Pressing The Easy Button

When I was younger I had a job working on cars. I’d lost a job at a bicycle shop due to it having to go out of business and I was in a pickle, this auto shop needed someone, and well, I went for it. I’d never worked on cars outside of doing my own oil changes and knew nothing about being a professional car mechanic.

The job was in an independently owned shop which worked on all makes. There were four of us working out of two stalls, at first. After a couple of years the shop expanded to four bays. It was a very well respected business and therefore, it was very busy.

I worked from 6:30am until 5:30 pm five days a week and every other week I worked half a day on Saturday. We got a breakfast break, 30 minutes for lunch, and that was it. Otherwise you were going full-speed for the entire day. Day after day. It was brutal.

I remember coming home exhausted, locking the door, and laying down in the foyer of my home, on the floor, where five hours later I’d wake up. Then I’d crawl upstairs with no supper and go to sleep until the next day and do it all over again.

It wasn’t always this way. Finally I got used to the grind and I had a more normal life. But it certainly wasn’t an easy job. By no means. It was a very physical job which required critical thinking skills and a high amount of detail. There is no doubt it will have been the hardest job, in all facets, I’ll ever have.

I stayed there five and a half years. Yes, it payed well. Not a “generational wealth” level of pay, but the shop’s owner set me up with a 401K, insurance, and made sure I had everything I needed to be successful. Speaking of the owner, I worked alongside him the entire time I was employed there. He was in his 50’s at the time, and that man could work!

In fact, I don’t think I could have ever out-worked him, and I was a good 15 years younger than he. Jim was his name, and Jim demanded a certain level of effort and competency which, at first, I found a bit overbearing. So, why did I stick it out for five and a half years?

There is something about setting a standard, and holding to it, that is good, as long as the standard setter is also working to the standard, and deserves respect. Added to this was the fact that Jim genuinely cared about me and wanted me to be successful.

Jim not only set the standard, he exemplified it, and because of this, I respected him greatly. Eventually I came to be more comfortable with these standards and Jim’s very stringent demands. I was successful, and when I did the job as expected, or better, I was given verbal rewards, monetary rewards, and therefore my confidence soared.

At my previous bicycle mechanic gig I held myself to my own standards. Those standards were not as challenging as they could have been. Of course, I thought, ‘why would you want to make it harder than it needs to be?’ I did my job well, but there were times when I wasted time, slacked off, and thought it was okay. I mean, one should not have time to carve a Halloween pumpkin while on the clock for themselves.

The “standard” was too slack. I was pushing the “easy button” too often. When I went to work for Jim it was a rude awakening to reality. At first I was bitter, but by the time I’d been there two years I realized I was aiming too low when I had that first bike shop mechanic job. Jim helped me see how hard work, discipline, and honing skills was necessary to achieve a freedom, respect, and self-confidence. I would not have had those things otherwise.

Jim turned out to be the best boss I ever had or will have. He taught me some important life lessons. Things they do not teach you in school, at college, and sadly, not very often at home.

Thanks Jim.