My first job was a cashier at Hardee’s. My boss’ name was Gil and I can see his face in my mind like it was yesterday. Gil had a nickname for me, “Youthful Exuberance.” Pretty big word for a fast food chain assistant manager, but it had an effect on me. Every day when I bounded into the restaurant after school, eager and ready to start my three-hour shift, Gil would say, “There she is youthful exuberance, everyone out of her way.” I wasn’t sure exactly what exuberant meant and we didn’t have Google back then to search it, but I knew it was a compliment.
Gil’s label stuck with me. With my high energy and enthusiastic attitude, I darn near raised my hand to volunteer for any task. When I interned at a small network television station my exuberance gained me the confidence of the assignment editor and before you knew it I was lugging TV cameras (film back then) to stories and getting some on-camera time at only 18 years-old. They loved my high energy and “can do” attitude. I learned quickly that exuberance took me places. It ended up being the key to my success.
Continue reading →