A wise old tractor

“You will only be remembered in life by the problems you solve and the ones you create.”

This quote did not come from a business person, a life coach, a celebrity, or a modern ‘guru’ (a word with real meaning and substance now casually applied to any management huckster with a toothy grin and a TV show). Instead it came from the Grandfather of a friend of mine. I like this fact because it reminds me that learning can come from any direction and that we can (if not careful) rely on ‘gurus’ when useful people can sometimes be sitting next to us at home.

This quote also struck a chord with me because I wonder that we can fall into a trap of turning problems into objects. By doing this we can strip them of their human element and divorce ourselves from the influence we have on their inception or conclusion.

People cause problems. People solve problems. That includes me and this quote did make me stop and think about which problems I’ve created and which ones I’ve solved recently. It’s an interesting question to ponder over…

The next time somebody presents me with a problem and shirks their responsibility for it, I will share this quote with them and give them the oportunity to be remembered for something positive. That seems a fair way to motivate someone.

And if you’re interested in the detail, the quote comes from Nemesio Maun (my friend is Maywell). He was the Chief Mechanic for John Deere tractors in the Philippines.