The Lessons of Our Ancestors

My father recently shared with me an article written up in the Stanford Business Alumni publication about my paternal grandfather, George Larsen Lindahl, who was a war hero and survivor made it out from one of the most treacherous prison camps in the East during World War II. He credited his survival in part to his Stanford education as he said many of the Japanese natives who ran the camp he was contained in valued education and his hard work ethic, and therefore, they would give him extra food and special privileges that many of the other prisoners did not have along with his positive mindset.

I recall growing up and hearing bedtime stories about some of the trials my grandfather had to endure while in this prison camp. He had to watch many of his friends and comrades being tortured in ways that were inhumane and as a result suffered from PTSD. He was fed a bowl of rice a day, lived off of insects and other reptiles that he caught on his own, and was said to have dealt with and survived from having beriberi and malaria around twenty times each and got through it and recovered.

Anytime I am in periods of distress or feel like I've been let down, I think of my grandfather and all he endured. I am very grateful for the high standard he set for my family and the inspiration he provides. That with an attitude of positivity and hope, we can endure and get through anything in life.