OK, I don’t often quote Ashton Kutcher, this is going to be a first. But after hearing the buzz surrounding his acceptance speech at the Teen’s Choice Awards, I took a peek.
I loved his message, which actually fits in perfectly with the theme of my blog. His first point was that opportunities look a lot like hard work. He talks about all the seemingly dead-end jobs that he had when he was young that led him to where he is now. And how he always worked hard, and never quit. He never quit a job until he got his next one.
All my life I’ve felt very lucky to have what I would consider some incredible and unusual opportunities, and the reality is that I’ve followed Ashton’s same approach. I started babysitting when I was about 12 years old (probably the job I hated the most). Since then I’ve always had a job, and I’ve always worked hard at them. I never left a job without knowing what I was going to do next. Here I have to credit my parents for instilling a really solid work ethic in me, although I resented it at the time, when I wasn’t allowed to stay home from school unless I was on my deathbed.
In any case, the point is that you have to work hard to get opportunities, and I hope all the teens out there were listening to him (geez that statement just made me feel old!).
Ashton also said to “build a life, don’t live one”, and that’s something else I’ve always tried to do. It’s a great speech, and worth watching if you missed it:
Speak Your Mind