As adults we want to ask young people what should be a simple
question. What do you want to be when you grow up? I love
this question for the answers you can get are all over the
charts. You will get great answers like Policeman, Baker, Princess,
and even Teacher. When I was a manager and use to interview people
for jobs. I loved to ask adults this same question. Now
you might not think this is a valuable tool, I believe this is a great
question. Most adults are surprised by the question considering themselves
already grown.
When you step back to
think about it, adults are just grown kids. Men I will agree are
more kids than most others. I have done a couple of different jobs
in my adult life. I will not go through and bore you with all of
them however a few I hope will prove my point of this blog for
today. So please take a little time and read this post and share
your thoughts and comments.
Once
I finished college I took a part-time job at a western ware store. I
sold Boots, Jeans, Cowboy Hats and Shirts. This was not difficult
work and I enjoyed the interaction with the people. Working my way
to the top was not a hard process. It took focus and hard
work. Within a year of starting this job I was managing my own
western store and ended up managing 2 different stores in 2 different
states. I gained some very valuable experience while managing these
western ware stores. While each day was a new
experience. We all knew what we were there for and what our jobs were
each day. People have roles and responsibilities and most took them
seriously.
Another
job I had was with a health insurance company and started out as a customer
service rep. We helped people understand their benefits, talked to
doctor’s offices about benefits and claims. This was not an easy job
because it was a call center. You spend a lot of time tied to a
phone and talking all day. Now I know that for most people to see me
complain about talking all day may be shocked. This was a job where
patience was a virtue. Again, in this company I worked my way up and
was a manager of people. I would also like to ask potential new
hires the same question as above. What do you want to be when you
grow up? A lot of people laugh when they hear this
question. Some don’t know what to say and others speak the
truth.
There
are some obvious similarities in these positions and myself. They
were customer roles, I moved up in both jobs and they both provided me with
tons of experience. Lessons that I can take with my through life and
any other position in my future. There are some things that you
might not see. You might not see that each of these jobs had tons of
frustrations. Each of these jobs had days where I doubted all I was
doing and where I was going in life. You see these frustrations in
every position with every company. There is no such thing as a
perfect job.
One
other item you might not see in these jobs are that each day I went to these
jobs. I went to do a job. I went to the western stores to
sell boots, sell hats, and shirts. I wanted to sell the most I could
sell and have the best day I could have in those stores. I went to
work in that call center hoping to make a difference. I was there to
help customers understand their claims and benefits and do it to the best of my
ability. What those people buying boots and the customers on the
phone did not see or hear were my frustrations. They did not hear me
talk about how unfair it is that the USDA is changing the regulations on
farmers to make it harder for mom and pop farms. Those people did
not hear about how horrible I thought it was that 3000-people died in the Twin
Towers during 9/11. People called or came to see me for another
reason. They did not come to see me talk politics or other
topics. I was there to do a job. I was paid to do that
job. I was not being paid to give my opinions on the topics in the
local or national news. I was paid to do a job. We are all paid to
do a job.
There
is one philosophy that I have held true to and will repeat to the day I
die. If everyone in every company came in and did their job to the
best of their ability. If they did not spend extra time on break, or
checking their phones or chatting with co-workers, then the amount of
production that could be obtained would be mind boggling.
In
all honestly, I look at these NFL Protests in the same light. Those
men are there to do a job. If they want to leave a game, go put on a
pink crocheted hat and march all over D.C. then, go do it. If you
want to beat your dogs, beat your significant other, or get a DWI that is also
your right. The problem is none of these actions influence your job. This
is almost like going to a steak house and having to listen to your waitress on
how much she loves being a vegan.
When
we step outside of our jobs, or workplace, I am a big believer in that is my
time. I can do what I want and be as stupid as I want. That is not a
time that is regulated by my company or my manager. Likewise, I look
at being at work the same way. That is my companies time and I am on
their dime. I am there to do as they wish. If I have a problem
with it then I can go find another job. If I take time out of my day
to make a speech on how much I think rednecks get a bad rap from the media, I
would be grandstanding and taking focus off my work and more on
me.
There
is a time and a place for everything. Your work is not the place to
have a protest or sit in about something personal in your life. This
is the place where you should be earning a living for yourself and your
family. This is a place where you have a set of duties that you should
be performing so you are a contributing member of a successful company.
We
spend a lot of time in this country worried about what another group or people
are doing. Social media has turned people into zombies when it comes
to interaction. We have youth of this country who have harder times
interacting with people due to the amount of time they spend on line and not in
person with others.
What
you do in your personal life if your time. No one is paying for that
time except you. So, you spend your time the way you
choose. The time you spend at work should be working. Do
not waste your employers time or money. Do not spend time working on
personal items or problems. These are basic concepts that my parents
and their parents understood. I know that in the history of life,
there have always been people who do not pull their weight at
work. No matter what there will be people who will not do their
jobs.
When
I ask someone, what do you want to be when you grow up, I think it is an
important look into that persons psych. I think it gives you an idea
of if that person is a dreamer, or if they are a realist. People don’t go to
church to hear lectures about being vegan. People do not go to
restaurants to get advice for the best do it yourself bathroom
remodel. People do not turn on their Televisions on Sunday afternoon
to see protests.
I
believe that if we as a country spent more time doing and less time talking, we
would see more results in this world. (Yes, I understand the irony
of that with me writing this blog. LOL). Most people do not care what you do on
your own time and own dime. Just don’t impose your views or ideas on
me and don’t waste my personal time telling my about “facts or ideas” you
believe are relevant. We can change channels, we can leave
conversations, we can throw bad food in the trash. We all have
choices that we make each day. Do you choose to continually tell
everyone you are a wonderful person who does so much good? Or do you
choose to donate your time to groups and causes near and dear to your heart? Do
you take time out of your life to call an old friend that you have not heard
from in years? Do you sit down and write a letter to an old college
friend? I think our actions in life will always speak louder than
words. Personally, I believe a protest is rather silly. It does not
show what you can do or are doing to solve the world’s problems. It
just shows what you are not standing for or what you are against. Turn
life into positives to make a difference. Just do your job.
“America was not built on fear. America was
built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job
at hand.” ~ Harry S Truman
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