Look it up.

I remember asking a lot of questions growing up. Most kids ask a lot of questions. I was no exception, asking and enquiring about this or that or the other thing. My father's response most of the time was the same: "Look it up."

He did not say this because he didn't know the answer. On the contrary, he probably knew the answer to many of the questions my little mind could think up. (The profoundly imaginative and perceptive questions which most children seem to instinctively explore not withstanding.) My father seemed to know everything. He was a wealth of interesting information about all kinds of things. He would talk about extremely practical things and share tidbits of scientific data. He would talk about rare plants and unique animals and stars and fish and you name it. From a kids perspective, my dad was brilliant!

I now know that there is a lot more information in the world than my dad or I could ever know. I no longer think that my dad knows everything. But my dad did know the most important thing. Here it is: When you don't know something, Look it up.

This simple phrase, repeated over and over again, with words and by example, taught me over time to love learning.  My father taught me that seeking the knowledge I wanted was just as important as gaining the knowledge I sought.

He taught me that books are valuable tools and assets which, if used well, would serve me long and hard and would always be full of reward. Indeed, the first books I put on my makeshift bookshelf were books I borrowed from him.  I remember reading his copy of E. M. Bounds' classic books on prayer and I still have his copy of Azusa Street on my shelf. I read his copy of The Most Dangerous Game and learned to enjoy fiction as well as non fiction. My own personal library is what it is due in part to his often repeated phrase, "look it up."

Now, with most information only a few clicks away and in the palms of our hands, we have no excuse for ignorance. We can learn and know if only we take the time to look it up!

Measure Twice, Cut Once

You may have heard this before. It certainly isn't new or original. But it is most definitely relevant. It just makes sense. I learned this from my father.

Trained as a carpenter, he understood the importance of measuring twice and cutting once. Time, energy, money and tangible resources are wasted if this simple rule is ignored or overlooked.

It takes only a moment to look again. A few seconds and you're done. You can continue pressing forward with added confidence. But, if you miss this, you take an unnecessary risk. You could come out okay, which would be great. Or, you could cut long. That's not so bad. Just cut again, right. Sure, but you could have done it better the first time. Hopefully you learn...

But what if you cut short? That piece is ruined. You can't get that length back. You get the picture by now, I'm sure.  

In Life and in Business and in Marriage and in Whatever else you've got going, it's a good idea to take a few moments to avoid a mistake than to make a mistake at the expense of a few moments.

"Hold what ya got!"

Lessons I Learned from My Father.

We were hanging sheet rock from the ceiling. I found out that day that hanging sheet rock is not an easy thing to do. There we were, my father and me. We lifted one sheet together, up and over our heads. Then I was instructed to center myself under it. He would then go to work nailing (with a hammer and nails) as quickly as possible. All the while he would say "hold what ya got, hold what ya got!."

Now I should let you know that my father is a trained carpenter. He knew what he was doing. He had hung sheet rock before and this wasn't new to him. All of it was new to me! Yet, he patiently instructed and encouraged. When all was said and done, we had covered the entire ceiling. It looked pretty good too.

That wasn't the only time I heard my father use that term, but it was the most memorable - "hold what ya got." Those four words have resonated within my spirit from then until now.

That experience with my father taught me that 1) Experience is a teacher. I mean that in two ways. Firstly, every experience we have can teach us something we didn't know before. I had never hung sheet rock before then. Now, even though I haven't done it much since then, I am confident I could do it again with no problem. Secondly, the experienced and wise heart is willing to teach the inexperienced. Because he had been trained in that trade, my dad knew what he was doing. He also knew that I had no idea what I was doing. He was able to teach me his own experience.

I also learned to 2) Manage what I have in my hands first. There was no way I could do anything else. And I didn't have to. All I had to do was hold what was in my hands. If I tried to hold the sheet rock up and nail it in, I would have failed. If I tried to handle more than one sheet at a time, I would have failed. I learned my lesson well. I can't do everything all the time.  I have to manage my priorities and hold what I can manage and no more.

A third lesson I learned was this: 3) I have to be able to trust. Amazingly, my dad trusted his untested teenager who had never been taught or trained in carpentry to help him with a major renovation task on his home. This was not a small thing. We didn't start with baby steps here. One mistake on my part and time and resources would have been lost. Yet, he extended to me one of the most valuable commodities that can ever be extended from one person to another: Trust. In doing so, he taught me the value of it.

Finally, this experience taught me that 4) I can because I have to. He never said these words directly, but they were felt as we - by we I mean "I" - struggled to hold that sheet rock in place. If I let it go, I risked hurting myself and hurting him. I also risked damaging the trust that he placed in me. I also risked tearing up the ceiling! (No pressure.) I had to listen. I had to do well. And I did.

If you want to do great things and have success, take a lesson from my father - "Hold what ya got!"

IF...

Over the next seven days, my posts will consist of lessons learned from my father. The value he has added to my life is immeasurable. I am a better man today because of him.

Over the years, I've come to realize that some lessons are learned by watching the resilient determination of motivated men. Other by seeing the disappointing brokenness of wounded men.  Most men can probably say they learned the lessons of both from their fathers.

One famous example lessons learned from a father is immortalized in the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling. It is one of my favorite poems. I'm starting this series of posts off with the full text of the poem "If." Enjoy!

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Dream. Think. Learn. Do.

Dream Big. Think Hard. Learn Well. Do Something.

This is the process for breaking beyond the barriers of what's holding you back. Anything worthwhile is worth dreaming about, thinking about, learning about and doing. That seems obvious enough, right? So why don't we do it? Or, why don't we do it often? Or consistently? 

Every one of us has probably been told to dream at some point in time. We have heard about people who dreamed big and speeches about big dreams. But when it comes to us, we either don't dream, or we don't dream big enough.

We have been told that school and education is important. (And I believe education is vitally important.) But we haven't been given the tools, encouragement and freedom to think. I mean to really think. Not just about what, but about "how?" and "why?" We have to apply this crucial skill if we hope to accomplish excellent things.

Learning is internalizing what we've thought. It's the process of applying the abstract - defining the indefinite. The way we accomplish this is by Doing. When we "Do" we are saying with our whole lives, "I'm committed, purposeful, and intentional about accomplishing my dreams."

Of course, then we have to dream bigger dreams... 

Start With Why

I picked up Start with Why about a three months ago after seeing a TED Talk by Simon Sinek. His presentation is linked below:

I began reading this book on Saturday (I had several books in my queue). I am tremendously inspired once again by the challenging premise to Start with "WHY." Sinek says repeatedly, "people don't buy what you do they buy why you do it."

If you have answered the question "What's holding you back?," the very next question you should tackle is "Why are you doing what you are doing?"

Start with "Why?'​

What's holding you back?

Well? What's your answer? No, really, what's holding you back?

Most people can come up with dozens of answers to why they haven't started. Answers like "I don't have the time." or "I don't have the degree." or "I don't have the resources." come quickly and easily to us. We feel justified in our answers and even think that if we just had that one extra thing, that we would get started and everything would change. We would finish that book we started reading or finally write the book we conceived years ago. We would launch our business or take the next steps on our job. We say to ourselves, "If I just had a little more saved up, I would buy that ring and propose." Or, "We should talk about starting a family."

Here's the challenge for today: Answer the question, What's holding you back?

​The sooner you answer this question, the sooner you'll be able to _____________. (Fill the blank.)

Then, work on getting beyond the restrictions. Be intentional about the resolution. Focus your attention and efforts. Create a plan. Hold yourself accountable. Follow through. And be amazed at the results.

​So, what's holding you back?