Ten years ago today was the worst day of my life. My Dad died unexpectedly and I found him in his bed. It was tragic and I almost went down a dark path, but losing him taught me a few important lessons that shaped who I am today. Let me tell you about my Dad:

Bob grew up in a working class family in a once great mill town. He loved rock music, hockey, going to the movies, skateboarding, and was always tinkering with cars. Me and him in 1988:

He was a self proclaimed “geek” and engineer. He loved systems, programming, and figuring out how things work. He was always self taught and landed jobs fixing signs, programming ATM machines, and eventually at Pepsi doing system administration.

He started working for a major health system and realized that he needed to level up and that required a degree. He studied nights and weekends for a few years and got his bachelors in 2009. My brother and I with him:

He built a 15 year career in healthcare tech as a Systems Architect where he was well respected by peers and colleagues. His passion for his work was contagious. If you had a problem, my Dad was your guy. His coworkers made signs like these and hung them outside his office:

His sudden passing taught me a few important lessons that guide me daily: Lesson 1: Tomorrow is not a given. Our time is short on this earth, so make it count. Dont wait. Take a risk. Make your move.

I was only 25 when my Dad passed and I thought I had decades more to share with him. Wrong. If you're reading this and have parents that are alive, give them a call, tell them you love them or give them a hug. I’d do anything to just see him one more time.

Lesson 2: Focus on your health daily. Prioritize a healthy diet, work out daily, stretch, drink tons of water, and get scans at the doc. These actions will compound and pay dividends for many years to come.

My Dad wasn't in bad health, but struggled with high blood pressure, diet, and sleep apnea. He was strong as hell and loved a good workout, but wasn't consistent at taking care of himself. Eventually, it caught up to him.

Growing up poor meant that Dad was committed to a better life for us, but that meant he worked late nights, had to travel or was studying. This put a huge damper on the amount of time had playing sports, exploring, or spending quality time together. We’ll never get that back.

Lesson 4: You can turn tragedy into triumph. It's ok to grieve, feel depressed, or lost. Instead of giving into vices or feeling sorry for yourself, turn that energy into positive actions. I can't change what happened 10 years ago, but I can change what happens every day forward

Thankful for these lessons and reflecting on them extra hard today. So let's raise a glass to Bob today!