The Wonderful Castle
June 2009
A talented architect had built many wonderful structures for the kingdom.
The king, impressed with his work, commissioned him to build an entire colony of mansions. He was given a free hand to do whatever he pleased. He started enthusiastically, and built many beautiful structures. As he was about to begin work on the last building, most of the good quality material he had purchased was over. Now, he began to lose interest.
His work on the last one was quite shoddy. The building was outwardly beautiful but the inner walls and structure were not robust. He did not bother to search for the best quality material but worked on cleverly concealing the defects of the available material. “Nobody but me can know this. Anyhow, my reputation is such that nobody will dare complain,” he thought.
The colony was complete. The king called a select group of his friends and courtiers and showed them the wonderful colony. All of them were deeply impressed. The king praised the architect and pronounced that the quality of his construction was such that all the mansions would always remain in perfect shape.
“This is why I commissioned him to build the colony. I want all of you, my truest friends to live here forever,” he ended. One by one, he handed over the keys, the first to his guru, the second to the prime minister, and so on. The last key was left.
The king called the architect. “I could never have trusted anyone else to build a house for you. Your quality is the best and cannot be surpassed. I thought you would be most pleased living in a house built by you so painstakingly,” he said.
The architect was speechless. “How I wish I had spent time in maintaining the quality rather than in hiding the defects,” he repented.
APPLY IT: PUT IN YOUR BEST IN WHATEVER YOU DO.
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