A Lesson in Success, Learned From My Son

There are many times when lessons are learned even when you are not seeking knowledge. My son has taught me a significant lesson over the past few months and the lesson deals with commitment, initiative, optimism, learning and application of the skills acquired.

My approach to problem solving and empowerment at work will be impacted by this lesson.

This all started with a 2006 Volvo S40.

Commitment

My son is 17. Early last year he became interested in acquiring a used vehicle, a standard, and hopefully one that could meet the test for being cool in today's high school environment. I was surprised by his efforts to locate just the right vehicle, and even more surprised when he told me he found what he wanted. The sleek black Volvo was for sale at a very reasonable price and he worked towards acquiring it. Once it made it to our driveway he worked on it almost every available hour - washing / waxing almost daily, detailing the inside, resolving small issues that he could repair and customizing the paint and wheels to his satisfaction. All was well until the engine blew.

Initiative

My son is interested in becoming a diesel tech / mechanic and currently works in a diesel shop. While he is interested in engines and how they work he certainly is early in the process of understanding them and / or knowing how to repair them. When the Volvo engine failed he dug in to try to figure out what went wrong and how it might be resolved. We involved a Volvo mechanic at one point and his message was clear, this engine can't be fixed and the price of replacing it is too much. Scrap the car and move on. From my perspective (meaning I have no idea when it comes to engines) this sounded like sound reasoning, wisdom even - cut your losses and give up on this difficult if not impossible project.

Optimism

From my son's perspective he just could not accept giving up on the problem so quickly. He was invested in this car. Financially invested, yes, but more so through the hours of effort and the emotional attachment that comes with owning your dream car. Despite my efforts of acting on the wisdom of the Volvo mechanic, my son pressed on. And without fail he continued to state that it could be fixed. Everything that the Volvo mechanic stated (I won't bore you with the mechanical details; I would probably relay them incorrectly anyway), my son said "but he wasn't considering this", or "I think I can find a way to solve that". Optimism was the drum beat.

Learning

Every so often my son would give me an update. The Volvo was now in our garage in quite a state of disrepair, with engine parts strewn everywhere. One day my son walks up to me and starts talking about some progress he has made. I see his mobile phone and I ask him why there are black marks all over the back of it. Oh, he responds, it is just engine grease. So I learn through this interaction that he is using YouTube as his knowledge center, looking up how-to's related to foreign cars, Volvo specific, and how valves and cylinders and timing belts work and sometimes don't. Many times he would just set his phone down near where he was working and watch the video as he applied what he was watching and learning. Amazing.

He also sought out additional expertise through a friend and his father that work on cars as a hobby. They had a similar optimism in their views on getting the car running.

Application

Soon enough, and for far less than a complete engine rebuild / replacement, the optimism started to appear well founded. The application of the knowledge he had gathered was tremendous. I would get almost daily updates that would go something like this - "we think we have it narrowed down to three options. I am pursuing this option first and will have the parts tomorrow". Everything the expert had told us was right in some ways - from his perspective this would be a huge project, very time consuming and therefore very expensive, without 100% assurance of success. He didn't know that my son would invest the time, gain the knowledge, work endless hours for no charge but with confidence that the car would live again. My son was 100% confident that he would be successful.

Solution

Earlier this week I received a text from my son. It read simply "It's allllivvvvveeeee!!!!!". He soon sent me a Snapchat as further proof.

So much of his success was based on his approach; he wouldn't accept no as an answer without proving it to himself, he committed himself to learning and took the initiative to gain knowledge and apply it, and he remained optimistic throughout, regardless of the setbacks along the way.

Success.