Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Axiom 94: Always Do Your Best


"Do the best you can in every task, no matter how unimportant it may seem at the time. No one learns more about a problem than the person at the bottom." -Sandra Day O'Connor

At age 16 my very first job was sacking groceries at a national supermarket chain. It was by no means a job I really wanted. It was the only company that I applied with that called me back. The pay was low ($4.40/hr). The schedule was erratic (I'd work various shifts from 7:00 am to 1:00 am throughout the week), and the work was physically exhausting.

While there was little, if anything, redeeming about my first job I still tried to do the best job possible. I had the mindset that the company was paying me for my services and I owed it to them to do the best job possible. My coworkers slacked off, worked at a mediocre pace, and did the bare minimum to get through the day. I always stayed busy, worked as fast as possible, and asked my boss for more work to do when I was caught up. 

Just as I started to lose faith that I was working hard for nothing I got promoted - again and again. Before I turned 17 I became a cashier (even though the company didn't even hire cashiers younger than 18). Then just before I turned 18 I was promoted to customer service manager (probably the youngest one in a company with thousands of employees).

I got promoted because I always tried to do my best at every job I was given. It wasn't from luck. It wasn't because I knew the right people. I never saw my current job as a dead end job. I always saw it as a step to something better and so should you.