Just before he graduated from high school, Jack (my dad) joined the Navy and was shipped out to the Pacific. It was near the end of WWII, but he felt it was his patriotic duty to fight for freedom.
Upon his return, he attended college on the GI Bill, earned an engineering degree, landed a decent job, and married my mother. I was born a year later.
Yes, we were Jack & Jill. Over the years, he taught me a lot. Sometimes I didn’t like the lessons.
I’ll never forget what happened in 5th grade. I lived just a few blocks from the new highway bridge. The concrete beneath it was so white and barren that it cried for graffiti. So, a friend and I decorated it.
Apparently, a neighbor saw us. When my dad heard about it, he summoned me to the kitchen, gave me a warm bucket of soapy water, and a scrub brush. Then he sent me back to the underpass and told me, “Don’t come home till it’s clean.”
Why? Because “Actions have consequences.” Plain and simple. Fair, but tough to learn. But ultimately, over time, you get it.
When I was six, my folks bought a tiny 2-bedroom summer cabin with no running water and an outhouse. It was a little tight for a family of six.
Over the years, Dad built an addition, added running water, an indoor toilet and a shower. Then he built a porch. The next project was digging a basement underneath to ensure we had a place to go if tornadoes were in the area. Finally, he built a boat house/bunk room.
During one winter, he bought a speedboat kit and built it in our garage. He always fixed our broken cars. Plus, he remodeled our home, creating an extra bedroom and TV room for his growing family. And MORE.
Why did he do all that? He lived by the motto, “Don’t spend more than you make.” By doing things himself, my parents could afford the lifestyle they wanted.
Plus, Dad also took great pride in his creations, which is important. I learned that being frugal had many benefits.
From a career standpoint, Dad taught me important lessons, too. He was a smart engineer with good people skills. Before long, 3M promoted him to management.
He stayed in that job for a short while but wasn’t happy. He wasn’t doing the work that he loved. So, he requested a backward career move.
Before retiring as a senior engineer, he told me, “It’s important to do work that you love. My job is so much fun. I get to solve problems that are stumping other engineers.”
That message changed my career. I stopped doing sales training. I didn’t love it. I decided not to grow my 1-person company. It didn’t sound fun. Instead, I focused on tackling the tough sales challenges facing my clients and on new product launches.
Surprisingly, it ultimately led me to write five books and speak globally. Why did I do it? Because I loved figuring out what would work and then shortening people’s learning curves.
In 2019, on Christmas Eve, one by one, his four children visited him at the nursing home. My Dad shared the same message with each of us:
I’ve had a good life.
I loved my wife. I love my children.
I’m proud of how you all turned out.
I loved my job too.
My life is complete.
That’s what I want to be able to say in my last days…that “my life is complete.”
While that was the official end of Jack & Jill, my Dad still lives within me every day.
Here’s to all the good Dads in the world.
You truly make a lasting impact.
P.S. Here are my Dad’s favorite songs: