Getting Personal
It’s been a busy week of making people laugh (that can be more exhausting that you realize) and eating turkey (which you probably know is pretty exhausting) so after taking yesterday off, I awoke this morning to get my hair styled (yep - I go to a stylist) and vote. It was only when I arrived home that I realized that today was Tuesday! That means it’s time once again to share…
Last week during my radio interview to promote Magically Delicious the interview team was so disarming and comfortable that I was surprised at some of the stories that they pulled out of me. I told them things that I had never let loose in an interview before - most likely because they were questions I had never been asked. It was during this interview that I told a story about my Dad that I figured I would share online here as well.
People often ask me something along the lines of: “What do your parents think of this career choice?” There is no short answer to the question… they are excited and nervous for me all at the same time. Their perception of the industry is also not quite the reality of the industry, which can cause some problems. Fortunately, years ago my Mom shared with me a story about my Dad and his Dad (my Grandfather) that is useful and parallels my own life.
My Grandfather, in fact, both my Grandfathers, were farmers all their lives. They knew how to farm and how to raise a family on that lifestyle. Asking either of them to consider a different way in which to live, especially one that uses new and different technologies, would be difficult. My Grandpa Lawrence (maternal side) has a license plate which reads: “You Can Take the Man Out of the Farm, But You Can’t Take the Farm Out of the Man.” It’s an old adage (well - as old as farms), but couldn’t be more true. I think it’s the same for other people as well… you could take me off the stage, but… you get the idea.
So, my Dad, after living on the farm for 18 years heads off to college in Edmonton (from his Saskatchewan roots - Go Riders!). His degree has something to do with mechanical engineering and/or technology. It prepared him to do what he loves - build stuff out of sheet metal. For a few years he worked for a company in Calgary and then opportunity knocked: the chance to buy his own manufacturing company. After what I can only imagine was a TON of leveraging he was successful.
Dad had his own shop. A couple thousand square feet with the machinery he needed. He knew that this would be successful - but probably couldn’t explain why. A small start in South Calgary (after years of hard work) would turn into an incredibly successful enterprise with millions in sales and hundreds of customers. Dad was right - but we are jumping ahead in the story…
A little while after opening this business my Grandfather (Dad’s Dad) comes to Calgary to see what his son has started. Dad gives Grandpa the full tour, explains what the equipment does, points out some customer orders that are about to completed, and introduces him to this industry. After all that my Grandpa looks around and says, “So, you can make a living at this?”
So now, if my folks ever ask me about the career or use the “U-word” (university), I always remind them of this story. Just because they haven’t experienced it before, doesn’t mean it won’t work.
And if the public asks me what my parents think? Due to time constraints and the length of this story I usually just say, “They’re fine with it!” Which is true - it’s just not as interesting as the longer version.
