Sometimes we all need some wisdom,  like this quote below.

  • People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; forgive them anyway.
  • If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway.
  • If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway.
  • If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you: be honest and frank anyway.
  • What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway.
  • If you find serenity and happiness, other may be jealous; be happy anyway.
  • The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway.
  • Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
  • You see in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway.

Most people believe this was engraved on the wall of Mother Teresa’s home for children in Calcutta. No one is sure, but if it moves you to consider how we go about our day at work, then it is worth reading. Can we apply this creed to a repair shop? If we rewrite this with our shop in mind, it would read something like this:

  • Customers are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; forgive them anyway but make sure they pay the whole bill including the time you held their hands and answered all their questions.
  • If you are kind to your employees, some employees may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; be kind anyway, as they are a big part of how successful you have become.
  • If you are successful, you will win some false friends and true enemies; succeed anyway. Enough said!
  • If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you: be honest and frank anyway, but keep bank books, tools, pass codes, and such locked up.
  • What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; build anyway. Buy insurance so you can rebuild and keep a fire extinguisher nearby.
  • If you find serenity and happiness at work you are most likely drinking too much, other may be jealous; be happy and sober anyway.
  • The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; do good anyway, and then write a company newsletter so others can remember.
  • Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough, so offer a warranty; give the world the best you’ve got anyway.

You see in the final analysis, it is between you and God; it was never between you and them anyway. Your customers most likely will not come to your funeral, so spend time, and energy with those that will.

Keep these words handy for a while until it sinks in then give this to someone else. This was shared by the Reverend Mark Seifried when he knew I could use it. It helped explain a lot, so now I can share it with you, including the edited version.

Craig Van Batenburg,