June 23rd, 2009 / 9:59 am

Do the right thing

Posted in : Community & Conversation

This was inspired by the blog post “You Matter” by Seth Godin.

I’m writing this on my Dad’s 84th birthday and Father’s Day is this coming Sunday. My Dad mattered a lot to me, he still does in fact. My Dad was my mentor, coach, business partner, teacher, friend and always my moral compass.

My Dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 1999. We began noticing little things like my Dad repeating the same question a couple of times. “How are the kids?” he would say during dinner out, or “did we order yet?” The later was always my favorite, because it gave me the opportunity to respond “yes we ordered.” Dad would say with a smile “what did I order?” That was my queue to tell Dad that he ordered the fish… and watch him laugh. You see…Chick Margolis never ate fish in his life. I think he’d rather eat shit than fish. When my Mom would cook a meal that Dad didn’t care for, he would say openly “This tastes just like shit…but it’s delicious!” (he was in the Navy, I’m pretty sure he did know what shit tasted like.) That’s just the kind of guy Dad was. Whatever was in his head came out of his mouth - I’m exactly the same way. You never have to wonder what either of us meant to say, it’s right there for you. My Dad can’t speak anymore, or recognize me or anyone else. He can’t do anything to help himself or anyone else, it’s up to us to help him now.

If everything that you do is the “right” thing, and if you take every opportunity to make life better for others, then you’ll matter too. Your legacy will be one that others will strive to live up to. It doesn’t have to be complicated either. If you’re going through a door and someone is behind you, open the door for and let them go through first. Take every opportunity to help someone if they need it, even if they don’t ask for it. It’s just the right thing to do. Do this stuff often and you’ll matter. Just like my Dad.

Written by: Bob Margolis

Email the author: margolis.bob@me.com