Reva Robinson holds a special place in the heart of everyone here at Tory Burch. She’s not just Tory’s mom. Reva is our de facto den mother whose maternal bon mots have influenced company culture, the stylish woman of legend after whom Tory named one of our most popular styles, a lady who knows how to throw the best kinds of parties (fun ones full of family, friends and lively characters), an insatiable traveler whose trips with Tory’s father Buddy have inspired countless collections, an eternal optimist who can’t hold a grudge. For this Mother’s Day issue on Tory Daily, we asked her to share some top life lessons.

1. Love with your whole heart.
My children or a friend will say “I love you,” and I’ll say, “Of course you do. You have to love me because I love you so much that it’s impossible for you to not love me back.” And I mean that. My mom taught me that.

2. Open your home.
My mother was the most amazing woman. She was an exquisite entertainer and cook. When I was in junior high, we’d have buffet dinners on Fridays for all my class and she would make ice molds! She was the sweetest human being. I never heard her say a bad word about anyone.

3. If you start something, finish it.
You don’t give up in the middle. Tory was tough as a little girl, and that’s probably why she finishes everything she sets her mind to now.

4. Never stop learning.
And the key to teaching your kids to never stop learning is exposure.

5. Philanthropy is about loving people, all kinds of people.
When you love people, you’re generous with them, and you feel sad when they’re not happy. It’s this exposure. It’s how we dealt with people. Our kids were exposed to different kinds of people. You don’t label people. I was adamant about that, and so was Buddy.