Fifteen years to famous

Great jobs sometimes come after a lot of hard work.

by: Lisa Hochgraf

Last week my 11-year-old was worried about what job he would have in the future. In addition to telling him that he had some time to figure things out, I  suggested that typical career paths are a bit more windy than just deciding on a career and then making it happen.

Over the holidays, I read Yes, Please! by comedienne Amy Poehler, famous from her time on “Saturday Night Live” and “Parks and Recreation.” In the book, Poehler underscores the idea that careers aren’t made in a moment, but rather from hard work and experiences along the way.

“Good or bad, the reality is most people become ‘famous’ or get ‘great jobs’ after a very, very long tenure shoveling sh** and not because they handed their script to someone on the street [who’s famous and could help them],” she writes. “People still think they will be discovered in the malt shop, even though no one can tell you what a malt is anymore.

“Everyone wants to believe they will be the regular guy from Sioux City who becomes a reluctant movie star despite his best attempts to remain a sensitive tattoo artist,” she continues. “People don’t want to hear about the fifteen years of waiting tables and doing small shows with your friends until one of them gets a little more famous and they convince people to hire you and then you get paid and you work hard and spend time getting better and making more connections and friends.

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