This thread was inspired by my family always tells me to get a job
Not long ago, before reading TMF, I was a punk-a$$ kid who didn't want to work or go to school. I remember career class in 9th grade being told I'd have to pick something I didn't want to do and I'd have to do it the rest of my life. Seemed like bullshit. I thought I'm never getting a job! What is the point! As MJ says (and I paraphrase) If you think you're too good to work a shitty job for shitty money, what makes you think you could work for months without any income while starting a business?
I got my first job just before I turned 20. Its been 18 months of waking up at 4 am for 12-14 hour days including a weekly total of 10-15 hours of unpaid commute. I catch a ride with my boss and he has to stop at supply stores. Each week there is at least one day where I sit in the van for an extra 30min-1hr unpaid. When this happens multiple days it turns into several hours a week of unpaid stops. He even stops at his parent's house to pick up tomatoes, home depot to go fruit-tree shopping, and the scooba store to get his wetsuit for his vacations. Unpaid supply stores stops is one thing, picking up tomatoes, fruit-trees, and scooba gear is another. My above minimum wage is deceptively minimum wage. Every once in a while we bring trash cans and fill them up at Mulch Mountain followed by a stank-a$$ hour drive home with shit flies.
At work, I break my knees/back repairing swimming pools in 100 degree heat. If sweat isn't burning my eyes, its because I'm bending over the side of the pool to snort moustache sweat. When I'm not wearing a disgusting dust mask (reused for weeks) I am frequently holding my breath. That's not the only thing I hold. Pissing in a can in a 120 degree van and prairie dogging half the day is the norm. Port-o-potties are a blessing. Imagine that, being grateful that you get to contribute to a pile of day laborer
.
Customers with dog owners and significant landscaping means I get to kill two types of flies: Mr. Little Black Fly and ShitFly. Little black flies will harass in infinite numbers while the ShitFly hangs out on shit all day until it decides to troll a nearby day laborer by FedExing some fecal matter right to his lip (or some other part of your face you don't want shit to touch).
Despite my rant, this job is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Every single observation above has made me stronger physically and mentally. I can tolerate a hell of a lot and I've discovered a treasure trove of opportunity. Pools have so many problems due to poor construction. There are so many opportunities for websites, products, scalability in this industry. There are countless pain-points and product ideas: scaffolding systems, tool organizers, vehicle organizers, multi purposed tools, improved durability of cheap Chinese crap, tool kits, etc.
Because my boss (A.K.A. the ScryptKeeper) advises "money can't buy happiness," he has never considered the scalability of his business. There are jobs (we do in 3-4 hours) that he could hire a monkey to do in 8 hours. That job pays $500. After 150$ for labor and $100 for supplies my boss would rake in $250 without killing his knees for 4 hours. Those 4 hours could be spent finding more jobs and more employees. If he disconnected himself from only the "monkey jobs" his income would more than double and his knees and back would be in far less pain.
Like a child, I live at home with my parents. I'm fortunate that they are able to take care of me but the only reason they do is because I am a productive kickass house keeper/car washer. This allows me to save 95% of my full-time income. This job has armed me with money, motivation, business ideas, and a work ethic I couldn't have comprehended 18 months ago. The challenge is awesome and kicking a$$ at my job every day is how I am going to start my Fastlane journey.
Do you kick your job's a$$ or is it kicking yours?
Not long ago, before reading TMF, I was a punk-a$$ kid who didn't want to work or go to school. I remember career class in 9th grade being told I'd have to pick something I didn't want to do and I'd have to do it the rest of my life. Seemed like bullshit. I thought I'm never getting a job! What is the point! As MJ says (and I paraphrase) If you think you're too good to work a shitty job for shitty money, what makes you think you could work for months without any income while starting a business?
I got my first job just before I turned 20. Its been 18 months of waking up at 4 am for 12-14 hour days including a weekly total of 10-15 hours of unpaid commute. I catch a ride with my boss and he has to stop at supply stores. Each week there is at least one day where I sit in the van for an extra 30min-1hr unpaid. When this happens multiple days it turns into several hours a week of unpaid stops. He even stops at his parent's house to pick up tomatoes, home depot to go fruit-tree shopping, and the scooba store to get his wetsuit for his vacations. Unpaid supply stores stops is one thing, picking up tomatoes, fruit-trees, and scooba gear is another. My above minimum wage is deceptively minimum wage. Every once in a while we bring trash cans and fill them up at Mulch Mountain followed by a stank-a$$ hour drive home with shit flies.
At work, I break my knees/back repairing swimming pools in 100 degree heat. If sweat isn't burning my eyes, its because I'm bending over the side of the pool to snort moustache sweat. When I'm not wearing a disgusting dust mask (reused for weeks) I am frequently holding my breath. That's not the only thing I hold. Pissing in a can in a 120 degree van and prairie dogging half the day is the norm. Port-o-potties are a blessing. Imagine that, being grateful that you get to contribute to a pile of day laborer
.Customers with dog owners and significant landscaping means I get to kill two types of flies: Mr. Little Black Fly and ShitFly. Little black flies will harass in infinite numbers while the ShitFly hangs out on shit all day until it decides to troll a nearby day laborer by FedExing some fecal matter right to his lip (or some other part of your face you don't want shit to touch).
Despite my rant, this job is one of the best things that ever happened to me. Every single observation above has made me stronger physically and mentally. I can tolerate a hell of a lot and I've discovered a treasure trove of opportunity. Pools have so many problems due to poor construction. There are so many opportunities for websites, products, scalability in this industry. There are countless pain-points and product ideas: scaffolding systems, tool organizers, vehicle organizers, multi purposed tools, improved durability of cheap Chinese crap, tool kits, etc.
Because my boss (A.K.A. the ScryptKeeper) advises "money can't buy happiness," he has never considered the scalability of his business. There are jobs (we do in 3-4 hours) that he could hire a monkey to do in 8 hours. That job pays $500. After 150$ for labor and $100 for supplies my boss would rake in $250 without killing his knees for 4 hours. Those 4 hours could be spent finding more jobs and more employees. If he disconnected himself from only the "monkey jobs" his income would more than double and his knees and back would be in far less pain.
Like a child, I live at home with my parents. I'm fortunate that they are able to take care of me but the only reason they do is because I am a productive kickass house keeper/car washer. This allows me to save 95% of my full-time income. This job has armed me with money, motivation, business ideas, and a work ethic I couldn't have comprehended 18 months ago. The challenge is awesome and kicking a$$ at my job every day is how I am going to start my Fastlane journey.
Do you kick your job's a$$ or is it kicking yours?
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