I began my working career at a young age. I had a lot of jobs that helped fund my lifestyle, but most importantly taught me the importance of working for a living. I’ve been an independent contractor and I’ve “worked for the man”. I’ve been a “union man” and a “non-union man”. I expect that this path is the one taken by many.
My daughter, Elizabeth, studied hard, earned high grades and graduated third in her class. I remember very clearly an observation that she shared with me while she was in third grade. (I was her elementary school principal and had easy access to her thoughts about school.) Her words, “I don’t get it dad. If I read it, I know it.”
Not everyone is as fortunate as Third Grade Elizabeth. Some of us have to study very hard to make the smallest improvements. Successful people do just that. They study hard, take baby steps, and before they know it their lot in life has improved. No one ever accomplished anything with a “woe is me” attitude.
I’ve been working with over thirty high school students for the past ten days. They have a positive outlook on life. They understand that moving forward requires hard work and hard work isn’t always pleasant. That’s why they call it work. Those that struggle have trouble with the concept that you have to work your way up. Rewards are not just handed out. Promotions are earned. Not all steps forward on the road to success are jobs that “we want to do”, but all are jobs that must be done.
My father once told me that I could do anything that I chose to do. He also made it very clear that every reward, every promotion, every salary increase, every step forward was under my control.
If you want to “be” better, you have to “do” better.