In a distant village, there lived two skilled craftsmen, James and Alex. They were close friends who loved carving artifacts from clay. They made toys, vessels, containers, and tableware. But because their village was small, they earned little from their work and didn’t have enough in the evening, yet they didn’t complain. They advised each other. Alex would say to James, “Learn to focus on one thing and know your strengths.”
Alex was a skilled and precise craftsman. When he made an artistic piece, he finished it by its delivery deadline. He was careful to make one piece each time, which helped him focus on his work and finish it on time. This wasn’t James. He wouldn’t refuse a request from anyone, remained drowning in work, started more than one piece, and didn’t deliver it on time. One day, some tourists visited the village. One of the tourists said to Alex, “Your skill can’t be estimated here. There’s a distant city beyond the desert. Why don’t you take your artifacts to sell there? Its people will want to pay you more, and you’ll earn a lot.”
Alex said to her, “I’ll think about it.” In the evening, he said to James, “What do you think about taking our artifacts to the big city? Here we don’t earn much money, and work is also little.” He said to him, “Work is indeed little. You’re right, but the desert is large. How will we cross it?” He said to him, “I’ve seen caravans crossing the desert every period, with camels and carts. I know there’s a caravan that will leave tomorrow, and we can cross with it.” He replied to him, “Indeed, I heard there are rich people on the other side of the desert. Perhaps I’ll find a beautiful bride and live with her in eternal happiness. You must rest now. We’ll leave tomorrow with the caravan.”
That night, James and Alex slept in peace. In the morning, they filled the cart with artifacts and food. The journey was long, and they had to be prepared for it. The beginning was good. They felt hope and enthusiasm for their future in the city. They talked about ways to earn money, gain new skills, and make more artifacts. The caravan stopped for lunch in the middle of the day, then for dinner at night. The journey continued for several days, but the temperature became unbearable, and the water with the caravan ran out. This was because the travelers had carried clay containers, and with the absorption of the temperature, the containers absorbed the water. The caravan people gathered, and Alex suggested to them that they dig to find water. They said, “If we dig a deep hole, we’ll find water.”
They took the camels and stopped them in the place. The travelers started digging in the ground. Time passed, and water didn’t appear. The travelers started leaving work one after another, feeling tired, and went to their carts to rest. Alex returned to the cart to rest with it. With the high temperature and fatigue, he fell asleep immediately. One of the travelers came to James and said to him, “We’re wasting our time, and there’s no water here. I know a place where we’ll find water.” The traveler pointed to a place for James to dig. James dug for several meters and didn’t find water. A while later, another traveler came to him and showed him another place.
He started digging for several meters. Another traveler came to him, and the matter repeated. This continued for hours, and the ground was filled with holes that weren’t deep enough. When Alex woke up, he was shocked by what he saw. James told him the story. He said, “This is what I was afraid of. Do you know how much time and energy you wasted like this? Go and count the holes and their depth. It would have been easy to find water if you had focused your effort in one place. You don’t have to listen to everyone and lose your focus.” Alex called everyone and asked them to dig in the place they had started in. They dug for a while, and finally, they found water. Everyone drank and filled their empty containers. The caravan reached the city after two days. Indeed, James and Alex obtained a lot of money and became rich. They hired two other craftsmen to make artifacts, and their artifacts became sold in local and international markets.