I did a little sleuthing for this post in order to find the oldest (and naked-est, apparently) possible photos. Yes, that little fluffhead is me. And next to The Little Fluffhead is my dad. I’m not sure what his elbow is doing in a bucket of water, but it was the early 90s, so we’ll let it slide. Since my Little Fluffhead days until now, my dad has taught me a lot of life lessons. Today, I want to share five that have had the biggest impact on me. Let me know what your dad has taught you in the comments!

1. Love has many forms. Growing up, my relationship with my dad wasn’t always easy. At times, I admittedly wondered how much he loved me, as he wasn’t always verbal with praise or feelings. Now that I’m older, I realize that love comes in many shapes and sizes. For me, love often comes in words and hugs. For my dad, it came in the form of making sure my college bills were paid on time. The way we love may not be quite the same, but whether someone tells or shows you that they love you, the only thing that matters is that they do.
2. Never, ever give up. Your dreams are only as real as you allow them to be. When I was a kid, my dad took law school classes at night, on top of a full-time job. After graduating, he took the Bar Exam (the test you need to take to become a lawyer) several times before passing, which is reasonable when you have two kids and a job to manage, but crushing, I’m sure, when you’d just like to move on to the next chapter of your life. Instead of giving up, my dad worked harder. Now, he is one of the most successful people I know. He’s also one of the most hard-working and has never given up on his dreams, even in the face of setbacks and near impossibilities.
3. The food you eat affects your skin. I fought this lesson for many years. No way was I giving up cheese or candy! It wasn’t until I moved to Japan and ate cheese sandwiches everyday for two weeks that I started to realize he was right.
4. Don’t try to fit square pegs into round holes. My dad gave me that advice when I was going through a breakup awhile back. His reasoning was that we shouldn’t ignore when someone shows us signs that they’re not right for us. Sometimes in relationships, we have a tendency to cover up the bad or convince ourselves that negative signs aren’t important. We try to make things work, even when they’re well past their expiration date. Instead, it’s important to recognize those ill signs in a relationship and move on, if we have to.
5. Hard work is everything. The strongest images I can conjure up of my dad are of him sitting in his office, working long and diligent hours. He’d often remind me to “just work hard” as a simple solution to most of my problems and path to achieve my dreams. The older I get, the more I realize how very true this is.

What has your dad taught you? A lot, I bet! Oral-B at Target is having a neat contest in honor of dads called the Power Dad’s Smile Everyday Sweepstakes. (Did I mention there are over $1,000 in prizes being handed out?) To enter, just share a photo of you and your Dad on Twitter or Instagram using #oralbsweeps between now and June 15th. You could win the Father’s Day Power Bundle which includes the Oral-B Black ProfessionalCare 1000 Rechargeable Toothbrush, the Braun Series 7 760 shaver and a $250 Target GiftCard! Aww yeeuhhh.

In case you needed another reason to enter, Oral-B is the #1 recommended toothbrush by dentists worldwide. My former boyfriend in Japan purchased one and the results were so dazzling that I might have used his toothbrush while he was sleeping. I’ll never tell.

Now, what has your dad taught you?

(And more importantly, have you ever used anyone else’s toothbrush?) 😉

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.