Lessons For My Son

Yesterday my first born son graduated from High School.

His school allowed family members an opportunity to write a letter for students to be given to them before graduation.

I am a perpetual meme to my kids and their friends as I am always offering 'Life Lessons.'

While I am 100% ok with it, there is a group of 16 year old girls calling Diet Coke 'Cancer in a Can'...as they drink Diet Coke...laughing at me!

Naturally, this letter gave me an opportunity to impart my 50+ years of wisdom on my son one last time before college so it needed to include a list of Dad's Life Lessons...which will provide more memes for his group of friends I am sure...

With some reservation, and some redaction, here is the list I shared with my son.

Life Lessons

• Happiness in life is directly proportional to your choice of spouse. Choose appropriately.

• Whenever you feel stuck in life, pull out your list of goals. If you do not have one big goal, you know where to start.

• Don’t let ‘Life’ happen to you. Be intentional and have a plan.

• Success is not “stuff” or money.

• Do not try to live my life. Figure out what you want out of life and pursue it relentlessly.

• There are very evil people in this world. Once you identify that someone is evil, move on because there are plenty of great people to share your life with at every phase you will go through.

• With that said…It will surprise you how many great friends come and go in your life. It doesn’t mean that they don’t want to be friends anymore — it just means you were at different places in life.

• Be wary of people who talk about how much money they or their family have. In my experience, that means they actually do not have much character, money or both.

• ‘Suck it up buttercup’ applies beyond the baseball field.

• If you are not early, you are late.

• Be intentional about defining what success means to you at each phase of life. Make BIG goals that you will be proud of even if you fall short.

• When you’re going through hell — and you will — just keep going. Everything passes with time.

• Save a minimum of 10% of everything you earn each year.

• The best advice PawPaw Joyce gave me: Outwork everybody. Be known as the hardest worker in your field.

• The best advice BePaw Coulter gave me: Don’t let the bastards keep you down.

• The best advice Poppy gave me: Be dependable. If you say you are going to do something you do it.

• Always remember: Health + Wealth + Relationships. Everything important falls under one of those three aspects of life.

• Check in on your sister regularly. Someday she will be all the family you have.

• Call your Mother regularly and take care of her when I’m gone.

Now imagine if I had only followed my own advice the past 50 years!

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