This is the week. The week we need to ensure any young person who started school recently, that they have a strong belief in themselves and a stronger belief in their future. I have been tutoring for the ACT’s and the SAT’s, most intensely this last 6 weeks, but even as far back as a year ago with one special young man. There is more pressure on students these days than there ever has been. This is why belief is not something only for adults. It is for all of us. Belief is a cup that must sometimes be running and overflowing before it is realized and applied to our hopes and dreams.
This is a story dedicated to the kids….. and to anyone who teaches a child or an adult.
Seeking a Position
A young man went to seek an important position, his first, at a large Landscaping company. He passed the initial interview and was going to meet the director for the final interview. The Director saw his resume, it was excellent. The young man had worked hard in writing it himself… NO AI!
Side story… I was teaching 9th graders one school year, more than a couple of years ago. I started teaching about lifestyle. All 4 of the boys in this group were shy, and at different levels, filled with the bravado of youth. I decided to have interviews, as they all were going to look for their first job soon. I asked each one the question, “Why do you want to work at the local waterpark?” The answers varied, but the answer I will never forget was… “The Babes, man, THE BABES!” Yes, I had more work to do to say the least!
Anyway, back to our story, the Director asked, “Have you received a scholarship for school?”
The boy replied, “No.”
“Was your father one who paid for your studies?”
“Yes.” He responded, “And my Mom worked extra to pay for my college.”
“May I ask, where does your father work?”
“My father is a Farmer, and he does landscape for fun.”
“Oh, I see… the Director trailed off.
May I See Your Hands?
The silence was filled with the slow drip and tiny splashes from the fountain on the man’s large granite topped desk. The silence was beginning to make the young man uncomfortable, when the Director asked , “May I see your hands?”
The young man showed him a pair of hands, that had never seen dirt. They were baby soft and perfect. His nails were absent any dirt and had recently had a manicure. The next question surprised the young lad. “Have you ever helped your parents at their job?” the Director asked as his eyes went from the tips of the young man’s hands directly to his eyes.
“Nope, Never. My parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, my dad can do the job and all the chores better than me.” He stammered as their eyes locked. The young man wished for this silence to be over even more than the last!
The director then said, “I have another request in order for you to complete your interview.”
“Sure, anything,” the relieved young man mumbled as he pulled his hands from the cold top of the desk.
Wash His Hands and Come…
“When you go home today, I want you to go and wash the hands of your father and then come see me tomorrow morning.”
“You want me to wash his hands?” The boy clarified?
“Yes. See you in the morning.”
The young man felt his chance to get the job was high. He thought he had done a great job in the interview. His confidence was high also.
When he returned to his house he told his Mom all about the interview. He told her about the beautiful office, the expansive desk, and the giant pictures of beautiful landscapes on the walls. He told her about the little fountain on the desk too. She asked him what questions the Director asked. And he only remembered the last request. So, he asked his Mom if she thought his father if he would allow him to wash his hands when he came in from the farm that night.
“Sure, but you will need to catch him at the faucet where the hose is connected. He washes his hands there first.” His mother told him.
“Mom, why? That water is freezing even in the summer!! Dad has to let it drip during the winter to keep it from freezing, and it still freezes sometimes.”
“No mud belongs in this house. He will tell you. He knows how hard I work to keep our home nice and dirt free!”
So, the son went out to the faucet on the side of the house. He waited. He waited until the sun went down, He waited until after his Mom had rung the bell for dinner. He waited. Finally, after almost finishing half of the new book he had started, he saw his father trudging up to the faucet.
“Well son, this is a wonderful surprise!! You haven’t met me out here for about 12 years now. I think you were about 8 years old the last time! How was your interview? I’d give you a fist bump, but….
I can tell you about the interview in a moment, I have a request. “I want to wash your hands for you.” The son suddenly felt ‘as the kids would say’… Some Kind of Way! As he looked into the eyes of the man he adored, but hadn’t really spent this type of close time with in way too long.
Strange, Yet Happy!
His father felt strange, yet happy, and with mixed feelings, he presented his hands to his hands to his son. The young man felt as though he had done this very action earlier in the day. Now he really wondered what the Director thought.
The young man washed his father’s hands, little by little. The water was so cold, feeling was lost within the first few seconds, but he didn’t care. The hands he held were well… as old as the eyes he gazed into.
It was the first time that he noticed his father’s hands were wrinkled and they had so many scars. Some bruises were so painful, his skin seemed blistered when he grazed it, and he shuddered when he touched them.
This was the first time that the young man recognized what it meant for this pair of hands to work every day to be able to pay for his studies. The bruises on the hands were the price that his father payed every day for his education, his school activities and his future.
After cleaning his father’s hands the young man stood in silence and began to wash the tools his father had carried. He stayed to tidy and clean up the workshop. That night, father and son talked for a long time.
The next morning, the young man went to the office of the Director. He waited in the conference room as instructed by the Director’s personal secretary. This time he noticed the people walking around the office. He saw papers being copied and blue prints being unraveled on the vast conference table in the next room. He noticed how calm everyone was. The secretary answered a call and then indicated that it was time.
After their greetings, rhe Director noticed the tears in the eyes of the young man when He asked him,
“Can you tell me what you did after you left and what you learned yesterday when you went home?”
The boy replied: “I washed my father’s hands and when I finished, I stayed and rinsed off the tools, and tidied and cleaned his workshop.” He told the Director about talking to his Mom. He told the man about the freezing water, and how he surprised his dad. He told him how they talked long into the night after dinner.
“Now I know what it is to appreciate and recognize that without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my father, I now realize how difficult and hard it is to do something on my own. I have come to appreciate the importance and the value in helping my family.” The tears had stained his freshly washed ironed shirt. The Director pushed a silver tissue box towards him and gave him a couple of minutes to gather himself.
A child that has been coddled, protected and given everything he or she wants, develops a mentality of “I have the right” and will always put himself or herself first, ignoring the efforts of parents, family and friends. If we are this type of protective parent are we really showing love or are we helping to destroy our children?
You Can Give…
You can give your child their own room in a big house, good food, a computer, tablet, cell phone, and a big screen TV, but when you’re washing the floor or painting a wall, children need to experience that too.
After eating, have them wash the dishes with their brothers and sisters, let them fold laundry or cook with you, even at 2 or 3 years of age. Have them pull weeds or mow the lawn. You are not doing this because you are poor and can’t afford help. You are doing this because you love them and want them to understand certain things about life.
Children need to learn to appreciate the amount of effort it takes to do a job right. They need to experience the difficulties in life that people must overcome to be successful and they must learn about failure to be able to succeed.
Children must also learn how to work and play with others and that they will not always win, but they can always work harder to reach their goals. If they’ve done their best, then they can take pride in all the effort they put forth.
Life is about giving and serving and these qualities are taught in most every home.
The next day… the Director said, “This is what I look for in my people. I want to hire someone who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the hardship others go through to accomplish things, and a person who realizes that money is not his only goal in life. You are hired.”
I want to leave you with this quotation: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emmerson, PIP$ PROFIT$ & POWER Journal by Genie Craff, p. 7. By Genie Craff
If you don’t have it yet, PIP$ PROFIT$ & POWER FOREX MINDSET MASTERY with the PIP$ PROFIT$ & POWER JOURNAL FOREX MINDSET MASTERY By Genie Craff on Amazon. Thank you!
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