NEWSLETTER 3: Today would have been my parents' 22nd wedding anniversary

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Today would have been my parents’ 22nd wedding anniversary

Over the years, I would forget the exact day

But as my mum grew ill I wrote the day down in my calendar to remember every year

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It seems obvious to celebrate each year being together but you only realise just how special it is

When seeing the 52% divorce rates in the US, the amount of people not married at all and unfortunately for my family

My parents being split up through the death of my mother

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In this week's newsletter I have a load of new thoughts

I want to share what my mum and dad have taught me about love, marriage and relationships through their own partnership

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LESSON 1 - Never give up on one another & keep hard conversations internal

My parents would get into disagreements just like any other couple

Sometimes my dad was right but most of the time my mum was right (I'm only joking dad)

But at the end of the day they would still love and care for one another

The only time I noticed that disagreements got worse was when other people got involved

Aunts, uncles, grandparents, friends etc

There is definitely something to be said about keeping disagreements between those impacted and not sharing with the entire world

This often makes situations worse than they would otherwise be

I notice this with my own siblings and dad

The more we deal with things ourselves and prioritise the love we have for one another

over anything we did or said

The easier it is to go to sleep, forgive them, improve and move on

But when partners get involved (we are way too young atm), friends, coworkers etc

That is where the permanence comes in because outsiders don't understand the nuance of the disagreement and the people involved

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LESSON 2 - NEVER GIVE UP

Up until the day my mother died

She never gave up

We were coming up with plans of how she could beat her terminal illness

Just before she became bedridden

My mum didn't hide that she was in pain and that the cancer might overcome her physically

However,

Spiritually my mum was always above the cancer

She was willing to do anything and everything to live no matter what it took

And my dad did and has done the same

In a time when many partners turn to drugs, alcohol or other addictions

Or even feeling sorry within themselves

My dad saw the internal fight against giving up

He worked tirelessly to build his businesses and has never gone a day without speaking to his four children

He showed us that life is hard but that doesn’t mean you need to let life happen to you

Don’t become a statistic

Become an outlier

Work hard, look after those around you and never stop the fight

Do what is right for the people you love

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LESSON 3 - Be your partner's biggest supporter

Both of my parents were always huge advocates for one another

My dad would travel to see my mum at as many triathlons as he could (my mum raced at age group for Ireland), supported her with her dreams and always believed in anything she did

My mum did the same: always encouraging my dad to train hard, eat well, and build the businesses that would support our lives

I often took for granted their combination of empathy and love with determination

When you are always working towards something

Life can go pretty quickly

It always felt like we were headed somewhere and this feeling was instilled in us by mum and dad

I wouldn’t change this work ethic and set of morals for anything

But I would maybe have one last hug from mum

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LESSON 4 - Your loved ones will always support you

Over the years we have all done embarrassing things

But something I didn't always realise

Was that no matter what I did

My mum and dad would always love me

Unconditional love is a hard thing to comprehend

But it is a necessary thing

It motivates you to take risks

And gives you a solid base of love, care and affection

To go out and enjoy the world

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There are a million more lessons that I have learned from my parents but those were 4 that stood out to me

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This has been an interesting week in my life

I paid a visit to the Blue mountains with some good friends of mine

Which was a great disconnect from the real world for a day

Excited for the week to come…

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Monday-Friday

I am going to be posting 5 episodes!!

And I am introducing a new type of Personable episode: Personable Markets

In which I aim to speak to a hedgefund manager, VC or Investment Banker on real world current events

The first episode will be filmed and released tomorrow!!

Here is the schedule for the week

MONDAY

Markets Episode…

1 Stephen Roberts

is the founder of Orgueil Capital (Investment vehicle with its North Star to quintuple capital over the next 8-9 year period) & Former Partner at the Hedge Fund Horseman Capital.

TUESDAY

2 One Chowdhury

is the YC backed Founder of Octolane which has raised $2.6M & aims to take down Salesforce

WEDNESDAY

3 Andrea Bartolucci

is the proprietor of family owned Madonna Estate and Madonna Vineyards which is the 2nd oldest vineyard in Napa, California

THURSDAY

4 Will Judy

is a former professional scooter rider with 24k followers on Instagram with big name sponsors, and now works as a data scientist in marketing analytics

FRIDAY

5 Tim McInnerny

is an English actor & the only actor in Blackadder to play 2 leading roles in the 4 series as Lord Percy Percy and Captain Darling. He is also known for roles including Game of Thrones, One Day, Gladiator 2, Notting Hill and many more

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Subscribe on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@PersonableHarveyBrackenSmith

Harvey Bracken-Smith
Host of Personable