Today of all days, I will share an inspiring story of a carpenter. Personally, I find the lessons in the story very intriguing (no spoiler alerts). Don’t get your hopes high though; I’m not too sure if it will resonate with you or how relevant this filla will be to you. I guess we’ll know at the end of the day.
Growing up as a young boy, I have been privileged to come across great men, from whose talks and speeches, I have drawn great inspiration. Today, I will share s story I read from Kusi Osei Kusi. He’s an associate pastor at Trinity Baptist Church, Madina and doubles as founder and president of OKF, a foundation focused on coaching and grooming young people. My first encounter with him was at Swedru in 2012 during a 3-day Young Leadership Summit. His in-depth knowledge of leadership and youth development sparked my admiration for him. This was refuelled in 2014 when during an SRC Congress, he told us the story of Albert Einstein and his driver.
The Story
A very wonderful carpenter once lived somewhere. He worked as an employee in a company. After several years of dedicated service and hard work, he decided to go on retirement so that he could enjoy the rest of his life with his family.
He approached his boss and told him his plans. His generous boss requested that the carpenter worked on a last house for him before he proceeded with his decision. Not happy, the carpenter agreed to work on the house for his master. He therefore used inferior materials in building the house because he felt his master was wasting his time.
When work on the house was completed, he invited the master to inspect it, as he hand over the keys. His master inspected the edifice and patted him on the back. Smiling, he said, “thank you for your great services to this company all these years. I can’t do much for you so this house is my present to you”. Bowing his head in shame, he muttered to himself “if only I knew”.
Commentary on Carpenter Story
This is the behaviour of many employees and students. We feel we can do anything when we are exiting phase in our education or profession. But one thing we should know is that whatever we do, usually comes back to hit us.
- Wherever you find yourself, endeavour to give off your best to the very end.
- Don’t destroy desks because you are completing school.
- Don’t mishandle funds because you’re leaving office.
- Don’t send ugly emails and messages to your current boss because you landed a better job.
- Be a generational thinker.
Story by © Citixen Benash
