A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job.<>
“Let’s see you fell this tree first” said the foreman. <>
The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled the large tree.<>
The foreman was impressed and said to the young man: “You can start on Monday.”<>
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday came and went. On Thursday afternoon the foreman came to the young man and said: “You can pick up your pay-check on your way out today.”<>
Startled the young man exclaimed, <>
“But I thought you paid on Friday!” “That’s right,” said the foreman,<>
“but we are letting you go today because you have fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you have dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”<>
“But I work really hard,” said the young man. “I arrive early, I leave late and I even work through my breaks. Please don’t just fire me.”<>
The foreman knew this to be true, and sensing the young man’s integrity, stopped and thought for a bit. <>
Then he asked: “Have you been sharpening your axe?”<>
The young man replied: “No sir. I have been working too hard to take time for that.”<>
Moral of the story: <>
Do not work so hard that you don’t take time for the most important things in life – the things that ultimately make you more effective.<>
