Father's Day

It’s Father’s Day and I’m heading back home to visit my dad. Seems unlikely that either one of us is going to be winning any awards in the parental department, but I know that he has always done his best and I hope my children feel the same way about me. I’m not sure that anyone is ever fully prepared to be a parent, especially in this day and age. My grandmother told me that each kid comes with their own little instruction book, but she never told me where to find it or what was in it.

Since my youngest is twenty-six, I’m afraid that it is kind of late for me to make up for any of the glaring deficiencies I had as a young father. I do, however, have a few things to say to my adult children that may prove useful. I’ve been giving this some thought and here are a few messages that I hope have some resonance with the kids on this Father’s Day.

Zoom out and see the good. Any objective assessment of life today has to conclude that it’s pretty good and getting better. Sure, there are challenges and issues, but the arc of history is one of progress. The world is a better place than it was when I was born, and I do not doubt that it will be better fifty years from now. Suppress negative chatter and maintain an optimistic outlook on life.

The world is extremely malleable. You can have an extraordinary impact if you dedicate yourself to being a positive force and are relentless in your pursuit of change. Being unreasonable and demanding is a virtuous character trait. Unreasonable people are powerful and can move mountains. Work to bend the world and shape it to your will.

Become rich in relationships. Building a large and strong network of “ride or die” friendships is hard but rewarding work. Don’t expect others to come to you. You’ve got to take the initiative to make it happen. People are busy with their own lives. Be the node of your network. Make substantial investments in creating deep and lasting friendships. The rewards are enormous.

To all of you - enjoy the day and call your father.