I Took A Risk And Guess What
I decided at the young age of 16 that I needed to start taking risks in my life, as many things were not going as planned.
I had been living in St.Joseph, Missouri for many years and it was time for me to buy a car, I knew what I wanted but had no way to pay for it or where to find one.
While I had worked odd jobs here and there for people just for a few dollars here and there I knew that I needed to have a real job with an hourly rate so I could pay for the car that I wanted.
So I knew that I needed a job before I found the car because the car was going to be a lot harder to find than a job, but it just so happened that I found the car first. I had no job but the car was sitting there staring at me, what was I going to do?
This car I found which was my very first car was a 1973 Mustang Mach I with a 351c, painted black and white. It was full of rust in the rear quarter panels and full of bondo but I had to have it. The asking price 1000.00! I was only 975.00 away from getting this car.
I applied at a few different fast food joints like many of us start out and waited and waited and waited even longer, no responses. I knew I had to do something, but what?
I Took Matters In to My Own Hands – I Took a Risk
While I don't condone this behavior of making up stories or stretching the truth I needed something to happen. I started calling the fast food places I had applied for and asking the managers if they had tried calling me because I was having problems with the answering machine at home.
It just so happens that I got to talk to a manager at Wendy's that needed a new burger flipper and I knew I was his man.
I sometimes wonder if I really impressed this manager or if a opening just came open for a reason unbeknownst to me, but at the time all I could think about was that car and how I wanted it.
Before I started I made a deal with the guy that owned the car that I would give him my last 25.00 and make payments to him for the car, he would keep the car until I had it paid off. So getting paid every week I went to make a 100.00 payment before anything else happened, and I was well on my way of obtaining my car.
I Was Trying Something New – I Took A Risk
Well just as I was hired, I was put in front of the back grill, the one for "newbies", the one they would only use during the lunch rush. I looked at my grill and then looked at the other guys grill and my grill was half the size of his. I looked at him and smiled and he gave me this look like " this guy is going to crash and burn", well I do have to admit I did crash and burn. All I was responsible for was the orders coming through the drive-thru, it was a rough first day and every time I had to slide over and snatch one of his patties from his grill he just smiled and snickered.
Well I learned a lot that day and soon was running the main grill and doing so many other different jobs in the store, I was becoming a machine.
I Got Dividends In More Ways Than One – I Took A Risk
After working at the burger joint for awhile, as you can guess I was stylin' in my white 1973 Mustang Mach I with black racing stripes and a black wing on the back. I was feeling like I was on top of the world, I had a car, I had a job, I had money and I had a couples ladies here and there.
While I only stayed in the fast food industry for a few short years, I learned a lot about teamwork, responsibilities to not only others but myself. I learned what it meant to work hard for something, take a risk on something you may have never done before and make it work.
Due to my risk taking I was able to mold myself into a individual that understands that risks are not a bad thing, they can bring rewards more than you could possibly imagine. With these risks I took I and the lessons I learnt from them I was able to build a 15 year long career in retail management.
I know look back on those risks and ask myself, what if I never made that phone call…..Where would I be at today?
