If I had 5 hours to chop a tree...

Long, long time ago, in a small town in China, hahaha, I am such a drama king. :P
Anyway, there was this young man, looking for a job. Jobs were scarce at that time, so he walked in to many places and none would hire. Finally he came about to a logging shed.

He went in and pleaded with the boss of the logging shed, an old man, "Please sir, I need a job. And I promise you that I will not disappoint you. I am hardworking, I assure you."

The old man thought about it and asked, "Can you chop 20 trees in a day?"

The young man was confident and he was hired.

At the end of the day, he managed 25 trees. He was happy. The old man did not say anything but gave him his earned daily wages.

The next morning, the young man reported to work and started chopping trees. At the end of the day, he only managed 22 trees. The following day he only managed 20 trees.

"20 trees? Gosh, I just barely made the minimum. I must increase my efforts," the young man thought to himself.

So the next day, he reported one hour earlier to work and goes back an hour later. He managed 20 trees only.

The young man was flabbergasted. He had put in extra two hours of effort but had not reaped the rewards. He contended that he must increase his efforts further. So again, he reported to work earlier and goes back later.

Days went by, and each day the young man tried to be as early as possible and goes back as late as possible. He was even the first to arrive at the logging area and the last to leave. But the trees count of minimum 20 trees could not be maintained. Each day, the number of trees he chopped became lesser and lesser. The old man, the owner of the logging shed, did not say a word about the dwindling performance of the young man.

However, by end of the week, the young man was disappointed and devastated. He went to see the old man and told him, "Sir, I don't know what is wrong with me. I kept coming early and going back later but somehow, I could not chop the minimum number of trees you required. I am so sorry. I am sorry I disappoint you. I am sorry that despite your confidence and good natured that hired me, I have failed you."

The old man rose from his seat and tap on the shoulder of the young man. He said, "Young man, I know you've been a very hardworking worker. But have you taken time to sharpen your axe?"

That is also why Abraham Lincoln was once quoted,

If I had 5 hours to chop a tree,
I would use 4 hours to sharpen the axe.

Of course, during my early days of working, my Group Accountant logged into my PC when I was on leave and saw the automatic pop up with the Abe Lincoln's message.
He added,

I would just use the electric chainsaw and finish cutting the tree in 15 minutes...

The logging shed story was once conveyed to me by a General Manager of a SBU division. I take this opportunity to thank him for his guidance throughout the years I have been working with him. It was an enjoyable and fruitful learning experience to me.