All 32 Wizbits

Three stages of life. One father's wisdom. Click any wizbit to read the full story.

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…

Read the story →
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…

Read the story →
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 thoug…

Read the story →
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. S…

Read the story →
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 vegeta…

Read the story →
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 …

Read the story →
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…

Read the story →
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 us…

Read the story →
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 …

Read the story →
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 ea…

Read the story →
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, cracke…

Read the story →

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 oppor…

Read the story →
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 nail…

Read the story →
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, sc…

Read the story →
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 d…

Read the story →
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. …

Read the story →
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 t…

Read the story →
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.” Of…

Read the story →
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.…

Read the story →
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…

Read the story →
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.…

Read the story →
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 bl…

Read the story →
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 m…

Read the story →

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 re…

Read the story →
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 …

Read the story →
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 …

Read the story →
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 th…

Read the story →
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 re…

Read the story →
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 i…

Read the story →
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 w…

Read the story →
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 t…

Read the story →
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 …

Read the story →

Every wizbit is even better in print — formatted, shareable, and ready to give as a gift.

Buy Kindle — $3.99 Paperback — ~$10