The Essential Worker Kinda Guy

My name is Adam, I’m 57 and I work at a grocery store. Two and a half years ago I said goodbye to the commission only, freelancing for free, chasing completely uninspiring project after uninspiring project world of corporate marketing, and said hello to my fantasy job. I put on a pair of jeans and donned a Trader Joes T-shirt. I knew that this steady full time gig would allow me the flexibility to gently focus on my many mercenary endeavors. Heck, I get to build my 401K back AND GET FULL BENNYS! Win-win right? Damn right it’s been, beyond my wildest hopes and dreams. First off let me say what a wonderful company Trader Joes truly is. Their continued dedication to putting customers and employees ahead of profits never ceases to amaze me. I see it every day. But beyond that loving culture Trader Joe’s fosters, I have taken it upon myself to build real meaningful relationships with our community, in store and out. I knew that my previous experience sharing Aloha on the islands in retail would serve me well at one of the few mainland companies that practice that Hawaiian spirit. That spirit grows stronger every day as I became more confident in knowing jams from preserves, and arugula from kale. It’s impossible to not immerse yourself with insightful product knowledge when we get to taste wines and new foods all the time. Yes, we really do that, it’s a thing. You know you can open and taste products you are unfamiliar with for yourself at Trader Joe’s? Just ask, we’ll let you try almost anything, except of course alcohol. I would say I’ve poured my heart into this job, but I haven’t had to. My heart has been in this job since day one. It just flows. Fast forward to where we find ourselves today, deemed essential workers. At last credibility for what I call, The Nobility of the Grocer. As I dive deeper into my spirituality, and away from the material bubble of the Silicon Valley, it’s become abundantly clear that food and spirit are energy sources. The positive experience of procuring that food source translates to dinner tables everywhere. The love and energy of our stores leaves a lasting impression with our customers. A loving energy that doesn’t end when we hand them their receipt. So now I spend my nights bringing joyful culinary communion to the good people of Los Gatos CA. and spend my days writing and working on my labor of love, the podcast I co-host, The Bay Area Beat. Every week we feature positive stories of folks doing impactful work in our communities. I get to do these amazing interviews and share stories that feature guests who resonate all that I am in my life right now. When I attended my first Public Relations course in college, my professor made it clear that PR was not about liking people. I remember feeling a bit uneasy because I wanted to work in the public and make positive change way back then. Well 30 plus years and countless resume revisions later, I’ve found my place where it’s all about liking people. Happy people doing what makes people happy. With this whole Covid-19 thing, we’ve had to go above and beyond to keep people safe. Today was rough, we are all feeling the stress of uncertainty and no one is immune to a mini melt down these days. I could have done better today. I will do better tomorrow. I’m in a place that feels like home. I call it my happy place. We all know we’ve made a quantum leap in our society over the past few weeks and months. Tomorrow will not be the same. My wish is that we all awaken to our heart’s calling and listen to what we have always longed for in our lives. Slow down, sample life, take the time to talk to our neighbors and be patient with each other. Take absolutely nothing for granted anymore. What we call Kaizen at Trader Joe’s. According to our CEO Dane Bane,“For us that means everybody in the company owes everybody else a better job every day, every year, in what they do.” And for me that’s really all I’ve ever wanted to do. My name is Adam and I’m an essential worker at Trader Joe’s.