Lessons from Dad

Since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted to be a Dad. In 2018, on October 17th I watched my wife deliver our beautiful daughter early that morning around 4 am. The tears welled up in my eyes (might have just been allergies) and the emotions rushed in as I realized that my childhood dream to be a Dad had finally come true. The most emotional part was watching my wife give everything in her power to deliver our baby girl. I’ve never been more proud of her in that moment.

The reason I think I’ve always wanted to be a Dad is because I have the most amazing Father myself. I know that is a luxury I will never take for granted. On this Father’s Day, I wanted to share a few lessons Dad has taught me over the years:

1. Leave it better than you found it.

Dad always said if you borrow something, give it back better than you found it. If it was someone’s car, fill up their tank for them. If it was a tool for a project, make it look brand new before giving it back.

I’ve tried to carry this habit into my Financial Planning Practice—leaving my clients better off than I found them.

2. Work hard.

Short and sweet but the habit of working in the yard growing up, picking up sticks, mowing, weed eating, washing windows, raking leaves, starting my first job at 16 even if it wasn’t the most glamorous working in the small town pizza shop. All of that hard work has paid off as I’ve been able to start and sustain a Financial Planning Practice from scratch.

3. Own something.

I believe that in order to create financial freedom you have to have ownership in something. Whether that is ownership in a business via purchasing a piece of it in the stock market or starting your own business. This is how true wealth and freedom is created.

4. Treat everyone with respect.

Dad treated everyone with respect and was always there to help if you ever needed him. Didn’t matter if it meant driving across Texas to help his five kids move into their college apartment multiple times over. He was generous with his employees, served in his church and sacrificed everything for his family.

I hope everyone was as lucky as I was to have a Dad like mine, but if not hopefully you can be that type of Dad to your kids.

Happy Father’s Day,

Tanner