A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after

another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.



Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was

a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he

arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very

carefully, top to bottom.



Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he

would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached

into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped

something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put

his hammer away. The engine was fixed!



A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten

thousand dollars.



"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"



So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."



The man sent a bill that read:



Tapping with a hammer...... ......... ....... $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap.......... ......... ...... $ 9, 998.00





Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the

difference!