Chapter 9Everybody Loves the Carpenter
It seemed everyone in the store knew the carpenter. As they walked around, one person after another either waved or stopped to say hello to him.
“How you doing, J.?”
“What’s going on, J.?”
“How’s business, J.?”
“What’s your latest project, J.?”
The carpenter waved and said hello to each person and stopped to talk to those who wanted to talk to him. Michael felt like he was walking around with the mayor of home improvement. It seemed everybody loved J. and he loved everybody.
As they drove back to the house, Michael asked, “How do you know all those people?”
“Oh, they were either clients or people I’ve worked with on various jobs. When you work as long as I have and do as many jobs as I do, you meet a lot of people.”
“Meeting a lot of people and having them actually like you and want to spend time with you is another matter altogether,” said Michael. “You obviously have a great reputation in the industry. I can see how being a craftsman draws people to you.”
“Well, it’s more than being a craftsman that draws people to you,” said the carpenter. “While I am respected in my industry and stand out from those who merely do work instead of creating art, it is also essential to have the right attitude and approach to your life and work. When you see the good, look for the good, and expect the good, you find the good and the good finds you.”
“How so?” asked Michael, who didn’t think he was attracting a lot of good lately.
“I don’t know how it works ...