Thinking a step ahead

Long long ago there lived a boy named Tom from a small country town near the ocean. Tom was very nice to people and always had a smile on his face. One day Tom decided to work for a local farmer who lived near him so that one day he could buy a boat and travel around the world to any place that his boat would take him. Tom went to see the farmer and asked to work, the farmer gladly accepted his offer but said that the work would be hard and the pay would not be that great. Tom thought, why not because he really was not doing much but day dreaming about his future and wanted to put a start to his dream. Tom worked really hard for a long while until one day he got asked by one of his friends to attend a fishing trip off the coast for the whole day. Tom went to work so excited for the next two weeks just thinking about the trip and forgot to tell his boss that he could not make it to work that day. When the fishing day came he was so excited and happy and the fishing trip went well. Although, when Tom came back the farmer was really disappointed and told Tom to never do this again. "Tom I want you to know how disappointed I am in you for not telling me in advance that you were going on a fishing trip, I do want you to have fun but you do need to think of others before you make rash decisions especially when it comes to work. I had to toil the fields all day to make up for the work that you missed. It is time for you to take full responsibility for all of your actions and to also realize that a decision that is repeatedly done whether good or bad will shape your character." This short lesson that Tom learned has followed his through his life and he has become successful from not doing that mistake twice.