These were the words a mate enthusiastically said to me when he was showing me a reference that an employer had written about his wife and himself.
And I reckon it was the best reference I’ve ever read and I’ve read a few!
Now my mate is no spring chicken but, about 2 years ago, he and his wife burnt all their bridges, well, nearly all of them, hitched up their caravan and took off for the wild, wild west.
They aimed, with little knowledge or experience, but loads of enthusiasm, to get jobs at the various cattle stations in the outback. They soon found their first one at a station looking after a camp site that welcomes caravaners and campers for a few days rest and discovery.
They quickly got the hang of what they had to do and did it well. It meant they could spend a couple of months at one station and then easily find jobs at another one in the rough direction they wanted to head.
Every time they did their tasks and did them well, adding their own special touches, guests gave rave reports to the cattle station managers.
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It’s meant they have made the trip of a lifetime to our vast outback, got paid and lived for free.
So, why did they get such glowing references?
Well, you see, he did something most other caretakers hate, try and avoid and do a terrible job when they must.
It was cleaning the toilets and my mate enthused to me saying “I just love cleaning toilets!”
With an attitude like that can you imagine how well they did everything else?
Attitude is omnipotent!
BRILLIANT WINSTON! Good on your mates, too. I started working and paying taxes at age 14. My first job was as a ‘TS’ (Toilet Sweep… a euphemism for a janitor). I cleaned commodes, urinals, and sinks, mopped floors, washed windows, picked up and bailed trash (Huge manual compressor, cardboard top and bottom, and baling wire), swept floors, and did banquet set-up. GREAT EXPERIENCE! I got paid $1.50 per hour in 1968 and finished in 1970 making $2 per hour. (In today’s money, $12.34 & $17.02) As a result, my whole life I’ve been a stickler for CLEAN.
Fantastic experience for you Mike and one that’s stayed with you for life. Have a f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c day… Winno