Worth Passing On

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This being a brand new year, what better occasion to pause and soak up some words of wisdom? The following bit was a list shared on a Facebook page, but it seems apropos for sharing in this space. May the coming year bring good times and create good memories for all our industry’s oilfolk, whether dads or not.

Instructions/Rules to Teach Your Son

1. Never shake a man’s hand sitting down.
2. Don’t enter a pool by the stairs.
3. The man at the BBQ Grill is the closest thing to a king.
4. In a negotiation, never make the first offer.
5. Request the late check-out.
6. When entrusted with a secret, keep it.
7. Hold your heroes to a higher standard.
8. Return a borrowed car with a full tank of gas.
9. Play with passion or don’t play at all…
10. When shaking hands, grip firmly and look them in the eye.
11. Don’t let a wishbone grow where a backbone should be.
12. If you need music on the beach, you’re missing the point.
13. Carry two handkerchiefs. The one in your back pocket is for you. The one in your breast pocket is for her.
14. You marry the girl, you marry her family.
15. Be like a duck. Remain calm on the surface and paddle like crazy underneath.
16. Experience the serenity of traveling alone.
17. Never be afraid to ask out the best looking girl in the room.
18. Never turn down a breath mint.
19. A sport coat is worth 1,000 words.
20. In all things lead by example, not explanation.
21. Thank a veteran. Then make it up to him.
22. Eat lunch with the new kid.
23. After writing an angry email, read it carefully. Then delete it.
24. Ask your mom to play. She won’t let you win.
25. Manners maketh the man.
26. Give credit. Take the blame.
27. Stand up to bullies. Protect those bullied.
28. Write down your dreams.
29. Be confident and humble at the same time.
30. If ever in doubt, remember whose son you are and refuse to just be ordinary!

I’m sure anyone reading this could add something to this list. Or could expand on any line item above. I’ll expand on three in particular. One is number 16: Experience the serenity of traveling alone. I’ll expand that to comment on the value of solitude in general. It is in solitude that we come to understand ourselves best. And not only to understand ourselves best, but to work on ourselves best. Because only when you deeply understand yourself do you know where you are lacking, and need change.

The next is number 20: In all things lead by example, not explanation. I can’t claim to be an expert on this virtue, but I do know that when I have practiced it, the results have been better than when I have acted otherwise.

And the last is number 25: Manners maketh the man. I quote from PBPA Chairman Jeff Sparks’ column in this issue, on page 6. He writes,

“Even if the opposing team is rude, we can show grace. Don’t look at your government leaders to be better. They won’t. It all starts with us, ‘the people.’ If we can show civility among each other, it can start to filter up.” Civility—manners—makes the difference. It’s the “how” that can so often mean more than the “what.”

In my cowboy editing days of the 1990s and early 2000s, readers enjoyed seeing and sharing various “Cowboy Code” or “Code of the West” lists of admirable traits. Several of these exist and they’re easy to access on the internet. Below is one that I found handily. The characteristics urged here are much like the Fathers-to-sons tips shared above.

1. Live each day with honesty and courage.
2. Take pride in your work. Always do your best.
3. Stay curious. Study hard and learn all you can.
4. Do what has to be done and finish what you start.
5. Be tough, but fair.
6. When you make a promise, keep it.
7. Be clean in thought, word, deed, and dress.
8. Practice tolerance and understanding of others.
9. Be willing to stand up for what’s right.
10. Be an excellent steward of the land and its animals.

With that, I wish you an excellent 2026, one in which we can all live each day with honesty and courage.

Jesse Mullins, Editor

Jesse Mullins, editor of Permian Basin Oil and Gas Magazine, collects sayings and tips and , and has at times concocted some of his own. One example of the latter: “Self-righteousness begins where self-scrutiny ends.”