What is the Labor Day holiday but a celebration of this attitude and behavior taken to the extreme?

There are forces in this world that are either actively working against you at worst, or simply ignorant of your needs at best.  We can waste many good years sitting around waiting for someone to advocate for us when all we need to do is, basically, speak up!

I was a broke college student.  With the responsibility of paying for my tuition and living expenses out of my own pocket (current and future, i.e. loans) I was forced to work full time through my undergraduate degree.  I landed in the kitchen of an iconic pizza place in the Ithaca, NY area with a starting pay of $6.25/hour.  The legal minimum wage at the time.  It was tough.

I thought that if I worked hard enough, I’d get promoted to front of house where staff were making 2x+ that amount.

So I came in every day early, I worked my ass off, and as time went on — I was stuck in the kitchen still.

I never made front of house.  Looking back I realize two things: one, I was too valuable in the kitchen among other workers who would rarely show up, would take odd breaks, and would often let their personal and substance abuse issues affect their work.  If you’ve been in the restaurant industry you know the deal 🙂

Two, I never spoke up.  I didn’t advocate for myself and I allowed myself to be put in a position to be, basically, taken advantage of.  That was an important lesson in my life that would help me navigate future issues where the stakes were higher.

Speaking as a coach, now: I can’t read minds.  I can only make guesses as to what you want and need, but I’m not always correct.  Maintaining a dialogue with your coaches is one of the best ways to move forward in these arts.  It helps us get inside your thought process, see where we can be of assistance, and help you gameplan from there.  Also, if something’s bothering you, tell us!  That’s what we’re here for.

It’s not always easy to hear criticism, but it’s even worse to lose someone over an issue that could have been fixed ahead of time.

Make sure to speak up, advocate for yourself, and have those uncomfortable conversations when necessary!