Any Job Worth Doing is Worth Doing Right
As I drove home from work yesterday, listening to the radio, I heard the most recent essay published on NPR’s “This I Believe” segment.
I’ve heard a few of these over the past few months and it’s gotten me thinking, “What do I believe?” If I had to narrow down the defining principal that has guided my life thus far, what would it be?
Today being my birthday, I’ve found myself in a somewhat self-reflective mood, and having spent time thinking on this question I think I’ve answered it for myself.
When I was a boy, my mother, father, sister and I lived in a two family home. Our portion of the house was the second floor. My father’s parents occupied the first floor. What this meant to me was that my grandparents were a big part of my upbringing at that time. When my father and grandfather would work on anything around the house, I was there.
I can’t remember the first time it was ever said to me, but I know it was sometime around then, when I was about 5 or 6, that the words were first spoken and directed at me. “Any job worth doing is worth doing right.” It was a credo that had been passed from my grandfather to my father and from the two of them now on to me.
I understood what they meant by this. They wanted me to learn that while being able to complete a given task is an accomplishment, my true goal should always be to complete that goal to the best of my ability.
It was a hard lesson to learn at first. When you’re young, and you’ve spent what seems like an eternity working on something, the last thing you want to do is spend more time making sure its done right. Over time though, the idea worked its way into my routines without me realizing it.
Another interpretation of the phrase has also had a dominant appearance in my life, and that is: “Never give up. See each task through to the end.”
There have been times in my life when I’ve found myself very conflicted over this second interpretation. I felt at times that by choosing to end one thing in order to pursue another meant I was a quitter, but after dwelling on it again and again I found that there is indeed a difference.
When I left college to be with the woman who is now my wife. I did not quit school. I did not give up on my dream of becoming an animator or illustrator. I shifted focus. I had a choice, give up on a relationship that had all at once made me feel whole or take a new path and work to achieve my goals in another way.
Obviously, I chose the later. Today, I am happily married, working as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator. I have a son on the way, a new house and a wonderful life and bright future. And I owe it all to my family, and to those words “Any job worth doing is worth doing right.”
Dad, Grandpa, I promise I will pass on this belief to my child. It has led me this far, and I can’t wait to see where it leads me next.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:48 am
thank god there are still people out there that know of this saying and are passing it along to the next generation. it makes me feel sort of old to say this, but it seems like the kids these days don’t have to or don’t care to work as hard as we did in the past. what has happened to the pride of doing a job well?
December 15th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
I found your post at the top of Google while doing a quick check to make sure I had remembered the old adage correctly. Adam, you wrote a great explanation. I like how you tied the idea to the idea of persistence and tenacity. Like you, I’ve had times when I ask myself whether or not to quit. I finally figured-out that I’m too stupid to quit.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with the world.