One young academically excellent person went to
apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first
interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.
The director discovered from the CV that the
youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary
school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any
scholarships in school?"
The youth answered "none".
The director asked, "Was it your father
who paid for your school fees?"
The youth answered, "My father passed away
when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, "Where did your mother
work?"
The youth answered, "My mother worked as
clothes cleaner.
The director requested the youth to show his
hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.
The director asked, "Have you ever helped
your mother wash the clothes before?"
The youth answered, "Never, my mother
always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash
clothes faster than me.”
The director said, "I have a request. When
you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow
morning.”
The youth felt that his chance of landing the
job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him
clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she
showed her hands to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly.
His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his
mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands.
Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned
with water.
This was the first time the youth realized that
it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay
the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the
mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother's
hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked for a very
long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's
office.
The Director noticed the tears in the youth's
eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in
your house?"
The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's
hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'
The Director asked, "please tell me your
feelings."
The youth said:
Number 1,
I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother,
there would not the successful me today.
Number 2,
By working together and helping my mother, only
I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
Number 3,
I have come to appreciate the importance and
value of family relationship.
The director said, "This is what I am
looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the
help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done,
and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.
Later on, this young person worked very hard,
and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently
and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.
A child, who has been protected and habitually
given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality “and would
always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he
starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he
becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and
would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good
academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel
sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more.
If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we
destroying the kid instead?
You can let your kid live
in a big house, give him a Driver & Car for going around, Eat a Good Meal,
learn Piano, Watch a Big Screen TV. But when you are Cutting Grass, please let
them experience it. After a Meal, let them Wash their Plates and Bowls together
with their Brothers and Sisters. Tell them to Travel in Public Bus, It is not
because you do not have Money for Car or to hire a Maid, but it is because you
want to Love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how
rich their parents are, one day their hair will Grow Grey, same as the Mother
of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to
appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to
work with others to get things done.
