"mean what you build"
( www.ironwoodindustries.com )
one day, I was at a job site, early in the morning. we were commissioned to build a gate, and I was measuring the wall where the gate would go. some stone masons were not too far away, working on the same wall.
from behind me, to nobody in particular, a man says "mean what you build." he was reading the back of my shirt. i turned around. it’s an older hispanic gentleman – one of the stone masons – and he’s looking at me, and nodding. he says it again: "mean what you build."
then he says, "in mexico, we also have a saying: ‘a lazy man does the job right the first time.’" we both smiled, and we nodded. then we got back to work.