Hello Tommy, great post, I do believe that there are many that can learn and appreciate your example if they really think of the consequences of how they interact with others....... family AND "the rest of the world". I certainly have no idea who first came up with the quote, "lead by example", but those three simple words can have a world of impact if they are really applied. If you think about that, it boils down to this(in my opinion), where does one learn work ethic: through the examples of others(parents, relatives, friends, teachers, co-workers, others), watching what it has brought to them in the way of respect, reward, success or otherwise reinforces and influences how we choose to make the decisions that bring these things to us. Family values: whether you had the examples of your own parents and family or you were able to watch other families and see how their interactions have led to the positive desirable traits that you would like to have for yourself and your family, you have still been given an example and can choose to follow this and to feel good and know that you can provide an environment to meet your needs and those of your own family. Working skills and life skills: one more time, we observe and learn these things from others, the real trick is to observe and apply those things which will work for our particular situation and within the available scope of our own abilities. Most everyone's recipe for success will be different, I believe the best explanation for this will have to do with a thing in life which I would refer to as: time, opportunity, level of confidence, and choice. Time, covers the environment around us and our geographical location at that specific moment. Opportunity, encompasses any selections that are available for us to choose from at a specific moment. Level of confidence, means all of us have comfort levels and set boundaries for ourselves with respect to how far we are willing to go out on a limb to pursue any opportunities that come our way at a specific moment. Choice, we can choose or not choose to follow one of many different paths as we encounter them, making a choice can likely have either a small inconsequential difference in our lives or it can be a monumental life altering choice, many times we won't know which result will come about, here again this could be at a specific moment. As a husband, dad, brother, friend, co-worker, teacher, or any other type of person, I will have interactions with many, these interactions will have influences on my perceptions and hopefully might also have influences on the perceptions of others. I TRY to lead by example, I certainly make no claims to being perfect, yet I attempt in many ways to provide a positive influence on those around me. My wife has really been the best overall example for me, she leads by example for our kids in many positive ways, in return she asks for effort, responsibility, and accountability from those she interacts with.
As tradespeople, I hope that all of us will put forth an example of the successes and positive impacts that our choices in life have provided us with respect to successful working careers. We can all talk about the what-ifs and if you do this, this will possibly come about. But really, talking about the results that we have achieved in our own lives can likely have the best influences on the younger ones around us when we are trying to show them the things they can realize by pursuing a trade. If I tell a student that my schooling in the trade brought me a job that paid X amount of money when I was 19 and my friends who played around and worked at the grocery store or McDonalds when they got out of school for X amount of money, they can readily see the results of a certain choice. Those friends of mine lived at home and still bummed money off of mom and dad. I had a place of my own , owned my car, and had money to do what I wanted to at the time. Those examples sometimes have an impact on the thinking of some of the younger folks. Well I'm done rambling for a bit again. Thanks for your post, Tommy. Best regards, Allan