I’m not an educated man, at least not in the traditional sense- I did finish high school, not quite barely, but certainly not as valedictorian. I wasn’t even on the honor roll. Not because I’m not smart enough, but more because school bored the snot out of me. I could write a book about why I think the school system is broken, and how it isn’t meant for people like me, but that will be a book when I finally “make it.” Getting there, but not there yet.
My 2 attempts at getting a degree also failed. The first time, right after high school, was a complete waste of time and money. I made it through a semester, and then went and started working in a restaurant. I learned a lot while there, and am grateful for the opportunity it afforded me. My second attempt came later, after I had matured a bit, been knocked around a bit, and appreciated the need a lot more. I was a straight “A” student the second time, and made it to within a few credits of an Associates Degree before dropping out one more time.
Since then, I became a carpet cleaner. That doesn’t sound exciting or all that difficult, and in many respects, it’s not that difficult. Did you know, though, that there is some pretty serious training available to carpet cleaners? There is an entire organization, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) that is dedicated to educating cleaners. Because, contrary to popular belief, it is harder than you might think. There is a lot to know about cleaning- nylon carpet is one thing, but a linen couch is something totally different.
I took my first IICRC class in 2008, learning to clean upholstery. Since then, I have taken several courses. Most of them have been, admittedly, in the last 4 months or so. I’ve travelled to Las Vegas, NV; then to Phoenix, AZ; and then to Riverside, CA. I took a public speaking class in Salt Lake City, UT. Right now, I am sitting in a hotel room in Dallas, TX taking a class on washing oriental rugs. I’m in the process of learning how to fly a plane. And in a few weeks, I’ll take my oldest daughter and learn how to better dye rugs (this is actually called color correction).
And I’m struck, with every class I take, everything I learn, how much I thought I knew that I don’t know. Today I was taught an important lesson- I don’t know as much as I thought I did. And to top it off, the people teaching me how much I don’t know, know they don’t know everything, and are continuing to take classes to learn how to better clean rugs.
I saw a meme or a picture somewhere today, and it said something like “Find something new to be bad at.” Well, today I found out I’m bad at rug identification. I found out a couple days ago I’m bad at landing airplanes (though I came really close the last time I tried). I’m worried that when I go to my next class I’ll find out how much I don’t know about color correction. On the other hand, it gives me something new to learn and to turn my strengths into weaknesses. Hopefully, I’ll learn quickly… especially when it comes to landing planes.
DaveGrigsby.com 