Too many lessons to mention but all were very good life lessons which I carried with me my entire life .
I lived in a very small town in a very remote area of Northern , NY along the Canadian Border . I delivered an afternoon paper which came out 6 days a week .
My " profit " was 10 cents per week per customer . I began at age 11 and kept the route until age 17 when I passed it on to my 11 year old brother who at 17 passed it on to our youngest brother who had just turned age 11 . All in the Route was in our family for nearly 20 years .
I learned salesmanship as I grew my customer base from 27 to 45 homes .
I learned " product line extension " by purchasing various products such as Flower and Vegetable seeds and other times through Boys Life Magazine and selling them to my customers .
I learned that other families had their issues as well . Meaning , illness , loss of employment and even death .
I learned that doing a good job led to there opportunities as several of my customers offered me jobs such as lawn-mowing , snow removal and errands . Eventually I was earning more money from the " chores " than I was from the paper route .
Also as I walked my route I learned to compose my school essays and book reports in my head such that when I finished and arrived home all I had to do was put pen to paper to complete those assignments .
Some how I managed to play sports , participate in other school and Church activities and manage my paper route responsibilities . Clearly invaluable life lessons .
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