Day 6 of Summer in Asia, Columbia, Missouri
In 1966 Lyndon Johnson officially founded Father’s Day, and I was a baby. Growing up I don’t remember celebrating it. This year we are visiting my dad during the week of Father’s Day, so we baked him a blueberry cake and his granddaughters made him a video.
Got me thinking about what Paul has modeled for our girls as to what’s important. Here’s my perception of the five life keys he has taught the girls.
1. Have the courage to take the risks necessary to live your life as big as you want it to be.
2. The freedom of time, to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want, is the ultimate goal to work toward.
3. Positive expectation is the first step in the success of any new endeavor or change. Be aware of potential downsides, however, once you are prepared for less than ideal outcomes, focus all your thought energy on the positive outcomes you want.
4. Don’t wait to do the things you want, because life has a tendency to pass quickly.
5. Don’t waste any energy on considering what other people think of you. As the late Dr. Wayne Dyer put it, learn to become “independent of the good opinion of others”.
The five lesser known things he’s modeled for the girls by actions, not words are:
1. You can always justify another pair of shoes, even if you already have a bunch that you significant other thinks are the same.
2. The metaphoric glass is always half full unless we’re talking red wine, then the glass needs a top up.
3. You can never have enough napkins in the car, syrup on your pancakes, or whipped cream on your pumpkin pie.
4. Walk more. Whine less.
5. Say I love you often.