The Carpenter's last job

Once there was a highly skilled and successful carpenter who wanted to retire as he had grown old. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his family.

The employer was sorry to see his good worker retire and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter agreed to do just this one last job for the sake of his employer. As he was in the mood of retiring, the carpenter did not have much interest in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship, and used inferior materials. So the end result was not as good as his previous ones.

When the job was done, the carpenter called his employer and showed him the house. The employer handed over some papers and the front door key to the carpenter and said "This is your house, my gift to you." The carpenter was in a shock! If he had only known that he was building his own house, he would have made it better than any other house that he ever built! When you give something your twenty percent, you finish a chore. When you give it your fifty percent, you finish a task. But when you give it your hundred percent, you do a good job. Any job well done is a one-time investment which will reap rewards for the rest of your life.