“Excellence is not a destination; it is a continuous journey that never ends.”

— Brian Tracy

After my run at lunch was done, and as I was standing in the men’s bathroom waiting for the shower to open up, the janitor came in. The *female* janitor.

She greeted me quite cordially and asked if she could come in and clean. As the door to the shower room was shut and locked, and I did have pants on, I said sure. She was friendly and we chatted as she cleaned the sink and mirror.

Turning to the toilet she noticed that the lid was broken. She looked at it a couple times, then back at me.

“What’s this called?” she asked.

“The lid. The toilet lid.” I replied.

“Lid,” she repeated. “Lid, lid, lid. The lid is broken.”

She kept repeating the word as she walked back out of the room to her cleaning cart. Before she left, she turned back to me and said,

“You see, this is how I learn English. One word at a time.”

I couldn’t help laughing at the whole encounter, but I admired her spirit and tenacity.

This story is dedicated to all of you out there. To all of you wondering if you’re on the right track. To all of you who wonder if the extra effort to be kinder, try harder and to help another person is worth it. To all of you who struggled today but didn’t see any results. To all of you who will give it your all tomorrow.

Here’s to you!

Success comes one toilet lid at a time.

Gave a little feedback on sparked, and learned something about success from a janitor.