#JobSearch #Friday Young Millionaires? Read How Elite Millionaires Got Their Start As High School Young Adults
Why should a young adult in High School work part-time through the school year and during summer vacation? Great question!
Interestingly, the reason is much more impactful than simply creating some spending money.
Let us first examine some people whose names may be familiar to you who are millionaires and billionaires and got their start working in high school –
Jeff Bezos – Founder of Amazon and Blue Origin is worth over $90 Billion and got his start working at McDonald’s during High School.
Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson – Singers/Actresses worth millions of dollars and started working in High School at Fast Food Restaurants.
Jay Leno – Comedian, Television Host, and Actor worth nearly $450 Million (Microsoft Bing) started working at McDonald’s in High School.
Keenan Wayans – Actor, Comedian, and Filmmaker, worth approximately $70 million (wealthypersons.com), started working at McDonald’s in High School.
See for yourselves – Bing or Google “What successful people got their start at McDonald’s?”
If you are interested in a career outside of fast food, retail, landscaping, or warehouse work, why take those entry positions while in High School?
Just as formal education is a safe environment to learn, your entry position in the work world provides a High School Student with valuable experience in time management, organization by corporate priorities, financial responsibility (including some cash to spend how you would like!), responsibility to your team including your Manager, and the opportunity to start to build your reputation in the work world.
Your FUTURE Is Measuring You Now!
Unless you have read some of my blogs for Hiring Managers, you may not know that Dr. Bradford Smart, in his book, TOPGRADING: How Leading Companies Win By Hiring, Coaching, and Keeping The Best People, recommends Managers to ask Candidates if they worked in High School – and why did they work in High School?
For the past 20 years, since I read TOPGRADING, I have recommended that Hiring Managers ask Candidates if they worked in High School – and Why?
The reason that Dr. Smart, a Management Psychologist, recommends that Hiring Managers ask those questions is that studies demonstrate that High School Students develop their Work Ethic in High School.
Additionally, you learn the advantages of Financial Freedom!
If you do not work in High School and do not have a Manager’s reference, there is a high probability that you will lose that opportunity to someone who has that background and that reference. Are you willing to take that chance?
Life Is About Making Choices
You may have already made some choices that gave you second thoughts later. In some other choices that you made, you found that the results exceeded your Wildest Expectations!
I started my first business at age 9 when I took over a 30 customer Washington Daily News paper route in Maryland. I could increase my number of customers and earn more money! I made a bad choice. I did not attempt to sell the Washington Daily News to grow my paper route. Paper routes were a great way for young people to learn about business. Your Route Manager dropped off the number of papers that you needed each day. At the end of the month, you were billed wholesale for the newspapers that you sold and delivered at retail. You paid the newspaper company for their papers, and kept the balance of the money, including tips for providing great service.
At age 10, I was awarded a The Washington Post paper route with 95 customers. While the News was an afternoon route, The Washington Post was a morning route. I climbed out of bed at 4 AM and began to deliver to my customers so they could read their papers over breakfast. (Learned the Work Ethic and Customer Service)
During this time, I was able to upgrade my bicycle without asking my Parents for money. I kept delivering The Washington Post through my Sophomore year in high school. Why? At age 12, I informed my parents that I chose not to attend the local public high school because the Counselor told me that I was not smart enough for the College Prep Program. They were putting me into the Shop Program. I knew better. I took the admittance test for DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, MD. They informed me that they admitted me to their top College Prep program. When my Dad said that he could not afford to pay for me and my six siblings to go to private high school, this was my response – “DeMatha costs $450 per year (in 1962). I make $140 per month on my The Washington Post paper route. I will pay my way through DeMatha.” This experience demonstrated the value of Financial Independence and provided me with a much better education.
If I did not work, I would not have received a much better education at DeMatha Catholic High. In addition to school, I ran cross country, became the Yearbook Editor, and was an avid basketball fan. DeMatha’s basketball team was amazing! When I was a Sophomore, DeMatha basketball was the only team to beat Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s team in High School – and I was among the 12,000 fans at a High School basketball game at the U of Maryland’s Cole Field House.
Do You Guarantee I Will Become a Millionaire?
Becoming a Millionaire is Your Choice. Interestingly, your choices begin NOW. Do you want to be a Millionaire? Money isn’t everything. Loving what you do is Everything! Working to generate income to be comfortable is important.
I have known teachers, factory workers, nurses, social workers, and other lower-paying positions who love their work – and would not trade their jobs for lots of money.
They were smart and saved 10% of their earnings throughout their career. The result was a very comfortable retirement.
You have control of this decision. In High School, many activities are not within your reach – unless you create the financial freedom to attain them. If you make positive, measurable impacts – and have fun doing so, you will be happy. Good Luck!
