A number of years ago
I was inspired by a little story that
really hit home to me and demonstrated
just how important it is to make sure
that everything you do today is done so
that it can be the building blocks for
the future. If you put little effort
into something that you are involved in
today, you may regret the consequences
years later and wish you would have done
a better job when you first had the
opportunity. It is a lesson we could all
keep in mind when we are developing
relationships with our family, friends
and colleagues. I would like to share
that story with you and hope you find it
just as inspiring.
THE CARPENTER
An elderly carpenter
was ready to retire. He told his
employer-contractor of his plans to
leave the house-building business and
live a more leisurely life with his wife
enjoy his extended family. He would miss
the paycheck, but he needed to retire.
They could get by. The contractor was
sorry to see his good worker go and
asked if he could build just one more
house as a personal favour. The
carpenter said yes, but in time it was
easy to see that his heart was not in
his work. He resorted to shoddy
workmanship and used inferior materials.
It was an unfortunate way to end a
dedicated career. When the carpenter
finished his work the employer came to
inspect the house. He handed the
front-door key to the carpenter. "This
is your house," he said. "My gift to
you."
The carpenter was
shocked! What a shame! If he had only
known he was building his own house, he
would have done it all so differently."
A GREAT STORY! A
GREAT LESSON!
Every time I read
this little story it makes me realize
just how important each and every moment
of our life is and how each decision we
make affects our entire future. We all
build our life one day at a time. Often
we make poor decisions or do things that
we regret and then realize that we have
to suffer the consequences of those
decisions. We know that if we had it to
do all over again we would, but we can’t
turn back the clock. We are forced to
live with our decisions - good or bad.
The truth is that
each and every one of us is a carpenter,
building our own house.
The sooner we realize
that it is our house and that we will
have to live in it for the rest of our
life, the sooner we will start weighing
the consequences of our "construction
decisions". We will then put our best
efforts into the building so that we
will be able to enjoy the comforts and
security of these good decisions and
choices as we get older. Each day of
your life you are hammering nails,
placing boards or erecting walls in your
personal "house". Make sure you do it
right the first time.
Have a good week!
