pics-for-web.jpg  Probably one of the greatest moves I made in life was back in May of 2003 when I decided to join my dad’s small CPA firm and work with him.

He was a young 56 years old then, and today he turns 61.  And I’ll be 37 this year, and I just figured out (maybe a couple of years ago) that I don’t know nothing (sorry English teachers), and that my dad knows stuff… turns out, it’s a bunch of stuff.  Figuring this out sure would have been helpful a number of years ago.  Why did it take me until around the mid-30s to figure this out?  That stinks… in a big way.  I may have more time, more money and more life… if I just would have listened to my dad.

In honor of my dad’s 61st birthday today, I wanted to share a few things he taught me…

1.  He misses his dad more now than when his dad was actually alive.  That’s interesting.  That makes me want to hang around my dad.  I don’t want to say that one day.  So I’m glad I get to work with my dad.  And I’m going to make sure my children get to spend a lot of time with me (even when they are teenagers)… because of my dad.

2.  My dad has sacrificed his life for his kids.  My dad is the co-owner/co-organizer of four businesses total, two (seen here and here) for me and two (again, here and here) for my older brother.  He sacrificed his time and funded all of the businesses with his own cash.  I’ll be sacrificing for my three daughters the way my dad did for me (maybe not the cash part)… because of my dad.

3.  My dad taught me to make myself indispensable at my work.  This has helped me tremendously in my past employment, and I’ve even taught this concept to some of my clients.  By this I mean, put yourself in such a trusted position at your job, and perform so well that your employer seems somewhat obligated to offer you higher positions, raises, promotions, etc.  I’ve asked for and received higher positions, raises and promotions… because of my dad. 

4.  Be a background man.  My brother and I are anything but “background”.  We love business and loud music and we don’t like to follow people.  And we sing REALLY loud at church.  My dad is not quite so showy.  He is more of a “background” man.  You know he’s there, but he’s not going to point that fact out.  But when he speaks, me and my brother (and others) tend to be quiet.  He is usually saying something worth listening to.  I want to be a man worth listening to and hang out more in the background… because of my dad.

5.  My dad is a man of faith.  Though he will tell you that his faith in God is not very strong, we see a different picture.  We see a man who has had to lean on God in so many ways through so many trials in the past (many of those trials caused by his unruly kids), and still rely on God and share Him with others.  I want to be a man of faith… because of my dad.

 There’s just so many more I can’t list them all, but those are just a few.

Dad, I love you more than words can say, and I’m so glad to be in the office with you today to say Happy Birthday!  You freakin’ rule, dude (did I mention that me and my brother are not very respectful of the aged, too?).

Thanks, Jason M. Blumer