“I Need A Reason To Wake Up In The Morning!”

His name was Vince. I met him one day at the Burger King while eating lunch.
“Excuse me; are you the Store Manager over there?”
I then introduced myself and Vince went on to tell me his story.
“So are you guys hiring?...I need a job. I am a retired executive from US Steel, my wife passed away about two years ago and my kids are spread across the country. I fly every weekend to visit them, so I can work Monday through Friday. You know I miss working. A man can only play so much golf, I am really getting bored, …I need a reason to wake up in the morning.”

Vince was a tall man, wearing a wrinkled non-matching jogging suit and sporting a 3-day beard.
I felt sorry for him, he really looked like he needed a job and the story he told me, well that really seemed a bit far-fetched, so I hired him.

Vince came on board and worked Monday through Friday 7 to 11am pushing carts and greeting people as they entered the store. He really loved his job; smiling and saying thank you, talking to customers, keeping the place clean, and I felt good because I gave this guy a job.

About 6 months later Cindi, my office manager, came to me, “Bob, the Payroll dept. called and said they need Vince to cash his paychecks.”
Well I was really surprised, Vince?...the guy who needed a job so bad, not cashing his paychecks?!
“How many paychecks hasn't he cashed”? I asked Cindi.
Cindi looked right at me and said, “Bob, Vince has not cashed a paycheck since he started 6 months ago!”

At that moment I realized, I did not give Vince a job,
he gave me a life lesson.
We All Need a Reason to Wake Up in the Morning, thank you Vince P.