Note: I thought it would be interesting to hear what others’ dads have advised their own kids about jobs and careers. Here are a few I have obtained and you will see more soon in an upcoming book titled “DIG YOUR JOB.”


Lesley Rackowski remembers bad advice from her father:

“Don’t be a teacher,” he told her, “they don’t get paid much.” According to Lesley now,years later, “Now that is true. But I’m in my 50s and I have regretted not being a teacher.I think I would have made a great one. So I teach people in other venues, such as being
a scout leader when my kids were growing up, or teaching classes in adult education,
etc.”
Lesley owns her own business now, PILLOWCASEGRAM, and said her dad gave her
the best advice on that topic, “Your worst customers if you own a business are your
family and friends. They will expect discounts. Don’t give it to them.” He was right,
says Lesley, they do expect discounts. But I tell them that my wholesalers don’t give me
discounts on the items I sell family and friends, so I don’t give them a discount. Most
understand. Some thing I’m a “cheapskate,” but they don’t pay my bills, so I don’t let
it bother me.

Internationally recognized artist Pablo Solomon had a few pieces of
advice from his father:
“You work for pay, not to play” – As an artist, this has been invaluable. People think
that artists somehow live on thin air and should donate their work to any and every
cause. One reason I have been a successful artist is that I conduct my art career as a
business.
“If you are good at what you do, you make it look simple” – After a lifetime of drawing,
painting and sculpting, I make it look easy. It did not happen over night.
“Make money when you can, there will be enough times when you can’t.” – As I have
lived through economic ups and downs that this makes more and more sense.
“Always do your best. Whoever is hiring you may not know the difference, but you will”
– Pays off in the long run.
“If you do not like your job, do something else” – I have been lucky to love my career
as an artist. I cannot imagine having to bitch and moan about hating my job my entire
life.
“A crappy education and no skills equals a crappy job which equals a crappy life” – One
must learn and develop constantly to succeed.

Kathryn Korostoff talks about the two ideas her father passed on to
her:
Her father on MBA’s. “An MBA teaches you to be CEO of GM. They already have one.”

She continues, “While I got an MBA anyway, I later saw his point: an MBA taught me
enough about some subjects to be dangerous (or annoying to those who are truly skilled
in those topics). But there were other topics I delved into more into the program–and
those were most worthwhile. Still, now when younger people come to me for advice
about grad school, in most cases I advise them to consider more targeted degrees.
Her father on growing a business. “if you want to grow your business, hire the best
damn salesperson in the fi eld. Since you won’t be able to match their salary, offer them
a partial ownership. Not some future promise. Give them ownership now.” Kathryn
admits that “ I never was brave enough to take his advice, but maybe someday I will
be.”

Dave “The Shef” Sheffield said:
My dad told me to get a good job, with benefits that I could stay at for 30 or more years.

I decided to drop out of college and sell vacuum cleaners door to door. After generating
over $5M in revenue, I sold the businesses and now travel the world as a speaker and
author.

Candice Broom remembers advice her best friend got from his dad:
When I was in high school, my best friend’s dad refused to let him quit is job as a
supermarket bag boy. He said that it wouldn’t look good on his son’s resume for him to
have quit a job after only 6 months.
He made a huge deal out of it, like being a bag boy in the supermarket was really pav-
ing the way for his future. He stayed in the bag boy job, lasted one year in college, and
now drives a delivery truck for a
living. Those months bagging groceries obviously served him well!

There are a few more today over at US NEWS. What was the best and worst career advice YOUR dad gave you?