The Changed World of Mayo
I want to share a story about a granite installer, Mayo, whom my wife and I used to work on our house and rental properties. Mayo was a hard worker, laboring 6-7 days a week, 10-12 hours on most days. He drove an aging truck and lived in an old apartment with his family.
Ten years ago, we hired Mayo to install some granite at one of my dental offices. At that time, he barely spoke English, but his price was reasonable. He was reliable and pleasant to work with, so my wife and I always sent more business to him over the years. We continued to hire him to install granite in our house and rental properties.
Today, we met up with him at one of our rental properties. When we arrived, Mayo was sitting in his new truck. We shook hands, and I complimented him on his brand-new acquisition. He told me he is now a business owner with 13 employees working for him. He'd freed himself from being a technician to now being a business owner.
He said he doesn't have to cut and install heavy granite anymore. He only works a couple of days a week and only drives around to give estimates. His English is still limited, but it doesn't matter because he has two office secretaries working for him. Mayo also shared that he bought a nice house for himself and his family.
After hearing him update me on his business and life journey, I felt so happy for him. I reaffirmed to myself that this country is truly a country of opportunities for those willing to work hard and overcome barriers to achieve their dreams. Mayo is an excellent example of the American dream, who came from nothing except an indomitable will to do better in life.
Even though Mayo is more successful now, he is still a pleasant gentleman we met over ten years ago. He is still humble and always smiles with joy when you meet him.
People like Mayo give us hope that we all can do better in life if we choose to. It's not easy, but we can all achieve our dreams with hard work and perseverance.
Author: Nathan Ho, DDS