A Treasured Gift from a Father to his Son

As a senior in high school, I received a special gift from my father.

As I was about to leave home for college, my father handed me an eleven-page handwritten letter that contained his best advice for his son. The letter contained quotes from Shakespeare, snippets from classic literature, and candid confessions about things that my dad wished he had done differently.

The letter was written by pen but might as well have been written in granite. I still have this letter in a drawer in my bedroom closet and I read parts of it about once a month. To this day, I treasure my father’s words of wisdom.

As we get older, we realize that there are many lessons that life gives us. These lessons in life are invaluable. But these lessons in life are not serving anyone unless we share them with our family, friends, and even strangers.

About three years ago, I began writing the most important lessons that I’ve learned in my life. The life lessons range from almost every aspect of life, including health and nutrition, financial management, faith, professional goal setting, and virtues such as perseverance, sacrifice, and gratitude.

Ninety-seven percent of these life lessons are based upon abject failures, repeated mistakes, and, in some cases, heartbreak, but our mistakes and failures make us who we are. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Win Today was inspired by my father, James H. Fisher, Esq., who knew better than anyone that the greatest lessons aren’t taught in a classroom.