My Favorite WoW

No... I'm not talking about World of Warcraft. Or MoM spelled upside down.

I'm actually talking about my favorite Words of Wisdom, one of which comes from my dad who happens to turn 70 today! I still can't believe it. I swear he's 55, and I'm not willing to accept that he's not. He is just way too spry. And, apparently really good at the "Put the penne on the spaghetti while using nothing other than your mouth" game.


We had a special birthday party to celebrate, and we gave him a book full of the things we each learned from him.

My dad happens to be pretty darn awesome. He's a Jack-of-all-Trades, and amazingly, master of darn near everything. A couple years ago, I called him for advice on how to fix something specific, and he didn't know. He actually said, "I don't know." I was flabbergasted! I'd never gotten that answer before. My dad knows everything from making homemade tortilla shells to rocket science. (Seriously-- he was a rocket scientist. And he can make killer tortilla shells.)

So how did he become all knowing? He shared his secret with me.


He said whenever he looks at someone doing something (like an electrician, a plumber, a mechanic, a research engineer, whatever), he says to himself... Are you ready? He says:

"The person doing that is a reasonable person. I'm a reasonable person, so I should be able to do that, too."

And then he just learns how and does it. He doesn't let self doubt get in the way of the learning and the doing. He doesn't let "I know enough" get in the way of the learning and the doing. He doesn't let "HOLY CANOLI! THIS IS WAY TOO HARD!" get in the way of the learning and the doing.

Since his words of wisdom came my way, I can't tell you how often I've been faced with a challenge and said to myself, "I'm a reasonable person. I can do that."

And I tell you, it works! Even if the thing you want to do is really hard.

So there you have it. A little pearl of wisdom from a person who couldn't possibly be a day over 55 today.