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My First Job
Two distinguished Americans recalling their first job experience
Louis Caldera: The Parking-Lot Sweeper
My parents imbued in me the concepts of family, faith and patriotism when I was young. Even though we struggled to make ends meet, they stressed to me and my four brothers and sisters how fortunate we were to live in a great country with limitless opportunities.
I got my first real job when I was ten. My dad, Benjamin, injured his back working in a cardboard-box factory and was retrained as a hairstylist. The owner of the shopping center gave Dad a discount on his rent for cleaning the parking lot three nights a week, which meant getting up at 3 A.M. To pick up trash, Dad used a little machine that looked like a lawn mower. Mom and I emptied garbage cans and picked up litter by hand. It took two to three hours to clean the lot. I'd sleep in the car on the way home.
I did this for two years, but the lessons I learned have lasted a lifetime. I acquired discipline and a strong work ethic, and learned at an early age the importance of balancing life's competing interests - in my case, school, homework and a job. This really helped during my senior year of high school, when I worked 40 hours a week flipping burgers at a fast-food joint while taking a full load of college-prep courses.
?The hard work paid off. I attended the U.S. Military Academy and went on to receive graduate degrees in law and business from Harvard. Later, I joined a big Los Angeles law firm and was elected to the California state assembly. In these jobs and in everything else I've done, I have never forgotten those nights in the parking lot. The experience taught me that there is dignity in all work and that if people are working to provide for themselves and their families, that is something we should honor.
Note: Louis Caldera was the 17th Secretary of the Army of the U.S.A.
Suze Orman: The Waitress
I had my first job at a local diner called the Buttercup Bakery when I was 22. I worked there for seven years and learned so many lessons, especially from a fellow waitress Helen who had incredible self respect and did what she loved - serving people. She made everyone smile and feel good, customers and co-workers alike.
? Being a waitress changed my life. One of my regular customers was Fred Hasbrook, an electronics salesman. He always ate a ham-and-Monterey-Jack omelet, and when I saw him walking toward the diner, I tried to have it on his table as soon as he sat down.
?Thanks to the newfound confidence I picked up from Helen, I dreamed of having my own restaurant. But when I called my parents to ask for a loan, they said, "We just don't have the money."
?The next day, Fred saw me and asked, "What's wrong, sunshine? You're not smiling today." I shared my dream with him and said, "Fred, I know I can do more if somebody would just have faith in me."
?He walked over to some of the other diner regulars and the next day handed me checks totaling $50,000 - along with a note that I have to this day. It reads, "The only collateral on this loan is my trust in your honesty as a person. Good people with a dream should have the opportunity to make that dream come true."
I took the checks to Merrill Lynch - the first time I had ever entered a brokerage house - where the money was invested for me. I continued working at the Buttercup, making plans for the restaurant I would open. My investments soured, though, and I lost the money.
I found myself thinking about what it would be like to be a stockbroker. After great deliberation I decided to apply for a job at Merrill Lynch. Even though I had no experience, I was hired and ended up becoming a pretty good broker. Eventually I paid back Fred and my customers the $50,000, plus 14-percent annual interest. Five years later, I was able to open my own firm.
I got a thank-you note from Fred, which will be imprinted on my heart forever. He had been sick and wrote that my check had helped cover his mounting medical bills. His letter read, "That loan may have been one of the best investments that I will ever make. Who else could have invested in a counter 'girl' with a million-dollar personality and watch that investment mature into a very successful career woman. How few 'investors' have that opportunity?"
Note: Suze Orman is a bestselling financial author whose books include "The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom" and "The Courage to Be Rich."
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