When my father was a teenager in Poland, he made shoes. He would take his horse-and-buggy and go from town to town getting orders for shoes. He would then go home and make the shoes from scratch. Once he came to America, he worked in shoe factories for his entire life. After decades of work, he retired.

After being home a few years, his brother, also a shoe maker, told him about a job offer. They both agreed to help a young factory owner and went back to work as shoe operators. Operators were the workers who worked on sewing machines making leather shoes. The other operators were young men, mainly Hispanic, who were making minimum wages.

My father and uncle worked for a couple of years and decided that the travel was getting to them. Getting up at five in the morning was too much for them. The problem was that they felt funny about quitting. Their old fashioned sense of loyalty made it difficult to tell the boss that they wanted to retire…again. So…they came up with a plan. Instead of quitting, they decided to ask for a raise that they knew the boss would not agree to because they were asking for a 30% raise. My father went in to speak to the boss. He came out with a 30% raise!

Another six months went by and they really wanted to stop working. They asked for another raise. Again, they got the raise. Now they were making about 60% more than the workers who were doing the same work!

After about three months, you guessed it, they asked for another raise. They really, really wanted to stop working. Again, they got the raise. Now, they were earning twice what the other workers were making!

Within a few months they finally quit! The travel finally got to them.

At about this point, I asked my father why he got the raises. He smiled and said, “When they needed to make a new shoe style, I was the only one who could make the sample, without a form.” His experience in Poland, fifty years before, was the reason he was worth the pay.

You never know … when your education and experience will pay off … big.