Lessons Learned From My Father

My father receiving an MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace

It's Father's Day in the UK. Due to lockdown and uncertainty over air travel, I'm not flying to Northern Ireland to see my dad. I'm incredibly grateful he's still alive since many of my friends have lost their fathers due to ill health.

Growing up, my father was old school, with parental clichés like “because I say so” or “you kids have it easy nowadays” or his favourite “money doesn’t grow on trees." He never said I love you, never wore his heart on his sleeve, sometimes lost his temper and was always working.

We never became close until I became a father - I was working day and night to provide for my family and the long hours meant I often missed school events and important occasions with my daughter… which caused me to sleep very little, give parental clichés, sometimes lose my temper and never tell anyone about my problems.

Now retired, my father does charity work full-time and being a grandparent has made him relax and open up. I’ve been lucky to spend quality time with him and learn more about his life over the last 10 years.

1.There’s No Such Thing as 99% Integrity

My father always said “you can’t have some integrity. It’s always 100% integrity. It’s the one thing nobody can take away from you and it makes you a better person."

2. Never Stop Learning

My father was still attending conferences in his late 60s and was always the oldest person in the room. He used to say “you’re never too old to learn.” Since I started reading books every month and getting a sales coach to work with me, my career has skyrocketed.

3. Success Isn't Money

This took me a long time to understand. Success is having a lot of money in the bank. It's helping those less fortunate. Success is giving without asking for anything in return. Success is offering your seat on a train to somebody elderly or pregnant. Success is smiling at a stranger and getting a smile back.

4. Always Give More Than Expected

Seeing my father receive his second award from Prince Charles for his charity work was wonderful. This was at Buckingham Palace, accumulating in an MBE for his dedication to the charity work he performed in Northern Ireland and India, helping thousands of people. This was on top of his job at a full-time GP.

5. Success Doesn’t Happen 9-5

Being the hardest worker in the office won’t always get you what you want, however, the extra hour in the morning, making more client calls than anyone else or attending a networking event when you want to go home, makes a positive difference.

Niraj Kapur is an expert sales coach and trainer and author of the Amazon bestsellers, Everybody Works in Sales and The Easy Guide to Sales for Business Owners. He’s trained 170 clients from SMEs to business students to corporates like Barclays, Sainsbury’s and the Headford Group. He can be reached on + 44 7733179854 www.everybodyworksinsales.com [email protected]