Work Ethic

Hard work pays off, maybe it doesn’t always pay off fast, but in an instant oatmeal society, that hard work is worth more than the microwavable efforts of a rushed and botched job. With everyone going for the gravy but neglecting the biscuits, how you work can make the biggest difference in the world. My family didn’t have everything growing up, but my parents were very hard workers. We started working from a young age; I want to say about 9 years old. I’d go out here in the field and chopped weeds and stomped cotton--it paid about a $1.25. That might not seem like a whole lot, but back then that went far enough. I’ll never forget the first paycheck I got and seeing where they’d taken some out on account of taxes.

Since we didn’t have a great deal of disposable income, we’d collect bottles and take them to the convenience store, where we’d get so many cents per bottle. The glass bottles brought in $.05 for a 12 ounce and $.25 for a 36 ounce, which added up, since as kids, if we wanted anything we had to really save up for it. Keep in mind that back in these days, bubblegum cost only a cent. With that saving came a putting in a lot of work, we really tried our best and had to work to get what we wanted. So, from that standpoint, you can understand why a strong work ethic is so crucial.

Coupled with a sense of a strong work ethic comes punctuality. Early is on time and on time is late. A book I was reading not too long ago was saying that, “I’d rather be half an hour early than a single minute late.” I think this is something many of us are lacking, there’s a lack of initiative that seems to accompany showing up to events, school, or even work on time. From generations back, it was considered extremely disrespectful. There’s something to be said about getting up, shining your shoes, and going to work every day. That kind of hard work and drive can change a life, and separate the people who loiter on the ground from those who make something of themselves.  I can work as hard as anyone, maybe not as much as when I was young, but it was one of the things that helped me move through my career. It separated me from everyone else, because I chose to see everything as an opportunity and I did with pride, trying to do it better than the guys next to me. Good things do come--it just takes time.