My grandfather was born in a small town in Italy. He would wake up at four in the morning every day to work on the farm. Although he was a great student in school, he only went up to Grade 3 because he was required to help with the family farm.
Later, my grandfather used his own hard-earned savings—the small amount was all he had—to travel to Canada. He was alone in a new country, not knowing anyone and not speaking English or French. At a farm, the owner quickly saw what a hard-working young man my grandfather was, so he paid my grandfather a much higher salary. Although the owner was very nice to him and treated him like family, he was not satisfied. He dreamed of being more successful, of better career advancements.
One day, he got an offer to work in the construction industry. My grandfather, a newly immigrated young famer, who was eager to move up in the world, caught this opportunity and prospered( 发达 ) through hard work. Around 1967, however, he become overwhelmed(不知所措的)with stress, sleepless nights and anxiety from the business. He also had two young daughters to take care of and my grandmother was in the hospital at the time. The combined stress and anxiety unfortunately drove him into a major depression. During a medical check-up, his doctor warned him about his health. He knew it was time for him to make a change and decided to sell his shares in the company.
He then began a smaller business of his own, which resulted in less stress and more time with family. Had he chosen not to quit his former job, he might have been a billionaire today. My grandfather will turn 95 in October; even at this ripe old age, he is still strong, well and high-spirited. Looking at his story as a life example, he teaches us to work hard, but at the same time not to forget to enjoy life and have a good sense of humour about it all.
Work is important, sure, but there is much more to life than just that. Overall, this is the ultimate key to happiness.
