My first job was a bus boy at a Country Club when I was 14 years old. My starting pay was $3.15 per hour, which was minimum wage at the time, and I was working about 20 hours per week after school and weekends. During my second week on the job, we served dinner for a huge wedding of 300 people.
It was the early hours of the morning by the time the last of the guests and most of the serving staff left. The ball room looked like we had played the game Jumangi in it! As the last remaining staff were leaving, they told me to go also and let someone else worry about clean up. They said we had already worked a full day and deserved to go home and that it was someone else’s responsibility!
I was too scared to go home and leave this mess since I knew my mom would somehow find out. She was Old School and believed in a strong work ethic; always accept responsibility and do the right thing no matter the cost. So even though I had already worked for over 12 hours, I stayed, put everything away, and cleaned the ball room.
When I got to work the next day, my coworker said the owner was looking for me and I was to go to his office as soon as I got in. I felt like “Dead Man Walking” on the way to the owner’s office. I thought for sure he was going to fire me and my Mom was going to kill me!
He gave me a RAISE! I think he was as shocked as I was. The owner kept asking me why I stayed and cleaned for hours by myself, and I confessed to him that I was too afraid to go home and tell my mom that I left the job without finishing!
Minimum Wage is supposed to be a starting point, not a life sentence. No matter what your education level, color of your skin, country of origin, age or any other foolish excuse you have, you still control your work ethic and attitude.
Next week, we will continue and talk about how we break free from Minimum Wage Mentality.
Find Your Passion and you Will Find Life!