The Loss of the Entrepreneurial Spirit

Perhaps it is because I grew up idolizing "self-made" men and women rather than the current sport figure or rock star of the month. I have always looked to the entrepreneurs before me for inspiration even as a kid. Now, I'm not a kid anymore which was driven home quite clearly when I had to buy new jeans and found that my waist size was now a larger number than my inseam. I'm sure that tragedy will make for another post, but not this one.

However, this past week or so that I have spent in dandelion hell has made me aware of a few things that I just can't seem to explain to myself. You see, when I was a teenager (12 to 15 years old anyway), I was definitely the little entrepreneur. I wasn't setting up lemonade stands or anything like that, but I found out quite early that I could trade my labor for money for many of my neighbors. And there was no shortage of neighbors just north of Denver Colorado where I grew up that were perfectly happy to pay me to do a job they didn't want to do or have time to do. Things like shoveling snow in the winter and weeding and mowing lawns through the spring and summer. Nothing major, but it worked for everyone involved. I got some extra spending money for when I was in California, and they got the "chores" done.

Now, I live in a neighborhood that at this time has no shortage of teen aged boys in it. Any one of whom I would have been more than willing to hand a twenty dollar bill to for pulling the dandelions out of the front yard. It would have taken them a good afternoon, but I would have supplied the tools and probably even would have helped them along the way. Or, if dandelions aren't their cup of tea, I would still be more than willing to hire on of the neighbor kids to come mow the lawn (the front at least), with my mower and gas even. The trouble is, out of the half dozen kids that I would have thought would be up for doing this, none of them shows the least bit of initiative in wanting to do it by coming to ask about it. I find it odd, especially considering the way I was as a kid.

At that age, I was quite content to do the work for money rather than idling my time away. Sure, I missed a couple of weekend afternoons with my friends, but I routinely missed two and a half months of those same afternoons anyway. It wasn't that I needed the money either. I spent all my summers with my grandparents who quite frankly spoiled me. Anything I wanted all I had to do was basically ask. But it was nice to know that I could buy some things on my own, with my own money, and not have to "ask" someone for them. This is something that I don't see anymore, at least with the kids around here. Maybe it is because McDonald's pays damn near ten bucks an hour here for doing little. Maybe it is a shift in our society in general. I don't know. But I know as a kid, I would have been asking if I needed some help and getting paid, while the adult side of me would have been more than willing to pay.