Behind a successful person we often find the legacy of a loving father.

We may not know their names.  Some are shopkeepers or farmers or shoe salesmen.  Nothing these men did in their jobs made them famous.  But what they did as fathers changed the course of history.  This week, as we celebrate and honor our dads on Fathers’ Day, I am going to discuss some fathers of the famous, and the legacies they left behind.

George was a lawyer who lived with his family on a gently sloping plain next to the San Gabriel Mountains in California. Handsome and slim, he wore a floppy mustache. He was elected district attorney for Los Angeles County, but you will remember him more because of his son. His children, George, Jr. and Nita, adored him. He took them fishing and sailing, taught them how to ride a horse and shoot a rifle. “We spent hours in his lap,” recalled George, Jr., “listening as he read aloud.” The reading was particularly important because George, Jr. was dyslexic and had trouble reading.  But his father worked hard with him on his reading and helped to wipe away the tears that came from the cruel laughter that accompanied his mistakes in school. George, Jr. said his father taught him everything he knew, but especially the virtue of courage. A high compliment when you consider it came from General George S. Patton

So Dads, what virtues are you teaching your children?

Mark

P.S.:  Check back tomorrow to see how the quote, “Never do things just because other people do them.” helped shape another famous leader.