Jun 30, 20192 min read

A Superhero and a Mandate

In late 2010, I called my father in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA to agonize over whether I should move away from Washington, DC, the only city I had lived in as an adult, to pursue a new professional opportunity. Tearfully, I shared my anxieties. "I don't know anyone in Minneapolis...I'll be so far from you and mom...the weather might be tough to manage... I don't know if I have what it takes to perform well in the new role..."

After a thoughtful pause, my late father, a superhero among men by many accounts, gave me some advice that would eventually become my guidepost.

"You know, when you were a baby, you never really crawled. And then, one day, you were in the living room with your mother and me and, out of nowhere, you just got up and walked across the room like you had been doing it your whole life. Your mother and I just looked at each other...you've always been that way, you get up and walk. Go to Minneapolis and, if it doesn't work out, you can do something else. And if that doesn't work out, you can do something else..." We talked for several hours that day - I can still hear his voice, full of happiness, sadness, pride, love, encouragement, and maybe a bit of nervousness.

My primary takeaway from the conversation was the green light - or maybe it was a mandate - to take risks, try things, and make every moment count. This philosophy guides how I live my life and, as I launch this website just a few days after what would've been my father's 65th birthday, this is the philosophy I hope to celebrate on www.geniawright.com. Let's learn and try some new things and see some new places!

~ In honor of Aubrey D. Wright, Sr. 6/30/54 - 12/1/12.~