Working in a sweet shop in Tonbridge helped Dame Kelly Holmes develop the willpower that led to Olympic gold
I had quite a few jobs when I was younger. I couldn't rely on pocket money so I had to get out there and do it myself. My main job was working in a sweet shop in Tonbridge, Kent, where I grew up. I did a newspaper round for the same shop, too.
It was one of those shops that had massive jars of sweets on the shelves, the sort you don't seem to see any more. You had the penny sweets and the halfpenny sweets and then all the jars. I've got the worst sweet tooth ever, so I was in my absolute element. Aniseed twists, strawberry bonbons, winter mixture ? you name it, I probably scoffed it.
There were only two of us there on Saturdays, me and a lady called Carol. For a while, we both kept attacking the sweets, but eventually we got to the point where we thought up this challenge to see who could stop eating them for the longest. I can't say I was overly keen on the idea at the time, but I think Carol wanted to lose a bit of weight and had more motivation.
Carol gave up after about two months, but I ended up abstaining for one whole year ? not a single sweet touched my lips! It became my own personal challenge. I wanted to beat her, anyway, but it also made me realise how strong-willed I could be when I put my mind to something.
That job taught me a lot about communicating with people, being on time, dealing with money and about responsibility and the trust people put in you. Through my charity, the DKH Legacy Trust, I've recently launched On Track, a project working with kids not in education, employment or training. They often need to learn social skills, discipline, trust and respect. I talk to them about what having a Saturday job meant to me ? how things like that can help you grow as a person.
I also used to wash cars and windows around my council estate to get extra money, and go shopping for old people. Or when it snowed, I'd clear people's drives and they used to throw out 50ps and chocolate bars for me.
I was always the kind of person who wanted to help others or do things ? it made me grow up a bit, as well. It didn't always pay much, but helping in your community can be a big thing that people remember later on.
Dame Kelly Holmes's DKH Legacy Trust is staging careers events for young footballers with the League of Football Education. She was talking to Graham Snowdon
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/apr/30/kelly-holmes-my-saturday-job
Financial Services Authority (FSA) Small business Cheryl Cole Pakistan cricket team The Archers Wigan Athletic
No comments:
Post a Comment