My life began in a city just outside of Toronto, but when I turned 12, we moved to a small town and it taught me valuable life lessons that I continue to use today.. Horseback riding .For those of you who grew up in a small town, you probably learned these same life lessons..My new small town home had less than 1,000 residents and still has approximately the same population three decades later..Hard Work.The most important lesson I learned was to work hard. We had no part-time jobs standing in the Gap selling sweaters. No, we had hard work as the only option. I cut lawns, shovelled driveways, and did any other odd jobs I could find to make money. It taught me that if you want something, work hard and you will get there. As Wayne Dyer said “it’s never crowded along the extra mile.”.Morals and Ethics.My family went to church a lot. Every Sunday, plus youth group, bible studies, and other church functions. I left the church, but it taught me to live a moral and ethical life. I learned right from wrong. I might have been in church more than school!.Teamwork. Sheep .We played team sports all the time. Whether it was ball hockey, baseball, football, and other sports. I learned how to work with a team and usually always the same people. There were only about a dozen of us that lived close enough to ride our bikes to!.If we weren’t playing sports, we were watching them at the local church. Also known as the hockey rink. Once again, watching people work together as a team..Toughness.Most Canadians complain when winter comes, as it’s so cold. Not us small town kids, we spent hours outside and unless it was colder than minus 25. We couldn’t care less about the cold. Shovelling driveways for hours making money was just what we did. Little did I know at the time, learning to work hard in the winter made everything else seem so much easier. When I taught ski racing, it did not bother me when we would go up the hill on the back of a snowmobile at 7 am in the cold and darkness to set up..Parenting Skills.My father worked as a construction manager and my mother ran the house. I saw my Dad get up at 5 am to go to work and return after 6 pm. My mother managed the house. I never saw my parents complain about working hard and that instilled in me to work hard and provide for my family. Just like my parents..Did you grow up in a small town? What else did you learn. Post in the comments below.
