Some of the best teachers never give a speech.
They just keep doing the right thing long enough for you to finally see it.
That lesson found me before I was ready for it.
Many years ago, when I was a young, lazy, just-starting-out, inexperienced pup in the world who knew everything…
but actually knew very little…
I was introduced to a lesson in life that changed me for the better.
I was not eager to learn it.
I did not seek it out.
You could say the lesson sought ME out.
Because there I was…
and there IT was.
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
I was working in property management.
About one-third of my time was spent in the field doing miscellaneous work all over the city and county involving the different properties managed by the company.
One day, a fellow worker and I were sent to a place where a tenant had moved out.
The instructions were simple:
clean it up,
haul away the trash,
remove what needed removing,
and get the place ready to rent again.
Simple enough.
I HAVE HAD ENOUGH…LET’S GO
We got there and the place was a mess.
There were probably three hours worth of work waiting for us.
Trash.
Old appliances.
Debris.
Cleaning.
Details.
The kind of job where you look around and immediately start calculating how fast you can get out of there.
LOL.
The guy I was with got to work.
So did I.
And for a while…
we both did well.
Then came the most dangerous moment of all.
The moment I decided I had done enough.
Notice what I said.
Not that the JOB was finished.
I had done enough.
There is a difference.
I TALK…HE LISTENED & WORKED
I wanted to go home.
I was tired.
Hungry.
Done.
At least in my own mind.
So I started taking shortcuts.
A little trash left here.
Something unfinished there.
A few questionable details.
Good enough.
That was my new standard.
The guy I was working with had a different idea.
Broom clean.
Finished.
Presentable.
Rentable.
Mission accomplished.
So while I argued…
he worked.
I talked.
He listened.
I explained why we had done enough.
He kept making progress.
I squawked.
He swept.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
That should tell you something right there.
I PULL THE LET’S LEAVE TACTIC
Because he would not give in…
I stopped working.
That will teach him.
LOL.
I went and sat in the car.
My thinking was simple:
If I stop…
he will get the message.
He will come out.
We will leave.
Nope.
He kept working.
He tidied.
He swept.
He went the extra mile.
He did the little things.
And slowly…
I began to notice something.
The place was starting to look GOOD.
Not barely acceptable.
Not close enough.
GOOD.
WE LEAVE WHEN WE FINISH
Finally I asked him:
“Why are you doing all this?”
“Let’s go.”
“Let someone else handle the little stuff.”
“I am hungry.”
“I am tired.”
“I want to go home.”
He looked at me and said something simple.
“We are not finished here.”
That was it.
No lecture.
No insult.
No drama.
He said:
“We leave when we are finished. If you don’t want to help, I can do it.”
Then he went right back to work.
That statement hit me harder than an argument would have.
WE LEAVE WHEN WE ARE FINISHED.
Not when we are bored.
Not when we are tired.
Not when we feel like leaving.
When the job is FINISHED.
IT TOOK A WHILE, BUT I CAME AROUND FINALLY
I sat there watching him.
About half an hour passed.
And something started bothering me.
ME.
I began to see how out of line I was.
How undisciplined.
How immature.
How little commitment I had to what I was doing.
He never called me lazy.
He never embarrassed me.
He never told me I lacked character.
He simply demonstrated something better.
And that was enough.
Eventually…
I got out of the car.
I apologized.
Then I joined him.
We finished the job together.
The place ended up near spotless.
And when we finally left…
I felt GOOD.
Not just because we were done.
Because I had learned something.
TEACHING BY EXAMPLE
That man taught me a lesson without trying to teach me.
That may be one of the most powerful forms of instruction there is.
He did not say:
“Richie, let me explain work ethic to you.”
He showed me.
He did not explain discipline.
He demonstrated it.
He did not define pride in workmanship.
He swept the floor.
Sometimes the example reaches places the lecture never can.
WORDS CAN ARGUE…EXAMPLE JUST SITS THERE
That is what makes teaching by example so powerful.
Words can be challenged.
Arguments can be rejected.
Advice can be ignored.
But an example?
It just sits there.
Visible.
Undeniable.
You either recognize it…
or you don’t.
That day, I finally did.
EPILOGUE
When we left that property, I felt better about myself.
And the guy I was with?
I would hire him in a heartbeat to do almost anything.
Then I asked myself another question.
Would I hire ME?
Before we got there?
You could probably do better.
After we left?
After I had learned the lesson?
You could do no better.
Why?
Because something had changed.
Not the job.
ME.
And that is what a good lesson does.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Here is one Richie rule:
Never underestimate the person who quietly finishes what they started.
Another:
You can tell people what good work looks like all day long.
Or you can show them once.
And one more:
The best correction I ever received that day was not criticism.
It was contrast.
I saw what he was doing.
Then I saw what I was doing.
That was enough.
PEARLS FROM THE BOOKS
From the spirit of Pearls for the Soul:
“Example has a way of teaching without asking permission.”
From the spirit of God I AM:
“What is lived consistently often speaks louder than what is explained repeatedly.”
From the spirit of It Is Finished:
“Finish what is yours to finish, then leave with peace.”
PEARLS INSIGHT
Teaching by example is powerful because people often learn more from behavior than instruction.
Consistency, discipline and follow-through create visible evidence.
When someone demonstrates a standard instead of merely talking about it, the lesson becomes easier to understand and harder to dismiss.
Good examples do not need to humiliate.
They simply reveal a better way.
PEARLS CONNECTION
This connects directly with ACTION PLANS REQUIRE MOVING WITH A PURPOSE.
A plan is useful.
But the example of someone actually carrying it out is even more powerful.
It also connects with THE LEARNING CURVE.
We often learn fastest when experience forces us to compare what we are doing with what good work actually looks like.
And DOING THE BEST YOU CAN…MONITOR THIS DAILY reminds us that standards are built one finished task at a time.
FINAL SAY
Some lessons come from books.
Some from classrooms.
Some from pain.
And some arrive carrying a broom.
That day, Dave never gave me a speech.
He did not have to.
He showed me what finishing looked like.
What discipline looked like.
What pride in work looked like.
And eventually…
I saw myself clearly enough to change.
That lesson followed me long after the trash was hauled away and the floor was swept.
Teaching by example does that.
It gets in.
It stays.
And sometimes…
it changes a life.
Thank you, Dave.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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