hear in response, “Oh that is too much hassle,” or “I only want to do what I am interested
To the statement of “It's too much of a hassle,” I ask, “So you
would ; rather work all your life giving 50 percent of what you earn to the government'” To the
other statement-“I only do what I am interested in”-I say, “I'm not interested in going to the
gym,
but
I
go
because
I
want
to
feel
better
and
live
longer.”
>Unfortunately, there is some truth to the old statement “You can't teach an
old dog new tricks.” Unless a person is used to changing, it's hard to change.
>But for those of you who might be on the fence when it comes to the idea of
working to learn something new, I offer this word of encouragement: Life is much like going to
the gym. The most painful part is deciding to go. Once you get past that, it's easy. There have
been many days I have dreaded going to the gym, but once I am there and in motion, it is a
pleasure. After the workout is over, I am always glad I talked myself into going.
>If you are unwilling to work to learn something new and insist on, instead,
becoming highly specialized within your field, make sure the company you work for is unionized.
Labor unions are designed to protect specialists.
My educated dad,
after falling from grace with the governor, became the head of the teachers union in Hawaii. He
told me that it was the hardest job he ever held. My rich dad, on the other hand, spent his life
doing his best to keep his companies from becoming unionized. He was successful. Although
the unions came close, rich dad was always able to fight them off.
>Personally, I take no sides because I can see the need for and the benefits of
both sides. If you do as school recommends, become highly specialized, then seek union
protection. For example, had I continued on with my flying career, I would have sought a
company that had a strong pilots union. Why? Because my life would be dedicated to learn a
skill that was valuable in only one industry. If I were pushed out of that industry, my life's skills
would not be as valuable to another industry. A displaced senior pilot-with 100,000 hours of
heavy airline transport time, earning $150,000 a year-would have a hard time finding an
equivalent high-paying job in school teaching. The skills do not necessarily transfer from industry
to industry, because the skills the pilots are paid for in the airline industry are not as important
in, say, the school system.
The same is true even for doctors today.
With all the changes in medicine, many medical specialists are needing to conform to medical
organizations such as HMO's. Schoolteachers definitely need to be union members. Today in