Ashton Kutcher on opportunities

Not seen this before but a great speech by Ashton Kutcher at the Teen Choice Awards last year. School principals should read these words out at school assemblies. The key part:

I believe that opportunity looks a lot like hard work. When I was 13 I had my first job with my Dad carrying shingles up to the roof, and then I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant, and then I got a job in a grocery store deli, and then I got a job in a factory sweeping Cheerio dust off the ground. And I’ve never had a job in my life that I was better than. I was always just lucky to have a job, and every job I had was a stepping stone to my next job and I never quit my job until I had my next job. And so opportunities look a lot like work.

I so absolutely subscribe to that. I’ve appreciated all my jobs. I was a paper boy. I worked in a dairy. I swept floors and emptied bins at Woolworths. I worked on a till. I was a receptionist at a medical centre. I was a kitchen hand. I was a secretary to a group of psychologists. I helped at specimen reception in a medical lab. I was an administrative assistant. Every job has been appreciated, and was an opportunity.