Need a Job? Stop Complaining About What's Available and Invent Your Own!

Need a job? Invent your own. Easy for me to say, right? Except, for the past forty years, over and over again, since the age of six, that’s exactly what I’ve done. I don’t mean to say I’ve never worked at a traditional “job” but I’ve spent more time, and made much more money, doing jobs I’ve created on my own, than taking a job from anyone else.

So, what kind of jobs am I talking about? Well, here’s the short list.

• Capturing and selling earthworms as bate (age 6)
• Lemonade stand (various ages)
• Lawncare company (13-18)
• Curb number painting (off and on from about 16 to 19)
• Then, in my adult years:
• Handyman contractor
• Remodeler
• Painter
• Acting and voice coach
• Theatrical scenic design and construction
• Costume design and construction
• Sketch comedy entertainer
• Theatrical educational consultant
• Freelance writer
• Social media marketing expert
• Ghost writer

I know, some of these sound corny, right? But, from the age of 24 on, I’ve never worked for less than $25 dollars an hour, and I’ve made as much as $3000 in a day. Am I rich? Not by a long shot, but I’ve managed to keep my income above the household average in my area, all while attending every single event my eight kids have ever been a part of, except for two.

This, is my definition of success.

I’ve thought about sharing my experience many times, but never felt like I was really ready until now, because, with all of the success I’ve had, this year is the first year I’ve felt like I had sustained income that was more than was needed enough to gain some breathing space. This may be in part because my third child is moving out and the life that had been increasing in frenetic activity for 22 years is beginning to slow down.

So, I’m going to tell my story, in a series of articles here. I’d love to see them payoff big, but more than that, I hope they get shared, because, while I’ve never been starving, I have lived in poverty for a good bit of my adolescence, and I can tell you that opportunity is where you find it. If I can do what I’ve done, everyone reading this has the power to improve their own lot in life, but if you’re on Steemit, you’ve likely discovered this already.

I’m going to share with you about what I did, how I did it, and the principles that I think really made it work. I hope it helps some of you, for some I think it could completely change your life. I know it has improved mine greatly. It starts out when I was about five or six. I hope you enjoy it.

My first job

The metal case of the long flashlight was slippery in the damp evening. My short, grubby fingers, soiled with earth, and worm slime, had to work hard to keep it from crashing to the sidewalk, and this was the last bulb we had, the first one had been victim of this same challenge already that night.

I looked down, past my dad’s white running shoes, with black stripes, their zig-zag edges making the stripes look fuzzy in the amber glow of the incandescent bulb. The sprinkler worked through one more cycle as he turned off the faucet and we moved to the driveway, the last patch of wet concrete we had to search for our wiggly prey.

In my other hand, the black handle of my radio flyer wagon felt cool in the summer heat. In it rode a large white, Styrofoam treasure chest, half filled with black, Iowa soil, and crawling with thick, fat, long as my tiny arm, nightcrawlers. We were in business together, me, my dad and and my brother Steven. We’d picked up about 5 dozen worms that night, which meant $1.25 for each of us, and by the end of the summer, we’d each have over $20 in a savings account.

My dad was an entrepreneur. His day job was to be a local minister, but when he wasn’t visiting the hospital, or teaching Bible studies, he practiced “free enterprise” as he called it. It was my laboratory growing up and I’m extremely grateful to him for sharing it with me.

From Norman Vincent Peale, to Napoleon Hill, I heard him share the principles of positive thinking, goal setting and making your own opportunities. Nothing excited him more, except preaching.

The worms were in high demand as fishing bait and we could get 50 cents a dozen, sold in small, Styrofoam cups, from a ten-cent ad in the local paper. Life was pretty simple. This was my first memory of earning my own money.

From there, I moved on to bigger and better things. From a set of books called “Ready Set Grow” that my parents bought on payments, I learned the basics of running a business, how to calculate profit, manage expenses, and keep inventory.

I loved every second of it. We were encouraged to try anything that was legal and safe, so we did. My parents gladly fronted the “capitol” needed, with the expectation, as part of the learning process, that we paid them back out of the profits.

Later in life, I discovered that even amounts as small as $10 or $20 can lead to profitable work in less than 24 hours, and I’ve done it over and over again. I don’t say this to brag. A well-capitalized business can provide many times more income than my best efforts, but I’m aiming this at those who feel like they have no opportunity, I want you to realize, that’s not true. Even if you’re starting from seeming nothing, you can start small, leverage yourself larger, and succeed.

Yes, even today.

I want to start off with one principle that I think is missed by many. It is what has led me to believe I could do whatever I’ve set my mind to, and I have, in many cases even getting paid to learn to do it. I’ll share it in three parts, it starts with this thought:

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” -Henry Ford

This statement is one of the truest things I’ve ever learned in life. While many succeed beyond their wildest dreams, no one ever succeeds beyond what they believe they can attempt. Ever. Why? Simple. You’ll never try a thing if you think there’s no chance you’ll succeed. But, what about the second part, surely I can’t do anything I think I can?

Why not.

Although, initially, man could only fly through the use of large machines, eventually, our study took us far enough that we can do it using our own bodies in a specialized suit, and I firmly believe, that given enough time, we will discover how to leave flat ground and achieve the same thing.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right!”

Part two comes from me, and it’s something I discovered right before I launched my first business as an adult and said goodbye to “day jobs” for over twenty-two years and counting! I realized that if anyone who had what I had, or less, could succeed at a thing, then I could too. Period. If I could watch someone start from where I was and do it, I could figure it out.

It was not impossible.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I was standing on a hard concrete floor, in the middle of one of the largest millworks in America, Wood Design. On my table, was the plans for a “cashwrap” from the Ralph Lauren line of store fixtures our company provided. The fixture had over one hundred parts and I’d never built one on my own.

I was scared.

I’d been constructing cabinets, from start to finish, for over four years and it was time for me to move up. This was my test. If I got it right, it meant a sizable raise and more challenging projects. But, I was at a loss as to where to start. I studied the plan for an entire day, then I went home, exhausted. I’d managed to create my “cut ticket” a list of all the parts that I would have to cut myself, but that’s as far as I’d gotten, and I was dreading the next day.

When I pulled up at my house, I checked the mailbox and there was an envelope I’d been waiting for. Inside, was my invitation to join a local MENSA chapter. MENSA is an organization, whose members have all scored in the 98% of a standardized intelligence test. I was being invited to join. My IQ was ranked in the top 2% of all test takers. (It was 154 at the time)

Now, understand, IQ can be as much of a burden as it can be an advantage, so don’t think I’m making myself out to be smarter, or better than anyone, this is just what happened.

The next morning, I stood at my workbench looking around the shop. I saw carpenters there who had all completed this same task, at least two of them with severe dyslexia and another that had dropped out of school in the sixth grade. These men weren’t dummies, but more than one other in the shop was.

I was letting the plans intimidate me

But when I looked at the “competition” through the lens of my recent acceptance into MENSA, at that moment, it was like a light came on. I was feeling like I’d never figure it out, but I was at least as smart as some of these guys. That’s when it clicked. I went on to complete the cashwrap and get a sizable promotion.

It wouldn’t keep me there long, however, because now I could see what I was capable of. I’ll share my first adult adventure in creating my own work in my next installment, stay tuned!

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