There’s this kid named Eugene, probably around 17-18ish, who works at the CVS next to my building. We see each other PROBABLY on a daily basis. (CVS is my go-to for a chocolate fix.) Up until a week ago, Eugene and I had a routine. I’d walk in, he’d smile and wave and say “YOU’RE BACK!!!”. I’d say “CHOCOLAAAAAAT!!!”…and I’d head towards the snack isle.
After I’d picked my snack or drink of choice, I’d head over to the register line and wait to be checked out. As I made my way, slow step by slow step, towards the register…it was inevitable that I’d hear Eugene repeating SOME silly joke he’d heard, asking some general question about the use of a product “Have a clogged drain, huh?? THAT SUCKS!!” or teasing a customer about some inside joke they shared.
As a customer, I never felt rushed…but I never felt held up either. Eugene was a bright spot in a generally busy and quiet day.
Yesterday, I walked into CVS and Eugene was standing at his normal spot behind the register at the front. We made eye contact…and without smiling Eugene said “Welcome to CVS.”
I thought it was weird, but assumed he was simply having “one of those days”. I made my way to the drink aisle, grabbed a water and headed back up to the front.
There was a customer in front of me, so I waited patiently, listening to their back and forth.
“Hey there. How are you doing today?”, Eugene asked in a voice that seemed…well…sad.
“Fine.” The customer placed her knee bandage and kitchen sponges on the counter and shifted to the credit card payment machine.
“Would you like a bag?” Eugene asked.
“Yes, please.”
Eugene complied. Within a minute, the woman had her bag of life necessities and was gone.
As I had stood there, a line of 6 or 7 new customers had formed behind me. I replaced the earlier customer in front of Eugene and placed my bottle of water on the counter.
“Hey Eugene!! How’s it going!?” I said with a big smile…knowing we’d have a short, but enthusiastic conversation about daily life.
“Good. Just trying to keep the line moving. Keeping conversation to a minimum.” He smiled, to let me know it wasn’t anything I’d done. He was simply following store policy.
“Thanks. Have a great rest of your evening…” I said, giving him a “you got this” smile as I grabbed my water and walked towards out the door.
Eugene was being pushed down by “the man”.
So, why did I tell you this story? As I walked back to my apartment, I realized that Eugene had made me more sad than I had been in a long time. This poor kid, who’d always been so happy and welcoming, seemed to be going through that inevitable moment in a 9-5, when you get wrangled in and pushed into place like a peg in a board.
I don’t know if he’ll pull through…I just know that there are three ways he will potentially go. Maybe he’ll spend the rest of his life working jobs that check his personality, and tell him to “take it down a notch”. Maybe he’ll FINALLY find a job that allows him to do what he loves and work under someone who can use his wonderfully outgoing personality. OR…maybe he’ll fall in love with a business idea and forge his own path in the world of endless possibilities.
No matter which path he chooses, I hope he finds happiness with what he does. I hope he doesn’t settle.
Most of us have already been through what Eugene is going through. We’ve been teenagers. We’ve worked at Radio Shack, Toys R’ Us or Burger King. We’ve hated our bosses. Had drinks with our co-workers. And been forced to watch hours of cheesy training videos recorded in the 90’s.
We are adults now with passions and goals, and we are DETERMINED to spend our lives doing what we love…not being forced into a little box, pre-decorated by corporate. We are in a scary place…but SUCH a great one. Corporate couldn’t PAY me enough to give this up.
On March 21st - 23rd, I’m participating in the Ladyboss Breakthrough Summit. It’s three days DEDICATED to breaking down the areas of business YOU are struggling with most!
From Branding to Traffic Creation to Podcasting and Social Media…this summit has EVERYTHING you’ll need in 2017 to make sure you are living a balanced business life. The 20+ speakers are there to make sure you have the knowledge to take your business from a passion to a passionate reality.
The Deets:
Who’s going to be there and what are they going to be speaking on? There are too many speakers for me to list…but here are a just few of the speakers I’M excited to watch!!!
Sam Bell, from Brand It Girl and our hostess with the mostest, will be giving you a TOP SECRET document to completely transform your brand.
Kayla Butler, the social media guru from Ivory Mix is going to be tackling list growth using her 30 day Instagram plan!!
Caitlin Johnson (OMG I am so excited for this one) will be going over How to Simply…GET IT DONE!!! I am so addicted to productivity hacks, it’s ridiculous.
Mallika Malhotra from Miki Foto is going to talk all about Story Telling (SO FREAKING IMPORTANT!!!) and the five stories you should ABSOLUTELY be telling in your own business!
I’m not going to lie….I’m excited to watch ALL of these 20 amazing talks!!! I freakin’ NEW 2017 was going to be amazing…and this proves it!!!
So, how can you get in on the deal?
Simple!!!! The summit is completely free, so click this link to sign up!! BUUUUUUUUUT…..with 20+ “must know” speakers and over 25+ hours of “must know” business BOOMING information, there is a really good chance you might have to miss a few of the classes!
🙁 <— Sad face.
So, Sam is releasing EVERY. SINGLE. CLASS. for $29 (that price goes up to $49 on March 21st!!).
You’ll get:
Access to every summit class
1 FREE month of Membership to Sam’s Brand It Boutique
a 30 minute coaching call with Sam (for the first 30 to sign up ONLY!)
a Digital Copy of my NEW book “Challenge to Profit: Launching Your First Profitable Blog Challenge”
and the Summit Kit with all of the goodies each of us speakers are providing!!
HOLY GOODIES, BATMAN!!!!!!
SO…needless to say this is NOT something you’ll want to miss!! Click the image above to grab your spot or grab ALL THE THINGS or $29!!! I can’t wait to see you all there!
What a sad story about Eugene! I know exactly how it feels to be diminished to another robot in the corporate machine. That is why I am determined to grow my blog into a full-time gig! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Poor Eugene 🙁 ugh, he probably got in trouble. Managers always trying to dull our sparkle but there’s no fun in being ordinary. Thanks for letting me know about the summit! It’s gonna be aweeesomeeee!