A Humble Man

Is there someone you truly respect and admire? Many people admire famous actors or superstar sports figures. Some people admire our President or rich people in positions of power. But for me, it’s a humble gardener named Roberto.   

Last year, my original gardener went on vacation and never came back. Since our home sits on an acre of land, I definitely needed help with the landscaping. So, I asked my neighbor the name of their gardener. When I met Gustavo, he was working at my neighbor’s house and seemed very nice and polite.  Plus, I noticed that he worked at a really fast pace. I walked Gustavo around my property and asked if he was interested in being hired. He shook his head and said, “Not possible, too busy. But you should ask my little brother, Roberto. He is the best. He is the one you want.”

The very next day, Roberto showed up early and introduced himself with a strong handshake. He walked the property and took everything in with great intensity. He asked a lot of questions, physically touched many of the plants, and when he was done, he smiled and said, “Thank you. I start now!” Roberto has shown up early every Saturday for the past six months. Even when it rains, there he is anyway, mowing, weeding, and trimming. He works extremely hard but is always smiling and looking like he is enjoying his job. I remember during the second week he said, “You will be happy with my work.” Roberto was right!

Last month I explained to Roberto that we were going to have a wedding at our home in two weeks and we needed the place to look better than ever. I told him there were four trees to replace, many flowers to be planted, and a lot of extra work. Roberto just smiled and said, “No problemo.” then I asked him what he wanted to be paid for the extra work and he said, “Pay me whatever you think is fair.” What a great answer, but not surprising from such a humble man. Although I had an amount in my head already, I instantly decided to double it! Since that time Roberto and I have become close friends and recently he even introduced me to his fiancé.

And that got me thinking... If you want to be respected and admired, find a job you enjoy, do it to the best of your ability and smile all the while. People will not only respect and admire you, they might just grow to become your close friend!

The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what 

he gets paid for it, but what be becomes by it.

~ John Ruskin

Here is an interesting sidebar to this week’s Monday Message –

In 2001 my father was extremely ill and dying from cancer. He only had a month or so to live, so my Mom brought him home to their house in Poway, California to care for him. My wife and I went to their home to live there temporarily and do our best to help them both.

My Dad only lasted three weeks but during that time I noticed that the gardener showed up every week and did a great job, so that was one less thing for me to worry about. My Dad had always paid the bills and dealt with the gardener, so I asked my Mom if she had paid the gardener lately. She said, “Well you know your father always took care of that and he has been so sick for so long, I don’t think the gardener has been paid for quite a while.”

So, I went outside the next time the gardener showed up and asked him to please send me the bill for the gardening so I could catch up on payment with him. I apologized that he hadn’t been paid and explained how sick my father had been. He said, “I know Allen has been sick, so it’s not a problem.” I expected to get a bill in the mail soon but didn’t see one.

My father passed away two weeks later, but I decided to stay with my Mom for a few more weeks to help her get situated. I went through all of my dad’s records, taught my Mom how to balance her check book, and got all the bills paid up. But then it dawned on me that I still hadn’t received a bill from the gardener. I felt bad about it and said, “You know I really need to pay the gardener. He’s been working for free for months, but I forget his name and was wondering if you knew his name and address?”

Mom answered, “I don’t know his address. I just know his name. It’s Roberto.”