Birthday wishes today to Sylvia Lougheed, Mardi's cousin.
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Today's blog is mostly for my grandkids, but the rest of you are welcome to ride along.
When Monica sent me the Clint Eastwood clip recently, she commented that "keep the old man out" appeared to be my mantra as well. She was partly right.
I've given it some thought and I believe that over the years my mantra has been "patient but persistent achievement". In recent years, "keeping the old man out" has necessarily become part of that.
I set goals for myself and work towards achieving them. Most have no end date, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and making progress. The "old man" has recently intruded and I've had to reduce my hours, but when I admitted defeat at the heavy digging project recently it was the first time he'd come in and shut the door. I'll still do some digging, but in moderation now.
I don't know if my mantra is hereditary or a learned experience. My dad left home and school in his teen years, but became an accomplished millwright and a handy man who built and repaired things for our neighbours, including the equipment for the butcher shop next door.
I know that he had high expectations for me and when he died I wondered how I had measured up for him. And I determined that I would make him proud.
I remember when I had a performance review after two years in the Dofasco Time Office. I told my boss that I wanted a transfer because most of my coworkers displayed no ambition and I didn't want to accept that fate. Fortunately, he didn't transfer me but arranged for me to spend a grueling day with a Toronto psychologist, doing one test after another all day. At the end, the psychologist interviewed me and advised that I should quit Dofasco, go to university and become an Accountant.
Financial considerations nixed that option, but Dofasco then put me on a two year training course, rotating through various departments and ending up in Sales. I put the mantra to work and ended up in the Management Group of the company, despite my grade twelve education.
David has displayed the same pattern. Early on he declared himself "unemployable" because he couldn't see himself fitting into routine jobs. He is an entrepreneur who entered the paint ball game business and, through his innovations, managed to change how it operated in North America.
During that time he met the brother of one of his customers. He owned a greenhouse and when it came time to settle down and start a family David decided the farming business felt right.
He bought a small operation in Jordan, Ontario and after a few years sold it and bought the Grimsby property. Unfortunately, the approval process of the Niagara Escarpment Commission cost him a growing season. His answer was to get his A-Z truck driver license, rent a tractor trailer, and broker other growers' products to his customers so he didn't lose them.
My grandkids have started showing the same resolve. Yancy is a Vice-President of an Indigenous non-governmental organization. Sean certainly displayed it during his non-stop management of the Lily planting. Anna is a successful internet game developer. Malcolm is an Engineer. And the youngest, the twins Sarah-Jean and Ewen, are now starting down their life path, deciding where it will lead them. The rules that I followed and my advice to them:
- Pick goals that are a stretch but are achievable. - Be persistent but patient, you don't have to do it all at once. - Be determined and stay the course. - Stay positive. - Reroute if necessary, but don't ever give up. - You are the one responsible for your own success. ----------------------------------------
Appreciate your life. Stay well.
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