If we are really lucky, we get to live our lives being loved and supported by a father or other cherished male role model. The best of these men give us confidence, support and good advice. While some fatherly guidance might slip your mind, some of it is so powerful, so on-point, that it can stick with you for years, maybe even for your whole life. I took a poll of some of the greatest women I know to find out what great life lessons they had learned from their fathers or other important male role models. 

Here’s what they said: 

“I was going through a very sad and difficult time. I remember my dad telling me that I didn’t owe everyone I know an explanation for what was going on in my life. It was like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders.” 

~ Susan Gourdin

“I learned a million great life lessons from my dad, but one of the most practical ones was how to drive. He sat patiently in the passenger’s seat while I learned to navigate a stick shift and hold it on a hill. He taught me how to stay calm in traffic and how to merge onto the highway. Patience is what I learned from my dad and perseverance. Driving a stick is challenging and sometimes merging into traffic is harrowing. He taught me how to stay calm. He only spoke when it was absolutely necessary, and that helped me build confidence in myself. This is a lesson that’s stayed with me all my life.”

~ Anonymous

Who cares? “Being a female, and an overly dramatic one at that, I found everything in my teenage years to be absolutely theatrical. My dad’s very simple advice was always ‘who cares?’ Not in a mean, flippant way of ‘stop talking to me,’ but in a ‘live your life, they’ll have something else to talk about next week’ kind of way, and boy was he right. Who cares if you mixed up your words when you were placing your coffee order? Who cares if your pants have a weird stain? Who cares if you had an extra roll at dinner? Live your life.” 

~ Niki Flowers

“My dad taught me to invest in myself whether through education, learning new skills, finding ways to excel in my career or even investing in my well-being by taking care of my physical and mental health. He has always pushed me to pursue the things that make me feel good about myself and bring me joy.”  

~ Regina Parra

“My dad once told me if my car ever gets stuck on the train tracks and a train is coming…get out of the car! Another time when I didn’t do well at an ice skating competition, he took me outside because I was having a complete meltdown which was embarrassing because (at around 12 years old) I was too old to act like that. We walked around the parking lot, and he told me to yell the F word at the top of my lungs and then we threw something at the dumpster. He said that is how to handle the frustration and disappointment, and now we are done with it and can move on. He said that’s how he handled a bad golf game, and it worked every time. LOL.”

~ Kellie Elliott

“My father told me to always tip well, to always be kind to others and to never assume good times in my life were forever. He said the good you put out into the world will find its way back to you.” 

~ Allison Edwards

“My dad was a big proponent of embracing your true self and honoring your uniqueness. He emphasized to me that I didn’t need to conform to be acceptable and that I was not meant to fit into society’s mold. This has helped me feel special and walk to the beat of my own drummer even when there has been pressure to do things like everyone else is doing them.”

~ Laura Beth Calhoun 

“My father often told me that ‘sunk costs are sunk.’ He meant it in the financial sense, but as I thought about it more, I think he meant it in a larger sense, too. There are so many meanings to this phrase. What I take from it is don’t sweat the small stuff, don’t dwell on the past, what’s done is done, don’t spend your time worrying about what you can’t do anything about. ‘Sunk costs are sunk.’ You can use it for almost anything.” 

~ Anonymous 

“My dad always drilled into me that my health is my wealth. Taking care of yourself physically and mentally should always be a priority. Without taking care of my health first, I wouldn’t be able to pursue the life that I love.” 

~ Sharon Harkness