Not to spoil the end, but everything’s going to be OK

I have a sign in my kitchen that says, “Great things are accomplished by a series of small things brought together.”

Given my job — I like to think of it as story teller — it’s probably not surprising I have little words of wisdom scattered around my home and desk.

But from all of the people I’ve talked to over the years and my own experiences, I often find those moments we might have wished away, were preparing us for the next step we needed to take.

There have been people in my life, including my parents, that have had to work harder than I would have wished for them, but they taught me the value of doing your best every day, and when that wasn’t good enough, picking yourself up again the next day.

Sometimes they also offered an example of what not to do. Like when I was 18 and my dad told me to move a car into his shop. The brakes didn’t work. I told him. He didn’t think I really meant it, and I didn’t argue when he said to pull up to the shop.

We both learned valuable lessons that day about listening and when to speak up (and still have the bumper-shaped dent in his shop door to prove it).

Both of my parents have been incredible examples of what it means to work hard. My mom went back to school after having three children, so she could provide us with a better life, and my dad has always worked longer hours than anyone I’ve ever met. Those are just some of the many lessons they taught me.

There are many more lessons I have yet to learn, but I’ve always considered myself lucky to be in a place with so many talented and experienced people from whom to learn.

And one of my more recent acquisitions is another simple statement, “Not to spoil the ending, but everything’s going to be OK.”