When I was about 9 years old, a neighbor tricked me into learning about hard work.
On a hot summer day, my friend, Robert, invited me to go in his pool. Not many people in my hometown of Malverne, New York had swimming pools. Robert’s family had an above-ground pool that dominated their small backyard.
I arrived, towel in hand, only to learn that before we got to swim, we had to clean the outside of the pool. Robert’s father handed me a spray bottle and a rag and put me to work. OK, I had to earn the swim. I could deal with that. The problem was when I wiped the pool wall, the dirt did not come off.
“Mr. Quinn,” I said. “It’s not working.”
He took the rag from me and scrubbed a dirty spot clean. “There, John. You just have to use a little elbow grease.”
I looked at the rag, and then at Mr. Quinn. “Where is that?”
“What?” he asked.
“The elbow grease?”
Mr. Quinn tapped my arm. “Right there,” he said. “Elbow grease means putting some effort into the work to get it done.”
I started using elbow grease but, as you’d expect, 9-year-old boys don’t have a large quantity of elbow grease. They become impatient when a cold pool is waiting. Robert and my complaints eventually wore Mr. Quinn down, and we got to swim.
Still, I never forgot that lesson. Throughout my career I have always tried to keep a big bucket of elbow grease to work through my greatest challenges. Talent and intelligence alone will not bring success. We also have to be ready to do the hard work.
