Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day

The one person I'd really like to get advice from today is my dad. I guess that's partly what drives me to seek it out from others. When I was 16 my dad got non-smoking lung cancer. He died a year and a half later. He was 50. That would make him 67 today, and I think - even though he'd yell at me for it - I can throw him in this blog as an "old person."

My career's had ups and downs... fine, more downs than ups... but I'm persistent. And, I got that from him. He was a partner at Ernst & Young and he worked hard for it. He was a great father to the four of us, and a great husband to my mom. He was also a lot of fun - he had a very silly side, which I guess is where I got it. I remember he found this quote from Calvin Coolidge and he cut it out and pinned it up for us to see: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with great talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

I miss him a lot today.

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Posted by Seth Menachem at 6:33 PM
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12 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing this story and quote. It's inspiring.
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  2. Great quote, and really nice tribute to your father :)
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  3. A touching post . . . and the picture ties things up beautifully
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  4. I Love the blog & the concept ,man . Best of Success !!
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  6. so sweet :) is it weird that i miss him too?
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  7. you had a really special father, thanks for letting me know a little about him!
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  8. I think old people are underrated..........
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  9. Dear Seth,
    I found your blog today as it was mentioned online in the local Yahoo homepage. You are a brilliant young man, and it has been a joy to read your blog, and view the videos on advice from old people.
    I was raised to respect and honor elders. My mother took us visiting the elderly church members, and neighbors from the time we were quite young.
    I am fascinated by the stories they tell. In my work at a local hospital, I had so many elderly patients who wanted to share their stories. Just a bit of time and attention would make them smile, and their faces would light up, and you could see the strength of their souls. Russian immigrants, holocaust survivors, a beautiful, tiny, gracious queen of a lady, who had worked the cotton fields of the south, and those who had worked behind the camera in "the business" our area is known for, and so many more. I always felt blessed to work with them, and felt they gave me far more than I gave them.

    You were lucky to have such a wonderful dad. After reading your piece about your father, and viewing the Glazer video, I thought I would share a quote that follows the one above..and wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

    "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
    ~ Sir Winston Churchill ~

    To success,
    CatieB
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  11. The thing about death is it takes away our earthly bodies. What it doesn't do is take away our spiritual being. Because love transcends all, your Dad's spirit is with you always. Close your eyes and take a deep breadth and talk to your Dad. Trust it and you'll have conversations. He will guide you through your ups and downs and steer you to success because he loves you so much. Ultimately, you will see his spirit and you will believe. It will ease the pain of his death because you know his spirit is with you always. Take advantage of it.It really works. Unfortunately, most people don't take advantage because they think people will think they're nuts. I'd rather be a little nuts and have the loved one with me always, than just keep mourning they're death. Ciao,Al
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  12. I like, I hope there will be more useful information and less Advertising. Good luck to the developers site ...
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