Important Life Lessons I Learned from My Father and Mother

Hello, dear readers of , today I bring you a magnificent text from the great Robert Wong, founder, partner and CEO of Robert Wong Consultoria Executivo. He is the author of the books “Success is in Equilibrium” which is in its 14th edition and “super tips for getting a great job”.

Robert is recognized as one of the most influential and outstanding speakers in the business. We always talk about success, prosperity and full health, but we forget what is intrinsic to us. So, the text of my column this month is a balm, so that we can connect with our essence. Something light. Good reading.

IMPORTANT LESSONS, RELEVANT TO MY LIFE, THAT I LEARNED FROM MY FATHER AND MY MOM

There are so many important and valuable lessons I’ve learned on this beautiful journey called Life, living with Mom and Dad. Of these, I always thought they gave us the two most precious assets to “win” in life, namely, ROOTS (values, culture, wisdom, principles, education) to serve as a solid foundation to face challenges … and WINGS (self-confidence) , daring, curiosity, persistence, courage) to be able to fly towards our dreams! Among the lessons I learned from them, I will expose three that I consider the most significant resources, or rather teachings, since they influenced me and still influence me in many ways.

One of them is HEALTH! Health, one of the most desired and sacred gifts, is formed by the physical, mental and spiritual supports and should be the basis of life to start and, more importantly, complete the various activities and projects in which one would like to be involved. As a bonus, you will be able to leave a precious legacy, and perhaps even a material inheritance, for your loved ones and for society in general. When I was still very young, Baba (Dad) shared his wise and thought-provoking understanding of the concept of health. According to him, Health represents No. 1 in a series of possible accumulations that we have or can accumulate throughout life.

If, in addition to health, I have friends, I would add a zero after # 1; in essence, I would have ten times the assets I initially had. In other words, my value grew from 1 to 10, that is, it multiplied ten times. In the same line of reasoning, my father would add another zero to that number for each new achievement/gain, be it friends, money, a job, a good salary, professional success, etc.1, 10, 100, 1000… As a young and As a recent immigrant to Brazil, and with a peculiar feeling of being a little out of place in this new environment, I suddenly felt very rich.

Seeing my interest, my dad nudged me. Soon, he turned my fortune into 1,000,000! As?!? Well, the initial number 1, which corresponded to my health, was followed by several 0’s representing my friends, money, education, a great job, my own family, a nice house, etc… you name it! As a result of this parable, I had become, in my mind, a millionaire, and as a child I wanted to go even further, to become a billionaire. “More, father, more!” I exclaimed with the image of that 1,000,000,000
magic in my head.

On top of his ingrained wisdom and serene patience, Dad replied, “Son, be quiet a little and now listen to me carefully.” You can already imagine how my father’s narrative ended. Looking directly into my eyes, still shining with possible millions, Dad said, “Son, if you lose your health, what happens?” After a deafening silence that seemed endless, he continued: “Son, you don’t have that number 1 on the front anymore. So what’s left? Just zeros”. 0000000000 … “So, what good is having family, friends, money, power, material goods and everything else, if Health – number 1 in the equation and which gives meaning and value to everything else – is missing?” WOW! That number 1, which at the time seemed so small and insignificant to me, is the factor that would give meaning and value to my overall existence and help me to value
and effectively invest in my Health – physical, mental and spiritual! In practical terms, Dad would simply dictate that in order to be in good health, one must do the following every day: “Sleep well, eat well, and Dà-bien well!” (Translation: Dà-bien = evacuate). That’s what healthy babies do every day! Is it or is not it?

– Robert Wong