What Did You Learn From Your Old Man?

One of my favorite magazine articles of all time was published in the June 1999 Mens Health.

Entitled "What I Learned From Your Old Man," it featured excerpts from Joe Kita's then-forthcoming book, "Wisdom of Our Fathers."

Some of my favorites:

• "Never retire. The minute you do, you'll start sleeping later, taking afternoon naps ... The discipline won't be there anymore, your mind will deterioriate, and it'll kill you quick."
• "If you can forgive the first guy who messes with you each day, the second guy is easier."
• "My dad got up every day and went to work in a jewelry store at a job that didn't pay well or emotionally reward him ... I never heard him complain. What I heard was, 'I get to work 12 hours tomorrow ...' 'I get to' is much more powerful than 'I have to.' "
• "It's ridiculous to be humble about the good things you do. Our children need more examples of good deeds and acts of love. The evil that man does is shouted from the rooftops daily."

Did you dad teach you anything, either good or bad? What lessons did you learn from him? Share your thoughts in our Comments section below.