(AFA - 2009)The Car Washer Who Became An Executive

(AFA - 2009)

The Car Washer Who Became An Executive

Robert L. Johnson is the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of BET. Black Entertainment Television, a cable TV channel in the United States, BET specializes in producing programs for the African-American community.

Read what this successful executive says about his first job.

“I ________ in Freeport, Illinois. My first job was at the local carwash. I ________ sixteen years old. I ________ every day, all summer, for a dollar an hour. I worked with ten other [10] guys. All of us ________from different racial, religious and economic backgrounds. We had to clean cars in teams, and we quickly learned to work together.

I learned the better¹ way to become indispensable: you know how to do all aspects of your² job. At the carwash, ‘all aspects’ included vacuuming the interior, scrubbing whitewalls and polishing chrome until it shined. Sixteen years later, when I started my own business, I again had to know how to do every job in the company – advertising, marketing, producing and negotiation contracts.

Working at the carwash taught me that there is a direct connection between work and a feeling of self-esteem. Young people who refuse jobs that they consider inferior or low-paying are only hurting themselves³. As long as you do your best, every job is a learning experience and a step to a better⁴ job.” 

(Adapted from Reader’s Digest, January, 1999)

Mark the option which ISN’T applied correctly in the text.