Is Hard Work All It Takes?

Dear loving people,

After hunting for a job all over the place to no avail, James and Jude came to an old farmer to ask for a job. The Farmer warned that he was tired of lazy workers and that he needed tough guys to work for him. James and Jude told him they were the best he could get and James even insinuated that he could do anything better and faster than Jude.

The farmer took them to a huge piece of land divided into two sections by a valley with tall trees such that both could not see each other working. The farmer told them that they would be paid for as much as they could clear the land before them and that the a bonus was reserved for he will will cover a larger surface areas. Armed with their machetes, they set to work at the same speed. There were many other workers on the land and as usual, some served as medium for gossip between James and Jude.

An hour later, James was informed by one of the gossip that Jude had stopped clearing for a while, realizing that this was his chance, James doubled his effort at clearing. Twenty minutes later, he was informed that Jude had resumed clearing. Then came the news of Jude breaking off from work again and again and again all day long. James continued working with all smile, feeling the smell of victory at each cut on the grass.

At the end of the day, James was sure he carried the day because he had worked nonstop throughout the day. He was absolutely sure to go home with a much bigger package and the bonus than Jude. How mistaken he was because after the sections they had cleared were measured, It showed that Jude had actually cleared a surface area twice as large as that of James and so was paid twice as much as James in addition to the bonus.

“How is this possible that he worked more than me when I cleared continuously while he stopped from time to time?” James asked the Farmer. “It’s impossible! I have been cheated.” Then Jude cut-in to explain to James “it’s very simple and as a matter of fact, each time I stopped working, I did two things: I rested and equally sharpened my cutlass while you kept on clearing so with less efforts and with a sharper cutlass, I covered more grounds than you each time I resumed clearing.”

Working for your success should not be a marathon race in which you compete with others because it’s not only about who gets to the finish-line first especially as you are in competition with nobody else to get there. It’s much rewarding getting to the finish line at your pace, safe, sound and with quality results – wealth, fame and happiness too.