10 Business Lessons Learned from Dad

Dad in The Me-Suite

On Father’s Day, I recognize the ten business lessons I learned from my father—the business of living.

1) Yes, you can create a business venture out of your passion. In his case, the passion was woodworking. A master cabinet maker, my father owned a business manufacturing medical examination tables.

2) Yes, you can enjoy going to work every day. “I get to do what I love to do.”

3) Yes, you can create work-life balance. I do not recall my father missing a game, a play, a dance recital, a teacher’s conference. I suspect he missed something at times, but the showing up must have overshadowed the gaps. I do remember fishing together every weekend the weather allowed.

4) Yes, you can go back to school. My father returned to finish his college degree at 52. He continued on to secure a Master’s.

5) Yes, you can reinvent your career as your interests evolve. Dad sold his manufacturing business after 25 years and entered his other passion, environmental management.

6) Yes, dual-career families can thrive.

7) Yes, you can take an unusual career path and turn out just fine. Dad wanted to be a forester after high school but felt pressure to enter an office job. He was miserable. I’m sure this is the main reason he was so supportive when I graduated college and said, “I’m going to be a professional actor.”

8) “You make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time.”

9) “A day being upset about something trivial is a wasted day.”

10) “Pass the butter.”