Your First Job

One of the most common icebreaker questions of all time: “What was your first job?”

After Plan A to make a living on the PGA Tour didn’t pan out, mine was being a mediocre server at a restaurant called Takosushi of all things. My first “real job” was then working in a call center at Red Ventures, which thankfully I was a little better at. 

But that is not what we are here to talk about. We are here to talk about our real first job, the job we are born with and that continues for all of our lives. That “first” job is simply this, to grow as human beings.

Now I know that might sound a little too generic to center an entire email around, but allow me to share why I believe this is a can’t-miss concept to dig into.

Last year I had the privilege of hearing David Salyers, the author of Remarkable!, speak in Atlanta. For any Chick-Fil-A fans out there, David spent 40 years leading marketing at CFA, which is where he derived much of his content for the book. 

He shared one point, in the form of a comparison, that hit me hard but in a very good way. Here it is:

👉️ In normal companies, people grow the business

👉️ In remarkable companies, the business grows the people 🔥 

What David Salyers draws attention to is a big reason I call this the YPT, because it is during the transition from student to professional where it all goes wrong. Consider this:

• As kids, our parents’ focus is our growth

• As college students, our parents’ focus is preparing us for the real world (growth)

• As young professionals, our parents’ focus is our achievement 

Dogging on parents isn’t my goal here, but from my experience and observation, something seems to change when we reach the stage of a young professional. As I previewed this concept with friends and family over the years, one of my favorite ways to help people “get it” has been to use my experience in youth sports. 

When I was a young kid playing basketball, golf, and tennis, I used to hear all the time - “winning and losing isn’t as important as the life lessons that sports teach you.” As a driven kid who wanted to win in everything, I used to blow past this concept, but I wish I hadn’t. 

Two questions I’d ask all of you: 

1. Have you ever heard someone describe your work that way? 

2. Have you ever had your boss or your CEO or your HR Manager say to you  - “Alex, winning and losing is not as important as the life lessons your work here is teaching you.”

This year more than ever, I’ve learned the importance of not making hard judgements or drawing unnecessary lines in the sand. So let me be the first to say - these leaders do exist! And even if a business isn’t doing this, immense good can still come out of the worst of businesses. 

But, I do believe that this is a real and very significant issue. This transition in perspective is the YPT. We shift from a focus on developing our character to a focus on achieving life’s key milestones. 

I read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in 2024. I know it is a staple in the business world, but even with high expectations going in, the book blew my mind 🤯. Amidst a goldmine of great wisdom, the one of richest nuggets I gleaned was learning about what he calls the Personality Ethic vs the Character Ethic. 

I’m not a historian, nor did I live pre-1920, so I have to take his word for it, but this graphic sums up the YPT perfectly in so many ways. 

Connecting the dots on this - here is my version.

• Pre-Young Professional Life - Integrity, Humility, Courage

• Young Professional Life Forward - Public Image, Attitude, Personality

As we transition into the professional world, our focus on growing as human beings is replaced by the countless pressures to achieve life’s milestones.

• Did you get a job immediately out of college or did you end up with a gap year?

• Did you start earning 6-figures by the time you were 30?

• Did you get married by the time you wanted to? Did you get married at all?

• Did you set up a 401k early and start contributing to it?

• Did you buy your first house before most of your friends?

The list goes on and on. These pressures are very real, and these things really do matter. But the reason I’m writing this today is to sound the alarm, that amidst the pressure to hit these milestones, we lose our focus on what matters the most - the development of our character aka - “Your First Job”.

I shared on New Year’s Day that my goal for all of you who are reading this is simple - to do better. So my encouragement to you now is to help me be a part of undoing what Covey says started in the 1920s. Spend some time wrestling with this in your own heart. Ask yourself, where have you fallen trap to focusing more on how people perceive your attitude, personality, and image instead of focusing internally on how you are growing in humility, integrity, and courage?

When you think about Covey’s point and then look at the brokenness that surrounds us today, it is no wonder we experience so much ugliness. The same habits that help us get ahead in life are the ones that are destroying friendships, families, marriages, and communities. 

If you are here, I know that like me, your desire is for more. So as you enter this weekend, I encourage you to find 20 minutes to sit down in a quiet place, away from your phone, away from the noise, and to think about your work. Your work as a professional, your work as a spouse, your work as a parent, your work as a volunteer. 

Ask yourself these questions.

• If the purpose of my work is to grow me as a person, what is it teaching me about myself right now?

• How is my work growing my character?

• Am I willing to lean in and embrace the hard work that is required for good growth?

I can’t wait to continue this journey with you. As always, please respond to this email if you’d like to talk and discuss anything from this or prior posts! And if you have any friends who you think might derive value from this - I’d love for you to share it with them.

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With Hope and Gratitude,

Alex