The secret to success

The Secret To Successs

once upon a time

there was a young man who worked at a

factory

his mentor an old technician taught him

to talk less do more and never stop

developing his skills

in every aspect of the factory's

operations

ten years later the old man retired and

the young man

became a technician himself he continued

to do his work with the same dedication

and diligence as he was taught

one day he visited his mentor

the old man saw that he seemed unhappy

and asked what was troubling him

the young man sighed and poured his

heart out

i have been following your instructions

exactly

all these years no matter what i work on

i keep quiet and focus on the job

i know i have done good work at the

factory and i have learned all the

skills

that can be learned there what i don't

understand

is that the guys who don't have my

experience or capabilities

have all been promoted while i am still

making

as little as i did before when i was

your apprentice

the old man asked are you positive that

you have become

indispensable to the factory the young

man nodded

yes the old man paced back and forth to

think

after a while he turned to the young man

must request the day off using whatever

reason you like

it is time for you to give yourself a

break

the young man was surprised by this

advice

but the more he thought about it the

more it made sense

he thanked his teacher and left quickly

to make a time-off request

when he returned to work after his day

off

the manager called him into the office

to tell him that things did not go well

at the factory

while he was gone others encountered

many problems that

normally would be handled by him and

they had no idea how to solve them

realizing his importance the manager

decided

to promote him to the position of senior

technician

to thank him and encourage him to keep

up the good work

the young man was grateful for his

mentor's wisdom

surely he thought this was the secret to

success

from that point on whenever the young

man felt

like he deserved more than what he was

getting he would take a day

off when he came back the next day

the situation would improve to his

satisfaction

this pattern continued for months one

day

the young man found that he was blocked

from going into the factory

much to his shock he found out that his

employment was terminated

he could not believe it not knowing what

else to do

he went back to see his mentor to try to

figure out

how things had gone so wrong

why did i lose my job he asked with

wounded pride

did i not do everything as you

instructed

actually you did not because you heard

only half the lesson

the old man shook his head you

understood right away that no one pays

any attention

to a light bulb that is always on

it is only when it goes off that people

suddenly take notice

and realize they've been taking it for

granted

you were so eager to apply this

understanding that you left before

hearing the second half

second half it began to dawn on the

young man

that perhaps he made a big mistake

what was the second half

the mentor spoke slowly to make his

point

the second half more important than the

first

is the realization that if a light bulb

goes off

frequently then sooner or later

it will be replaced with one that is

more reliable

who wants a light bulb that no one can

count on to provide illumination

you see in life in your life

do you have friends and family members

that you take for granted

they're always there for you what

happens if one day

they are no longer there do not wait for

such a day

to suddenly realize how important they

are

give thanks today for the good fortune

of having them in your life

also don't let yourself being taken for

granted

but at the same time do your work and

don't stop everything you do just

because

it doesn't go the way you want it to go

find the balance in life and life will

reward you.