Why We Do What We Do

Hey, good morning team. So here we are, and over the weekend, I started reading another book. In the book, the author talks about three different people who all had the same job.

So, there’s this guy. He’s coming along and he runs into some men that are laying bricks. They’re cutting bricks and they’re stone cutters. He asked one gentleman, and he said, ‘What are you doing here?’ And that’s exactly what he says. He says, ‘I’m cutting stone.’

Next guy he comes along and he says, ‘What are you doing?’ He says, ‘Well, I’m making a living.’ He comes along the third guy, and the third guy he’s talking to that’s out there working. He says, ‘What are you doing?’ And he said, ‘I’m building a cathedral.’ He says, ‘We’re going to build this beautiful cathedral.’

What I want you to hear from that is all three of those guys were doing the same thing, but what they were doing it for, is a whole other situation. See, the first guy, he was just cutting stone. It was just labor to him. It was just ‘it’s a task.’ It didn’t have any deep meaning to it.

The second guy, he was just making a living. So, he had a job, and he figured his job was just to cut stone. And while that was good for his family and it paid the bills, I’m sure, and it put food on the plate. He didn’t have any inspiration that he was doing something bigger than himself.

Whereas the third guy, he was building a cathedral. He was building something that people were going to gather in, that were going to have worship in, were going to party in, were going to enjoy together.

So, as we go through life and as we work, knowing why we do what we do, and having inspiration for what we are doing. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught in the task and feel like week after week, day after day, all we’re doing is cutting stone. We’re just making a living, month to month, paycheck to paycheck, all we’re doing is making a living. Trust me, I’ve been there, sometimes I still get there.

It is inspiration through reading books like this that inspires me to remember why I do what I do. Why do I get up every morning? Why do I read? And why do I sit down and do Monday and Wednesday messages? Why do I do a Thursday where I’m saying thank you to a team member for being excellent?

Why? What’s the point? Why show up every Wednesday and do a little spiel and talk to and pour my heart out to new hires? Why do those things? Well, it’s because I believe I’m doing something bigger than me. I’m doing something greater than myself. I’m building a company with a group of men and women who have an inspired vision to do more for their community than their community does for them. To give back to others more than what, not for a paycheck.

There are a lot of ways to make money, and a lot of things that you can do. But who are you doing it with and what are you doing it for? I love the fact that we have great men and women here at Northwest Enforcement who are absolutely fabulously sold out, dedicated to doing something bigger than themselves, for their community, for the state, and the county that we live in.

I appreciate each and every one of you. On this beautiful day as the week continues on, I just want to say thank you. Remember why you’re doing this. I hope it’s not just a job. And I hope it’s not just, “I’m walking a post.” I hope it’s doing something for my community and making it safer. Make my community safer, right? Our mission is to make our communities safer. That’s what we’re out to do and our core purpose again is to be valuable because nothing less will do.

All right, God bless you guys. I will see you next week. Have a wonderful rest of your week.