The three quarrymen

I would like to share with you a story that I’ve read in a Spanish book called “Companies’ Failure’s causes” (how to learn from other people’s experience) by Enrique Zamorano. So, this extract says…

There are three quarrymen at the foot of a cathedral doing the same job: sculpting stones.

A stranger gets closer to one of them and asks: “What are you doing?”

The quarryman answers: “I’m sculpting stones” and, with his bad-tempered look, he adds: “Can’t you see it?”

The second one replies saying: “I’m earning my living” and his gesture seems to say: “It’s too hard, you know?”

When the third man hears the question, he brings up his head, glances up, and with his eyes shining, he says: “I’m building a cathedral”

Conclusion

The same action could have different meanings. The third quarryman is, indeed, who does his job with excellence: he takes his work as a challenge and does it with passion.