Letter: Where’s the will to win?

Recently, I needed to hire new employees rather quickly and I wasn’t having any luck through the usual hiring channels. I decided to make a trip through the mall to see if there were any potential candidates.

I imagined walking through the mall with a stack of business cards and leaving empty handed. I was naive.

As I looked around, I realized how naive I truly was, but I know I can make a difference.

I met one person who I would consider hiring. Every store I visited, and I am not exaggerating, the employees were on their phones, talking to each other, or just sitting.

Where’s the will to win? Where is the fight toward a better future?

Every job is a stepping stone toward something bigger and better. We all start somewhere, and as I reflect on my first job scooping ice cream I knew that wasn’t my career. Or when I was busing tables, I knew that wasn’t going to be my forever job.

However, if you treat every entry level job as if it’s nothing, then you’ll go nowhere. The skills those jobs teach you are the fundamentals of the career you’ll have down the road.

John Wooden focused on the fundamentals and won 10 NCAA basketball titles. Just like in basketball, you’re not given the big contract and then work up to it, you work harder than anyone and then you’re rewarded with the big contract.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Letter: Where’s the will to win?."