When I got my driver’s licence at 17 years old, all I wanted was to drive.

I thought I was cool being behind the wheel and needed to find a way to get paid to do it.

So I became a delivery boy at Pizza Hut.

Five bucks an hour plus tips.

I'd borrow my mum’s beat-up 1998 Toyota Camry and drive around town with Meat Lovers' and Hawaiian pizzas in the passenger seat.

I only lasted a few months.

But I saw three career traps that I still think about today. 

If you’re working away at your own career — these might save you some headaches or heartbreak or bring a new perspective to your path.

1. The environment

On my first shift, the store manager sat me down and told me about the career path.

It looked something like this:

1. Deliver pizzas
2. Graduate to working behind the till and taking phone orders
3. Then — if you stuck around long enough — you’d get trained to make pizzas in the kitchen

I looked down the path and saw the guys, sweating away in the hot kitchen, busy as hell trying to meet the 30 minute delivery guarantee and remembered thinking to myself… 

I was certain at first and tried to shake the image from my head. 

Hustling pizzas out the door, joking with the team, grabbing free slices when people cancelled their order or sent them back was fun for a few weeks.

But I kept asking myself, do I actually want that future?

Our environment shapes us.

And no matter how good we are, the environment always wins over time.

If you stay in the wrong place long enough, you don't just work there — you become it.

Today, I think about that every time I take on a project, build a business, or enter a new partnership.

Is the environment I'm stepping into pulling me toward the life I want — or slowly dragging me away from it?

Look three or four steps ahead. If you don’t like where the road leads, find another path.

2. Not knowing the risks

Driving pizzas around town sounded harmless.

The problem was we had a 30-minute delivery guarantee within certain areas close to the store. 

And when that guarantee was on….

You were no longer delivering pizzas but life-saving organs. 

Because if you missed it, the costs were huge to the business.

To make things even harder, back then there were no iPhones.

So if you didn’t know the address, you’d be searching on page 57 for B4 to figure out where the party is at.

One rainy night, I learnt my lesson.

I wasn’t looking, made a mistake, glanced up — and swerved just off the edge of the road.

At that moment, I asked myself — what am I doing risking my life for five bucks and a free slice of pizza?

The real risks weren’t in the job ad. Nobody mentioned them during onboarding. You only find out once you’re living them.

But every opportunity carries risk — even the ones that seem "safe."

Your life, your energy, and your focus are too valuable to gamble on autopilot.

3. Burning Bridges

When I decided to quit, I didn’t do it properly.

I told them I was going on holiday and when they called to ask when I would be back, I told them I’d let them know when I got back.

At the time, it felt harmless. I was young. It was just a casual job.

But ghosting them was not the right way to go. 

People remember how you leave, not just how you arrive.

Ending badly burns bridges and trust you might need again someday.

Even worse, it damages your own reputation — the one you’re quietly building without even realising it.

Today, I believe the real way to "finish strong" is not just saying goodbye. It's making sure the people and place you leave behind are set up for success.

That means:

• Documenting processes
• Training whoever comes next
• Leaving things in a better state than you found them

Life is short and your relationships with other people are the most important thing. 

I take this a lot more seriously now.

I try to forgive myself that I was young and it was just a short experience.

But every job matters and shapes the person we are becoming.

Are you on the right path for you?