You Can Learn From Anyone

Career thoughts from a steelworker, stonemason, and historian

“You’re like a modern day Studs Terkel,” my mom said.

“Who?!” I replied. “You mean Spuds MacKenzie!?” I had no idea who she was talking about.

After listening to a podcast episode, she associated me with the late, great writer of Working, a oral history about work. Former POTUS, Barack Obama recently released a Netflix documentary called Working: What We Do All Day. He was inspired by Studs Terkel.

Like any curious adventurer, I bought Studs’s book. Studs collected the stories of people across the work universe. He interviewed policemen, bank tellers, marketing execs, hookers, financiers, salespeople, athletes, and more. Some jobs exuded adventure, while others we might label as mundane.

The book is fascinating. There aren’t many places you can find insights from people of all walks of life. To me, the opportunity to learn from those I don’t naturally connect with daily has been especially insightful. Many of the things they said revolve around the importance of pride, dreams, boredom, making a mark, and restlessness.

Insights from a Stonemason, a Steelworker, and Studs

I found five quotes from a stonemason (i.e. - Carl Murray Bates), a steelworker (i.e. - Mike LeFevre), and Studs to be especially interesting. They can help all of us as we forge our own unique paths.

On Pride…

The steelworker talked about his desire to list all the people who worked on buildings like the Empire State directly on the structure. Doing so would provide a powerful tool for them to share with family. He said…

“When a guy walked by, he could take his son and say, ‘See, that’s me over there on the forty-fifth floor. I put the steel beam in.’ Picasso can point to a painting. What can I point to? A writer can point to a book. Everybody should have something to point to.”

What can you point to? We all need “career trophies.” It isn’t about being better than someone else. It’s about being proud of something you’ve put your blood, sweat, and tears into. It’s about showing those you care about what you do or have done.

On Dreams…

The stonemason reflected on his life apprenticing during the Great Depression, admiring weathered stone layers, and adapting with construction automation. He encouraged his kids to seek other fields like accounting and banking. Yet, he dreamed of stone.

“Stone’s my life. I daydream all the time, most times it’s on stone. Oh, I’m gonna build me a stone cabin down on the Green River. I’m gonna build stone cabinets in the kitchen…All my dreams, it seems like it’s got to have a piece of rock mixed in it.”

What dominates your dreams, whether you are awake or asleep? I dream of writing and manifesting ideas from thin air. We each have passions that whisper to us until we embrace them or die.

On Boredom…

The steelworker was proud of things he had built, yet he wished for another life. On Sunday nights he wished he did something else for a living. But, he didn’t think it was because of being a steelworker. He said anyone would get bored if they do the same thing everyday.

“But what if he had to create this Sistine Chapel a thousand times a year? Don’t you think that would even dull Michelangelo’s mind? Or if da Vinci had to draw his anatomical charts thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, eighty, ninety, a hundred times a day? Don’t you think that would even bore da Vinci?”

Are you bored? If so, what are you doing to change that? We all must embrace “the mundane”, but if it becomes pure boredom all the time, you better build a new plan.

On Leaving Your Mark…

The stonemason’s work was etched into his mind daily. He could literally see the houses he built. Many of the things he’d build would last lifetimes! This likely makes it easier to know you’re making a mark.

“I can’t imagine a job where you go home and maybe go by a year later and you don’t know what you’ve done…All my work is set right out there in the open and I can look at it as I go by. It’s something I can see the rest of my life”

How are you leaving your mark? Not all of us are as fortunate as a stonemason, who see’s the structures he builds. Yet, we should ask if we’re making a mark that someone uses. Your mark could be in writing lines of code for a video game or putting the finishing touches on a great novel. Connect what you do to something you can see or even touch.

On Restlessness…

Studs Turkel conducted hundreds of interviews across the US. After doing so, he noticed that we all need new ways of doing things. This isn’t limited to the young. We become restless because of how we work and are treated at work daily.

“It isn’t the calendar age that determines a man’s restlessness. It is daily circumstance, an awareness of being hurt, and an inordinate hunger for another way.”

Are you restless? Maybe you can’t sleep at night. Or, maybe you feel a constant itch to explore something new. What’s stopping you?

Hundreds of Timeless Perspectives

These are just a few quotes from two workers. There’s more. Studs interviewed hundreds of people from minimum wage laborers to senior executives. Their stories offer insights not only to what their jobs entail but how they feel.

Buy the book. Read the stories. You’ll become more empathetic. You’ll be encouraged to consider another way. Even though “modern” jobs like AI Engineer, UX Developer, or Influencer aren’t featured, you’ll likely find analogous stories to enjoy.

Plus, use these five questions for your own career or to help guide the careers of others. Without building pride, exploring dreams, minimizing boredom, and leaving a mark, we all become restless. It’s only a matter of time.

Thanks for reading!

Paul G. Fisher