Thursday, July 10, 2014

PolitiBrew: Mike Rowe and His S.W.E.A.T. Pledge Scholarships: Cool!

"Remember Mike Rowe from that dirty jobs show where he'd go work with folks who have the dirtiest jobs there are, like working in sewers and such? I love that guy, and he speaks with such good sense it's difficult to disagree with him on anything I've thus far heard."
He's funny, smart, wise, and has a desire to see America regain her greatness, and her greatness resides in her people, her workers, and producers. He offers scholarships to young people too, so they can get educations in fields of endeavor where jobs are plentiful yet companies cannot fill.

During his show which chronicled so many dirty jobs and the people that perform them, he says he's counted 40-some-odd millionaires. For example, a family that runs a very lucrative mushroom farm. Americans love them some mushrooms. Now in running a mushroom farm, there are two things which are imperative, and you can probably guess what those two are. I'm talking about the one which is not shade.
Mike Rowe posted S.W.E.A.T. (Skills & Work Ethic Aren’t Taboo) Pledge on Facebook that is just the kind of straight talk we need to have with ourselves as a country to get that “can-do” spirit back. 
 

 
Read the pledge after the jump

 
“THE S.W.E.A.T. PLEDGE”
(Skill & Work Ethic Aren’t Taboo)

1. I believe that I have won the greatest lottery of all time. I am alive. I walk the Earth. I live in America. Above all things, I am grateful.

2. I believe that I am entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Nothing more. I also understand that “happiness” and the “pursuit of happiness” are not the same thing.

3. I believe there is no such thing as a “bad job.” I believe that all jobs are opportunities, and it’s up to me to make the best of them.

4. I do not “follow my passion.” I bring it with me. I believe that any job can be done with passion and enthusiasm.

5. I deplore debt, and do all I can to avoid it. I would rather live in a tent and eat beans than borrow money to pay for a lifestyle I can’t afford.

6. I believe that my safety is my responsibility. I understand that being in “compliance” does not necessarily mean I’m out of danger.

7. I believe the best way to distinguish myself at work is to show up early, stay late, and cheerfully volunteer for every crappy task there is.

8. I believe the most annoying sounds in the world are whining and complaining. I will never make them. If I am unhappy in my work, I will either find a new job, or find a way to be happy.

9. I believe that my education is my responsibility, and absolutely critical to my success. I am resolved to learn as much as I can from whatever source is available to me. I will never stop learning, and understand that library cards are free.

10. I believe that I am a product of my choices – not my circumstances. I will never blame anyone for my shortcomings or the challenges I face. And I will never accept the credit for something I didn’t do.

11. I understand the world is not fair, and I’m OK with that. I do not resent the success of others.

12. I believe that all people are created equal. I also believe that all people make choices. Some choose to be lazy. Some choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Would it be amazing if people like Mike Rowe ran our government?

Instead we have the biggest pack of losers, crony grifters, pocket stuffers, and Paul Krugman ass-sniffers running our nation into the ground.

Icepick said...

Yeah, the other thing you need to run a mushroom farm, besides shade, is capital.

Capital to buy the land. Capital to buy the equipment. Capital to buy the supplies. Capital to pay your workers. Capital to get through the permitting process. Capital to pay the inspectors. Capital to pay the attorneys and accountants you'll need to pay because good luck wading through the tax laws and permitting laws yourself. Probably capital to join the Mushroom Growers Association to make certain that (a) they don't try to screw you by using the pols they've bought, and (b) to buy some pols for yourself. And all kinds of things I'm forgetting.

Shade and capital, yeah that's the ticket.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Number 8's a bitch.

Unknown said...

Rewarding bad behavior is what we do now. That's the American way.

I love that Mike Rowe is saying- "That's gotta stop".
I'll cynically add-- But why? Our political class, buttressed by our entertainment/media class, rewards unethical, corrupt, and criminal behavior all the live long day hiding behind cultish distractions like "the war on women" and The Redskins need a new name.

Unknown said...

"We are lending money we don't have to kids who can't pay it back to train them for jobs that no longer exist."

yep. and our political class want to force tax payers to pick up the tab. It's another green energy boondoggle.

Our March towards Greece is almost complete. How dare this Mike Rowe fella offer some common sense suggestions? Off with his head.

Chip Ahoy said...

#7 is a great one. Show up early, stay late, accept any crap they throw at you.

I worked with a woman who was like that naturally. Intern at first, then straight out of college. I don't know about early, but she sure did stay late. Analyst. Wrote speeches. She worked and worked and worked and worked, salaried, it did make a big difference. She was impressively astute. Whatever we talked about she had a knack for nailing the direct bull's eye center of discussion directly. Always went straight to the heart of the matter, any matter. She told me if calculated by the hour her wages were shit because she spent so much extra time at work while everybody else went home to their families, to their interests, she stayed slaving away resolving the shit they dumped on her.

She advanced rapidly, her acumen acknowledged.

Then on Christmas she got drunk at a FRB company party, did naughty things publicly shocking everyone, and became talk of the whole place, ended up divorcing her young husband, dated a V.P., they married, and she left in disgrace.

So that goes to show you ... something, something ... um .... work ethic ... something ... don't get drunk at company parties.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

No 11 is prob the hardest sell on the list.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

There's money to be made selling S.W.E.A.T. shirts, I should imagine.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

There's money to be made selling S.W.E.A.T.

Are you sure about that ;)