I was half-way done with my program, and like many students, I suddenly decided to reconsider my decision to study. So, I talked to my therapist about it, and I began to discover that I was the one pressuring myself, forcing myself to continue.
Here's the problem - the Fat Man said - As long as you keep thinking that you have to study and get your degree, it will be impossible for you to enjoy it. And if there isn't at least a tiny bit of joy in it, parts of your personality will play tricks on you.
Jorge had recited this so many times that he didn't believe in force. He said that nothing useful could be achieved by it - but in this case, I think he was wrong. What about the exception that upholds the rule?
-But Jorge, I can't stop studying - I said - In the world that I want to live in, I’m nobody without a degree. It's like a guaranty.
-Could be. - said the Fat Man. - Do you know what the Talmud is?
-Yes.
-There's a story in the Talmud about a common man: the doorman at the horhouse.
No job was more looked down upon or worse paying in the entire city than doorman at the horhouse... but, what else could he do?
The reality was that he had never learned to read or write, he didn't do much else. He had no other jobs. The only reason he had this one was because his father had been the doorman before him, and his grandfather, and so on.
The horhouse had been passed down from fathers to sons for decades, the position at the door included.
The elderly owner died one day, and his restless, entrepreneurial son was put in charge. The young man decided to modernize things.
He remodeled the rooms and arranged a meeting with the staff to reveal his new plans.
This is what he said to the doorman: I want to know how many couples enter each day, and I want you to stop one out of every five to find out how they were treated and what they thought could be improved. You’ll come to see me once a week with your report and your comments.
The doorman was trembling. He wasn’t lazy, but…
-I would like nothing more than to do that for you sir-
stammering – but I … I can’t read or write.
-Oh I see. I’m sorry to hear that, but I can’t pay another person just to make the reports, and I don’t have time to wait for you to learn to read and write, I’m sure you understand…
-But sir, you can’t lay me off. I’ve done this my whole life, and so did my father and my grandfather…
The young man cut him off.
-Look, I understand how you feel, but there’s nothing I can do. I’m sorry. We’ll give you a severance, that is, some money to help you until you find another job. Good luck.
And, with that, the young man turned around and left.
The doorman felt like his world had been turned upside down. He never thought this could happen. He went back to his house, unemployed for the first time in his life.
-What am I gonna do?
He remembered that sometimes, when things at the horhouse would break, like beds… or wardrobes, they would give him a hammer and nails and have him fix them as best he could. That might make a good temporary job, he thought, until something better comes along.
He rummaged through his house looking for tools, but all he found was a couple of rusty old nails and a set of pliers. He needed a complete toolbox, and he could use some of his severance to buy one.
When he got to the front door, he remembered that there was no hardware store in town. The nearest one was two days away by mule… “What do I care?” he thought. So he set off anyway.
He returned with a beautiful new set of tools. Before he could take off his boots, there was a knock at the front door. It was his neighbor.
-Do you have a hammer that I could borrow?
-Sure! I just bought one, but it’s for my new job… I just got fired.
-Oh… I’ll bring it back tomorrow as early as possible?
-Fine.
The next morning, as promised, his neighbor came knocking at the door.
-Look, I’m still not finished, why don’t you just sell it to me?
-I can’t, I need it for my new job, and the nearest hardware store is two days away by mule!
-I’ll make you a deal – said the neighbor – I’ll pay for the trip.
That would actually give him a job to do for the next four days…
-Okay
When he got back there was a man waiting on his doorstep.
-Hi, Did you sell that hammer to my neighbor?
-Yep.
-I need some tools. I’ll pay the cost of the trip plus a little extra, on top of the price of the tools. Not everyone has time to make that trip.
-The doorman opened up his toolbox, and his neighbor removed a clamp, a screwdriver, a hammer and a chisel! He paid as promised, and left.
If that was true, a lot of people could use his service.
On the next trip he decided to take a risk and buy some extra tools.
He spread the word around town, and his neighbors stopped traveling all that way to get their tools.
Once a week, the tool salesman would go buy whatever they needed. He quickly realized that if he found a place to store his tools, he could make fewer trips. So, he rented a small storage shed in town.
In time, he widened the door. He added a window with a display. He transformed the shed into a hardware store: the town’s first.
The customers left happy and came back. He didn’t even have to travel anymore. He bought so much from the store in the neighboring town that they started sending him his orders for free.
All of the workmen who lived closer to his store than the other hardware store started shopping there too.
One day it dawned on him that his friend, who was a metal worker, could make hammer heads for him… and pliers and chisels….and screws and nails...!
To make a long story short, ten years later, through honesty and hard work, he became a millionaire manufacturing tools. He became the most powerful businessman in the region.
So powerful, in fact, that one day, to mark the start of the school year, he decided to donate a new school to the town. It would be a modern school where they would teach up-to-date skills, and the arts, in addition to reading and writing.
When it was finished, the mayor and the superintendent organized a ribbon cutting ceremony and dinner in honor of the founder.
Just before dessert, the mayor made a toast and handed the businessman the keys to the city. The superintendent embraced him and exclaimed: It is with tremendous pride and gratitude that we ask that you do us the honor of being the first to sign the school’s charter.
-The honor is mine, he said. Nothing would make me happier… but I don’t know how to read or write.
-You? –balked the superintendent. You don’t know how to read or write? How did you create this – empire of industry – without knowing how to read or write!? It’s unbelievable! Imagine what heights you might have attained had you known!
-I can tell you – he responded calmly – If I had known how to read and write, I would be the doorman at the horhouse.
