Lessons from Dad…"Be Irrational"

As a child I never knew fear of failure. I watched my Dad take on one business venture after another and….mostly fail.

Those failures were the most important lessons that I ever received from him. An exit from one business meant a grand entrance to another. The failures gave him the ability to become more and more successful over time.

I am certain that it could have been easier but never could it had been more important to my development.

What’s missing these days is that kind of courage. My dad had a lot of nerve taking the risks he did, knowing that his family’s basic needs to live were held in the balance. I learned to be irrational. As a business leader I have many people depending on me to make sound decisions and I am prudent about 80% of the time. But that other 20% I am emotional, passionate… even “crazy”. That 20% takes the risks that most people will not! I thank my dad for being a stubborn, hard-ass that believes success comes from hard work and a dream. If you are not willing to be a little irrational you may never take the risks to achieve your goals. Consider what your passion is, set your goals and be irrational.