“Every industrious man, in every lawful calling, is a useful man.
And one principal reason why men are so often useless
is that they neglect their own profession or calling,
and divide and shift their attention among a
multiplicity of objects and pursuits.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The other day I had a nice long chat with my daughter’s fourth grade teacher, who said something that really made me think. She was talking about how not every kid can be the best or the brightest, the star or the valedictorian. She said that she recently told her own teenage son, “If you don’t want to go to college, fine. Just do something legal.” When I looked surprised, she said, “Not everyone can be a doctor or a lawyer. Someone has to pick up the trash and cook the  food and sweep the hallways. Those people are just as needed as anyone else.” How wise she is! It’s so easy to get caught up in what we think we “should” be doing instead of simply focusing on doing something useful to the best of our abilities.

“Every industrious man, in every lawful calling, is a useful man.
And one principal reason why men are so often useless
is that they neglect their own profession or calling,
and divide and shift their attention among a
multiplicity of objects and pursuits.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson

The other day I had a nice long chat with my daughter’s fourth grade teacher, who said something that really made me think. She was talking about how not every kid can be the best or the brightest, the star or the valedictorian. She said that she recently told her own teenage son, “If you don’t want to go to college, fine. Just do something legal.” When I looked surprised, she said, “Not everyone can be a doctor or a lawyer. Someone has to pick up the trash and cook the  food and sweep the hallways. Those people are just as needed as anyone else.” How wise she is! It’s so easy to get caught up in what we think we “should” be doing instead of simply focusing on doing something useful to the best of our abilities.