Page 63 - WhoAreWe...

seemed to be much more appreciative of my bike than they
were. Because I worked hard for it, I valued it very highly.
While other kids were letting their bike rust away outside
leaning up against the garage, mine was in the garage, clean
and oiled up, with a new wax job to boot.

There are numerous important lessons in all of this. Not
only did I learn the value of a dollar and was shown that
hard work can produce very good things, also there was a
wonderful feeling of accomplishment that I had, and over
time, had been able to truly make something important
happen in my life. How proud I was to make those weekly
payments to my Mom, who kept a little ledger with the
dates and amounts of my payments. What a grand day it
was when I had finally paid off my share and the bike was
all mine. This was all about hard work with undeniable
tangible evidence of its value. Feelings of accomplishment,
pride in ownership and knowing that hard work will lead to
good stuff are all essential lessons we must all learn.

These experiences would, and still do, inspire me to this
day and it is something every child — every person —
needs to learn. If a young individual is going to feel like he
belongs in this world, he needs to know that his life has
meaning and value, and this is a very good way of getting
there. All through this book I talk about the value of hard
work and how it contributes in our search for
enlightenment, so any and all ways to demonstrate this are
good, valid, and something that we should share freely with
one another.

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