My first job was washing dishes at Stone's Family Buffet back in the 1990s, earning around $6 an hour. I'd drive to work, clock in, and battle endless stacks of dishes and the treacherous spray of high-velocity water ricocheting off curved bowls. It didn't take long to realize that working for someone else, in a place I didn't want to be, wasn't my calling.
Between ages 16 and 36, I worked roughly 70 different jobs. I've been a pool store clerk, car salesman, stainless steel pipe stretcher, electrical circuit panel wireman, landscaper, professional furniture mover, head wrestling coach, overnight grocery stocker, and deposition videographer—just to name a few. Deep down, I knew these were all temporary stepping stones, leading toward work I couldn't yet articulate but instinctively sought.