[March 21, 2022] You don’t see kids doing the job of a chimney sweep anymore. I never had the job, nor did I know of any friends who did this job either. However, like all my friends growing up, we had odd jobs that made us better kids because we could appreciate life. You could also earn a few dollars if you were lucky, thoughtful, and would work hard.
I found a few girlfriends while working. Like when I worked for a farmer cleaning pig pens. And later in life, while working in a soup kitchen, I had a steady girlfriend for a year or so. There were unexpected side benefits to having an odd job. But it was the lessons I learned – and never forgot – that were the real advantage to working hard.
Was I privileged to work these odd jobs? Yep! No one ever asked me to work for them or do a job. I wanted to earn some cash, and this was the fastest way. Now, I could buy extra candy and got a little more popular with kids at school because I gave much of it away. Candy was rare, and a chocolate bar bite was something you did not forget.
There was no minimum wage or guarantee you would get paid, even if you worked. Even us little kids knew this from experience. Sometimes you did work just to do the right thing by someone who was part of your town (or community). I was always busy. If I wasn’t running around “playing army” with my friends or watching baseball on television, I was working.
True enough, my education suffered. I wouldn’t say I liked school, and I admit it. Never did. Even when I went to college, I always would rather be doing something else. Studying was just too painful, and my grades suffered from this personal pet peeve of mine. Work and school can be compatible; it was just that I had not figured it out. I was too busy enjoying the fruits of my labor. Nevertheless, young kids should have many jobs while they are still very young.1
It’s a long point, but encouraging kids to get an odd job (any job!) that they can earn a few dollars and obtain some real-life experience is a benefit that will last them a long time. They learn something early in life that some young adults today have to learn the hard way. Work hard, be honest and truthful, have a positive attitude, and obey the rules.
That is how you get ahead. Even a young kid like me could figure that out.
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Spot-on article.
Yeah, this was a truly funny, entertaining article. I wish young kids today knew this story. 😊
Great article. I too had jobs growing up. I remember them all. Learned a lot. Lessons for life! 👍
Once again the General is spot on. I could remember giving up my summer working a volunteer job at our local hospital at age sixteen. Then working a forty hour week the next summer at a local carpet store for $30 dollars a week. Both jobs gave me confidence and pride in myself to know that I could do a job well and that I was looked at as a positive ‘youngster’ by my grown up peers. I encourage all parents to instill the importance of doing a job outside school whether it be a paid job or a volunteer one.
Many of us did the same, Armywife. I know I did. But today’s kids are more into playing video games in their parent’s basement.
Parents need to be engaged. It takes time and effort. There are parents that are willing to let video games babysit their children.
I have found that young men and women who held jobs in their youth are far better workers and better people. They know what their values are and know where they are going in life. The others, mostly snowflakes, are adrift.
“The price of greatness is responsibility.” == Winston Churchill.
Of course, who else?
“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” ha ha ha ….. another Churchill quote. Oh, Ukraine pres Zelensky is brave but no Churchill.
These ‘odd jobs’ are what help make us who we are as kids growing up. Those ‘jobs’ allow kids to experience success and failure and how to deal with it. Nothing is better training to be an adult. Now we have helicopter parents who protect their kids at all costs. And, society is paying the price for the parent’s failure to allow their kids to be free.
I think having jobs as a kid gives them something we all need; humility. 👍
Erleldech, you are spot-on. Today, we no longer give kids the opportunity to either be kids or to explore their freedom to work and play. That is a shame. Why? Because we want to ‘protect’ them from reality. That reality, however, is what is making them strong. We are growing snowflakes to melt at the first sign of heat. Now those same snowflakes (that we protected) are entering the workforce and are weak, and they are unable to deal with real problems.
“Work hard, be honest and truthful, have a positive attitude, and obey the rules.” Gen. Satterfield said it before and I’ll put his quote up for a reminder. If you want to be satisfied with your life and not regret what you failed to do, then help kids out by telling them this basic philosophy. Don’t lie, cheat, or steal, and work hard.
Another excellent article by Gen. Satterfield. I just love his series on ‘odd jobs’ or as he calls them, ‘leadership’. This is why I keep coming back to this blog to read a snippet of leadership each day. And, he links to some great articles too that are in keeping with his professionalism.
True enough, AT. Same here.
“True enough, my education suffered. I wouldn’t say I liked school, and I admit it. Never did. Even when I went to college, I always would rather be doing something else. Studying was just too painful, and my grades suffered from this personal pet peeve of mine. ” — Gen. Satterfield. Let me add that work and study are not incompatible. Gen. S. has told us before that he just didn’t like school. I’m glad he went that way, however, you can tell by his stories but few of his college days.
i worked as a young boy in my neighborhood and did not hurt me one bit
This article harks back to my time as a kid in the 1980s. We all had jobs. Mostly delivering the newspaper or cleaning up in a store. Many of these stories can be found in Gen. Satterfield’s website. Just search for “leadership and” and you will find them here. Good stuff for those willing to listen and learn.
Audrey, the problem is that too many young people today feel “privledged” and that a job as a kid is “beneath” them. That is why they protest everything since they know everything and are morally superior to everyone else. They know the world, they think, when they are 18 years old.
Just too many “priviledged” kids these days who don’t want to work and their parents agree with them that they should not work. 👍
Another great article by Gen. Satterfield. Common sense but not so common sense any more.
— of course, darn it, that is why I keep coming back to this website. I think, just a recommendation, that Gen. Satterfield create this website, or re-create it as a JUNIOR leadership site and not for senior leaders. I think he can compete in the world of budding leaders altho there are plenty of websites out there doing it (mostly for pay). Great job again, Gen. S. Keep up the great work you are doing here.
👍👍👍👍👍 Stole my words. Ha Ha. Thanks.
I like the recommendation and I think others have suggested the same in the past. Although gen. Satterfield has his blog titled “senior executive leadership,” it does appear in fact that he is focussing on junior leaders.
I agree DocJeff. I wrote this before, so you know I’m on board with you. 👍
A little work as a kid never hurt anybody but helped us all. Encourage them.
Gen. Satterfield, fantastic article ….. reminds me of my childhood when all kids my age were out and about looking to earn a dollar so we could buy stuff we wanted. More importantly it made us feel good to do something of value instead of watching a bunch of worthless tv shows.
Got that right, Ronny. Good to have Gen. Satterfield on the ball. I see his jobs as a kid helped him do well as an adult.
I also had a lot of “odd” jobs growing up and the best one was mowing lawns for my neighbors. Only now do I realize that they let me mow their lawns (the had their own mowers and willingness) but wanted to give me something useful to do. That is also a lesson, as a kid I did not learn.
If only we knew at the time that others were actually helping us learn to be mature and responsible. No longer are neighbors interested in helping kids but doing their own thing.
That’s part of what happens when we take religion out of everything we do. We instill un-Christian values that are more me-me-me oriented and not selfless oriented.
Helping others, hey! Nope. Not this current generation. More interested in porn and watching football in their underwear. Community? Nope, not that either.
Nailed it, Wesley. Kids today are DISCOURAGED from working. They get what they want, when they want it and they are spoiled. They are taught that they are intellectually and morally superior to everyone else and that they have been put down. Thus, the drive to protest in the streets (for something btw, that they know nothing about).
I think that most people who are successful today, worked as a young boy or girl. They learned a lot of lessons that are no longer taught in school or at home.