Five Lessons From My Father — Daddy's Little Girl

Daddy's Little Girl

For those of us who were Daddy's little girl — this one's for you.

To all the girl dads out there: my father certainly wasn't perfect. Neither was my mother. But I'm grateful for both of them, and for all the good they did for me. So this Father's Day, I'm choosing to remember my favorite moments of my father — the ones that INSPIRED me.

If I were ever to write the next Netflix series, my father would be one of those characters everyone talks about. The minute he walked into a room, everyone took notice. It wasn't the good looks. It was the way he commanded a room, the confidence he carried, the accomplishments always turning over in his mind. He had a certain air about him — the air of a high-achiever. Those are the same traits I see in myself and in all three of my children. The ones I find most authentic, most unique, and most valued.

My father was a creator. An inventor. An entrepreneur. A business junkie through and through — all the same things I see in my kids and in myself. But most of all, he shaped and molded my life in ways I carry with me every single day.

Here are five of his lessons I've never let go of.

1. Time is the most valuable thing you have. In our house, you were not allowed to squander it. Time was the most valuable commodity there was. Live every moment with the people you hold most dear. You never know when that commodity will be lost.

2. Make sure people know they're loved. At one of the most important moments in our relationship, my father told me the most critical thing any human being can have is to know they're loved. There are so many people out there who actually question whether they are. He reminded me, several times a day, how loved I was and how valuable I was to him — through his words and through his actions. So show the people in your life that they're loved. Through what you say and what you do. Both matter, equally.

3. Step outside the box every chance you get. Every corner, every turn of life. Don't be the guy sitting inside the box staring at the walls. Put on a helmet and crash your way through every box you come across. Never stop believing in yourself. Never give up. Effort and resilience are what carry you through, no matter the circumstance. If you knew my father's story, you'd know how true that is.

4. Creativity is a muscle. It comes from muscle memory, the same way you get good at drawing or good at math. Be creative. Be unexpected. Every single day, find new ways to explore, to learn, to create. You'll start using parts of your brain you didn't know existed. We all have creativity in us. We just use the muscle differently. And creativity, by far, is the spice of life. It's what creates history.

5. Spice up life. Transform the ordinary. My father didn't just talk about this — he built it. He took out part of our kitchen for a six-spigot soda fountain. He turned another corner of it into a live broiler for steaks and toasted bread. He converted our entire basement into a video arcade, which in the '80s — popcorn, sodas, a pool table and all — made for a lot of unforgettable Friday and Saturday nights with our friends. He turned the dining room into a macaw parrot sanctuary, and we'd sit for hours talking to those birds and playing with them. He scattered rose gardens across the property, planted magnolia trees, built fountains, and dreamed up secret entryways to the attic and the basement just so there were fun spots you didn't know existed.

He didn't see the purpose in a gigantic 12-person dining room. He saw the purpose in spicing up life.

I talk often about how my father INSPIRED me to create unique environments. This is where it started. He turned the ordinary into something you actually wanted to live inside — and somewhere along the way, that became my life's work too.

Thanks for being you, Dad.

I love who I am today because YOU love me this way.

Happy Father's Day to all the girl dads out there (and boy Dad’s).