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. 

Axiom 93: Don't Forget Your Roots

Don't forget your roots because they won't forget you...

Six years ago when I wrote the first Axiom on this site I knew one day I would start to run out of ideas I wanted to express. At 93 Axioms deep it is now a struggle to make sure I'm not recycling previous thoughts. This very problem is what led me to today's lesson. I went back to the first Axiom and thought about what the roots of this site were intended to be.

I had a business dinner with a gentlemen from Europe a few weeks ago that got me thinking. While he was explaining European culture to me and I was explaining American culture to him I realized how important the roots of something are. We are deeply influenced by our roots, for better and worse. The people we deal with are also deeply influenced by their roots.

It is critical that if we are to be truly successful that we understand our roots and the roots of what we are trying to accomplish. Our roots are like a foundation that should never be forgotten. This doesn't mean that you have to let your roots always influence you however. It simply means that you must have an awareness and an understanding of them.   

Di Fara Pizza, the "Best of the Best"

I had been looking forward to going to Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn (1424 avenue J, Brooklyn, New York 11230) for a very long time. It's not exactly the easiest place to get to for tourists visiting NYC. Far from the glitz of Manhattan it's a relatively long subway ride out into the depths of Brooklyn. It's the kind of place that you have to go out of your way to visit, but it is oh so worth the effort to get there.

Disembarking from the subway train I was completely among the Brooklyn natives. No double-decker red tour buses or naked cowboys anywhere in site. At this moment I'm starting to feel sorry for all the fanny pack wearing tourists stuffing their faces with Sbarro in Times Square.

I got there a little after 1:00pm during the week and there was no one lined up for pizza. I had read about the long lines at this place but today I was treated like a VIP. I had the whole place to myself. 

I walked in to what amounts to a rundown looking building with a few tables and a decor that looks decades old. The pizza smell in the air was like a siren's song calling me in. I knew I was in for a damn good meal. 

I went for the "Di Fara Classic Pie". I figured this was probably the crown jewel on their menu. I paid up the cash (they are cash only) and sat patiently while my pie was created from scratch.

I took the first bite and knew from that moment on that all other pizza would never compare to this one. There is a reason that hundreds, maybe thousands, of people go out of their way to make a pilgrimage here. It is simply head and shoulders far superior to any other pizza you'll ever try. The pictures or descriptions of the flavors will never do this pizza justice. You just have to trust me.

I've been to Lombardy's and John's in Manhattan. I've eaten all the deep dish places in Chicago, but they pale in comparison to Di Fara. It is truly a pizza I don't feel worthy enough to eat.