Ever heard the story of the giant ship engine that 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 youngster.


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 ......... $      9998.00
 

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your  life makes all the difference.