Saturday, June 27, 2009

Are you a “BUILDER-UPPER” or a “BREAKER-DOWNER”?

I once asked a very good colleague of mine, Larry Cordaro who is an assistant coach at Southeastern Louisiana University, for a quick hit recommendation "sound-bite". He wrote that I was a "people-picker" which the following poem summarizes:

One day as I was walking around my home town,
I saw a group of men tearing a building down.
With a “heave” and a “ho” and a mighty yell,
They swung a huge steel ball and a tall building fell.
And I asked the foreman, “Are your men skilled?
Are they the ones you’d hire if you were going to build?”
“Oh no,” he laughed, “Oh no, indeed!
Just unskilled laborers are all I need.”
“These men can easily wreck in a day or two,
What it takes skilled builders many years to do.”
And I asked myself as I walked away,
“Which one of these roles do I want to play?”
Do I want to be known as one who constantly tears down,
As I waste my time spreading negativity around.
Or do I want to be known as one who skillfully builds with care,
I hope that my team will always be glad that I’m there?
Carefully using a positive plan
And putting it into practice the very best that I can.
Or am I a wrecker who roams the town,
With the intent of just tearing it down.
-- Anon

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