Wizbits From Dad

Short Sayings with Big Meanings

Oliver Carlton Powell Jr. Wizbits From Dad — the book

My parents had a profound effect on me and the way I think. This is no major revelation in itself, but some of the effects are worth sharing. My mother, of course, had a lot to do with how I turned out, and I may write a book about that sometime, but this book focuses on my father. Dad was always vocal about things and many of his sayings really stuck with me. Mother often said these and other things, but (no offense, Mother) this group I’ll share as if they came just from Dad.

Some of the lessons he taught me were obvious, spoken attempts to share a particular piece of information. Others, that were less obvious or non-verbal, sometimes even subliminal, he communicated to me through his actions and attitudes. Lately, I’ve found that in day-to-day conversation with those around me, these “sayings” keep popping up. Often, I catch myself saying: “My Dad used to tell me...” followed by some little bit of wisdom or an anecdote that relates to the current topic. Over the years, as I have begun to witness some of life’s lessons personally, these bits of wisdom or “wizbits” have become even more meaningful to me. When added to my new experiences, they have begun to mold my attitudes and directions in life. The wizbits have become much more than the “one-liners” Dad told me. I think he knew that would happen and intentionally planted these seeds to grow.

This is an attempt to bring those “wizbits” to others. I hope that they will make you smile, help you remember your father with kind regards, and maybe even make you a little wiser.

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Browse All 32 Wizbits

Three stages of life. One father's wisdom.

Childhood Wizbits

Childhood

Never Point a Gun at Someone Unless You Plan to Shoot Them

When Dad was a kid, his parents wouldn’t allow him to have guns. But when my brothers and I were growing up, toy guns were “IN”, and w…

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Childhood

Do Something Even if It’s Wrong!

My three brothers and I managed to provide our parents with ample opportunity to practice the delicate art of discipline. Fighting, screamin…

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Childhood

Just Keep on Going to Sunday School

As a small child, every major occurrence seems like a life-or-death situation. As most children, we had our share of what we thought were ho…

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Childhood

The Lazy Man’s Load

Very early, Dad taught me to work and to try to do a good job in a short amount of time. This led to a tendency to try too hard. Sometimes w…

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Childhood

Try Everything on Your Plate... Variety Is the Spice of Life!

When we were growing up, Mother tried to have a big meal for us every night. Along with bread and a meat item, a variety of vegetables were …

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Childhood

You Can Catch More Flies with Honey than with Vinegar

Fly catching was never a sport for which I yearned. I like to swat flies, but I have little desire to actually catch them. I have even “hu…

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Childhood

We Can Make Time to Play

Dad was always very busy. He was right up until he died. Early in my life, Dad was a traveling route salesman. Mostly, he would go out for t…

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Childhood

If You Don’t Have Time to Do It Right, How Will You Find Time to Do It Twice?

Most of you have probably heard this one or one very similar to it. I think it’s in some parents/bosses manual somewhere. Dad used to tell…

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Childhood

If You Want Juicy Tomatoes, You Have to Give Them Plenty of Water

Mother is a real whiz with anything green; she has received many ribbons and awards for her flowers and arrangements. I once took her a plan…

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Childhood

You Have to Make Money off Your Friends... Your Enemies Just Won’t Buy from You.

Dad has been an entrepreneur from the word “go.” A lot of this spirit has been passed on to my brothers and me. From a very early age, I…

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Childhood

You Can Run Out of Gas... But You Can NOT Run Out of Oil.

Among the vehicles I had or shared with my brothers, three of them had serious engine problems including “thrown” rods, cracked pistons …

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Teenage Wizbits

Teenage

Never Ask for a Raise Until You’re Worth More to the Company

Dad and my grandfather owned an electronics business while we were growing up and Dad tried very early to provide us with an opportunity to …

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Teenage

Dad’s Hammering Technique

If you’ve never had anyone teach you the basics of hammering, you probably have had a lot of trouble with even the simplest nailing jobs. …

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Teenage

Don’t Force it, Get a Bigger Hammer

Dad would often let us help him with projects that he was working on, giving us the opportunity to try new skills with hammers, screwdrivers…

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Teenage

Measure Twice, Cut Once

Many of the projects Dad and I worked on involved carpentry. I can’t think of anything that Dad wouldn’t undertake. We built doghouses, …

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Teenage

Don’t Overcorrect

One of the real learning experiences of my teenage years involved the darkroom that Dad and my older brother, Jack, put together. I was abou…

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Teenage

If It Is Broken, Fix it! If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It!

Although it’s very hard to pinpoint exactly when and where I learned some things from Dad, it is very obvious that I did learn them. One e…

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Teenage

If You Want to Get Better, Practice!

Throughout my childhood I tried a lot of things. I still consider myself sort of a “Jack of all trades and master of none.” Often, when …

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Teenage

Work Before Play

Not all of Dad’s Wizbits about work were as deep or so life-changing. There were many about work and all of them have helped me. One such …

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Teenage

Everybody Drives a Used Car

Many of the wizbits Dad taught me were about cars. Somehow, in our society, dealing with cars parallels life in many ways. I think that in t…

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Teenage

The 5¢ Per Mile Rule.

The reason I traded cars from my Simca to the Gremlin was that the driver’s side of the Simca had been destroyed in an accident. (It’s a…

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Teenage

You Have to Be Willing to Walk off the Lot

When I was driving the Gremlin (boy, I thought I was cool!), I found a car on a lot that I really, really wanted. It was a 1976 blue, two-do…

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Teenage

If You Don’t Get it Done Today, it Will Be Here Tomorrow.

When I was a senior in high school, I had a job in the meat market of a local grocery store. This was one of the jobs Dad helped me find thr…

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Adult Wizbits

Adult

Don’t Burn Your Bridges

One of Dad’s more common sayings was “Don’t burn your bridges before you cross them.” It was a fairly common saying and relatively e…

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Adult

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder… But Sometimes it’s for Somebody Else!

As I prepared to leave for my freshman year at college, I became quite concerned about leaving my girlfriend at home. As usual, I went to Da…

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Adult

When I Was a Child, I Spoke as a Child…

When I was in college in the mid to late 70’s, we had suffered through the “Hippie” reign. Because of this, the majority of the averag…

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Adult

Fantastic! Now What? -- The Sausage Mill

When I was in outside sales, working for Dad, I worked hard to prove myself as a productive employee. I didn’t want anyone to think of me …

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Adult

Don’t Put all Your Eggs in One Basket

If you lived in North Alabama in the 1960’s, if you didn’t live on or near a farm, you either knew someone who did, or were related to s…

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Adult

You Can Do almost Anything if You Try

This wizbit was one of those less verbal/more demonstrated types that Dad taught me with his actions. Dad has never seemed to be intimidated…

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Adult

Fish or Cut Bait!

When Dad took us fishing, sometimes he showed us how, and other times, he left us on our own to learn by doing. Occasionally, we would buy b…

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Adult

Don't Tell People Your Troubles...

I have to admit, I'm a little too "open" when it comes to sharing. Not in the TMI (Too Much Information) way, but I'm not afraid to share mo…

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Adult

You Only Get One Chance at a First Impression

One day, my daughter called me about an interview she had to attend. It was not for a job, but was for consideration for an award in school.…

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"Wisdom isn't always found in books. Sometimes it's found in the passenger seat of a '67 Chevy, on the way to a fishing hole."

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