“But find something that you absolutely love doing. And then get to love the way you do it. That’s the uniqueness of all of us. That’s it.”
—Al Lewis
Today’s story is contributed by Bryton Neck.
My name is Bryton Neck and I’m 14 years old. My Dad is a Professor and I must admit at times I have tuned him out as he tried to lecture me on something about life and about success. But the older I get, I’m starting to see that some of Dad’s advice is really cool stuff and really makes sense.
Lately, I have seen him working harder than ever. He seems to always be up late and then up again really early in the morning.
Bryton and his dad showing their LSU pride.
I asked him why he was so busy and he told me about savvydad.com — a website he helped create with Mr. Greg Hague. I then went to savvydad.com to see what it was all about. After reading all of the stories, I decided to share one story about my dad that I will always remember. This story happened around Halloween a number of years back.
A week before Halloween day, my sister and I were talking about how our costumes were not that great and how our friend’s costumes were going to be something special. My dad heard our conversation and immediately chimed in.
He said that anyone could go buy a fancy costume. But being unique in life is not a function of the clothes you wear or how long you wear your hair.
To truly stand out involves DOING something different, and doing it better than others, NOT just wearing something different or doing something to look different.
I said, “like making good grades in school or playing the trumpet better than anyone else?”
“Exactly,” Dad said.
Dad has a habit of not knowing when to stop, so he said one more thing,
“Anyone can get a crazy haircut, pierce a body part or buy something at a store to be different. But very few are willing to work hard at developing a unique skill or product or service. Remember, true uniqueness can’t be bought.”
So I’m going to do what my Dad would do and repeat the savvydad.com lesson for today:
“True Uniqueness Can’t Be Bought.”
Bryton and his dad enjoying an Arizona hike.
Bryton Neck currently is a 9th grader in Arizona and was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. He loves football and fishing, and plans to attend Louisiana State University. Geaux Tigers!
Wow Bryton, you are a very sharp young man. I was much older than you before I started “tuning in” to my dad’s advice and realized how valuable it was. And yes, my dad tends to go on and on, and add one more thing, as well. It’s a “Dad thing.”
I am lucky to still have my dad offering me advice. Each time he adds one more thing, I now realize that it’s a gift, his way of sharing the depth and breadth of his knowledge and experience. How lucky we are to have dads who want us to be the best we can be.