I was talking a few weeks ago with a friend of mine who is a Human Resources guy for a major business. He was telling me that it is his job to hire new employees for the company, and he was having an extremely difficult time finding people to fill their positions.
He told me that somewhere between 50% and 60% of the applicants were immediately rejected because they couldn't pass a drug test. Of the ones that remained, half of them wouldn't have the qualifications necessary for the job, and of those hired, several of them would quit after they got their first paycheck. Of those who didn't quit, several would be let go because of missing work, being late, or just flat out laziness.
"The jobs are there," he told me. "We just can't find people willing to work."
Ever since I was little, work ethic was drummed into me. Both of my parents are hardworking people. My mom was a stay-at-home mom who worked her rear off trying to manage our home, and my dad has probably never missed a day of work in his life. Work ethic is something that cannot be taught in school or at work- it is taught in the home.
Many times in life, there are defining moments when we learn lessons that stay with us for life. One such event happened the summer of my sophomore year in college.
I was playing semipro soccer for the Bluegrass Bandits (the local semipro team) as well as working first shift in a lumberyard that summer. One particular weekend, we had a grueling road trip. We left Friday for Louisiana, played New Orleans on Saturday, drove to Little Rock, AK, played their team on Sunday, and arrived back in Lexington around 1:30 am Monday morning.
I had to be at work at 7 am. When 6:00 rolled around, I was exhausted. I couldn't get out of bed. I decided to take the day off.
I had parked my truck behind my dad's car, and when he was leaving for work that morning, my truck was still there. So he came into my room and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was exhausted from the road trip and two soccer games and that I was taking the day off.
Bad move.
For the next ten minutes, the only way I can describe it was a hurricane hit my room. Bill Cosby describes people having a "conniption." I think I saw one that day. My dad BLASTED me. He told me in no uncertain terms that missing work was not an option, that laziness was not a characteristic of successful people, that it didn't matter how tired I was, you suck it up and go to work because missing work was unacceptable. He told me that the people at work were counting on me and that I was letting them down by not going in. He told me to think of the work that I was selfishly putting on them because I was too big a pansy to do what I was supposed to do. That was the basic gist of it.
So I dragged myself out of bed and got to work a few minutes late. It was a rough day, but I survived.
I also learned a life lesson.
You don't miss work. You follow through on what is expected of you. You do your best even when you aren't feeling your best.
All those lessons I learned from my father. And those lessons have paid off in life ever since.
The hardest thing I've ever done in life was planting the church that I now currently pastor. When we launched off into this endeavor, I had a family of five to provide for. I got up at 3 am every morning seven days a week to deliver newspapers- rain, snow, sleet, Thanksgiving morning, Christmas morning, you name it. I substitute taught at East High School. I coached soccer. I pastored a church. This was in 2008 when the Great Recession had hit and no one could find work. I had four jobs. I did that for a year and a half until the church had grown to where I could pastor full-time.
The lesson from my father echoed in my mind. You do your best even when you aren't feeling your best. You go to work because that's what you do. You don't miss work. You do what is expected of you.
All those lessons kept me going during the most physically and emotionally demanding season of my life. Looking back on that endeavor, seeing the blessings my church has brought me and my family and the people of this world, I am so glad I did it. I am so glad my dad and mom instilled in me the concept of work.
What other people might have seen as impossible, I saw as possible because with hard work you can accomplish anything.
I am so glad my dad cared enough about me to speak hard truths when I was tired.
He could have coddled me. He could have been "understanding." He could have let it go. After all, what was one day of missing work?
But he didn't.
I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember my father's passion when talking about work ethic and how important it was. I remember his remarks about laziness being beneath me. I remember his high expectations of his son when it came to the discipline of work.
As I was listening to my friend talk about his frustration with hiring people, I went back to that summer morning of 1994. Sadly, I realized that these people my friend was talking about had probably never had that discussion with their fathers. They had probably never been taught the importance of work. They probably didn't have fathers who held such absolute contempt for laziness.
Those people were always going to struggle in life. People without a work ethic always do.
Today I am thankful for my hardworking dad who demonstrated the importance of work every day of his life. I am thankful that he cared enough to pass that on to me.
Parents, work ethic begins in the home. Bless your children by teaching them the value of work.
He told me that somewhere between 50% and 60% of the applicants were immediately rejected because they couldn't pass a drug test. Of the ones that remained, half of them wouldn't have the qualifications necessary for the job, and of those hired, several of them would quit after they got their first paycheck. Of those who didn't quit, several would be let go because of missing work, being late, or just flat out laziness.
"The jobs are there," he told me. "We just can't find people willing to work."
Ever since I was little, work ethic was drummed into me. Both of my parents are hardworking people. My mom was a stay-at-home mom who worked her rear off trying to manage our home, and my dad has probably never missed a day of work in his life. Work ethic is something that cannot be taught in school or at work- it is taught in the home.
Many times in life, there are defining moments when we learn lessons that stay with us for life. One such event happened the summer of my sophomore year in college.
I was playing semipro soccer for the Bluegrass Bandits (the local semipro team) as well as working first shift in a lumberyard that summer. One particular weekend, we had a grueling road trip. We left Friday for Louisiana, played New Orleans on Saturday, drove to Little Rock, AK, played their team on Sunday, and arrived back in Lexington around 1:30 am Monday morning.
I had to be at work at 7 am. When 6:00 rolled around, I was exhausted. I couldn't get out of bed. I decided to take the day off.
I had parked my truck behind my dad's car, and when he was leaving for work that morning, my truck was still there. So he came into my room and asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was exhausted from the road trip and two soccer games and that I was taking the day off.
Bad move.
For the next ten minutes, the only way I can describe it was a hurricane hit my room. Bill Cosby describes people having a "conniption." I think I saw one that day. My dad BLASTED me. He told me in no uncertain terms that missing work was not an option, that laziness was not a characteristic of successful people, that it didn't matter how tired I was, you suck it up and go to work because missing work was unacceptable. He told me that the people at work were counting on me and that I was letting them down by not going in. He told me to think of the work that I was selfishly putting on them because I was too big a pansy to do what I was supposed to do. That was the basic gist of it.
So I dragged myself out of bed and got to work a few minutes late. It was a rough day, but I survived.
I also learned a life lesson.
You don't miss work. You follow through on what is expected of you. You do your best even when you aren't feeling your best.
All those lessons I learned from my father. And those lessons have paid off in life ever since.
The hardest thing I've ever done in life was planting the church that I now currently pastor. When we launched off into this endeavor, I had a family of five to provide for. I got up at 3 am every morning seven days a week to deliver newspapers- rain, snow, sleet, Thanksgiving morning, Christmas morning, you name it. I substitute taught at East High School. I coached soccer. I pastored a church. This was in 2008 when the Great Recession had hit and no one could find work. I had four jobs. I did that for a year and a half until the church had grown to where I could pastor full-time.
The lesson from my father echoed in my mind. You do your best even when you aren't feeling your best. You go to work because that's what you do. You don't miss work. You do what is expected of you.
All those lessons kept me going during the most physically and emotionally demanding season of my life. Looking back on that endeavor, seeing the blessings my church has brought me and my family and the people of this world, I am so glad I did it. I am so glad my dad and mom instilled in me the concept of work.
What other people might have seen as impossible, I saw as possible because with hard work you can accomplish anything.
I am so glad my dad cared enough about me to speak hard truths when I was tired.
He could have coddled me. He could have been "understanding." He could have let it go. After all, what was one day of missing work?
But he didn't.
I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I remember my father's passion when talking about work ethic and how important it was. I remember his remarks about laziness being beneath me. I remember his high expectations of his son when it came to the discipline of work.
As I was listening to my friend talk about his frustration with hiring people, I went back to that summer morning of 1994. Sadly, I realized that these people my friend was talking about had probably never had that discussion with their fathers. They had probably never been taught the importance of work. They probably didn't have fathers who held such absolute contempt for laziness.
Those people were always going to struggle in life. People without a work ethic always do.
Today I am thankful for my hardworking dad who demonstrated the importance of work every day of his life. I am thankful that he cared enough to pass that on to me.
Parents, work ethic begins in the home. Bless your children by teaching them the value of work.
My parents were the same way. They owned their own business for over 25 years and nothing kept them from going to work, even snow covered roads. And I remember several mornings, especially on Saturday mornings, my mom coming into my bedroom and waking me up to get ready to go to work. There were several mornings that I didn't want to get up and go but I didn't have a choice.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, bro.
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