Work with Heart!
“Work with heart” is a simple three-word value that most of us may believe. Some may interpret it as work with passion, work with honesty, or work hard.
I did not have these three words with me 20 years ago when I first started my career. But I heard a story that became my Polaris, the northern star that shined its bright light and has always guided me. Just like how Polaris does not rise or set but remains in nearly the same spot above the northern horizon year-round while the other stars circle it. It is the anchor, a landmark of the north sky that helps those who follow it determine direction as it glows brightly to guide and lead toward a purposeful destination. Years have passed, and yet this story shines in my heart, guiding me through my journey.
It is a concise story; back in the days, it was widespread in India to hire a carpenter to build furniture, whether cheap or expensive. A middle-class man named Ramesh hires a carpenter to build a desk for himself. It is a day job for the carpenter to build this desk. He starts his day discussing the requirement and brings the best material he could in the given budget. Throughout the day, Ramesh checks how the carpenter is progressing. He wanted to make sure the carpenter is not wasting time and completes the job on time. It was twilight, and the desk seemed almost ready; the carpenter was polishing the surface under the top of the desk. Ramesh smilingly said, why are you bothering to polish the underside? No one is ever going to see how the surface under the desk looks like, including me. The carpenter looked back, with a smile he said, “I am looking at it, I can’t leave it without polishing. I know it may go unnoticed for life, and I will never hear a complaint about it. But I will always know in my heart the kind of job I did.”
I was fifteen when I heard this story; I took it in with all my innocence. If I would have listened to this story now, I may have contemplated it with time, cost, task, resource, requirement, need, and whatnot. So for me, Work with Heart means “doing the right thing even when no one is looking at you” and “completing the work with finesse to its entirety.”
So if you believe in Work with Heart, take a step back and think what it means to you and make it your Polaris.
