once upon a time there was a young man who worked at a factory his mentor an old technician taught him to talk less do more and never stop developing his skills in every aspect of the factory's operations ten years later the old man retired and the young man became a technician himself he continued to do his work with the same dedication and diligence as he was taught one day he visited his mentor the old man saw that he seemed unhappy and asked what was troubling him the young man sighed and poured his heart out i have been following your instructions exactly all these years no matter what i work on i keep quiet and focus on the job i know i have done good work at the factory and i have learned all the skills that can be learned there what i don't understand is that the guys who don't have my experience or capabilities have all been promoted while i am still making as little as i did before when i was your apprentice the old man asked are you positive that you have become indispensable to the factory the young man nodded yes the old man paced back and forth to think after a while he turned to the young man must request the day off using whatever reason you like it is time for you to give yourself a break the young man was surprised by this advice but the more he thought about it the more it made sense he thanked his teacher and left quickly to make a time-off request when he returned to work after his day off the manager called him into the office to tell him that things did not go well at the factory while he was gone others encountered many problems that normally would be handled by him and they had no idea how to solve them realizing his importance the manager decided to promote him to the position of senior technician to thank him and encourage him to keep up the good work the young man was grateful for his mentor's wisdom surely he thought this was the secret to success from that point on whenever the young man felt like he deserved more than what he was getting he would take a day off when he came back the next day the situation would improve to his satisfaction this pattern continued for months one day the young man found that he was blocked from going into the factory much to his shock he found out that his employment was terminated he could not believe it not knowing what else to do he went back to see his mentor to try to figure out how things had gone so wrong why did i lose my job he asked with wounded pride did i not do everything as you instructed actually you did not because you heard only half the lesson the old man shook his head you understood right away that no one pays any attention to a light bulb that is always on it is only when it goes off that people suddenly take notice and realize they've been taking it for granted you were so eager to apply this understanding that you left before hearing the second half second half it began to dawn on the young man that perhaps he made a big mistake what was the second half the mentor spoke slowly to make his point the second half more important than the first is the realization that if a light bulb goes off frequently then sooner or later it will be replaced with one that is more reliable who wants a light bulb that no one can count on to provide illumination you see in life in your life do you have friends and family members that you take for granted they're always there for you what happens if one day they are no longer there do not wait for such a day to suddenly realize how important they are give thanks today for the good fortune of having them in your life also don't let yourself being taken for granted but at the same time do your work and don't stop everything you do just because it doesn't go the way you want it to go find the balance in life and life will reward you with giving you the balance back this is their to do motivation stories
