A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried
one expert after another, but none of them could
figure but how to fix the engine.
Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing
ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of
tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately
went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully,
top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this
man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking
things over, the old man reached into his bag and
pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something.
Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully
put his hammer away.
The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners
received a bill from the old man for ten thousand
dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did
anything!"
So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send
us an itemized bill."
The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer....................... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......................... $ 9,998.00
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an
effort makes all the difference .
A small story...that teaches a lot...
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