An elderly carpenter told his employer of his plans to leave the business and start a life of leisure with his wife and extended family.
Click here to listen to the 2-minute audio clip of this email
He would miss the money, but the time was right and he was ready to hang up his hammer. His boss was disappointed as the carpenter had been a loyal and diligent worker for many years, so he was sad to see him go.
The boss asked for one last favor, requesting that the carpenter could build one last house before retiring. The tradesman agreed, but it was soon clear that his heart wasn’t in it.
He took shortcuts, used inferior materials, and put in a half-hearted effort. In the end, the final product was well short of his usual standards, a disappointing way to end his career.
When the job was finished, the employer came to inspect the work. After taking a look around, he handed the keys to the carpenter and said, “This is your house, it’s my gift to you.”
The carpenter was shocked and embarrassed. If only he had known, he would have made sure that everything was perfect. If he had known the consequences, he would have demanded excellence from himself.
We are all building something with our lives day by day. Every day we metaphorically build a wall, lay a brick, construct a house, hammer a nail but are we putting our all into it? Life is oftentimes a DIY project.
What we do today makes us who we are tomorrow.
Our attitude can determine the success of a project. Taking pride in a task and having enthusiasm will show in our work.
We can’t always control the project we’re assigned, the resources we’re given, or the play that the coach calls, but we can always control our attitude, our effort, and our own actions.
We can always lead ourselves.