Lessons For Better Life

Don’t quack like a duck. Soar like an eagle!

There really are two types of people in this world.

(1) Those that say “I can’t” and
(2) The others that say “I will try”.

Which one do you think achieves a greater level of success and happiness in their lives?  That’s right. People who will try.

We always keep complaining about our lives. We complain about what we don’t have and sometimes even about what we have. This all leads to vicious cycle of unhappiness.

Let me share a very good incidence of my life.

One Day...

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport in Dubai. When a cab came and stopped besides me, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: ‘I’m John, your driver. While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my mission statement.’

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: John’s Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, John said, ‘Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of tea which I keep regularly.’

I said jokingly, ‘No, I’d prefer a soft drink.’

John smiled and said, ‘No problem. I also have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.’

Almost stuttering, I said, ‘I’ll take a Lassi.’

Handing me my drink, John said, ‘If you’d like something to read, I have Business Today and Fortune magazines.’

As the car started, John handed me another laminated card, ‘These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you’d like to listen to the radio.’

And as if that weren’t enough, John told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he’d be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

‘Tell me, John ,’ I was amazed and asked him, ‘have you always served customers like this?’

John smiled into the rear view mirror. “No, not always. In fact, it’s only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about POWER OF CHOICE one day.”

Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.

‘If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you’ll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!’

‘Don’t be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.’

‘That hit me. really hard’ said John.

‘It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes, slowly … a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.’

‘I take it that it has paid off for you,’ I said.

‘It sure has,’ John replied. ‘My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.’

John made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and start soaring like an eagle.

Start becoming an eagle today… One small step every week… Next week… And next… And….

An Important Life Lesson...

If you want to progress, you need to stop complaining and start doing actions that will get you somewhere. You can  focus on what is right, instead of forever being the critic and pointing out what is wrong.

If you aren’t happy with your present situation, take action to learn how to be happy. Don’t promote more unhappiness by complaining and staying in the same state of mind. The choice becomes yours. You are in control of that choice.

The same is true for anything. If you want to make your career and future bright, stop being depressed, feel better about life, learn how to do an activity in right direction, and try taking action to achieve it. It begins with one step and the first one is eliminating the complaint.

“You don’t die if you fall in water; you die only if you don’t swim. That’s the Real Meaning of Life. Improve yourself and your skills in a different way.

Don’t quack like a duck. Soar like an eagle!

Share via
Send this to a friend