What I Learned Scooping Ice Cream @BaskinRobbins

When I was 16, I was, you might say, a little chubby.

So getting my first official job as an after-school ice cream scooper at Baskin Robbins presented a significant challenge. I already knew about slippery slopes and ice cream was one for me!

But I needed the money to pay for my car, I wanted to work, and the store was really close to my house in Sherman Oaks, California.

So I made a promise to myself:

“I will not eat one bite of ice cream — not one — for as long as I work at Baskin Robbins!”

And it worked! Every time I wanted a bite, especially at closing time, I just said, “No,” to myself.

That was the beginning of a self discipline that has carried me into adulthood (and probably accounts for the 7 books I’ve written too). So here’s one thing I’ve learned:

Unless you are disciplined at cultivating self discipline, success as a self employed person is not only fleeting, it also feels tenuous and not within your control.

If you want to control your career, you must be in command of yourself. That, to me, is the essence of self discipline.

No procrastinating what you say you really want to do, no impulsive trips to the fridge.

So here are the 3 simple self discipline tips that work for me every day.

1. Get up early.
2. Work on your own business first thing.
3. When you’re ready to move on to client work, do one more thing for yourself.

(To help instill this morning habit of self discipline to work “on” your business, I plan to lead a 5-day challenge this Fall. Everyone who receives my Quick Tips will get details as soon as they’re announced.)

BTW, this was triggered by a strange trending hashtag recently on Twitter: #firstsevenjobs — so here’s my list (which I’ve also expanded with “lessons learned” for each one below). (Post yours and tag me @ilisebenun at the end):

1. babysitter
2. receptionist
3. ice cream scooper
4. frozen yogurt purveyor
5. waitress
6. personal assistant
7. assistant chef

“Those seven job titles tell a story of perseverance, which is especially important for entrepreneurs who may be misguided in thinking that they will be an overnight success”.

That’s a quote from an analysis by @LeahEichler in The Globe & Mail of how this hashtag went a little viral and why.

Here’s my annotated version of the list…with the essential lessons I learned at each of those first jobs.

1. babysitter: this is where I tried to learn how to be responsible but I was a really bad babysitter — mostly watched TV and ate their food.
2. receptionist: this is where I learned to be professional — by faking it. I was hired to answer the phone at my parents’ factory. I loved working the switchboard and pretending to be older than I was.
3. ice cream scooper: no question, this is where I learned self discipline — see above!
4. frozen yogurt purveyor: this is where I learned punctuality. It was the beginning of the frozen yogurt craze and the store was in swanky Beverly Hills. I had to get there on time after school and sometimes during free periods.
5. waitress: this is how I learned to be organized and developed my memory. I loved waitressing and worked in many different restaurants from ages 16–26. I especially relished the challenge of keeping track of everyone’s order, making nice with the kitchen staff to get what I needed for my customers, not to mention the instant gratification of good tips when I did a good job.
6. personal assistant: this is was tricky for me because I liked being in charge. So while I was good at anticipating the needs of my boss, I secretly wanted to be the boss and sometimes it showed.
7. assistant chef: this is where I learned to cook! And of all the jobs and learning experiences, this was the one where I wasn’t figuring it out for myself. The chef was teaching me. That was a pleasure.

I do wish I had taken better advantage of the teachers and mentors who were available to me early on. I think it would have made a huge difference and I would have gotten further faster. But, alas, that is not what I did. So I’m trying to make up for it now.