The day I wrote my first work contract and had my lawyer sign off on it, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed. I had stacks of papers bound by staples. They were tucked in manila folders and stuck with Post-it notes to remind me of what each form was and if it needed a signature. I felt scattered brained and unprofessional. I began to question myself and question the company I had just begun. Could I do this? Would I be successful? Was I making a huge mistake? It was if an ocean wave slapped me in the face and I was choking. The necktie around my throat felt like a noose tightening. I pulled at the knot and tried to steady my breathing. I got through it, but a year later I was back in his office feeling a bit overwhelmed again. Although this time around it wasn't due to company uncertainty or self-doubt. It was simply because I had too much work, too many clients! That is a good problem to have. Just like before, I presented him with a stack of papers to sign. I remember apologizing for handing him so much. His response, "don't ever apologize for your success."
While I won’t ever apologize for my success, I also won’t ever forget where I came from, or all the hard work and sacrifice it took to get here. I also remind myself that the work is not yet done by any means. I’m not anywhere near where I want to be. My short term and long term goals may be carefully planned out, but the steps I take to achieve them are often spontaneous and at times feel a bit sporadic. But that's ok. That's life and my life is far from scripted.
I was not born with a silver spoon in my mouth and I'm definitely not a trust fund kid. Growing up I rarely saw my father. He worked as a contractor and ran his own construction company. He worked 7 days a week from sun up to sun down. While I never had an interest in taking over the family business, I did learn a lot from him about the value of a dollar and having a good work ethic. At a young age Dad taught me that if I want anything in life, you have to work for it. Luxuries should not be given. They should be earned. Only then will you appreciate what you have and take pride in your achievements. What I have today I've earned on my own. I owe that not only to myself, but also to him, for the values he instilled in me.
My first job came when I was only waist-high. My Dad said he would give me a quarter to hammer some nails into a board. It was just to keep me busy and out of his way when I begged to tag along with him to work. It was also to teach me the value or a dollar, or rather 25 cents. I would go on to have a wide variety jobs before graduating college - landscaper, house painter, parking valet, pool lifeguard, unpaid intern fetching coffee, pet store salesman/poop picker-upper, an unlicensed psychologist/bartender, and I was even a male stripper for a day. It's been an interesting and humbling journey.
I take offense when people think I'm too young to have my own company, my own house, or a nice car. They make snide remarks like somehow I don't deserve it or assume that I must have been left a large sum of money from a wealthy relative's will. I'm not rich, but I do pretty ok for a guy my age. Still, they act as if this all came easy, without struggle and sacrifice. Believe me, I ate TONS of Ramen Noodles just like everyone else...and that was even AFTER college. There was a time when I cut my DirecTV, took the bus, skipped vacations, and did I mention the first two years of starting my own business I didn't give myself a paycheck? Yeah, that too. So don't tell me I'm lucky to be where I am today. I'm not lucky. I'm hard working. And don't make me feel like I should apologize for my success because that's just insulting.
You pave your own road to success. You lay a solid foundation and build upon it layer by layer, strengthening the road. Inch by inch you complete it and travel it. Sometimes you speed the process up by leaping and other times you stumble and fall. Sometimes you skip happily along and other times you drag your feet while groaning. But no matter how you get from point A to point B, the path taken is always different for everyone. Of course in life they always say it’s not about the destination, but rather the journey. Whenever I need a reminder of that, I look no further than my hammered thumbnail that is now healed over and the smelly dog shit in the treads of my shoes that are now washed clean.
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