Today would’ve been my dad’s 66th birthday, had he not died of a heart attack in 2012.

When I was a kid and my grandfather died (also a heart attack), I remember someone comforting us with the words, “they’re not really gone as long as you remember them.” So today it was kind of nice to see lots of people posting little messages and memories on my dad’s Facebook page. One was from my sister-in-law, recounting several of his favourite sayings, including “a job well-planned is a job half done.” He also used to tell us stuff like “measure twice, cut once” and “you can’t get lost if you don’t know where you’re going.” I guess it’s not that surprising that I ended up a project manager.

There are tons of other bits of wisdom he shared that I’ve since forgotten, but his general attitude about work and planning remains clear in my head. Here are a few more sayings that I’m sure my dad would’ve adopted and recited at just the right moment:

• Alan Lakein: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
• Ben Bayol: “Most plans are just inaccurate predictions.”
• Roald Amundsen: “Adventure is just bad planning.”
• Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”

And because he was a big George Carlin fan: “No one knows what’s next, but everybody does it.”

Thanks for the wisdom, Dad. I miss you.