How to Know if Your Work is Truly Worthwhile

Years ago, I had the privilege of speaking to DuPont, my 1st Fortune 100 company. I was incredibly scared. After all, I was only 22 years old.

The leader who hired me had much confidence in me after seeing me speak to a group of firemen. He figured that the firemen would be just like his men at DuPont, rough and rugged, so he took me on.

It was a big speech for me--over 500 men who were at least twice as old as I was. A few of them were thrice my age. What could I say to these experienced men who had kids who were my age? What could I teach them? How could I relate?

At the same time, I had recently moved into a new home, so I had to install a desk that I am currently typing on. I'm no handyman. In fact, I despised the job and complained the whole time, but my new bride decided that it would be a good challenge for me.

It was.

As I hammered away at this cumbersome desk, a deep truth had dawned on me. I felt as if I was the wisest man in the world when I discovered what I am about to disclose to you:

"The effort that you put into your work is nothing compared to how long the results will last." -Daniel Ally

Let me explain.

My desk took about 12 hours to install (a handy man could do it in an 2 hours, but that's another story). As I labored hour after hour, I realized that those 12 hours are nothing compared to the 12 years that it may potentially last.

What this means for you is that whatever your do will be worthwhile, especially since the results will last longer than the work (or effort) that you put into it.

Just imagine, if you were a floor cleaner at the hospital, it would take you an hour to buffer the floor with the machine. In the meanwhile, you would serve hundreds of people before you returned to it 23 hours later.

And that was my keynote for these men!

As I prepared and practiced my keynote, I realized that no matter who you are and what you do, the results of your work will always outlast you. Because of the confidence I developed during that time of trial, my business had boomed.

And so will yours if you heed this important truth.

"The effort that you put into your work is nothing compared to how long the results will last." - Daniel Ally

I guess this ancient story will help my point go even further...

One day a traveler, walking along a lane, came across 3 stone-cutters working in a quarry. Each was busy cutting a block of stone. Interested to find out what they were working on, he asked the first stone-cutter what he was doing. “I am cutting a stone!”

Still no wiser the traveler turned to the second stone-cutter and asked him what he was doing. “I am cutting this block of stone to make sure that it’s a square, and its dimensions are uniform, so that it will fit exactly in its place in the wall.”

A bit closer to finding out what the stone-cutters were working on but still unclear, the traveler turned to the third stone-cutter. He seemed to be the happiest of the three and when asked what he was doing replied: “I am building a cathedral.”

Remember, you don't need approval from your work if you fully believe in it. Your work will always outlast you. And that's how you know you're work is truly worthwhile!

What are you waiting for?

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Daniel Ally

www.danielally.com