One theory on why babies are normally adorable is that it makes it harder for the mother to kill or abandon it. Lab puppies are F'n cute ... Guess why?
Perhaps you are already well aware, but all puppies are a massive responsibility. My sister in law raised a lab from puppy-hood and 4 years later it's still a never ending exercise in patience. My father in law calls it "puppy brain". My guess is he uses that term because "absolutely ######ed" was already taken.
My personal recommendation is to educate both the dog an yourself as best you can. Before we got our lab I picked up Cesar Milan's book "Cesar's Way" from iTunes and listened to it everyday before work. It was awesome and gave me a fair amount of confidence once the dog arrived.
Oh and practice pulling a sock out of an anus. Don't ask me why, just do it.