Two Dozen Basic Management Principles (Pt. 7)

His new family greeted him with hugs and kisses. They introduced themselves as Rob and Barbara Rogers. “But you can call us Mom and Dad,” they said. “Do you have any luggage?” Dad asked. “Yes,” Lopez replied. Lopez had no idea what luggage was but he said yes anyway. Yes was the one word he knew he could use and never sound impolite. The last thing he wanted to do was offend these people. After waiting for a piece of luggage that never came, Rob came over and looked at Lopez’ ticket. He gave Barbara a look and then said, “I’ll go get the car.” Rob pulled up in the most amazing car Lopez had ever seen. This car was so sleek, so new, Lopez felt like a king climbing inside. “Joseph, are you hungry?” Rob asked. “Yes,” Lopez said even though his stomach did not feel much like eating. They pulled into a restaurant and walked inside. They walked up to the counter where photos of everything were on a menu. Lopez had no idea what was what. So much food from which to choose! He knew that this had to be one of the nicest restaurants in all of America. Only later did he discover the truth about McDonald’s. The drive up to the house was even a bigger shock. The house set next to a lake. Boats and Jet Skis covered the water. The house itself was huge. For starters, there were three other vehicles in the driveway in addition to the car he came in. The house itself stretched back out of sight for a very long distance. Home? No, someone had to have made a mistake. “Come on, Joseph. Let’s show you around,” Rob said. “This is the garage.” Throwing open a large overhead door revealed more equipment than Lopez had ever seen. Most of the equipment Lopez didn’t even know what they were for. But he did recognize the four bicycles. Rob pointed out who owned the first three bicycles. The fourth, looking at Lopez, was his. “Mine?” “Sure, if you want it.” Lopez had seen many bicycles but only the wealthy in Sudan and Kenya owned a bicycle. “This is the shed.” Lopez’ jaw dropped to the ground. Inside the shed were enough soccer balls for a year in Kakuma. “How did I get here?” Lopez thought. Thirty-six hours earlier, he was a poor kid, a lost boy of Sudan with one pair of pants, one shirt, and one pair of shoes. Now he found himself surrounded by riches unlike anything he ever dared to dream about. “What did I ever do to deserve to be in such a place?” Lopez thought. “This is your room.” Lopez was confused. “My room?” Lopez asked. “Of course,” Barbara said. “Where did you think you would sleep?” He had expected that he would be sleeping out in the shed. He did not dare tell her that. They should have known the answer but they were clueless! Rob and Barbara left the room and Lopez collapsed on the bed. He had never slept on anything so comfortable ever. He thought about moving to the floor but did not want to upset the Rogers. They told him this bed was for him, so that’s where he had to stay. He did not plan on braking the rules his first night in America. His body screamed for sleep and he wanted to give in. However, the light overhead hurt his eyes. Apparently in America, people slept with light shining in their eyes. He just pulled the cover over his head and fell fast asleep. Management Lesson #10 – Undeserving Ultimately, we are undeserving of much of what we have. As such, we should be very grateful for the incredible gifts that we do have.