The Three Stone Cutters
It was way back in the days when building stones were cut by hand. One day a manager wanted to see how stone cutting operations were going so he went out into the quarry to observe. As he watched, he noticed three different stone cutters. They were all working but they were working differently. One was steady and methodical. He looked like he would reach his quota, but not a bit more. He took a few shortcuts the manager didn’t like but they didn’t effect the overall quality of his work which was passable.
​
The manager saw another who seemed equally methodical only he didn’t cut corners. This stone cutter looked like he would meet his quota as well so he was working a little harder than the first. He checked his work to be sure it met quality standards so it was at least as good as the first stone cutter’s work.
​
Then there was the third. This one was different. He whistled while he worked. He didn’t seem to be working any harder than the others but he was already almost at his quota. As the manager watched longer, he noticed that this stone cutter had found a way to improve his output by the way he arranged the stones he was cutting. And his quality was superior to the others.
​
The manager was curious. What made the difference in the way each of these stone cutters worked? So he decided to ask each one of them the same simple question, “What are you doing?”
​
He approached the first stone cutter and asked him, “What are you doing?” The guy looked at him like he was crazy and said, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m cutting rocks.”
​
He approached the second stone cutter and asked him the same question. This one simply replied, “I’m earning a living for my family.”
​
Finally, he came to the third stone cutter. The manager was curious to see how this one would answer the question, so he asked, “What are you doing?” The stone cutter looked up with a beaming smile and said, “I’m building a cathedral!”
​
-----------------
​
My friend, it has been said so many times before, "Attitude determines altitude."
​
If you think you are beat, you most likely are.
​
If you think that you won't amount to much, again, you most likely won't.
​
I can't even begin to tally the number of organizations of which I have been a part over my life where the organization focused on a mediocre 'attitude' and got exactly that. So many - the overwhelming majority chose to focus simply on "cutting rocks"... simply the immediate task at hand and not on the greater picture in Life. I recently exited an organization that I believe continues to focus on "cutting rocks" rather than "building cathedrals." And the detriment is not even with the organization but every person into the future who comes in contact with that organization.
​
Look at your present job/responsibility in life, my friend, and reimagine your task as if you were building a cathedral. You will quickly realize the extreme altitude you can achieve with your attitude.