Where the hell did I leave off? Oh right, growing up with privilege. Let’s talk about what most people think of when they hear about farming.
They said that a pilot bought a farm with their life because the farmer would sue the government over damages when an aircraft crashed in the field.
I used to think that buying the farm meant death because there was nothing else you could do but get up, work all day, and go to bed. You couldn’t take vacations, you couldn’t do anything. Kinda like a drawn out death.
See, experience is cheap. All it takes is time. Skill is harder, but really only requires hard work — a lot of people can get that. But attitude. You either have it, or you don’t.
David Barrett
Hard Work
Did you know you don’t have to do physical labor to be exhausted? Mental exhaustion is real. Really real. Even though we worked hard on the farm, it was different than some of the jobs I’ve had as an adult in the tech industry. Staring at a computer and working frantically for over 80 hours a week to make ends meet can be daunting and wear you out. It feels so good to finally get to close your eyes and take a deep breath, let out a sigh, and relax.
What does hard work do for us, though? It can help us in so many ways. In business, I have created some life long friendships from sharing and conquering miserable circumstances. We’ve learned to look back at those times and remember why we were in that position, and what not to do to those we are leading.
The quote I put above is hysterical to me. It was in an article putting down one of my favorite technology stacks of all time, but what he said stays with me. David Barrett said, “See, experience is cheap. All it takes is time. Skill is harder, but really only requires hard work — a lot of people can get that. But attitude. You either have it, or you don’t. ” How true is that?
If you can keep your chin up, stay positive, you can get through anything. If you have something worth doing it for, there’s nothing you can’t survive. If you continue to work hard, not just for your employer, but for yourself, you will continue to learn. I know not everyone has the means or the energy to put in hours at night reading a book or studying the latest technology that has come out, but you have to do your best when you can.
Ideally, your employer understands the value of investing in you. I strongly feel as a leader you have to enable your employees to learn. Every production issue, build error, and bottleneck in your value stream is an opportunity to learn. Having the right team in place to mentor junior employees and to teach each other is paramount. As the years go by, you’ll continue to gain good and bad experiences. Hopefully, you’re spending the time to reflect on those to learn and improve yourself, and the lives of others you influence.
About David “Nick” Pazzaglia
