Dear intern, management trainee, rookie, young people,
Have you heard of the name Mr. Miyagi?
If you haven’t, then I think this is an opportunity for you to go and see the 1984 first instalment of “The Karate Kid” franchise. It is a classic! A story about Daniel LaRusso (played by Ralph Macchio) who was taught karate by Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese sensei (played by Pat Morita). In the movie, Daniel wanted Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate so bad after several beatings from a bully who knew karate and trained in a well-established dojo. Mr. Miyagi agreed to train him, took him to his place and the first instruction he gave him was to wash and wax the cars in his compound. His instructions were simple and specific.
Wax the car.
Wax on, right hand in circles (clockwise)
Wax off, left hand in circles (anti-clockwise)
Wax on, wax off
Breathe In
Breathe out
What does this have to do with learning karate?
Day 2
Daniel came so excited about learning karate but Mr. Miyagi gave him yet another set of instructions to sand the entire wooden floor he built. The instructions were similar to the first.
Sand the floor
Right circle (anti-clockwise)
Left circle (clockwise)
Breathe In
Breathe Out
Day 3
Mr. Miyagi instructed Daniel to paint the wooden fence in a specific manner.
Paint the fence
Wrist up
Wrist down
Long stroke
Bend the knee
Breathe in
Breathe out
Small board, left hand
Big board, right hand
On the fourth day, Daniel was instructed to paint the whole house, side to side.
He painted the house till late in the night and when he was almost done, Mr. Miyagi told him he missed a spot. Daniel was so furious that he snapped back at Mr. Miyagi. He felt he was been enslaved as against learning karate. He was about to leave in anger when Mr. Miyagi called him and ordered him to demonstrate how to wax the car, sand the floor, paint the fence and paint the house.
Little did Daniel know that those demonstrations were the defensive basics of karate that he needed to learn first.
Please, understand that some of your direct reports, supervisors, superiors, mentors know some things you have no knowledge of. So, when they give you some type of instructions, those instructions might be the basics and foundation you need to build a great career on.
In 2000/2001, I went to learn how to make handmade greeting cards, my bosses would instruct me to paint walls. Fast forward to 2011 when I got my first job as an Art Director, I was instructed to design almanacs, posters, FAs and I did it for a year. Well, the rest is history!
Laying that solid foundation for your career is a hard job and it could come with its frustrations but it is relatively for a short period. This would keep happening in phases as you grow in your career and life from one level to another. Serve faithfully and to the best of your abilities because it is going to payoff someday.
Your dreams are valid!
Image courtesy: Columbia Pictures