This graduation season, high school and college graduates will be implored to “follow your passion” and “be courageous”. All well and good.
But perhaps more practical advice would be: Pick up a mop.
That’s the advice in this Wall Street Journal article from Raleigh area high school teacher Tyler Bonin.
A mop, used for cleaning floors, isn’t a magical tool for success. Rather, it is a reminder that there should be no task considered beneath you. …
When I was a student at Duke, I worked in a retail store. Many of my co-workers were also college students, some in graduate school, and one was on her way to dental school. Many of my colleagues hated mopping, which required going into the haven of filth that was the public bathroom. I had plenty of practice in this area as a former Marine Corps private, so I always volunteered for the job…My managers noticed.
I learned that a sense of entitlement is a burden. People who believe themselves above something, or entitled to something more because of past achievements, will find that new opportunities slip away….
Certainly there is a time to be bold, but there is also a time for humility. A task once considered beneath you could actually be the key to your success. Do the job nobody wants, because, believe it or not, somebody appreciates it.
Wise advice in this age of entitlement. Despite what Bernie Sanders says, nobody owes you anything.
