Today’s the five year anniversary of my dad’s death, which always gets me thinking a bit too much.  It also gets me digging around what I have that was his, trying to learn some things about him or from him.  This time I dug up his old 1972 cruise book from his Navy days when he was stationed off Sicily.

It’s basically — almost exactly, actually – like a high school year book.

It chronicles the life and times of this group of guys as they spent their days going through the ups and downs of Navy life. 

I’ve looked at it before and always suffer the same disappointment: in a book full of photos, there are almost none of my dad.  That’s because he was part of the cruise book staff, so he took most of the photos (he’s the one on the left).

Today, though, I had another thought.  The book itself was something I could cherish and learn from, because it wasn’t a few photos of Pop, it was his work.  He put his time, creativity, skill, and determination into creating this book and making it engaging, funny, and rewarding.  He was motivated to make sure it turned out well because his name was going to be on it, his peers would be experiencing it, and it would be — in some small way — part of his legacy. 

Pop worked on this book before I was born, at about the same age I was when I helped start Viget.  It’s funny to think of us at the same age, working hard on something to make sure we could be proud of the result.   His project at that time in his life happened to be a cruise book as part of his military service, my project happened to be a company (and the many businesses we’ve worked with).

Pop used to say something like “if you’re going to take the time to do something, you might as well make sure you do it right.”

I don’t know that Pop enjoyed being on that cruise, so far from his young family, but the task at hand was to make a good cruise book, so that’s what he helped do.  Had Pop had the opportunity to start his own company then, I would think that mindset — and his creative approach — would have led him to success.

The lesson I’m taking from my dad this year is to do what you do, and do it well.  No matter what you’re doing — whether it’s decorating a cake, playing with your kids, or starting a business– do it your way, the best way you know how.  It might not lead to anything more than a little dusty book full of memories, but at least it will be a book you can be proud of.