A missionary to the small back-country villages in China was once asked why she was willing to spend so much of her life in such an out-of-the-way place, with virtually no recognition or appreciation from the rest of the world for her life of service. She replied with this story:

“In China, when a bridge needs to be built over a stream or river, the process begins with stones – lots of stones. Each villager will carry a large stone to the stream and drop it in the water, over and over, hundreds of times, all in the same spot. At first, they quickly sink to the bottom and are covered by mud, but eventually the pile begins to rise until it breaks the surface.As more stones are piled upon one another, the column finally reaches the desired height, and a wooden span is set upon it. No one ever sees those stones at the bottom; in fact, no one even thinks about them any more. But they are there because without them the bridge would not be able to stand over time.

I am willing to be one of those stones in the mud.”

Running a business, as any entrepreneur will tell you, is not always glamorous. In fact, it may never be glamorous at all (who makes those little urinal cakes anyway?) Even if it’s a well-respected business like Apple, Google, or Johnson and Johnson, the fact is every business, every profession – everyone at some time or another has to do those little, shall we say, less pleasant things that keep a business going (grrr – nobody told me that changing toner was part of my job description!)

Bookkeeping, managing cash flow, lead generation, paying the bills, manufacturing and delivering product, marketing, yada, yada, yada – it never ends. At least, not if you want your business to keep going, it doesn’t! Those of us who aren’t entrepreneurs aren’t any better off. As a project manager, for instance, I constantly have to manage cash flow, attend meetings, make calls, and juggle schedules – none of which is really very fun.

But that’s the thing – the fun, in my humble opinion, is not in the tasks themselves (who ever thought writing reports was fun?), but in the accomplishment of those tasks toward the goal of having a successful business and/or receiving a paycheck. I’ll bet if you ask Steve Jobs, even he would admit that the things he has to do to move Apple forward each day are not “fun” in themselves; it’s in the fact that Apple is a player with “those other guys” – in other words, the enjoyment is in the accomplishment of the tasks.

So to the laboring masses (cue the violin music), to the struggling hordes, yea, even to the captains of industry I say, “Take courage, my friends! While all the things you have to do every day may never be appreciated, they are necessary! Never forget to lift your eyes to the goal! Keep that chin up -” (sound of phonograph needle scratching across the platter)

No, all I’m saying is, the details and mundane tasks of any business are simply the stones upon which the organization is built. Don’t be worried that no one appreciates them like you do. They’re there because without them, you’d have no business.