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The Rock shares two vital lessons he learned from his father

Dwayne The Rock Johnson

Kathy Hutchins | Shutterstock

Cerith Gardiner - published on 09/02/23

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson responded to fans' questions with some very personal anecdotes.

Dwayne Johnson is loved by many of his fans for not only his tremendous strength and talent, but also the way he takes time to interact with them.

In between filming, the actor and retired wrestler is often busy sharing stories of his family life, as well as donating substantial sums of money to worthy causes.

Recently Johnson took to social media to wish his father a happy heavenly birthday. The post garnered the same question from many of his fans who asked the dad-of-three what the best lessons were that he’d learned from his late-father — fellow wrestler Rocky Johnson.

In true “The Rock” style, Johnson made a video in response to the question while in the gym. His answer was honest — with a little colorful language here and there — and it came from the heart, as you can see in the post below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock)

Respect and reconciliation

The Rock’s first lesson about earning respect is important, especially when people so often demand respect from others without putting the effort in. And as Johnson points out, “earning that respect never stops,” no matter how well you do in life.

The second lesson of not letting arguments linger was particularly poignant after the gentle giant shared how he’d had a huge argument with his dad and kept putting off contacting him to reconcile until it was too late. His father died.

The Rock uses own unfortunate experience as an important reminder to the rest of us: We can never know what’s in store for our future. Therefore, we shouldn’t take people for granted, even if they can drive us a little crazy.

The Rock made his post particularly relatable by sharing his very personal experiences, as well as freely admitting that his relationship with his father was “complicated.” What was especially refreshing was that he didn’t blame his dad; instead, The Rock had true empathy for him, appreciating how challenging circumstances were in their past. He was also quick to share the positive impact his father had on his life.

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