--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started a shoe-shine business, worked…" description: "\"I started a shoe-shine business, worked at the grain elevator, and as a chimney sweep, paid my way through college and then earned an MBA at Stanford.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/doug-burgum-5818_business_i-started-a-shoe-shine-business-worked-a_3179312.jpg" --- # I started a shoe-shine business, worked at the grain… ![“I started a shoe-shine business, worked at the grain elevator, and as a chimney sweep, paid my way through college and then earned an MBA at Stanford.” quote by Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/doug-burgum-5818_business_i-started-a-shoe-shine-business-worked-a_3179312.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/doug-burgum-5818_business_i-started-a-shoe-shine-business-worked-a_3179312.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/doug-burgum-5818_business_i-started-a-shoe-shine-business-worked-a_3179312.jpg) > “I started a shoe-shine business, worked at the grain elevator, and as a chimney sweep, paid my way through college and then earned an MBA at Stanford.” [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes a self‑made path through varied low‑skill jobs to fund education and achieve a high‑level degree, illustrating perseverance and resourcefulness. **In simple terms:** Hard work and varied jobs funded education and success. Key Takeaway Work hard, seize opportunities. Themes determination career education self‑made entrepreneurship Mood motivational pragmatic Type inspirational advisory When to use this quote - college funding - career change - entrepreneurial ventures - skill development Key Concepts Self‑reliance non‑linear career financial independence Questions to Reflect On - What unconventional steps could you take toward your goals? - How can you leverage diverse experiences? A Different Perspective May overlook systemic barriers others others face. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Business Worked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-worked-1171147/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [College Earned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college-earned-2071926/) [Earned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned/) [Earned Mba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earned-mba-5818620/) [Elevator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elevator/) [Mba Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mba-stanford-5818621/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Worked Grain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worked-grain-5818622/) ## Related quotes > [ “All this is probably for nothing,' she \[her mother\] said once we'd hatched the plan. 'Most likely I'll flunk out anyway.' 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Armentrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-l-armentrout/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Every time I get in an elevator, the operator says the same thing to me: 'Basement?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/every-time-i-get-in-an-elevator-the-operator-says-the-same-thing-to/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [“The rent should rise with the elevator.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-rent-should-rise-with-the-elevator/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. 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The newspaper wrote a story about me as a chimney sweep and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/my-senior-year-at-ndsu-i-had-started-a-business-sweeping-chimneys-the/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [Sport has been so good to me. The amount of basketball I've played over my lifetime, ran track, played football, played organized adult softball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/sport-has-been-so-good-to-me-the-amount-of-basketball-i-ve-played/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [After graduating from Stanford business school, I was working at McKinsey, crunching numbers for spreadsheets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/after-graduating-from-stanford-business-school-i-was-working-at/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [Peaceful protest is a protected right of all Americans. 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I love the people of North Dakota. I love the geography and the resources of North Dakota.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/well-i-love-north-dakota-i-love-the-people-of-north-dakota-i-love-the/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [I've had jobs growing up where you shower at the end of the day, not at the beginning of the day, went from those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/i-ve-had-jobs-growing-up-where-you-shower-at-the-end-of-the-day-not/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [My opinion of presidential elections are - they need to be about the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/my-opinion-of-presidential-elections-are-they-need-to-be-about-the/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [We've got to come together as a nation and solve problems. That's what we'll do when I'm president.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/we-ve-got-to-come-together-as-a-nation-and-solve-problems-that-s-what/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [If you're really concerned about CO2, you'd want to have every drop of energy produced in the United States. We do it cleaner, safer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/if-you-re-really-concerned-about-co2-you-d-want-to-have-every-drop-of/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [Voters get to decide who runs for office in America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/voters-get-to-decide-who-runs-for-office-in-america/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [People are yearning for leadership, and leadership to them does not mean a life spent as a career politician in North Dakota. 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