In Episode 1, I told you about the day I lost my job in Atlanta — because I wouldn't step off that elevator when my foreman told me to.

Today I'm telling you why I stayed.

That answer goes back to a man named Billy Joe. He was my journeyman at Economy Electric — where my apprenticeship started. One on one. Small job. Sewer treatment plant in California. Just me and him, and every lesson came with a price tag if you didn't pay attention.

Billy Joe spent 40 years as a company man. And he didn't like what it cost him. So before I ever hit the road, he sat me down and told me the difference between a good company worker and a company man. One is a craftsman. The other is a yes man. A go-fetcher. A do-boy who sells his name to keep a job.

When Tim looked at me on that elevator and said get off or you're fired — Billy Joe's voice was the loudest thing in that room.

I lost the job. But I kept my reputation with 30 other men. I kept my self-respect. I kept my ability to look myself in the mirror.

And I kept my name.

There will come a day when someone asks you to choose between your craft and your character. Choose wrong, and you might work steady for that company. But you'll never work steady in this trade.

Your name is your currency. Don't let nobody spend it for you.