June 19, 2011 
In honor of Father’s Day… (SURPRISE dad!!) =]
Rather than posting an interview for this week, I have decided to recollect on the things I have picked up from my father, Jeff Sampson- the most incredible man I know. Here are some tips he gave me when I was a youngin’:
1. Have Fun.
Whenever he used to drop my sisters and me off at school, the last thing he always said to us was, “Have fun!” Pretty sure this is the best advice I have ever received. When was the last time you genuinely laughed? When was the last time you woke up excited for the day? If it’s been a while, stop reading this. Go call your family and just chat. See how they are doing. You will feel better, trust me.
What does it mean to “have fun” in the business world? I think my father put it best when he told me (on a very stressful day), “Just think of today as a scene from a movie and your life is the movie; good news is- if you don’t like that scene, well hey it’s not going to last forever!” Thinking of that just makes me smile. So enjoy your work. If you are not enjoying it, do something else. If you can’t “afford” to do something else, switch things up a bit to make it more FUN.
2. Be respectful.
Have you ever called a customer service line already upset at the person because of something that is not even their fault? Guilty. So now, not only can the customer service rep sense my anger, but they also have to put on their “happy face” and serve my needs. Do you ever take the time to think about how many angry people they have to deal with? By simply calming yourself down, not only will you get better service, but you will also make someone’s day. Win/win! Something I try to work on every day is to have respect for everyone, just as my father does.
3. Don’t ever give up.
You know, I wrote this 3rd point down and could not continue right away. I think that line really just says it all. Here’s a personal story for you all (leaving out the details, gotta keep some things private):
Two years ago, my parents moved from southern California to northern New Jersey. Meanwhile, my older sister was in process of moving to Texas, while my younger sister was still in L.A. trying to figure out how to pay for school. If that wasn’t chaotic enough, here I am transferring from Indiana back to California. Oh, I forgot to mention my father was quite ill at that time as well. Needless to say, it was rough year. I am not going to lie and say that giving up was not an option. In fact, it sure as hell was on my mind probably 23 hours/day. I was basically walking around with the attitude of “Screw this, I will take a year off and work.” This is where dad comes in, “Cat. I really want you to continue in school. Please just do that for me.”
Two years later, times are still rough. The difference now, however is that we can handle it. Why? We never gave up. My parents refused to. I thank them as much as I can for pushing me through that year. It allowed me to get to where I am now, which is only the start of where I want to go.
Thank you, dad. You are my hero! Happy Father’s Day!
-Cat
Awesome.