Lessons learned from Dad

It’s birthday month in the Nance household.?In my immediate family, my Dad celebrates his 75th birthday on the 18th and my older brother, Scott, celebrates his 47th birthday on the 20th.?I believe our pets are family too, so on that note, my yellow lab/shepherd mix kid, Schatze St. John, celebrates her 8th birthday on the 22nd.

And that’s just the immediate family.?The extended family…well, that list is for another day.?Happy birthday to all of the November celebrants out there!

Most years, Scott and I find a collection of Cal Bears (University of California Berkeley) themed items, often tied to golf as well, to send Dad for his birthday.?This year is different.?This year, we’re sending a gift from the heart via a letter in the mail: ‘Lessons learned from Dad...nowhere near an exhaustive list…’.?

As I started to write them out, featuring them in this month’s ‘Cara’s Corner’ felt fitting.?

So here goes.?I hope they are as helpful on your journey as they have been on mine…

Lessons learned from Dad...nowhere near an exhaustive list…

• Don’t bullsh*$@ a bullsh*$@er.?

o??Caveat: main take away here – no need to try and lie.?Be true to you in all you do.

• Act like you’ve been there before.

o??Caveat: first as a topic around sports and how to behave when you both win and lose, but quickly transferred over to every facet of life.

• Listen to your mother.

o??Caveat: my parents separated when I was 10 years old and my father was very aware that she had a full plate raising me and my two brothers while he lived about 45 minutes away.?I appreciate how he still modeled a ‘united front’ with her, even when he wasn’t physically there.

• Value experiences over things.
• Find work you feel so passionately about that you’re truly bummed it’s Friday afternoon and you can’t wait to get back to it on Monday morning.

o??Caveat: I love how this lesson reinforces the importance of loving your work AND putting it aside when it’s time to recharge.?Both are important.

• Reinforcing Grandpa Chucky’s (my mother’s father) key lesson: everything in moderation.
• It’s never too late to show and express your softer side.
• Be sure to balance work with play…especially golf! ??
• Floss and brush your teeth daily.
• Put your best foot forward in ALL you do, big and small, no matter who is watching or not.

Thank you, Dad, (aka – Ret. Lt. Col. Steven S. Nance) for planting and nurturing these seeds in me, Scott, and Devin over the years.?I love you.?Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

?Tutum Leadership Coaching

#carascorner #lessonslearnedfromdad