Winning at the Bottom will get you to the TOP

I have a friend who asked me a question I don't think she really knew how hard the answer would be.  There is a cultural insult in the answer and it's one that if we don't overcome, we will fall.

There are millions of educated, bright, unemployed people in the world.  People who are living on government assistance and hand to mouth way under their potential that are wondering why.  Many have taken the route of getting a big education and find they are still on the fringe.  Some have decided to try the route of influence and so for a moment you have musicians, entertainers, sports figures, ministers and "Life Coaches".  None of which really are lifetime ventures.  Most of which are short term flashes in the pan of life.

What no longer seems to be an acceptable pathway is one that starts at the bottom. Everyone seems to have hope that influence, education or connections can leapfrog them into a secure high paying job with benefits.  That worked for a while, but as our economy responds to a burden of too many of these excess capacity at the top jobs by shuffling them off (Layoffs) the reality is we need to rethink the path to achievement in our culture.

The culture however is our enemy.  The jobs that are essential but seen as bottom rung are the ones going begging.  They require willingness to get ones hands dirty and lay aside any pretense of prestige.  Worse then all that, the very ones who are most vulnerable to being unemployed are the ones are the least likely to step onto the essential bottom rung to move up.  The "need" to start at rung 7 in order not to be looked down on means for most of these people the unemployment will remain at over 50%.  That is the REAL statistic of the men in the community who are trapped in this catch 22.  The catch that says, "I'll do any job, but I don't want to do ANY job".

I grew up doing "menial" jobs.  I didn't mind.  I didn't know they were menial.  Tedious yes.  Physical, yes.  But I did them and money came.  Seemed like a good trade to me.  I have watched Mike Roe on Dirty Jobs, the TV show. I have done many of those jobs.  Or worse.  I am a bit insulted that they/he considers them dirty.  No job is truly dirty.  It's only in the thinking.

OK, here is the culturally insulting part.  There are needs, they are unmet.  They are "dirty".  YET... they are because they are not the kinds of work that many are willing to take on.

• Trash collection. Our streets with a 50% unemployment rate should be pristine.
• Weed Pulling.  Every park, boulevard, garden and path should be absolutely perfect
• Window Washing.  Window repair. Window restoration.
• Brick Recovery.  Did you ever wonder where the "Chicago Brick" came from?
• Shoe repair, polish, restoration.  Yes, I believe in buying good shoes and wearing them a long time.
• Hand car washing, polishing, detailing.  White wall restoration.
• Errand Running for elderly.
• Caring for infirmed and elderly.
• Delivering meals to those who can't get out.
• Keeping a careful watch on the neighborhood in which you live.  Watching for bad influence.
• Policing vacant lots. Cutting weeds by hand.  No machine.  The tool for this costs $19
• Collecting aluminum cans.
• Doing facade fix up.  Making the fronts look better then they do.
• Sweeping the sidewalks and streets in your area.  Not for money, for pride.
• Hauling to a collection point dead branches, old tires, bottles and all the other debris collecting.
• Recovering building materials, finding 2X4s and pulling the nails out...for reuse (sale)
• Cleaning out gutters.
• Raking up leaves.
• Shoveling Snow.
• Mowing Grass.
• Picking up dog poo.  (there is a guy who does this full time and does pretty well)
• Taking care of people's pets when they go away
• Doing light maintenance on vehicles, bikes, toys and household repairs
• Learning to trim bushes and trees and doing it BY HAND... A good shear costs $40. 
• Cleaning people's houses, offices, apartments
• Paint up fix up anything
• Taking in Laundry
• Delivering newspapers
• Delivering anything that people want delivered
• If you have a car, using that as a tool for delivery
• Unplugging grease traps, sewers, toilets and drains

I could list more but you get the picture.  The blue collar menial jobs are the first rungs on the ladder to success.  IF you look down on these kinds of things, you will keep jumping to try to reach rung 7 and fail again and again.  The Starbucks employee with a masters degree in fine arts is legendary.

Business administration degrees are nearly as bad.  Education is no longer a short cut.

Here's the key:  What is ONE THING you can do, make or service you provide that most people will agree you do that pretty well.  Keep it clean now.  Who can you sell that to?

To get out of this trap will take a shift in our thinking.

I offer up a few resources:
Here's an opinion that postulates that a menial job is the key to success.  Interesting take.

Here's a side by side comparison to the mindsets that propel or prevent achievement.  IS ANY Job better than NO JOB

Here are some people in a forum expressing opinions about "Blue Collar Jobs".  Very interesting.

I leave you with this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.  It seems to fit:
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”