It makes me smile as I drive through my neighborhood and see the incredibly dedicated moms and dads sending their precious children off to school. It’s heartwarming taking in the joyful anticipation of my granddaughters preparing for that first day of school. They seem so ready and so confident about what’s ahead.
I must admit I never shared that same exuberance. Oh, I loved seeing my friends on that first day and was anxious to put on new shoes or an outfit that my mom got me to start off the year. But my excitement basically peaked at 3 p.m. on day one. I loved the classmates, the sports, the recess, and the lunchroom, but beyond that, it was a challenge. I was the poster child for ADHD … before there was ADHD.
I find my mind drifting as I drive on from the Norman Rockwell-like neighborhood scenes of kids getting on the school bus to thinking about education. I have a lot of friends and family who are dedicated educators, and I have so much respect for what they do. Teaching today is not for the faint of heart.
When I was young, teachers were so revered, and their authority was not questioned. If I had a run-in with a teacher, it had better have been for a very good reason. The problem was, in my dad’s eye, there was never a very good reason. Or if I ever got an F in the old school category “citizenship,” look out. No way was he concerned about some injustice that might have occurred to his precious son. He had seven kids to raise, and your job was to make it right when you walked outside the front door.
I often wonder with such limited education, how was I ever able to head up one of the largest chambers of commerce in the nation, host a WFMZ-TV show for 22 years, be on iHeartRadio for almost 40 years, and have the ability to write a column for a daily, iconic newspaper that reliably followed me throughout my entire life.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not bragging in any way, shape or form. Actually, quite the contrary. As I mentioned before, my self-esteem is mercurial at best. Regardless of what I accomplish, the successes don’t seem to register quite as high as maybe they should. I always feel the need to do better and ready myself for the next shoe to drop. When people ask me how things are going professionally, I kiddingly say, “So well that even I’m starting to believe in myself.”
I came from the era and culture where humility was required. Maybe so much so that there were missed opportunities. I think we all agree that self-confidence can take you very far in this world. Confident people tend to take chances and remove obstacles that the less confident don’t. But arrogance can do harm, and sometimes I think today we may have just a bit too much of it.
Give me the successful types who humbly and gratefully push forward, fully aware of their success and count it as blessings or a lot of luck. Meanwhile, we’re all aware that it was hard work and thoughtful decisions that drove them to the top.
So, back to the first day of school. To me, it signifies the end of one of God’s greatest inventions: summer. Summers, back when I was a child, were so free, and the surfer sounds of The Beach Boys music reflected it. The lazy-day outdoor-grilled food celebrated it, and the happy family picnics rejoiced in it. Don’t get me wrong. Today’s gas grills are absolutely amazing, but there is nothing that comes close to the nostalgic scent of a charcoal grill cooking delicious hotdogs and hamburgers.
Summer meant jumping on my beautiful Schwinn bicycle that I got for my 10th birthday. That bike opened my world to neighborhoods that previously were beyond my reach. I loved that bike, and I rode it to the playground in the morning, the Cedar Beach swimming pool in the afternoon, and the many community playground festivals in the evening.
That is until I parked it in our driveway directly behind my dad’s car and he ran it over. Staring at my mangled bicycle, my dad just shook his head because I had a way of destroying most of anything that he paid hard-earned money for. It’s not that I didn’t totally respect my dad and appreciate the things I had. According to my dad, it was just “Tony being Tony.” While he was not happy, given the chaos of a house full of kids, he would get over it pretty quickly. He had a full plate, and I loved him for it.
Fortunately, I learned there’s a lot of education outside the walls of schools. I’m in awe and have tremendous respect for our doctors and lawyers and the well-educated people that fill this Valley. I hold all of you brilliant types with master’s and doctoral degrees in the highest regard. You fascinate me, and I’m filled with respect given your brilliance.
But for some reason, God decided that wasn’t my path, and I had to really begin my education later than most. Don’t get me wrong. I learned the basics for sure in school, but it was in my work life that I really got educated. You know the old saying, “I obtained a master’s in disasters.”
Watching my father’s business fail, I learned about forward thinking, reinvention, and staying ahead of the competition. During my next job at Mack Trucks, I learned about getting along with varied types of tough, strong-willed people. Guys I would stand next to putting parts on 53 trucks a day. It took teamwork to assemble those impressive machines, and I marveled as the beautiful, sturdy finished product rolled off the assembly line.
Once again, the short attention span kicked in, and I often did more talking than assembling. A very tough supervisor came to me one day with a cigarette in hand and said, “Tony, maybe you should get a job using your mouth instead of your hands.”
I took his advice and was off to the world of real estate where I learned to decipher what buyers wanted and to sell without being a salesman. I went from T-shirts and well-worn work boots to three-piece suits and a Chevrolet Caprice Classic. I was in the big time, professional guy heaven. Not to mention, I was making some real money. Not today’s kind of money but not too shabby for the ’70s.
My love and passion for this community and its main streets seemed to be calling. In my heart, I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to see if I could play a part in saving our struggling downtowns that were in such peril in the 80s and 90s. So, I was off to several organizations like the Allentown Economic Development Corporation and others to embark on a mission deep in my heart.
That led me to a job that 40 years ago, in my mind, was totally unreachable. President of Chamber of Commerce. Really, God? I think you may have picked the wrong guy! I appreciate every single day. A life with more opportunity and more excitement than I’d ever imagined. I’ve been in the company of and interviewed presidents, secretaries of state, business tycoons, and just all-around incredible human beings.
I share this because if a flawed, uncertain kid like me could find his way, then I know you can too. I was voted most likely NOT to succeed. Success isn’t reserved for the perfect, it’s built by those who relentlessly keep getting back up.
But it does take a lot of hard work, which I learned from my dad, and a good measure of luck or blessings depending on how you look at it. And I encountered so many incredibly successful types who, for some reason, took interest in me and lifted me up when I needed it most. And believe me, I needed a lot of lifting up over the years.
So, for all you success seekers, keep plugging along, keep bouncing off human beings, and keep crawling back up when you’re knocked down. If and when you achieve a measure of success, be thankful.
As I mentioned before, I’m not the poster child for the religious movement, but I stumbled upon a biblical quote years ago that I live by. It reads, “Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand that he may lift you up in his time.” So, I’ve been lifted up and, in some cases, dropped down. Maybe down further than I ever thought I could handle, but we thankfully crawl back up and march on.
So, in the next couple of weeks when you take that last breath full of fresh summer air, know that life can be good, and if you catch a couple breaks, real good. If you get to whatever you view as success, remember who lifted you up and that we should feel obligated to do the same. Don’t forget, to much is given, much is expected.
This is a contributed opinion column. Tony Iannelli is the president and CEO of the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He can be reached at tonyi@lehighvalleychamber.org.
