My Dad's Best Advice

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Many of you probably already know about this piece in TitleTrakk.com, but just in case you haven't seen ... I had the chance to ask 31 authors, "What's the best advice your father ever gave you?"

Included are quotes (in no particular order) from Michael Landon Jr., Francine Rivers, Bryan Davis, Dallas Jenkins, Mary DeMuth, Melanie Wells, F.P. Lione, Roxanne Henke, Tricia Goyer, James Scott Bell, Karen Ball, Julie Carobini, Justin Lookadoo, Tamara Leigh, Bill Myers, Sibella Giorello, Tim Downs, Robin Lee Hatcher, Deborah Raney, Donna Fleisher, Nicole Young, Mindy Starns Clark, Amy Wallace, James Pence, Sharon Hinck, Jenny B. Jones, Wayne Thomas Batson, Marilynn Griffith, John Aubrey Anderson, Nikki Arana, and Brandt Dodson.

Paternal insight galore! Check it out here.

This started to make me think, "How would I answer this question?" So here goes:

My Dad's best advice has been a way of being more than a one-liner nugget of wisdom. My Dad has showed me through his life how important it is to stay young at heart. And have fun and be goofy. As a teenager I remember being mortified on more than one occasion by my Dad's silly antics. Case in point: he gave voices to many of our stuffed animals, delighting us each time. But when the stuffed Pound Puppy drove up to the bank teller window and asked for money, I wanted to melt into the floor! The teller just looked at the dog (and my Dad I'm sure), smiled nicely and asked, "Do you have an account here?"

But despite my teenage misgivings, that's what I most admire in my Dad today. He doesn't care what people think. He's willing to take risks and be adventurous. I want to be more like that in my life.

How about you? What's the best advice your Dad ever gave you?