Work Ethic: Get Up.

A personal recollection from my formative years.

Work Ethic: Get Up.
By Drayton McLane, Jr.

My dad had a rule and then I applied it to my children. When I was nine years old, he would give me one week off when school was out. I had one week to play. Then, after that, on Monday morning, he'd come in at 6:15 and turn the light on. I remember the first time I got up and turned it backoff. He said, "Don't ever do that again!"
Every morning, he'd say the same thing, "We are going to leave at 6:45. Be ready."
In the beginning, I swept in the warehouse. He took me home at noon because I was only nine and I could play in the afternoon. As I got older, I had to work the whole day in the warehouse. He'd never give me an office job.
I learned about people during those summers. I was real shy in those days. Everybody was older. But, you learn how to work with people and you observe people. It was hard work and good discipline.