meeting. We’d do this until Dad’s work was done on Saturdays.
As the years went on, we upgraded from one car to two, and from used to new. I remember the day we took delivery of our brand new Buick LeSabre. It was plush and fancy. My Dad was so proud as he drove off the lot.
My parents did it right. They started with nothing. They worked hard and had a vision for what life could look like. Over time, Dad’s company grew into something pretty special. And no matter what his workday entailed, he was home each night for dinner.
Important business lessons were often taught at the dinner table:
Never spend more than you make.
Take good care of your employees and they will always take good care of you.
It’s not easy to be the boss, but it comes with great rewards if you always choose to do the right thing.
Plan for the future, but also enjoy life today.
So much of who I am, how I think, and what I teach comes from Dad.
I’ve been reflecting on my Dad’s legacy, especially this week being Father’s Day. My Dad worked hard and did what it took to be a provider for our family (not just for the four of us, but extended family as well). He built an incredible business, loved my mom like crazy, saved for the future, kept us grounded, paid for our college educations, taught me about the stock market when I was in 8th grade, and took pride in how perfectly he mowed his lawn every week.
And at age 50, my Dad suffered a heart attack and died unexpectedly.
He never made it to retirement. He never got to meet his future grandkids, and never got to reap the rewards of his hard work with my Mom in their so-called “golden” years.
For a long time, his story didn’t make sense to me. The ending was all wrong.
It has taken me a long time to understand and make peace with my Dad’s death, especially being only 50 when he passed. What time and maturity have taught me is this: I believe that my Dad’s work may have been complete. What he accomplished in his short lifetime was pretty amazing— as an entrepreneur, a family man, and a husband. For many people, that would have been considered a pretty full life.
I share this personal story with you as a reminder that none of us know how much time we have to get our life’s work done. For some, it might be measured in twice as many years on earth as my Dad had. We just don’t know.
Whatever our fate may be, let us learn and share whatever we can, while we can. Regardless of the number of years it’s measured in, let’s all strive for a life well-lived.
This Week’s Resources
Love to kayak, but not to carry it?
Then you might want to check out the Origami Kayak from Orukayak. Two clients this week brought it to my attention and I had to check it out. You can assemble this kayak in under ten minutes, it weighs a remarkable 20lbs, and then it can fold up and tuck into the backseat of your car.. https://www.orukayak.com/
Why is lumber so expensive right now?
If you’re trying to build anything these days, you’ve probably noticed that lumber is selling at a premium. Why? This is a great article from The Hustle that offers an illustrated way to understand the factors driving up this market. https://thehustle.co
Ever feel like you’re living in the Matrix?
You’re not alone. In this movie “A Glitch in the Matrix,” documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher tackles this question "are we living in a simulation?" with testimony, philosophical evidence and scientific explanation in his for the answer. It’s available on Hulu.
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