Thank you to Rockland Trust Bank for sponsoring this post. All experience and opinions are authentically my own. 
My dad has some great one liners. Often times S and I find ourselves repeating one of his lines, pausing, looking at one another and saying at once, “That’s an Ed quote”. Beyond the lighthearted, and often silly, quotes my dad has also repeated a lot of advice through my life. When deciding how to respond to a situation or make a decision, I immediately find myself thinking thorough what my dad would say. Many times I still need to be reinforced and gut checked with a phone call, but I’m at the age now where I can have his advice playing in my head before he even answers the call.

Today I’m partnering with Rockland Trust Bank to share five life lessons I learned from my dad.
ONE // SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THE BEST
Your life path is often heavily effected by who you surround yourself with. With that, my dad has always said: “You can’t soar with the eagles if you hang with the turkeys”. The friends we choose in life, especially in our younger years, really shape us. Turkeys bring you down. Eagles lift you up to be the very best version of yourself.

TWO // THE VALUE OF AN EDUCATION
I’ve always been told: “People can take many things from you in life, but the one thing they can’t take is your education”. This quote always rang in the back of my mind through college. It really helped get me through four years of statistics class all nighters, many finance tests and everything else college threw at me. Well that and never wanting to work retail Black Friday again ever again in my life ;-).

If it weren’t for my dad supporting my career aspirations and strongly pushing back on other people/situations when vetting through colleges, I’m not sure I would have been able to pursue my marketing degree that not only set my future up for success, but ultimately helped me find my passions – my marketing career and owning my own business.

THREE // ACCEPT ME AS I AM… OR DON’T.
You’ll never be everyone’s cup of tea so unapologetically be yourself. If someone doesn’t like it, that’s fine. There’s no need to morph into someone else or alter your values in order to be accepted or to “fit in”. Always be yourself!

FOUR // STAND UP FOR YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Now being an adult, I feel like there are two people.. the one’s that will see something bad happen an immediately jump in to help without thinking twice and those that will turn an eye and say “not it! Someone else will deal with it”. Well, I’m definitely the first. I have legitimately jumped out of a moving vehicle to save a dog from running into the street. And for a turtle. I’ve spoken up when someone is belittling another person in the workplace so on. Maybe this is because I’m a loud person to begin with, but I try to use it for good 🙂

FIVE // BANK LOCAL
Before my grandmother passed when I was a baby, she set aside money for me in an account at our local community bank. This ended up being my first ever savings account. This local bank was also where my dad did business for both his personal and business finances. He’s always told me that the relationships at a local community bank are unlike that at larger institutions and maintaining a relationship at one should be a priority through life. The reason being is that they are often more apt to work with you and your personal situation and ultimately, care about you. The older I get, the more this value really clicks. From buying my first car 100% on my own at 20 to now looking at buying our first home, banking local has always been a priority that was ultimately instilled in me by my dad.

When Rockland Trust Bank, a community bank located right here in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, inquired to partner on a blog post, I knew it’d be a genuine and authentic fit due to this value my dad has repeated my entire life. Their slogan even is “Where each relationship matters”. Who doesn’t want to do business with a bank that values relationships so highly? We’re looking to work with them once we move forward with a house next year and if you’re local to the New England area, you can check them out as well on their website or follow along on their Instagram and Facebook for more information!
life-lessons-learned-by-dad

Thanks for reading! Xo Mindy


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  1. Annaliese says:

    What a sweet post Mindy!! <3 I treasure the lessons and values I've learned from my mom and dad as well.

    xoxo A
    http://www.southernbelleintraining.com

  2. Melissa says:

    OMG What a cute post!!! I bank at a local credit union and agree that the relationships made are much stronger than at a large, National Bank.

    Melissa

  3. Nancy says:

    I have been a longtime reader, but never really comment but had to today! I REALLY love Rockland Trust! I’m actually from RI and have banked with them starting in college. They’re so friendly and sweet!

    <3 Nancy

  4. Your dad seems like an amazing guy and what awesome advice he’s given you throughout your life. You’re a lucky girl! I especially love #3. I’ve learned that lesson the hard way. I always tried to ensure that people liked me even if I didn’t necessarily care for them much. It’s way too much effort for nothing, and I wish I had someone in my ear giving me that advice!

  5. What a cute post! I love the serious face your dad has, reminds me of mine! 3 is my favorite, you can’t please everyone!

    • Min says:

      OMG, yes! The serious face, haha!! It must be a universal dad thing 😉

      Thanks so much for reading and for your sweet words, Laura! Xo Mindy

  6. Amy M Loochtan says:

    such an adorable post with your pops!

  7. Cathy says:

    These are perfect life lessons! My mom taught me these too!! Number 3 is so important, they are all important, but number 3 is the key to happiness and healthy self esteem.

    XOXO
    Cathy

  8. Kuleigh says:

    These are great lessons to learn from your Dad! My dad is a pro at networking and he’s shown me the value in being nice to everyone and fostering genuine relationships with people.

  9. Adriana says:

    This is the sweetest post, and now I want to do something similar with my dad!
    Love this so much. xoxo

    ~Adriana
    http://www.leopardmartini.com

  10. Sweetest post ever! Love the adorable pics of you & your dad

  11. I love all these lessons! Especially the value of an education. Your dad sounds like an awesome guy.

  12. adriana says:

    This is just the cutest! We really do learn SO many things from our dads, I love this so much!

  13. Melissa says:

    This is adorable! I love your photos with your dad and what you learned from him.

  14. Grace says:

    I love this! Your dad has reinforced some really important and valuable lessons for you, it is the sweetest!

  15. This is such a sweet post. Valuing education is one of the best lessons I have ever learned. SO many great tips 🙂

    -xo, Azanique | http://www.lotsofsass.com

  16. Alexis says:

    Yay for dad! Number 3 is the best advice anyone could ever give their child!

  17. maggie says:

    These are such great tips!!

  18. Such a cute post! <3
    Xoxo
    Sarah Lindner
    http://www.TheHouseOfSequins.com

  19. Shelby Back says:

    this is precious! love these tips!

    xo!
    Shelby

  20. Anna says:

    These are great pieces of advice! I totally agree that banking local is far better than banking with a huge chain!

  21. Shaguna says:

    Aww your dad is the cutest! My dad also instilled in me that education is the most important.

  22. Southern & Style says:

    This is so sweet! I’m totally a daddy’s girl too & his advice is always golden for me 🙂

    xoxo, SS

    Southern and Style

  23. McKenna bleu says:

    Such a sweet post!

  24. Kate says:

    Aww love this post! Such good life lessons!

  25. Ashley Zeal says:

    This made me tear up a little bit!

  26. Annie says:

    Aw I love this post!! Great advice!

  27. Krista says:

    This post was AMAZING and so inspiring girl. I love how thoughtful and sweet you are with your relationship. Makes me want to call my dad!!!!

    xoxo

  28. Mandy Gragg says:

    Aww I love this so much. Your dad is a very wise man! Happy holidays to you both!

  29. Shelby says:

    Love these so much! We used a local bank when buying our first home a few weeks ago and it absolutely made a huge difference. So true about them caring more about your situation!

    xo, Shelby
    http://www.prettyinthepines.com

  30. This is such great advice! Dads are the best, aren’t they?

  31. Jessica says:

    Awww this is such a sweet post!!

  32. Anna English says:

    This is such a sweet post Mindy!

  33. This is such a sweet post! My dad is also full of one-liners and little bits of wisdom. Dads are the best!

  34. LuxMommy says:

    This was so sweet. I love these types of posts.

  35. Cristina says:

    You have such a wonderful father who has taught you some amazing lessons. #2 really stood out to me. You are absolutely right. One thing that people cannot take away from us is out education! I love that he has stressed the importance of a good education in your life. We all need someone to support us when we are pursing our professional careers.

    xx

    Cristina
    http://www.timelessoptimist.com

  36. I’m a total Daddy’s girl, so I loved reading this & the pictures of you two are so sweet!!

  37. I always love hearing what people have learned from their parents. These photos are sososo cute, too!

  38. Great advice you’ve learned from your dad, especially #3 and #4.

  39. Sara says:

    This post just warmed my heart! I’ve learned so many valuable life lessons from my sweet dad!

    xo, Sara

  40. sarah tripp says:

    Awe I love this post! So sweet!

  41. Megan says:

    I totally agree with banking local !

  42. Such a cute post & I love all the lessons you learned! XO

  43. Alex says:

    Love, love, love these life lessons- so useful! My dad has always told me to bank local, too…and I didn’t listen to him. Now I am really regretting that as I have aged some!

  44. Sophie says:

    This is so sweet!

  45. Rachel says:

    These are so sweet! Your dad is clearly a very wise man! You’re so lucky to have someone like that in your life!

  46. Elizabeth says:

    what an adorable post idea! these pics are too cute and all the quotes are so great

  47. Sara Laughed says:

    I love the third lesson! Being unapologetically myself is a lesson I’ve learned this year.

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Servello & Co. Interiors

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Hi there

I'm a Maine native residing in the Boston 'burbs sharing my love of interiors through decorating my husband and I's first home.

Through this experience, I discovered I have a knack for curating spaces that feel warm, cohesive and inviting. That passion turned into friends and family asking for interiors help and now we are here! 

Home should be a place you love to be. I'm here to help you achieve that!