The Three Brick Layers

 


There is a story I recently told to my team here at PCE Promotions.  The details of the story have different variations depending on who you ask and where they learned it, but the principle of the story is all the same.  It goes like this:

A reporter was covering a story on a project in the heart of one of the poorest communities in South America. He wanted to understand people's role in this project and chose three people to interview.

He approached the first man and asked what he did.  The man replied, "I am a brick layer. I take each brick, set it down in the spot they told me to, add some cement, and repeat with the next brick." The reporter asked why he was laying bricks, and the man simply told him that was his job.

He approached the second man and asked what he did. The man replied, "I am building a wall. I take each brick, set it down in the spot where the wall is being build, add some cement, and repeat with the next brick until the wall is built." The reporter asked why he was building a wall, and the man simply told him that was his job.

He approached the third man and asked what he did. The man replied, "I am building the house of God. I take each brick, set it down in the spot where the walls will be built, add some cement, and repeat with the next brick until we have a palace worthy of His Majesty." The reporter asked why he was building a wall, and the man was eager to share.

"You see we live in one of the poorest communities in South America. This community doesn't have much, but we have our faith. That brings us together, it makes us stronger, and we know our life is a blessing when in service towards something bigger than ourselves. This house of God represents that."


Now, I'm not a religious person. Doesn't really matter, the lesson is this:

Every man that was interviewed had the same task.  They were all brick layers, but you can make some obvious assumptions over who would complete their task with the most pride, the best quality, and the highest fulfillment.

See, nobody gets excited about a task.  People get excited about what that task builds towards.  At PCE Promotions, it's not about the day to day responsibilities that matter the most. It's not the specific clients we're working with at any given time. It's about who we're becoming in the process along the way that matters.

The tasks and the clients are just the vehicle we use to arrive at the life we're building towards.
Location: 7100 Broadway #8a, Denver, CO 80221, USA

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