65 employers

My story is the farthest from normal we could get. So i will start there. Ive had 65 employers. Not employees. Employers. (Some were the same employers but i worked for them a few times). Got your attention? Yep you heard correctly.

Heres a rough list:

Painter, apartment maintenance, farmer, concrete, log home builder, diesel technician/mechanic, musician, food cart worker, donut fryer, valet, mower, truss builder, ag worker, utility at factory, production at factory, cna, cma, forklift driver, backhoe driver, slaughter guy at butcher shop, cleaner, janitor, carnival worker, prep worker for kitchen, fast food worker, store reset worker, newspaper delivery, grocery worker, ground guy at a tree company, and even more. Got your attention yet?

What might lead to such circumstances, you might ask? "Necessity is the mother of invention," frank Zappa. My father was crippled and my mother was always at work. Which brings me to benefit number 1 of my 65 employers to you. The rest, too.

1.Parents, teach your children a trade. If you dont know a trade, i suggest getting them around people in the trades. Or get them cheap tools at auction to practice with. My father was an angry cripple and he taught me my most beneficial skills. Besides, throwing the ball more accurate when, (rare occasion) he would play catch with me, he taught me skinning of animals. That has always been my fall back. Always a part of my history. A very wise person told me once, "there is alot of money to be made by doing what others are unwilling to do." Im hoping he wasnt talking bad guy work. Lolz. (The world needs less gangstas). So i started at 18 with a promotion to meat department at a grocery store. Then i worked as a cna when a lady (who used to own the meat locker in town) talked me into helping at the locker. Then i learned slaughter and it has always been a decent job to me. So, parents(mentors, guardians...etc...) Teach the young a trade. Not sweat shop labor style either

keep your drivers license. For serious minded individuals. Got a goal? Keep your license. Kurt Cobain is said to have travelled a bunch to pick up Krist in their formative years as Nirvana. If he had partied too hard and lost his license over a DWI, we might not have ever heard of him. Ive seen several people lose their license over a stupid decision.it wrecks you. Financial, emotional, causes marital strain and it just sucks. Ive seen many a decent employer to their wits end having to pick up and drop off their workers. Some are that good at their job that its worth it. But an employer cant be running a day care for workers.so keep your privileges.

Dont be a crummy human. This many jobs, i have seen terrible employers, terrible employees and terrible me. They all lead to ruin. So keep your mind open, treat the opportunity like first days of school. Be paying attention and not a butthole human. The golden rule, 'treat others how you wish to be treated'. At several jobs, there was a bully problem and it was just garbage to witness people treating their jobs like a high school popularity contest, gossip hour. High school is over when you leave it or move on. Dont keep regurgitating that drama crap through life.

Try not to get fired too many times. If you do, you must get very creative when asked about why in future job interviews. My firings always felt like failures to me. Then i studied it further and one could tell it was an epic breakdown of leadership as well. So it isnt always my failure alone, or yours. If you are not a crummy person, you shouldnt accept toxic work assignments either.

Interviews are conversations and nothing real ever gets revealed at the interview. They never tell you that they are a toxic boss or that you will be working with the world's biggest dbag or that this job will kill your body in exchange for tiny bits of money. They will tell you its, "break in pains." Be well clear of those jobs. I almost lost my arms and usage of them over "break in pains". It is kinda like reading the magazines and about the people who have perfect photo shoots but when that is over, there is only ugliness within. So ask hard questions in interviews. What is your leadership style? Do you treat people fairly? Most will lie about this one. Too afraid to look at their own wrong doing and change. Good luck sorting it out.

Licking your wounds is easier if you have an emergency stash of cash to carry you through. Real simple. Its a buffer against the woes of life. "I have some i keep it in a jar on top of my fridge, thats where you come in, becauae id like to put more in that jar" wedding singer wisdom.

Dont do what i did. I did it out of necessity. Sitting and crying in the corner and giving up, is never an option. Nor should it be. Keep trying. "We are at bottom of barrel." "Well then, find a new barrel." The Cutting Edge banter between the coach and the father.

There will be more unearthed wisdom from my failings in the future. This is not an exhaustive list

Much love yall.