06/01/2026
Once, there was a young Wick man who couldnât stand living in his fatherâs houseâmostly because of the constant comments.
âTurn the heating off if youâre not using it.â
âThe lights are on in the living room and no oneâs thereâswitch them off.â
âClose the door.â
âDonât waste so much water.â
To the son, it all felt petty. Nitpicking. It annoyed him, but he put up with itâuntil the day he got invited to a job interview.
As soon as I get a job, Iâm leaving this town, he thought. And I wonât have to listen to my fatherâs lectures ever again.
As he was heading out, his father said only one thing:
âAnswer confidently. And if you donât know something, say so honestlyâwithout hesitation.â
Then he handed his son more money than he needed for the trip.
When the young man arrived at the interview location, he noticed there was no security at the entrance, and the front door was swung wide open, blocking the sidewalk. He paused, closed the door properly, and then went inside.
Along the walkway were neatly planted flowers, but a hose had been left running. Water was pouring out, flooding the path. He picked up the hose and shut off the tap.
Inside the lobby, no one was thereâjust a sign that read: Interviews on the first floor. As he climbed the stairs, he noticed the lights were still on, probably left that way overnight.
And suddenly, his fatherâs voice echoed in his head:
âWhy do you leave a room without turning off the lights?â
With a sigh, he found the switch and turned them off.
Upstairs, many other candidates were already waiting. There were a lot of them. He wondered if he even stood a chance.
As he walked down the hallway, he stepped on a welcome mat that was upside down. Almost without thinking, he straightened it. Old habits die hard.
In the interview hall, the front rows were packed, while the back rows were emptyâyet the fans back there were running. Again, his fatherâs voice surfaced:
âWhy is the heating on where no one is sitting?â
He turned off the heating and took a seat.
He watched as candidates went in one door and came out another, sometimes within minutes. There was no way to guess what was being asked inside.
When his turn finally came, he approached the desk nervously. The manager took his documents without even looking at them and asked:
âWhen can you start?â
The young man froze.
Is this a trickâor am I actually being offered the job?
âWhat are you thinking about?â the manager smiled. âWe donât ask questions here. We believe questions donât reveal a personâs true abilities.â
âWe evaluate attitude.â
âWeâve been observing all the candidates on camera. And out of everyone who came in today, only you:
â closed the door,
â shut off the water,
â straightened the mat,
â turned off unnecessary lights and heating .â
âThatâs why we chose you.â
In that moment, the young man realised something important: the discipline that once irritated him was exactly what helped him land his first job. All the resentment toward his father disappeared.
He went home happyâand decided that one day, he would proudly bring his father to see his workplace.
Everything parents tell us is meant for our good. They want to see us succeed. To become a person of real value, we have to accept guidance, correction, and disciplineâbecause thatâs how bad habits are unlearned.
A father is a teacher when weâre five,
an annoyance when weâre twenty,
and a compass for life.
Donât hurt your parents while theyâre still hereâonly to regret it when theyâre gone.
Cherish them. Always.