Built to last

A wealthy man is worried about who will take over his company when he is gone. He meets a young man who impresses him with his hard work and offers to mentor him. The young man becomes successful but is influenced by wrong friends and starts prioritizing money over quality in his work. The wealthy man gifts him a building, but the young man realizes he built it poorly. He learns the importance of integrity and leaving a positive mark in whatever you do. The story teaches us to never give up, work hard, and make a difference. My dear friend, don't tell your story. A story is told of a very wealthy man who had established himself as a man of nobility. He was very rich and well respected in his community. For years, he had established himself as a man who upheld the principles of hard work. Over the years, he had built himself an enviable reputation that many could only dream of having. He was a very happy man, but over time, he realized that he had very little time remaining. His greatest fear was that in his absence, no one could take over the company and maintain it as he had. He kept thinking of how he could get a replacement, someone who also upheld the very principles that he had. But years he kept searching, and at a point, it became almost impossible to find that one person. Though it would have been easier for him to just give up altogether, he kept pushing. One day, in the course of his routine visits to one of his construction sites, he noticed that there was one young man who looked sickly and weak. From his appearance, one could tell that he wasn't someone who could be defined as a hard worker. Being a man of experience, he swiftly brushed off the idea of judging a man merely by how he looked. So he decided to observe him a little more to be sure that his sight had not deceived him. After observing him for some time, he realized that he was a very hardworking young man. He did so out of his own will, and one could tell that he was not acting it out. The rich man felt impressed about how the young man was actively engaged in the work that was ongoing. He developed interest in observing this young man over an extended period. So it was that he kept visiting the sites to observe the young man. Another interesting thing he observed was that he was always the first person to arrive on site, and always the last to leave. Before he left, he made sure he went round to be sure that no material or tool had been left unattended to. He would be seen packing up things, cleaning up the area, and making sure that everything was safe before he left. The rich man only became more impressed, so he decided to invite the young man over for a conversation at his home. The young man could only imagine this as a privilege for him to be close to the man he so much adored. Throughout the conversation, the man could tell that this young man had a desire to be in the construction business. In his mind, he knew that he had finally found that young person he was looking for. So he decided that he would be a mentor to this young man, that he would help him grow in the business, and that someday, if possible, he may even become better than he was. The young man gladly accepted the offer. He was so happy, words were not enough to express his joy. The rich man asked him to move in to his house. He adopted him as his son. Over time, he became a friend, and he taught him a lot of things. This young man also did not disappoint him. He gave in his all and worked hard. For years, this young man also began to make a name for himself as one of the best builders of his time. Then he started making friends, of course wrong friends, that started telling him things that he was not supposed to hear. They began telling him that he had become a fool, for over the years, he had allowed himself to be used by this rich man to amass wealth for himself. When will you also begin to amass wealth for yourself? Initially, these were conversations that he did not want to entertain, but over time, he began to give some thought to them. This was actually the beginning of his downfall. This young man now began looking into ways that he could also make money for himself. He knew it was wrong, but the pressures from friends began to take over his mind. One day, the rich man called him and told him that he had something very important to discuss with him. Upon arrival, he asked him to take a seat, that he had something of great interest that he wanted to share with him. He said, My dear friend, for so many years you have been with me, and I must say I am very happy with your progress and your work so far. As you can see, I'm growing old and very soon I might not be around anymore, but my greatest fear has always been that in my absence, how will my company thrive? Then I met you, and so far I have been happy with what you have done. However, I have one last project that I want to do. This project is going to be the biggest I have ever done. It is going to be the mightiest building I have ever built. And after this building, I will no more be into the construction business. The young man received this news with mixed feelings. He thought of what his friends had told him, and started playing in his mind. If truly this is the last building, then I am doomed, for I have not amassed enough wealth that in the absence of this man, I can also speak of myself as being wealthy or rich. Then he began to speak to himself that this is my time. I need to take advantage of this final building to make money for myself. So a day was set to start making estimates and think of materials to be purchased. This young man decided to inflate prices, that for everything that he purchased, he would double the price. So it was that the building started. If one bag of cement was to be used to cast about 25 blocks, he would use one to cast over 40 blocks. If he was supposed to use about 4 pieces of rocks to cast a pillar, he would use it too, all in the name of making profit for himself. Now the building started, and within the shortest time, it was almost ready. But because the rich man trusted him so much, he decided that he wanted to visit the site, that would leave everything to him, that he would only visit the site upon completion. Those who were very close to this young man knew that this wasn't his style of building, but what more could they see and to observe. Eventually the building was completed. The building looked very beautiful, but the reality was that the building was very weak. If the building was actually in full use, it would only last a few months because the very foundations of the building were made from very inferior materials. Now because the man had already promised that this was going to be his final building, this was a very very huge building. The finishing looked so beautiful, but as we know, beauty wasn't enough. On the day of the opening, because this was his final building, the opening was supposed to be grand and mighty one. All the great men were invited to attend this grand opening so that the man could show off his final project. He invited dignitaries from all over, he invited all members of the community. It was indeed a wonderful sight to behold. So the day of reckoning came. As we were all seated, the rich man mounted the podium and said briefly, My dear friends, there is something I would want to share with you. For so many years I have been in this building industry. I had made quite a name for myself, I was doing well, but my greatest fear was to find someone who could replace me when I was no more. Then nature brought to me this wonderful young man standing beside me. And I must say that I am grateful for all that he had done to help me make such a name. As most of you know, without him, this grand and final project of mine wouldn't have been possible. So I thank him. All those present applauded him and were happy for the young man. Then the rich man continued, My dear friends, it would be very ungrateful of my part if I do not reward the hard work of this man. For this reason, you see this mighty building behind me that we all behold. On this day I announce to you all that I hand over this building to this young man as a gift from me to him for his years of loyalty. As you could imagine, the young man collapsed to the floor and buried his head in his hands and began to weep. He wept and kept wailing. All those present were surprised because clearly the way he was crying and wailing wasn't that of tears of joy. Through his tears, as the young man kept crying, he gradually came to himself and stood up. Speaking through his tears, he narrated how evil he had become. He said, For years I had served this man with an honest intention, but I allowed myself to be convinced that I was being used by this man to make money for himself. And when he told me that he was going to undertake his final project, I felt I was doomed. This building behind me won't last even for months because I built it with inferior materials and now this building has been handed over to me. I feel so ashamed and I feel disappointed that I have brought this curse upon myself. Sometimes in life, we all go through this stage. I believe we learned a principle or two from this story. Many companies start so wonderfully and over time collapses just because we have people in it that have such character. Our attitude towards work is such that we don't count ourselves as part of the progress of the company. After all, I will be paid at the end of the month. We hear people use phrases like, I can't care myself for this company after all. But we begin to understand that we form part of whatever we do and change our ways. We one day be in a position of regret. I always tell my friends that in whatever organization or whatever situation you find yourself, leave a mark. Be that person whose absence will be felt when you are no more in whatever you do, giving your all, you may never know. Well as the saying goes, what goes around comes around. Do unto others what you do have them do unto you. Remember, as I said, you may have learned a principle or two from this story. Perhaps you could go back and listen to it again and pick up morals that will help you. Many of us are in business not because we have passion for it, but probably we are in some sort of profession because we have no other option. But whether you like it or not, that is where you find yourself. So make the best out of the moment. Sometimes it's so easy to give up, but if we could push just a little, we would then realize that we had greatness in us all along. May we never give up, may we put in our all, may we be considered as the most productive employee. Count yourself as without you, things can't move. Make a difference. Wherever you find yourself, make it better than you found it, so that someday when you are no more, your name will be mentioned for good. Of course, there will always be moments in your life that people will not appreciate what you do. But trust me, no matter how long it takes, no matter how unseen your hard work is, it will pay off one day. And you may never know who is watching, but I can tell you, someone is watching. Till we meet again, let's keep spreading the positive energy. Let's stay real and be the best version of ourselves. Bye.