Fatherly Advice

[Vudak]

I was thinking back on some of the advice my father's given me throughout life, and I was wondering what your father taught you.  It doesn't matter if you've taken the advice (I have to assume most of us had that phase where we didn't take any of it).  Just what are the interesting ideas that have been passed onto you by your old man?

A few notables from my dear ol' dad:

"Never trust a guy who didn't play sports."

"When brothers fight, what can any man do." - here he'd always be quoting the movie, El Cid , but it was sage advice, and some I really wish I would have bothered to take.  My kids will hear this one too.

"If you play with the big kids, you're going to get hurt.  But you'll get damn good, too." (I think some AHers could use this advice, IMO).

"You'll never feel bad about yourself for trying to do the right thing."

And, he always quotes my uncle Steve (well, really his best friend)...

"There's only two things worth doing in life - ****ing and fishing...  And every time I get married, I get a double dose of fishing."

[Mark Luper]

A few months before his passing my father told me something I will never forget:

"If you want to give me flowers do so now while I can enjoy them"

To me that meant:

Take the oportunity to say the nice things, do the nice things to those you appreciate now, not when it's too late.

Mark

[ROC]

Make a decision.  If you sit on the fence, you'll get shot at from Both sides.

[Leslie]

The advice that I remember most is always sleep on an angry letter before mailing it.  Some others:

Never take anything home from work that isn't yours.

Have respect for women and be good to your mother.

Never belittle another man.

Don't fly off the handle when you're full of it.  

When I was a kid he told me if another boy called me a sissy, to stay there and "we'll see who the sissy is."  To fight him if necessary.

Always do your best.  Don't worry about the outcome so much as trying your best.

Winston Churchill was the man my Dad admired most.  He would often say to me, never, never, never, never ever give up.





Les

[Bodhi]

Originally posted by Leslie
Never belittle another man.

Gawd I wish I could really listen to this, but some people make it too damn hard.  I can always take Churchill's advice, and never stop trying!  

BTW, good advice Leslie.

[CpMorgan]

My father wasn't around for my childhood. However, my grandfather was. That old farmer taught me many things that are still true today, such as:

Any job that's worth doing should be given your very best effort.
No lie is ever the best option.
A gold plated dog pile may be pretty, but it's still a worthless piece of crap.

[MrBill]

1) If you take a mans pay, show up on time and do the job ... right or wrong ... do it exactly the way he wants it.

2) The best man in the world is worthless when he is not on the job.

3) Being to stupid to realize that it couldn't be done ... I just went ahead and did it.

4) Never blame a man for being smarter than you ... it ain't his fault.



Just four I remember right off hand ... my old man was a gold mine of down on the farm proverbs.

[Chairboy]

"If you don't know knots, just tie lots."

My dad would never say that (he used to work on the North Sea, did a lot of really deep diving, and rope skill was a bit of a requirement), but I told him that I was attributing it to him once.  He expressed concern.  I don't actually tell folks he said it, but we both enjoyed the joke.

[Ripsnort]

"ALWAYS pay yourself first, before you pay others" (regarding finances)

"You, and only you, are responsible for every action you do. You will either be successful or you will fail and learn from it."

"Whatever you become in life, whether it be a ditch digger, or a CEO, ALWAYS do the best job that you can."

[midnight Target]

He said a lot of great stuff, but the one that used to confuse the heck outta me was when we were working in the garage. He was always doing some project or another, and he'd let me help (usually it was "hold that end of the wood") but he would always say...

"Let the tool do the work".

While i was cutting a 2x6 with a hand saw this seemed kinda silly. I would have loved to let the stupid saw do the stupid cutting! My arm hurt!

I figured it out eventually though.

[LePaul]

Mine Dad is still around, still giving good advice....and some that makes my eyes roll.

But among the things he's said over and over...that turn out to be great...

1)  Remember the golden rule.  Treat people as you want to be treated

2)  Common sense isn't necessarily common.

3)  Don't worry about what other people are doing, worry about yourself (meaning, focus on your goals, not what other people are/aren't doing)

4)  Never get into a pissing contest with a skunk

[lasersailor184]

My father gave me this great advice:

"Don't **** up."


Another person told me this:

"If you stop getting better, you stop being good."

[RightF00T]

1)Always lead never follow
2) Never be intimidated by anybody, in God's eyes everybody is the same

Although not very religious now, the 2nd one really helps every now and again.

[icemaw]

if a group of bullies are going to kick your arse allways kick the biggest one in the nuts first. this will do 3 things #1 make the rest of them think twice #2 it will give you a chance to kick the rest of them in the nuts. #3 it will give you a chance to run.

 finally if you do get your arse kicked remember who they are so you can kick them in the nuts one at a time when the odds are better.

[porkfrog]

My father is still around but has never really given me any noteworthy advice. My grandfather has given me plenty. Most notable for me are these...

"A handshake is as good as a written contract."

"Blood is thicker than water."

"When it all comes down to it, family will be the only thing you have."

"Never cheat at anything. Cheaters and thieves are the same.


Sadly, I don't see much of any of this advice being followed in todays times.
Stealing, lying, and cheating seem almost socially acceptable today.

Lastly, I love this quote of Mark Twain.

"If you take in a starving dog and feed him, he will never betray you. This is the principle difference between man and dog."


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