On Paying Your Dues ...

A decade ago, when I came to intern at The Leadership Institute (Li), I was fresh out of college. Other than managing a state senate campaign, my previous jobs included managing a fast-food restaurant and working at a gas station. Needless to say, I was hungry and anxious to impress.

Being 'hungry' is good for anyone looking to make their bones in any business, as it is the necessary ingredient for anyone who must sacrifice by working long hours and doing tedious -- sometimes thankless -- jobs in order to get ahead.

Whatever vocation you aspire to, 'paying your dues' is almost always necessary. Too many people want to start out on top. But, of course, those who are willing to do anything (within reason) to please their masters will ultimately be rewarded -- even if the reward comes from someone other than their principal. One of the best ways to get hired at an office is to intern there first and impress them.

Internships are the modern-day apprenticeships. Anyone looking to 'break into' a career ought to consider interning first. Before someone will hire you to do some thing, you may first need to do it for free. If you are trying to break-in as a writer or blogger, this is especially true.

Because of my diligence as an intern, I was officially offered the chance to work at Li. What I learned there ultimately changed my life, and led me here.

But the key element -- the thing which allowed me to thrive at Li -- was not intelligence, but a reverence for their mission -- and a willingness to work hard and also humble myself. Had I come from an overly privileged background, I wonder if I would have had the discipline that was needed to make countless copies and stuff thousands envelopes -- all with a smile. I did so gladly, though, always knowing that my next move might well be back to the gas station.

In any event, this leads me to the thrust of my argument, which is that very little mentoring takes place these days, because too few proteges are hungry. Sadly, I fear many of today's young aspiring activists, writers, and political leaders want to start out on top. Whether this is because too many of them come from fancy schools or parents who coddled them, the bottom line is they are not willing to pay their dues, and thus, those who could help them are not willing.

This is not unique to politics. I recently heard comedian Adam Carolla lamenting this very problem. With all the people hoping to break into show business, he cannot find someone willing to pay their dues and learn from him. This is more a product of our affluent society than it is peculiar to politics or any one profession.

While this is generally a bad thing, it is also an opportunity to some young person who is willing to do what it takes to get ahead. Upon finding a potential and worthy mentor, a young person should pledge the following:

"I would love to work for you for a time in order to observe and learn from your wisdom. If you would accept me in this capacity, I am willing to do anything honorable and legal to assist you, whether that be cleaning your car, picking up your dry cleaning, or assisting in your avocation. I will not miss work during this time, even if a family member comes into town or if a friend gets concert tickets. In fact, I would have to be on death's door before I would miss a day."

My guess is that few mentors would turn down a protege who made this offer -- and finding a good mentor can open many doors. If you've ever seen the Karate Kid, this is essentially the kind of dedication Mr. Miyagi demanded before Daniel could really learn.

Over the years, I've been blessed to have many good interns. But I've also observed just as many who were not good. The good ones usually got as much out of their time as they put into it. If you are a young person trying to become successful, I urge you to take this advice. Paying your dues is vital -- and it becomes increasingly harder to do as you age ...