Stay Under the Umbrella
Finding and keeping your focus in life
Years ago, in Hong Kong, there lived a missionary named John who had a knack for getting things done. In a densely crowded and difficult city, that brand of talent attracts attention, particularly among American businesses salivating over the lucrative Eastern market. One day the ranking executive of a squirt gun manufacturer invited John to lunch at a well-known Hong Kong restaurant. In the posh but crowded dining room, the exec slipped $600 to the owner and was escorted with John to a prime corner table.
Napkins had barely hit laps when the executive leaned in. "John," he said, "we'll pay you a salary of $200,000 and provide you with a nice office and a car and driver if you'll come work for us." Perhaps too casually for the executive's pride, John said, "I'm not interested" (thinking to himself, he said later, that he could have saved the guy $600-plus on lunch). When the businessman pressed with "How much are you making now?" John didn't hesitate. "Eight thousand dollars," he said. "But that's not the point. I'm here serving God, doing what I'm supposed to do, and I've never been happier."
Back to Table of ContentsNext Excerpt
Tell a Friend
