9 incredibly successful people and the first job that made them who they are

Do you remember the summer you worked as a lifeguard or that college semester when you were a coffee maker? Can you draw a parallel between the tanned child and the professional in their field who have become now? That inner youth is still in you - it forms your every decision. In this article we will talk about nine successful people and their first places of work.

The difficulties you once faced hardened you, the actions you took influenced your worldview, and what used to illuminate your world and now inspires you. Most successful people take advantage of their inner youth, imparting hard work with soul and creativity.
')
In cooperation with Citi (Citigroup Inc. - the largest international financial conglomerate, one of the world leaders in financial services), we talked with nine influential entrepreneurs, politicians and legendary cultural figures about their first places of work, and how they helped them become who they are. Regardless of whether you have become who you wanted to be, or just taking your first steps along the career ladder , in this article you will find the main thing - inspiration.

1. Cindy Loper - American recording artist, co-founder of True Colors Fund

First job: clerk

While most girls just want to have fun, Cindy Loper has always thought more about ensuring equal access to fundamental civil rights. In 2008, she co-founded the True Colors Fund, a charitable foundation whose goal was to highlight the problem of homelessness among gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people, and to encourage society to participate in ensuring the safety of this category of citizens and establishing equality for all.

As a teenager, according to Loper, she did not fit into generally accepted standards. Always dreamy, she could not boast of success in “normal” work, for example, in a large publishing house.

“I really tried very hard to comply with accepted norms, but I did not succeed,” she says. “When I was a kid, I didn’t feel any success. If you fail, the desire to leave the house, to face the world face to face and to win simply disappears. ”

Living in a world that made Loper feel unnecessary, she found that singing could literally transform her. This activity inspired her to help others find their niche, regardless of education or orientation.

“When I see children who feel like no one and need to increase their self-esteem, I have a desire to prove to them that they cannot allow life to be broken by them — you cannot always remain on the sidelines,” she says.

When Cindy worked as an office clerk, being unhappy in this role, her office was on Christopher Street in New York. Now she plans to build a building for the True Colors Foundation on this street.

“You will encounter many obstacles on your way,” she says. “Always look around the obstacle that has arisen, you can usually get around it.”

2. Curtis Granderson - Outfielder in the New York Mets

First job: handyman in the park and recreation area


Star player Curtis Granderson throughout his career was an absolutely indispensable member of several baseball teams, including his current team, the New York Mets. But once he was moonlighting, putting his area in order.

“I worked as a cleaner in parks and recreation areas,” he says. It was a kind of summer tradition for children in the suburb of Lynwood, Illinois. We often went straight from work to evening sports activities and to clubs. “If there is something that I could learn from that experience, then this is time management: the ability to achieve goals right away, not postponing the case for the next day.”

The future star of the sport has found a worthy use for his enthusiasm and youthful carelessness, painting, along with his teammates, curbs and fire columns, cutting the grass and scavenging.

“If you are constantly busy with something positive, you don’t have time to look for trouble,” says Granderson. “You begin to prioritize, and understand that even if you are tired, you should continue to work - otherwise you will not receive your daily payment.”

As soon as Granderson began to take responsibility for his time and finances, his parents gave him more independence. Awareness and modesty gave the outfielder some advantage in baseball.

“If it gives you joy to do something, you will certainly achieve positive results in this matter, and the results - this is a pleasant application to delight in what you are doing,” says Granderson. “Regardless of whether I'm in the cockpit for baseball training, practice on the field or participate directly in the game, I just do what I must.”

3. Angela Glover Blackwell - Founder, Executive Director, PolicyLink

First job: counselor (work during the summer holidays)


Blackwell got her famous quenching one hot Missouri summer, when she worked as a host summer program for girls. This was her first out of town since college and her first job. She later continued to work in this direction and founded PolicyLink, the leading research institute for the promotion of social equality.

“I don’t know how familiar you are with the Missouri climate,” she says, “but in the summer it can be so hot that you can’t breathe.” Once, the temperature exceeded 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.56 ° C (gr. Celsius)). Angela came to work and found that there was no one on the paved ground except for her four colleagues - no children, no one left the house because of the unbearable heat.

“On that day, my father drove up with an ice chest with ice cream and root beer and aluminum glasses that were popular in the 60s,” she says. He made them all drinks.

“I thought: 'My dad arrived. He is going to take me home, 'but soon he just collected the cooler and left. I remember a thought that flashed through my mind: "O God, I will have to stay here until the end."

For Blackwell, “equality” means honesty, that is, an inclusive society in which everyone can realize their potential.

The father’s actions taught her the concept of justice in the conditions of the performance of the tasks set, and also the fact that good organization of the work process helps to accomplish what was planned faster, “even if it is difficult, even if it is very hot.

4. Lorena Feige - Prima Ballerina, San Francisco Ballet

First job: participant of the social support program

Fage's rational passion for dance is rooted in her youth, when she was obliged not only to study art, but also to teach it to those who had no access to theatrical activities.

“In Cuba [where she grew up], participation in social support programs was a mandatory part of training at a ballet school,” she explains. “Even as children, we took part in support programs for people living in remote areas of Cuba, helped very poor people who do not have access to art, taught their children that art plays an important role in human life.”

“Throwing the seed on the fertile soil of the child’s consciousness as early as possible, no matter what form, be it engaging in the world of art, science, or craft, you give your child the ability to choose what he is most inclined to by nature”, - says Fage, whose mother was a ballerina. “I have friends who have made a great career in large companies around the world, precisely from the areas we went to, implementing a support program.”

5. Sune P. Harford - Executive Director, Regional Head of North America Markets at Citi

First job: swimming coach

Sune Harford oversees all aspects of Citi's capital markets business in North America, including sales, trading and securities and banking. Having studied in college such sciences as physics and mathematics, she has manifested herself in the area in which women occupy only a quarter of all jobs. But earlier, as a swimming coach, she encouraged children to develop their sporting strength.

“If you want children to develop talents in the area in which you teach them, and not to be [just] a nurse for them, and you want them to win, then you have to hit several goals at once,” she says. “Your task is multifaceted, because you: must meet the demands of your employer, strive for the children to enjoy the learning process, and interact with their parents whose goals for children may differ from the goals that you set for the whole team.”

This work only implies a trivial task - to always be confident and positive authority, not to allow personal ambitions to work, and to create a team that plays based on each other’s skills, covering the weak points of an individual player, with the advantages of the team as a whole. However, the most important lesson Harford learned from her work is simply amazing.

“One of the unexpected advantages of working as a children's coach is that you understand that you cannot do without humor. Observing how extremely serious everyone is towards something quite ridiculous, for example, to try a seven-year-old child to swim 25 yards with a free style and win at the same time is something, ”she says. “We are not doctors, saving human lives every day, and, despite the fact that our work is also important, it is not worth the stress, which (as we sometimes think) is its integral part.”

6. Nancy Pfand - Managing Partner at DBL Investors

First job: Sierra Club specialist


If you are listening to Internet radio, using a solar battery or owning an electric car, then thanks for this, you should Nancy Pfand. As a managing partner of venture capital firm DBL Investors, Pfand not only invests in companies with revolutionary ideas, but also controls their positive influence on the part of society for which they work. Her policy of “socially responsible enterprises” originated during her internship at the Sierra Club, the country's largest environmental organization.

As a college student, Pfand became interested only in the then emerging gene studies, which gave rise to scientists and influential politicians who “saw everything in a different light” a whole wave of tension.

“Now these are technologies that are commonly used for scientific research, but then genetic research was a highly controversial area,” she recalls. “At some point, it became possible to overcome the contradictions between conservative-minded people and politicians, to find common ground and establish a dialogue, to understand that solving a problem is important for everyone.”

She emphasizes that at that moment, participating in the debates, she did not depart from her principles, but was able to recognize that she lives in a multifaceted society, with many points of view, a lifelong lesson.

“I realized that the way you imagine the problem is not really that important,” says Pfand. “The art of compromise is all for decision makers and a pledge of progress.”

7. Jacob Singer - President, CEO of Oakland Business Development Corporation

First job: equipment operator in the distribution business

At the age of 17, Jacob Singer drove trucks and forklifts, working in the business of his family. Having worked mainly in South and Central Los Angeles, he understands the importance of providing loans and assistance to those entrepreneurs who do not have access to bank financing.

“Of course, it was much more interesting for me to study philosophy, psychology and go to college, but still, it was a valuable, exciting time in my life,” says Sigeo. [My job] was located in one of the largest low-income counties in Los Angeles. I spent my youth working in a truly diverse environment. ”

He had a passionate desire to make small business a link between aspects such as job creation and survival in these areas, so after graduate school he left to try to find “humanity” in the often ruthless business world.

“I spent many years (from the end of the second to the middle of the third decade of my life) trying to understand the many facets of the human spirit and mind. This allowed me to return to my work with even greater trepidation. ”

8. Maria Torres-Springer - Head of New York City Small Business Services (Services for Small Business in New York)

First job: legal counsel


Like Singer, Maria Torres-Springer, head of Small Business Services New York, built her career from scratch. As the child of the first generation of immigrants, Torres-Springer has always appreciated the opportunities that allowed her to understand the professional world.

During her practice in legal counseling, while still in college, Torres-Springer regularly encountered people who had really serious problems.

“One of the most interesting things I did was reading dozens of letters from imprisoned people from all over the state who tried to get explanations about their work,” she says. “It was incredible to see the anxieties of prisoners struggling to get clarification and to get justice.”

She says: “I wake up every morning, thinking about what it means to give those who need it to deal with their problem. I try not to leave the fate of New Yorkers at the mercy of Providence and do everything possible to help entrepreneurs and job seekers get equal opportunities, no matter what language they speak, and from which social stratum they come from. ”

9. Lisa Baird - Marketing Director, United States Olympic Committee

First job: bartender

Lisa Baird helps Team USA (USA team) to look decent. As the marketing director of the United States Olympic Committee, Byrd re-branded him and honored his victorious image. She owes her brilliant skills of working with people to the years of work behind the bar.

“I didn’t have experience in this field, but I was confident that I could do it, so I was given this job,” she says. “It was in 1980. Subsequently, I worked with representatives of industry, took on various tasks, performed many functions. And all this thanks to that risky step. ”

Bartenders should ensure that everyone is fun, be careful about inadequate people, make drinks and manage money, being the center of attention, as if everything is easier than ever. These skills have become for Baird the key to career growth.

“Modern children are very interested in managing a hedge fund or in order to become a manager at 22, but in my opinion, first of all, any person should understand what responsibility is, self-control, and prove that he is able to work with people,” she advises. “No one should make the final decision on the choice of profession hastily.”

PS We recommend another article on the topic - Why Dima Korolev left Microsoft, Facebook and Google before joining a startup

Translated by Vyacheslav Davidenko, founder of MBA Consult