Ode to my father: dare mighty things

The one year anniversary of my father death is today. Hugh Miller Foley was a farm boy turned Olympian turned father, turned woodsman, fisherman, foreman and later a financial planner. He taught me by what he did, not by what he said.

When he was trying out for the Olympic boat in the early 1960s he had this quote taped to his bathroom window:

He willed it into being. It used to annoy me when he would say, "If you want it bad enough, you'll do it." But now I know he was still repeating to himself what he had learned. And it was the truth.

Two years before he won a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics, he had never rowed a day in his life.

I sure miss him. I am grateful for who he was and for the legacy he left behind. He kept it hidden when he was alive. He didn't talk about the Olympics or the other international championships he had won. He didn't tell us stories of his travels or the tough lessons he had learned about what success requires of us. His legacy was a small seed tucked just underneath our awareness. When he passed under, it grew. Many who have done less have talked more. I admire his quiet accomplishments. Perhaps its better to do more and talk less. Lessons in leadership.

Love you, Dad.