How was you job different that you thought it would be?
It was more fun than it was work.

What important lessons or skills did you learn in your first job that have been instrumental in your success?
I learned how important it was to understand the needs of the customer and desires of your employer to find a balance.

Which of those lessons, and how, carried into subsequent jobs after your first? How do you use those skills in your position today?
Balancing the needs of the customer and understanding the business purpose and mission of the employer are critical to every job.

Have you seen how lacking those first job skills had negative effects on others?
Yes – customers will take their business elsewhere when they do not receive good service or recognize workers with a lack of job skills.

Is there a specific event in your first job when you learned something you still use today? At that point, did someone give you advice that you carried and/or later passed on to someone else?
Yes, bad habits are hard to break; personal discipline is very important in success.

What obstacles that you faced had the greatest impact on your career path?
Understanding accounting – I had to get up to speed on this very important issue.

What people or outside factors affected your work ethic or motivated you the most to succeed?
Public school teachers and coaches.

What advice would you give to someone starting his or her first job?
There is no such thing as too much education. Continue to learn in everything you do. Associate with the "right" group, and discipline yourself to make sacrifices to better your future.

What do you find most rewarding about your position today?
Watching young people accomplish tasks and assignments that they were unwilling to take on because of various objections.