My Father-in-law was a big man … not in stature, although he was probably 5’11” tall, but “big” in accomplishments.  He started a manufacturing enterprise in Houston in the 1940s and built it into a significant company and made a lot of money along the way.  He was the Mayor of the township where he lived and was usually involved in public service at one level or another.  While he was not a stick in the mud, he was dignified, proper and delighted in putting his son-in-law in uncomfortable moments whenever possible.  He was a man of great presence.

There was one such moment of discomfort that I shall never forget.  On Christmas night, it was family tradition to enjoy a meal of turkey sandwiches and leftover side dishes from the feast earlier in the day.  As we finished our sandwiches, the ladies began clearing the table as Paw Paw and I remained chatting.  Our son, who was about four, could be heard in another room playing with a new toy noisily.  Cringing, I realized he was exclaiming at the top of his lungs, “Bad word, bad word, bad word!” (you choose the bad word that comes to mind).

Upon hearing the same thing, my Father-in-law, called out, “Come, here, Douglas”.  The boy careened into the room, as I heard the question I feared, “Where did you learn to say ‘bad word’, young man?”  My beloved son spouted, “Daddy!”

It has been said that children read their parents’ “book”, meaning they see, digest and most often repeat, Mom’s and Dad’s actions and words.  I can almost hear you thinking, “I knew that” and likely you do.  Even so, being a leader, and you are whether you want to be or not, is a 24 hour, 7 day per week task which bears remembering.

Approximately thirty-five years ago, I was running a telephone solicitation room with 26 phones, three 5 hour shifts per day.  A never ending part of that job was interviewing, hiring and training folks to work the phones.  The qualifications are different for telephone solicitation than for most jobs.  Be of legal working age, glib with a quick wit and willing to follow instructions, and I was likely to give you a try.  One such applicant was Eric.  He was 16 years old, had long hair past his shoulders, a mustache that would grow in some day and a quick smile.  I liked him and he did a fine job.

Fast forward to about one year ago.  Because I have a personal Facebook page which I originally created to be able to see pictures of our first grand baby, Eric found me and reached out.  He thanked me for something I told him in training that had a profound impact on his life. What had I said?  “You can accomplish something great if you want to badly enough to do what is required.  And, there will be those along the way that hope you fail and those that disrespect you and your goals”.  “Just remember”, I would encourage, “YOU are the world’s foremost expert on YOU!”

There are lots of lessons here.  The one I want to stress now is that you will make an important impact, likely a life changing one, on someone around you.  Like it or not, you might even affect many someones, and if you have a child, your life is the “book” they will read to determine the original blueprint for their lives.  And, understand this, you probably will not even know when the deepest imprint is made.  Please be careful what you write in your book.

Note:  Thanks to Eric for encouraging me.  Thanks to MommyBites.com for the picture above.