My Occupation

The word “occupation” has another meaning. For those of us who have one, it refers to what we do to make a living. I am a businessman; that is my occupation.

Businessman was not always my occupation. My undergraduate majors were art and psychology, although I did not quite exactly graduate; it was more of a mutual agreement with the college administration that instead of coming back for my final year, I would benefit from matriculating at any other institution anywhere else on the planet. One suggested a facility with bars and guards would be a good choice. I prefer to call it finishing early.

In 1975 the economy was in the ditch, there was little demand for an art/psych dropout, the Marines wouldn’t take me, and I was raised in the belief that it was a disgrace for an able-bodied person to accept welfare. My parents had made it clear their home would not be occupied by adult children, and the age of dependency had not yet been raised to 26. The party was over and it was time to grow up.

I cut my hair and shaved, ditched the jeans for chinos, put on a tie, and made up a resume that listed every job I ever held (12), all of my accomplishments and awards, my academic record and grade point, and all of my volunteer work – I didn’t mention the rowdiness that got me expelled from my one-man Occupy Carthage College movement. No hard feelings, by the way; I had it coming.

And I hit the streets, stopping in every business and factory and asking to see the boss. Not the personnel department, the boss; the lines were too long at the personnel department and all the people there were just filling out forms. I didn’t stop at night; I hit on every factory night shift foreman and restaurant manager and tavern owner right up until bar time.

It took a zillion rebuffs until one boss liked how I got around his personnel department firewall and gave me a job working in a warehouse for $1.15 an hour – minimum wage. I did not get that job because I could draw an apple or recognize obsessive compulsive traits in adolescents; I got it because I could lift 110 pound boxes over my head and that saved the company time waiting for a forklift driver.

That was my employable skill – lifting; that was how I could add value for the firm. But it was my foot in the door, and I was grateful to be employed. And no, minimum wage was not a livable wage back then, either, so I added another job and then added a half-time job until I could learn enough and add enough value to cut back down to just one.

The rest is pretty boring everyday American Dream kind of stuff - small town boy makes good. I won’t bore you with the details of how I went from human forklift to company President, and there are many more compelling stories then mine if you are looking for inspiration.

Over the past 36 years I have made it my business to learn new ways to add value for my employers and our customers – that is what the occupation of businessman is all about. Adding more value is how the ladder is climbed. I look now at the Occupy Wall Street protestors and wonder if they have any idea what it will take for them to swim with the big fish if and when they get around to the grown-up business of choosing and mastering a real occupation and providing for themselves and their families.

It is difficult for guys like me to sympathize with those protestors who expect high-paying jobs simply just because they have college degrees. In case any of you are reading this, I have to tell you that college isn’t even that hard anymore, and your need to pay off your loan is not a reason why I should hire you to work for me. It is on you to show me what value you can add to my firm; it is not on me to provide you with income. And you must compete with others who want that job as much or more as you do. Hit the gym, vocationally speaking.

Do you have 12 jobs to put on your resume? Can you list the charity work, sports and club awards from your school days that demonstrate your commitment to excellence? Did you figure out how to get around the personnel department to get to me? Are you willing to start at the bottom and lift heavy things just to have the opportunity to show us what else you got?

If you are sincere about wanting a job, start with the basics. Pull your pants up; turn your hat around – better yet, take it off; and take that hockey puck thing out of your earlobe and all the staples out of your face – you look like a freakin’ tackle box. Cover up your tats even if you have to wear a burqa to do it; either grow a proper beard or shave, knock off that indecisive stubble thing; comb your hair and wash those red and blue streaks out of it. And don’t call me “dude”.

But do tell me about the charity work you have done during your extended period of unemployment. Uh-oh…all that time on your hands, such great needs, and you couldn’t find a way to make a difference in some kid’s life? Head Start, Big Brothers & Sisters, Junior Achievement, Boys and Girls Club, 4H, Scouts, any church, and you can't figure out how to do any of that giving back you keep talking about? That tells me a lot more about you than your misspelled resume does...dude.

You know who impresses me in an interview? Those who serve in the National Guard or Reserve and the veterans returning from their active duty service, especially those who served in combat. Many have left pieces of themselves in foreign lands, but few complain; in a job interview, the disabled veteran really stands out against the scores of inabled civilians whose first question is how much time off they will get.

These terrific young men and women who served gave up a life of privilege and denied themselves and their family in order to do defend our liberty. They understand sacrifice, discipline, teamwork, goal-setting, innovation, planning, strategy, and character. They know results matter, they have demonstrated an ability to overcome obstacles, and they possess instantly transferable skill sets and vocational training. Plus we owe them - to the serially ungrateful, this may be an incomprehensible sentiment.

I don’t need a law to tell me to give a hiring preference to veterans; it is good business as well as good citizenship. The Department of Defense has a program called Employer Support for the Guard and Reserves (ESGR) which helps employers reach out to current military and those leaving the service to return to civilian life. Check it out, employers.

The Occupier who took the dump on a cop car Wall Street is going to have a hard time finding and keeping a job – not because he took a dump on a cop car, but because he thinks taking a dump on a cop car with kids around is cool. That brain isn’t a disability; it is a liability. We employers don’t have the time nor the inclination to fix him.

“Moment Of Clarity” is a weekly commentary by Libertarian writer and speaker Tim Nerenz, Ph.D. Visit Tim’s website www.timnerenz.com to find your moment.

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Comment by Joseph DeLuna on November 1, 2011 at 12:03pm: Work At Looking For Work Not A Handout! That's My Philosophy!

Comment by L C on November 1, 2011 at 11:30am: Well said!

Comment by Macho Man on November 1, 2011 at 1:22am: Hey Tim I just love your alumni status. You were saying that college isn’t even that hard anymore. Maybe that’s why I got all them A’s (Honor Society) and still majored in airplanes and spitballs. I read your whole novel and I have met that kind of scum that you alluded to on the radical left, regular stupid sheeple Dems, Rino’s, Conservatives, Republicans and political illiterates.

Would you rather we bring our own resume or do you hand out the application and absorb the cost of paper?

Later Dude,

Macho Man

Comment by USARogue on October 31, 2011 at 11:54pm: Tim,

Bravo once again!

These ~~invaders~~ occupiers have no idea what it takes to create a carreer. They have been coddled for 20+ years and now expect the world to just submit to their awesome presence in the land of opportunity. I also began my income potential early. At 7 I bought a newspaper route and from then until I finally achieved my career (after 23 years of school) I must have had 25+ different odd jobs. From short-order cook to hot-tar roofing, I was ~~taught~~ told by my parents to never turn down a job.

These professional protesters have nothing in common with how we were raised. I never expected anyone to just give me a job, let alone a promotion. Climbing the corporate ladder used to mean something. Achieving success by merit was demanded. Now these punks expect to just hop on the express elevator to the Executive Suites and a corner office.

This is the fairy-tale they have been taught by the proponents of social and economic justice for the collective. This has further been ingrained by the "equality" mandates and bastardized by political correctness in our society. Ask these kids to use--there, their and they're--properly in a sentence. Ask them to calculate 20% of 220 in their head. Ask them to identify the relationship of Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Jay. If any of them answer these correctly, hire them. Don't hold your breath though.

Not only is our great Republic collapsing economically, it's also failing socially, culturally, morally and spiritually. Unfortunately these issues have been removed from the sphere of normal discourse. 2012 will be the tipping-point for our sovereign nation.

If we can place a true Conservative in the White House and regain control of Congress we stand a chance. If not, prepare to become acquainted with the true meaning of the Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.

Comment by Darwin Rockantansky on October 31, 2011 at 11:49pm: Sue Carroll, I am a vet and I have always favored the vets when I did hiring. And you are right - the vets are an extract of the society from where they came; some truly good and some not so much. I have either been luck or been a good judge of character because I have never had a bad experience with my hires. I do know of others who have.

For those who are not what we would hope for, there is but one place to put the blame: Leadership - or a lack there of. The military "leadership" is divided into two groups: Military Leaders and Professional Bureaucrats.

We vets can all name our favorite leaders; true Military Leaders that we would (and have) follow down the throat of Hell itself. Then there are the others.

The case of the most recent recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, Dakota Meyer, is a great example of the others. Dakota Meyer made (I think) five successive runs straight into a death trap and rescued thirty six (36) men's lives. He was wounded on his second or third trip into the valley of death and he kept going back. On his last trip, he recovered the lifeless bodies of two of his comrades. He truly exemplified the finest character of the American fighting man and woman. He justly deserved the honor of being awarded the medal.

The Rest of The Story (as Paul Harvey would say) is the not-so-widely-publisized side story.

Because he asked - several times - for permission to ride into that valley - knowing full well that he probably would not survive. Each time he asked he was told to stand down. After several attempts to get command permission to do what had to be done - he commandeered a vehicle and did what had to be done.

Which resulted in his being put up for a courts martial for disobeying a lawful order.

Leadership comes from the heart. It is learned by example.

And it can be as contagious as a bad cold in an airplane.

Just as a weak and ineffective leader can exacerbate and amplify an already weak character.

Darwin Rockantansky

Las Vegas, Nevada

Comment by Jo Gonzalez on October 31, 2011 at 11:49pm: Thank you for excellent article, and for refreshing us, on how, when you have the right attitude, and the moral fiber, you can acheive. Today younger people, a lot of them, seem so disengaged, and as you say, have a real need to grow up, and accept responsibility for themselves. This is still the World's best country, and if you don't believe it, ask a immigrant. Immigrants, one commented earlier, appreciate our freedoms and the chances for opportunity. I have no patience with the Wall Streeters, but even less with authorities that allow this mayhem. This is supposed to be a land of Law and Order. Lord, just let it keep snowing!!!!

Comment by David Rohm on October 31, 2011 at 11:45pm: Absolutely one of the best articles I've read in years. It's going to be mandatory reading for my kids, whether they need it or not. Thank you, Tim.

Comment by Sue Carroll on October 31, 2011 at 11:00pm: I agree with all you have said Tim. However, I will state that we hired a Veteran, as soon as he told us he was in the Army 6 yrs, served in Bosnia in a tank company, I expected he had more dedication, inner fortitude, commitment then the next guy. I value our Veterans. We ended up firing him. Not all veterans are honest, stand up Patriots. We caught him red handed stealing from us, and taking our customers as side jobs, he created turmoil in our business with other staff memebers. I am not sure ALL veterans can be painted with a broad brush: they like the rest of humanity are human...yes perhaps a higher % are good, but I will never make that assumption again.

Comment by Darwin Rockantansky on October 31, 2011 at 10:32pm: Well said as usual Tim. I too am / was a businessman. At one point you kind of got on my bad side with all that talk about doing charity work, but then you qualified it with "during your periods of unemployment".

I never did formal charity work. And I did not attend college - which is more than my father who did not even get as far as high school.

I came home from my first combat tour in Vietnam to a wife and I child I had never met and I was too young to vote or buy a beer. So I went back to Vietnam for another dose of insanity.

When Obamacare was passed, our insurance carrier doubled our rates - even though we had never had a major claim. The fix was in and the economy was headed for the tank and we could not continue to pay our employees and continue to pay for their insurance. We chose to help all of the employees to get safely settled into jobs with other companies and closed our doors.

By anyone's standard, I live well.

I don't have lunch money most of the time but I also have no financial obligations or debt of any sort...

Except for my debt to the country that enabled me to achieve The American Dream.

My eldest son is just over forty years of age and he is in the same boat; living comfortably and has no debt of any kind - and he just barely by the grace of God managed to graduate high school.

When he was coming up, I had nothing to give him except what my father gave to me: A strong sense of right and wrong, respect for others, and a strong work ethic. Needless to say I am very proud of him.

America may be the land of opportunity but even getting up in the morning requires effort.

Hard work supported by a strong and honest character, faith, and an occasional bit of luck can go a long way.

Darwin Rockantansky

Las Vegas, Nevada

Comment by Dennis Willis on October 31, 2011 at 9:48pm: Thanks Dr. Nerenz, my Dad always said keep your nose clean, get a good education, work hard and trust in the Lord. Been working 39 years at one job, and because I wanted more for my family, have worked part time at other work and started a business 13 years ago- not getting rich- but proud I live in a country that offers opportunity to one that is willing to work- Seems like many of youth today should have received same training from their parents.