Why Star Wars’ Han Solo Had A Second Job As A Carpenter By Karen Jones
Harrison Ford, also known as Han Solo and Indiana Jones to millions of fans, is a world famous actor whose movies have generated over $ 3.5 billion in ticket sales over the last 40 years. Ford’ s estimated financial net worth is well over $ 200 million; however, times were not always so good for him. In fact Harrison’ s first attempt at becoming a professional actor nearly soured him from acting forever.
In 1964 Ford was a struggling actor who was lucky enough to sign a $ 150 a week contract through Columbia Pictures’ New Talent program. However, the problem was that the guy in charge of assigning work didn’ t like Ford so he wouldn’ t give him any meaningful roles. It got so bad that Ford had to quit and find work elsewhere just to make ends meet. It just so happened that he was a skilled carpenter, and it was a good thing too. Not only did his excellent carpentry skills allow him to make a decent living and support his family while he looked for acting work, but it was carpentry that eventually led Ford to his roles as Han Solo and Indiana Jones.
Here are just four reasons why having a second set of work skills is not just economically important, but as we will see in Harrison Ford’ s example, can lead to even greater opportunities to succeed in your primary calling.
1. Ford had a second income producing skill.
Ford was a budding actor, but he was also a great carpenter. When times got financially tough for Ford it was a blessing for him to have another income producing skill to fall back on. Being able to quickly get into another line of work allowed Ford to minimize the time he was without a paycheck.
2. Ford created opportunities( even if he didn’ t know it).
Ford knew he wanted to be an actor, and he thought he knew how to make that happen. When his original plan didn’ t work out the way he intended,
1 The Quarter Roll Spring 2013