<em>A LeadChange "Best of Blogs" post, originally shared on <a href="http://knowledgebishop.com">KnowledgeBishop.com</a></em>

A woman and her small boy are walking down a cobblestone path in the sweltering summer sun. As they round the bend, they come upon three men on their knees, each with a brick in one hand and a trowel in the other. "<em>Mama, what are they doing?</em>" asks the boy. "<em>Why don't you ask them, darling?</em>" she answers. Gingerly, the boy poses his question to the men.

The first answers: "<em>I'm stacking one ROCK on top of another ROCK: same thing I've done for the last <strong>30 years</strong>, kid!</em>" The second says: "<em>I'm earning an honest living, and providing a home and food for my wife and children.</em>" The third one looks up, with a gleam in his eyes and answers: "<em>I'm building the <strong>most beautiful chapel ever made!</strong></em>"

Some of us are trapped in the drudgery of daily labor, haunted by a nagging sense that our work has no meaning at all. Others have accepted the reality that sustenance requires effort, and we shoulder the burden with resolve. But a select few have taken the time to search out how their daily efforts impact the big picture.

I have seldom been the first man, but I've spent many days as the second: Doing what must be done, in order to make ends meet. Far too few of us have become what we aspired to be as children: We wanted to be artists, astronauts and acrobats. But lately, I've found myself resembling that third man.

Where I work, we protect the innocent from those with ill intent. And, back when I was a kid, I wanted nothing more than to find my way into a seat on the Justice League council. Somehow, I have ended up doing that same work. My daily contribution is part of a unified effort to defend the decent from the degenerate.

Could it be that <strong>YOUR daily work is helping someone, significantly?</strong> If you take the time to figure out <strong>who</strong> and <strong>how</strong>, you just may see extra spring in your steps today. <strong>Perspective brings purpose, and purpose drives productivity.</strong>