I recently read a story of a retiring carpenter.
One day, an old carpenter told his boss he was going to retire.
His boss convinced him to stick around for one more project.
The carpenter agreed and figured he could crank it out one last time.
So the carpenter started working on the house. He cut corners, rushed through the work, and was excited when it was finally finished.
After the job was done, his boss approached him and instead of handing him a paycheck, he handed him the keys.
“It’s yours,” he said.
The carpenter was shocked. If he knew that the house was going to be his, he would’ve taken it more seriously.
This story had a profound impact on my approach to work.
What’s the point of not giving everything your all?
I remember when I was younger this came naturally to me.
The enthusiasm I brought to the table each day was unwavering.
As we get older it’s hard to retain this level of energetic output, day in and day out. The goal should be to never lose this.
Anytime I catch myself low on energy or second guessing a body of work, I will remind myself of this story.
I don’t fully agree with the saying that goes, “how you do anything is how you do everything,” but there is some truth to it.
While we all have varying levels of enthusiasm for certain tasks and areas of life, it’s important to realize that the effort we put into things is a vote for the type of person we want to become.
Everything counts. Everything matters. And that’s a good thing. So let’s make the most of it.