‎"From Paperboy to Boomer" is a 64-page quick-read that is an illustrated paperback, and tells the stories about the 10 Skill Sets we all learned as kids.   It describes work standards, people practices, business basics, and leadership skills that we Boomers learned while we were only 13 & 14 years old, and defines the foundation of the Boomer Work Ethic: Self-discipline, self-initiative, and self-motivation! I've started this blog to accompany my new book, and want to hear your stories of the lessons you learned while you delivered newspapers and mowed yards.   My book also includes a "Tool Kit" appendix for business owners to use to interview, train, and evaluate their employees, based on the 10 Skill Sets. The website for the book is BoomersBook.Biz and on Facebook at "Boomers Book."  The new book was released by Dementi Milestone Publishing in September 2011. This blog will be the starting point for lots of memories and stories for you to continue telling.  Let's start collecting our thoughts and maybe it will become the follow-up book!

The Paper Stop

       On Sunday mornings, all the paperboys in the neighborhoods would gather before sunrise at the "Paper Stop" to unpack all the bundles of the big Sunday paper.  It came in 2 sections that we had to put together before it hit the porches! We had a choice: We could put them together at the "Paper Stop" or we could put them together as we rode our bikes from house to house.  The first option took extra time before we began our delivery.  The second option meant we could pack them up in our baskets, and combine them one at a time, as we rode our bikes while put together the bundles on the handlebars! We used dexterity, hustle, and planning as we rode our bikes on our Sunday route to get all the papers delivered on time.  As business owners of our paper routes, we learned to manage our time, systems, and cash flow while we were just 13 and 14 years old!

Sweat and Perseverance

The hardest lawn I ever had to mow was Mrs. Tierney's yard on Pine Lane in the Briarwood neighborhood.  I remember it felt like acres and acres of thick green grass (but it was probably less than an acre in reality). I especially recall one hot, humid day in the middle of summer, when I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish mowing the yard.  You see, this huge yard had no trees in the front of the house, which meant no shade, no landscaping curves, and nothing to break the long rows of pushing the lawn mower.  There was just the one long sidewalk down the middle of the yard, all the way to the street.  And lots of neverending grass that was very thick, very tall, and it made the lawn mower cut out too many times on that hot, humid day!  I was sweating to death, but I knew that if I quit, I'd still have to come back and finish another day, which meant I wouldn't get paid immediately. There was something about getting paid right after you ended the job that made you persevere and persist to the end.  Getting paid for when the job's complete sure develops self-motivation and self-initiative in a little kid, unlike other types of job. And that work ethic instilled into me that day pushed me to finish the lawn, get paid, push the lawn mower home, and go get a shower... at least I think I took a shower!!