I remember junior high like it was yesterday. Rocking my corduroy JC Penny’s pants with my silk shirt and sweater vest, a set of railroad tracks in my mouth, and glasses that looked like they were out of 1975, I was not what you would call a cool kid. I was not a comic book nerd, I did not sit around playing D&D, I was not a 4.0 student. I was a different breed of nerd.
I remember one of my teachers once explaining to my parents that I was a much “focused” student when I wanted to be, but if I was not interested in the topic, there was no reining me in (insert ADHD joke here). One such focused event for me was a 7th grade assignment in which we had to collect 24 insect specimens, pin them and identify them. We had 2 weeks to get it done. After two weeks, I had 3 pin boards with a total of 75 insects on them. That was the start of my “life with bugs”, but it took a while for me to be “reunited”.
At last count, I am fairly certain from 16 to now at 33, I have worked for over 50 different employers. From fast food, to the military, from marketing and advertising agent to lawn mower, other than a car dealership, you name it and I have more than likely worked that job. The problem is, after high school I had no idea what I wanted to do, I knew I had a purpose but I could not find it. Church did not have it, the military did not have it, and neither did the culinary world, retail, construction, lawn care, the tech industry, or manufacturing. For me, my purpose, my calling, where my talents lay, is the world of rodents, roaches, and ‘rachnids.
It took me almost 15 years to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. For some it was graduation, others college, and for a few that are still searching, it is okay. If it takes longer, that is fine. But make sure to find what YOU want to do. Had someone told that 7th grade nerd that there was good money to be made in bugs; maybe the past decade and a half would have been different. But I am here now and plan on dying a very old man, who is laughing in my grave because my children and grandchildren will be trying to figure out what to do with all the bugs “I left behind”.
Deepak Chopra is quoted for saying, “… you have a unique talent and a unique way of expressing it. There is something that you can do better than anyone else in the whole world–and for every unique talent and unique expression of that talent, there are also unique needs. When these needs are matched with the creative expression of your talent, that is the spark that creates affluence. Expressing your talents to fulfill needs creates unlimited wealth and abundance.”
Take stock in what he is saying. You have a unique talent and a unique way of expressing
it. I am not the only guy in the Minneapolis metro that does pest control, in just my company alone there are over 40 other guys that do my job. However, I will challenge ANY of you to find me someone else in my industry with the amount of passion I have for this work. My father once told me to “find what you love, find a way to make money doing it, and you will never hate your job”. I implore you all to find your unique talents and nurture them, for in your talents lay your destiny.
