Shovel & Pink Tights
The circus came to town. Dad and I made the trip to see the parade down 4th Avenue. Later that night we saw the Main Event under the Big Top! The Elephants were my favorites — a long line of them. There, sitting atop the leader, at the head of the column, was a girl in pink tights and a satin leotard, her blonde hair pulled tightly back in a jaunty pony tail! She had the best job in the world!
Later, during the show, I saw her again as the Elephants took their places in the center ring and paraded, danced, balanced and juggled. My heroine did handstands, headstands and flips. She juggled, danced and ran the show, all from her perch on the back of the elephant Queen. On a lavatory break, I passed the backstage area and spied her talking with a colleague, waiting to go onstage again. Gushing, while she signed my program, I said “You must have the best job in the world!” She smiled and agreed with my gleeful estimation of her life. The rest of the show passed in a blur of Lions, Tigers, Bears, Trapezes, and wandering minstrels with unusual instruments…
The show came to an end, and with it, the magic. As Dad and I filed out, I stepped backstage to bid farewell to the elephant princess. And there she was, with a pair of worn jeans protecting her tights and some old rubber boots over her ballerina slippers. She was expertly wielding a shovel, slowly filling a wheelbarrow with the fragrant gifts the elephants had left behind. She spied me again then and smiled. As she brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes, I said, “I thought you had the best job in the world! But now I’m not so sure!”
She responded, “Honey, it is the best job in the world. But if you want to show off, sometimes you have to shovel shit!”
Every job has its spotlight moments, and, the other kind. It’s not hard to get up for those shiny moments in front of an adoring audience. What’s hard is getting up for those times with the shovel… But that’s what separates the real stars from the Prima Donnas.
A piece of advice: Make sure you’re not afraid to put up the hurricane shutters. Shovel out the storm drains. Change out the ink cartridge or the toilet paper or the towels in the kitchen. Clean out the fridge. Comfort someone who’s having a crisis. Donate some money to help someone through a tough time. Follow the work to another venue…
That’s the “Shovel Stuff…” Also staying up late with the leadership team to envision the new presentation, or stare into the future for strategic planning.
The boot and shovel stuff is always someone else’s job. But choose to make it yours as well, and you’ll have no trouble becoming a star, because your teammates will push you to the front…
Applications
1. For You It builds character to wade in and pull out the tool box from time to time. Doesn’t yours require a little “dirty job burnishing?” Get busy!
2. For the Family If you take the kids along on the dirty jobs, they get confident about their own abilities across the spectrum of skills. If you instead, tolerate Prima Donnas at home, you’re doing them no service – they’ll always be crying for someone who’s able, willing and open to take on the tough jobs for them – or for a fee. Breeding and training self-reliant kids is the best gift… Maybe yours belong in the circus!
3. For the Office Everything you do without “compensation” puts you in a class by yourself! If there’s another downturn, who’s going to be kept on? Every extra task you take on sets you apart in a class by yourself! This one is reliable! This one is unafraid! This one can help us survive… Yes, it’s extra work, and be glad of it.
Take Pitching for example .. Everyone on the team has a speaking job of course, but there are only so many of you to carry the tools, the materials, to set up, to arrange the table, to manage the equipment, to make sure everyone looks terrific… Two jobs apiece? That’s about right!
Honest work is never to be shirked. Become one of those people with whom the Show Must Go On! There’s a lot of work in the Big Show! Some of it involves tights; some requires boots and a shovel. Be ready for either or both and your future is assured.
Dessert: Since we’re on the subject: It’s true that this piece is not really about elephants or circuses, but the fact that all work has aspects that are better done in dungarees and boots. But, it’s worth noting that there’s been a lot of undue cruelty to animals, elephants in particular. So here’s a little dessert to herald the news that Ringling Brothers is getting out of the trained elephant business by 2017. And the elephants are retiring… Good news. Read about it here.
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