The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 68 Doing the Impossible
[United States] Richard Thurman

I don't know why, but I did something that seemed impossible.

She lived in a big house with a garden with a lawn in front of it, and was a rich old lady.However, no one knows where this rich old lady came from.People called her "The Countess".The countess likes to be alone and doesn't like to be disturbed.

The countess always had a cane.With this crutch she was ready to hit any child who disturbed her.

I was hit once with her cane when I was 13.I deserved to be spanked for trying to slip through the fence into her beloved garden while playing hide and seek.

"Oops!" I yelled, and started to run away.

"Come here, boy!" cried the Countess; "do you live in that green house in the street next to ours?"

"Yes, ma'am," I replied.

"Do you water the lawn at home? Do you mow the lawn?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Well, if you like, I'll give you a chance to earn pocket money. How about I ask you to mow my lawn?"

The children in our place earn pocket money by working for their families or neighbors. I am worried that no one will ask me to work these days, so her words hit my heart.Our agreed labor time is every Saturday morning.

The first Saturday, I mowed the lawn three times before she was satisfied.Then I have to dig up the weeds on the lawn.I knelt and crawled around on the lawn.

Finally she called me to the front porch: "How much do you want, young man?"

"I don't know. Maybe five dollars."

"Very well," said the Countess, "here, here's $5. Here's another $10, which is what I paid you for re-mowing twice. Now I want to tell you something. The quality of people's mowing lawns It varies, and the value of the work can range from $5 to $30. Today you may be doing a $20 job, but you don’t do it all by yourself. I’m directing and contributing.”

The countess continued: "$30 is a job well done. It's not easy and takes a lot of time to get to that level. But mow a lawn and you can earn more, like $35. Well, it's impossible. Let's not think about it. In the future, you can weigh in and pay the price you think you are worth."

I've never made $15 for a job before.Next week I'm on track to hit $30!that is really good!

But the second week I was getting tired half way through and the quality certainly didn't improve.I ask $15.

"Another fifteen dollars?" she said. "That's not good."

"Yes ma'am. I'll do better next week," I agreed.

I did do better in the third week.I found that I had a little bit of technique.This made me happy and I worked harder.My asking price is $20.

I've been getting $20 or $25 a week for my work.I am getting more and more familiar with this lawn.Some places are a little high, some places are a little low.I've learned what to do with lawns in these places.Every week I gain a little new appreciation for doing $30 jobs.But in the end, I always end up with only $25 worth of work due to lack of energy.

"You're a twenty-five," the countess always said half-jokingly when she handed me twenty-five dollars.

Every time I get money, I feel very happy in my heart.I forgot that I was trying to do my best to get a $30 job.

"You've done a good job, though," said the Countess. "After all, not many people can mow their lawns for $30."

Those words made me feel good at first, but then they made me uneasy.Even if I'm exhausted, I have to do a $30 job.

One night, lying in bed, I had an idea.Why only think about doing a $30 job?Why not figure out how to do a good $35 job?

I have this condition because I already know all the tricky things about this lawn.It was another Saturday, and that day, I pushed the mower over the hills.I know the terrain, so my priorities are pretty good.I pushed that mower for over two hours.But then I was too tired to do it.

I sat under a tree and fell asleep without knowing it.I woke up and the lawn really looked better than ever.I'm ready to move on.I've discovered a secret: resting for a few minutes every hour restores your strength.That time I worked for a long time, and a few times I took a few minutes' breaks in between.After the break I continue to work.

I trim, I rest.I don't even spare the lawn behind every tree.I also trimmed all the grass between the flagstones in the walkway.My fingers hurt.

At about 12 o'clock, I ran home and spent half an hour eating New Year's dinner.At two o'clock in the afternoon I finished mowing the lawn.

"Well," asked the countess, "what's the price today?"

"$35," I replied.I tried to appear calm.

"$35? You mean $30, right? There's no way mowing a lawn is worth $35."

"It's possible. I did it."

"Well, boy, I'd like to see what a $35 job looks like."

Let's walk on the perfect lawn together.I'm proud, and she's proud of me: "Young man, how did you do such a good job?"

I don't know why, but I did something that seemed impossible.

Heart mark notes
In many cases, it is not because some things are difficult to do, but because you have no determination. As long as you have determination and dare to challenge yourself, nothing is impossible.If a person always confines himself with "impossible", then he is doomed to make a difference.Delete "impossible" from the dictionary. Even if we do encounter "impossible", we should think of it this way: it's not impossible, but we haven't found a solution to the problem yet.

There is nothing impossible in the world, learn to break through, learn to challenge, learn to surpass, learn to struggle...do the seemingly impossible, and you will find that you can do much more than expected.

(End of this chapter)