You have to do it alone

Be better than before, than yesterday...

There was a story of a village who experienced drought.  Their only source of water to drink, the village well dried up.  And one of the villagers William experienced the drying up while fetching water for his old mother.   People were desperate and left the village for places where there could be sufficient water.

Desperate William went up to mountain to reflect.  He met George.  And he discussed the problem with George.  Well George said there is a spring up the mountain.  But William said it is so far away and up the mountains.  About 20 km away.  Up in the mountains  But George said you are looking for a solution to the village plight.  

And so William discussed the plan with his fellow villagers.  No one listened no one cooperated.   William was not disheartened.  He surveyed the best route for a canal between the spring and his village.  He drew the plan and made sure the elevation was right so that water would freely flow from the spring to the village.

All he had as a tool was an old rusty shovel of his deceased father.   He started digging No one bothered him nor joined him   His hands bled from peeled palm on his first day and his mother nursed his blooded hands    He kept on digging.  He dug and dug.  Days passed.  Weeks and months.

Until one day it rained heavily (good for their dried well)  and destroyed portion of his digging.  Thus the defects of his digging were exposed.  He strengthened the walls of the portion that collapsed.  Widened some portion, dug some areas deeper.  

And then he continued to dig.   Weeks, months, months  Until one day he reached the portion of the mountain that was near the spring.  But an immovable large boulder separated his canal and  spring.  His shovel seemed puny compared to the boulder.   He struck the boulder  again and again.   But his effort seemed to be worthless.  He struck the rock again and again and again until finally a trickle, a flow and then a deluge.    And the water cascaded down to his canal....  

And then the flow stopped.  A portion had collapsed soil and rock blocking the flow.  He had to remove the blockage.   But his strength and energy seemed to have left him.    He nevertheless struggled to remove the block until early morning   And then the flow continued until it reached his village.   

At last he solved the water problem   Only then did people appreciate his effort.   But he did it alone.  People dont join you until the results are visible.