My dad grew up during the depression and by any definition had a rough life.  Both of his parents, having emigrated from Europe, barely spoke English and worked as laborers for menial wages.  Upon graduating from high school, my father as a member of “The Greatest Generation”, immediately joined the Marines and spent his time hop scotching from island to island throughout the Pacific until the end of WWII.    

 

Physically unscathed, he returned from this Great War, and took a job driving a truck delivering baked goods to restaurants and convenience stores throughout the greater Cleveland area.  He quickly started his family and ended up with three boys and no girls.  In case you are wondering, I am the youngest of the brood.

 

As a child, I remember that my father left the house each day at 4:30 am so that he could begin his deliveries.  He typically returned home 12 hours later and did this for virtually his entire working life.  Unfortunately, despite all of his efforts, money was never in abundance and we hovered above the poverty line for most of my childhood.  Thankfully, he somehow managed to save enough to help put his three sons through college and to retire at a decent age. 

 

Witnessing his efforts, frugality, and how he carried himself on a day to day basis helped to instill some of his best qualities in me as well.  He certainly wasn’t perfect, but I guarantee that he tried his best to be a good father despite any faults that he may have had.  Effort, honesty and pragmatism were at the very core of his being.

 

He taught me many valuable things, one of which was to take personal responsibility for my actions.  It was, and is, one of the most valuable pieces of wisdom I have ever received.  I remember his “talks” in which he explained how important it was for people to take ownership and responsibility for what they did.  He told me that everyone is faced with a lot of different choices during their lifetime and that it was important for each of us to evaluate them, their consequences, and to ultimately make the right decision.  He especially stressed that I really consider the impact that my choices would have upon not just my life, but on how they might affect other members of my family or people that we cared about.  If I did make mistakes, he told me to learn from them, to get better and to move on. 

 

For some reason this stuck with me and over the years it became even more meaningful to me as I matured.  Have I always been perfect in applying these concepts?  Absolutely not, but it is one of the major reasons that I have been successful in my business career and why I have been able to keep my head up when things may not have looked so rosy.

 

His words often echoed in my head that I had to be responsible for my success AND my future.  No one else was going to do it for me.