Move Mountains - Intergrity

Integrity

A great story that illustrates integrity or just plain old stubborness. A good friend of mine is a contractor and was contacted about installing a sidewalk. He provided the quote to the wife, the buyer accepted and the work began. Upon completion of the concrete sidewalk, the husband is unhappy with the shade of gray color that the concrete dried.  The husband refuses to pay and my friend is dumbfounded.  Still in disbelief he explains the unpredictable nature of concrete curing and that the color will have natural variations. The husband refuses to pay and calls the police. The wife is embarrassed and mortified.

The police arrive and after hearing the explanation suggests that the husband pay up.  My friend at this point is angered, shocked, disappointed and most of all hurt. The wife put her trust in him and his craftsmanship, he delivered the work and did an excellent job. Before the husband could write a check, my friend had another idea.

Since the sidewalk was not paid for he felt it still belonged to him. He asked the police officer if instead of taking payment he could remove the sidewalk. The puzzled officer said yes and my friend proceeded to spend several hours chopping out the hardened concrete sidewalk by hand. The husband, wife, and officer watched shaking their heads in disbelief. My friend did not want to do business on any terms with the husband. Believe it or not my friend took his sidewalk home!

The wife afterwards called my friend and apologized profusely explaining how her husband was out of line, how he humiliated her and the family. She even sent him a check in the full amount for the work.

So I asked my friend, you did the work you deserve to be paid did you cash the check?

What do you think?

Wow!  At the end of the day, these are the people we should do business with, that we want to have as our friends. With a friend like that we can move mountains.

All the Best,

Coach K

A Life Well Lived

Harry the father of a good friend of mine passed away this week at the age of 91. I did not know the man personally but after listening to friends and family describe him, you couldn't help but think that the spirit of Harry is alive and well. I thought wow that's how we all should be remembered.

Harry was a great lover of life. A renaissance man. An acclaimed architect, a skier, a dancer, an artist, and perhaps most importantly a lover of people. Everyone felt welcomed and comfortable in his presence. Harry was not a millionaire or a financially wealthy man, but to listen to his friends and family describe him was to know he was the richest and most fortunate man in the world. It's funny how we touch so many lives without realizing it, how much influence we have, and how our spirit permeates others.

We all know people that are very successful and have accumulated tremendous riches. We all know fathers or mothers that are great providers but barely know their children or could share two words with them. I came away from the gathering and thought if we provide a nice house, nice cars, college educations, and all the goodies life has to offer but somehow didn't find the time to love, nurture, and connect with the people in our lives then we really wasted our short time together. We missed the juice of life, all the good stuff.

It's nice to provide for our families but when you hear people say that person is a "Great Provider" it's time to take notice and regain some balance in our lives.  Look to harness two of the most powerful forces in the universe Love and Kindness, be generous with them, use them often and freely. Just like the river is returned to the ocean that love and kindness is returned to us.

Like Harry let's all be known as Great Lovers of Life.

All the Best,


Tom Kaufmann
Coach K