Late last night my Dad went to heaven…

Although I’m sad, I’m filled with gratitude for what he taught me and excited, motivated and inspired for the life I have ahead using those lessons. 

Since I’ve known over the past 2 weeks the end was near, I’ve been thinking about all the things I learned from him. 

I came to a very interesting conclusion about how we influence other people. 

We influence others much more with how we live…than what we teach. 

The most powerful things I learned from my Dad…we’re never directly taught to me…and came during what is easily considered to worst years of his life.

My Dad suffered some of the most horrific conditions in his final 4 years of life.  

After a stroke in 2017, he never regained speech, was in constant pain, had complete paralysis on the right side of his body and never stood or walked on his own again,  coughed constantly, was not able to understand most of what we said and needed 24 hour professional aid care.

But, even when all of these freedoms were taken from him…there he was…teaching me…by how he lived. 

Right before he died I asked his massage therapist (who never met him before he lost his major functions) …what she thought of my dad. 

She went on for 30 minutes about what a caring, fun-loving and great man he was…She was able to know this about him without any verbal communication. 

She said that he would always point to her water bottle half way through the massage urging her to grab a drink and take a break. 

I’m not sure about you, but If I was in my Dad’s condition, telling someone else to grab a drink would be the last thing on my mind. 

His biggest influence on me…was during the hardest days of his life. 

I witnessed a man with almost every freedom removed still smile, experience joy, joke around, care for others, not complain, learn to use other senses, be tough and give love. 

It took a lot of reflection to realize this…

The knee jerk reaction was to erase the last 4 years from our memory and just think about his life before. 

That would be a mistake. 

Because it was during these days…his hardest days…that he did his best work. 

People are watching you. 

Your team, your kids, your clients…they are watching what you do, how you live…

…and you have the opportunity to influence others simply by the way you decide to live your life…

…and how you hold true to your deepest rooted values…no matter what the circumstances are. 

This is the purest form of leadership…and to honor my Dad I started another book 2 weeks ago…

I’m about 15,000 words in and it should be ready in 2022.

If you’d like to be notified when it’s available…

…hit reply with “Leadership Book” and will put you on the list.

Vince Gabriele