I realize I'm tardy to this party, but I'll contribute anyway.
Back in about 2006 I was working for a security company developing security systems for the government and government offices. Now, when I say that, think things like retina scanners, fingerprint scanners, digital keypads, windowbreaks, etc. They were entry way security systems. All of it had to be "programmed" using proprietary software, and it was pretty simple, but I enjoyed it. I'm a nerd and just love being around computers. I was here for about 2 years and tried whatever I could to be a model employee.
Now, one of the interesting aspects of the job were that you could not program the systems remotely if there was any sort of bad weather happening. We couldn't risk data loss or system corruptions. So if there was a thunderstorm in our area, or in the area where we were remoting into, we couldn't work. This actually happened quite often. So, in my downtime I would set out to go above and beyond and I did things like, completely re-wrote the companies website from scratch because theirs was garbage. I presented it to the higher ups, they loved it and used it. We didn't have a janitor, it was a small remote office. So another thing I used to do in my downtime was clean the bathrooms for everyone, make sure all the things were stocked and got shit squared away for the day that I could. These were just a few examples of how I felt I was contributing to the growth and development of the company, and how good of an employee I tried to be.
The time comes when it's my first Christmas with the company. I was there for almost 2 years and missed the first Christmas and knew that a bonus was on my way. My son had just turned 5 and started school so life was about to get inherently more expensive and I really could use the extra fiduciary help.
It's the Friday before Christmas break and we're all at our company Christmas party enjoying ourselves and the two owners start handing out bonuses. I was one of the last to receive the bonus and after being called up to receive the envelope I went back and sat down and opened it while others continued to chat and have a good time.
Upon opening the envelope, what do I find...?
A $10 off coupon for the local car wash.
What I didn't mention before was that, I didn't drive the best vehicle. It was quite the piece of shit. Everyone else at the company was driving new vehicles, the owners in BMW's and Mercedes, naturally. I was driving a 1983 Econoline van because I had wrecked my previous vehicle and currently it was all I could afford to get to work.
So what did I do? I made a fucking scene. The room fell silent. I started yelling at the owner, telling him that after busting my ass for 2 years for him and going above and beyond for him, that I couldn't believe he had the audacity to give me a $10 off coupon to a car wash. I told him and the other owner to go fuck themselves. I walked into the offices, grabbed my shit, left my key fob on my old desk and I left. I never went back, I never answered their calls. I never even picked up my last paycheck.
This taught me a very important lesson in life. I was pretty sure from that point forward that if I wanted to make it anywhere in the world, I had to be the boss. I opened my own company and never worked for anyone else ever again.