The art of work part 2

In the previous part of this chapter, we have seen the basic definition of work. In this part, we will consider the value of effort.

According to philosopher HM Grenberg, who carried out a study on 180 000 people, he concluded that over 80% of people hate working where they are currently working; it is so sad and unfortunate. You have to understand that in order to achieve success, you must know what you do, love what you do and above all, believe in what you do. Men and women who aee heading to the summit, work hard, because they love their career and the work it comprises. People who are at the top of whatsoever area and busy doing their work. They concentrate, the strive; success comes their way, because they love what they do. They choose to spend all of that amount of time working. They have an activity but more importantly, the activity holds them. In sum, they have an attitude that usually turns an activity made of routine into pleasure giving one. They have learned how to enjoy the price of work instead of paying the price.

The following story will help you understand what I mean by enjoying the price of labor. In his old age, Pierre Auguste RENOIR suffered from arthritis and his hand was deformed due to it. Henri MATISSE, his friend was sadly watching him striving to paint despite the sharp pain each hand movement caused him. One day, MATISSE asked RENOIR why he kept on painting despite the pain, to which RENOIR replied: PAIN PASSES AWAY, BUT BEAUTY REMAINS. RENOIR knew how to enjoy the price of labor. Knowing how to enjoy the price of labor is to recognize the value of the effort. Always keep in mind the fact that: you enjoy the price of effort and you pay the price of no effort. We need to be cautious less we develop the bad habit of obtaining things without or with very little efforts. The price to pay later on is sometimes higher than it seems at first sight.  

The following story portrays the previous principle. In the last century, some pigs ran into some isolated mountains. From generation to generations, those pigs became wilder and wilder; they finally happened to be a danger for anyone they found on their way. A large number of experienced hunters tried to locate and kill them. But the pigs escaped and survived the best hunters of the region. One day, an old man riding a donkey which was pulling a wagon came to the village and drew close to where the pigs were living. When the old man entered the village, the villagers noticed that the wagon contained wood and grains. Curious as they were, the villagers asked the old man where he was heading to. The old man replied that the had come to catch the wild pigs; to which the villagers burst in laughter as they did not believe that the old man would succeed where all the experienced hunters of the village had failed. Two months later, the old man came back to the village and announced that he had locked up the pigs in an enclosure close to the top of the mountain.

Then he explained how he had gone about it : “First, I located the spot where the pigs were coming to eat. Then I placed some corn in the middle of the clearing; they first stayed away but curiosity tormented them; so the old boar that was leading them started sniffing around the corn; it took the first bite and the others did as well and therem I knew that I caught them. The next day, I put the corn and I placed a wood beside it. The wood did frighten them a little bit, but the idea of a free meal drove them, so they came back to eat. Each day, I just had to add two or three planks beside the corn until I finished building my trap. Every time I added something new, they stood afar for some times, but they always came back to get food for free. When the enclosure and the trap were complete, the habit of getting free things drew them inside and I just locked up the door; it was very easy, since I had gotten them used to getting their meal for free”. The story is simple and the morality thereof interesting: when an animal gets dependent on man for its food, it deprives itself from its management ability and gets into great difficulties. The same is true with man. The habit of no effort makes them dependent on other men which leads them to believe that they can not make it by their own endeavor. When you comfort a man in this situation, you take away their self-confidence and personal dignity. That is why, in order to build up a free man, you must teach the, the value of labor. You give them true security, based on their personal abilities to succeed. The Chinese proverb that says that by giving fish to a man you feed them for one day and, by teaching them how to fish, you feed them for a lifetime has its full place here.