This is the story of Robby. He was a young boy who lived with his elderly mother. His mother wanted him to learn how to play the piano because she longed to hear her son play for her. She sent her son to a piano teacher who took Robby in under her guidance. However, there was one small problem because Robby was not musically inclined and therefore was very slow in learning. The teacher did not have much faith in the boy because of his weakness. The mother was very enthusiastic and every week she would send Robby to the teacher.

One day Robby stopped attending the piano lessons. The teacher thought that he had given up and in fact she was quite pleased since she did not give much hope to Robby. Not long afterwards, the piano teacher was given the task of organizing a piano concert in town. She sent out circulars to invite the students and public to attend the event. Suddenly, she received a call from Robby who offered to take part in the concert. The teacher told Robby that he was not good enough and that he was no longer a student since he had stopped coming for lessons. Robby begged her to give him a chance and promised that he would not let her down. Finally, she gave in and she put him to play last, hoping that he would change his mind at the last minute.

When the big day came, the hall was packed and the children gave their best performance. Finally, it was Robby’s turn to play and as his name was announced, he walked in. He was not in proper attire and his hair was not properly groomed. The teacher was really nervous since Robby’s performance could spoil the whole evening’s brilliant performance. As Robby started playing the spectators became silent and were amazed at the skill of this little boy. In fact, he gave the best performance of the evening. At the end of his presentation the crowd and the piano teacher gave him a standing ovation. They asked Robby how he managed to play so brilliantly. With a microphone in front of him, he said, “I was not able to attend the weekly piano lessons as there was no one to send me because my mother was sick with cancer. She just passed away this morning and I wanted her to hear me play. You see, this is the first time she is able to hear me play because when she was alive she was deaf and now I know she is listening to me. I have to play my best for her!”

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

This is indeed a touching story of love and excellence. When you have a passion and a reason to do something, you will surely excel. You may not be talented or gifted but if you have a strong enough reason to do something, you will be able to tap into your inner God-given potential.

There was once a boy who wanted to seek the secret of success. One day he approached a wise man living up in the mountains. When he found the wise man at his hut, he asked, “Wise man, can you tell me the secret to becoming successful in life?” The wise man was silent for a while. After a moment of silence, the wise man led the young lad to a nearby river. They kept walking into the river until the boy’s head was fully submerged in the water. The boy struggled to keep his head above the water. To his astonishment, the wise man did not help him. Instead, the wise man held the boy’s head in the water. After a few minutes the wise man pulled the boy out of the water and they proceeded to walk back to the hut. At the hut the wise man asked the young boy what he desired most when his head was submerged in water. To this the young boy quickly responded, “Of course, I wanted to breathe, you old fool!” To which the wise man replied, “Son, if you desire success as much as you wanted to breathe, then you will find the true secret of success.”

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES

Success is a matter of choice. If we have strong enough reasons, there is nothing that we cannot do. Once we have the reasons to do something, we will surely find the ways to do it. A mere wish would not make things happen. It is a burning desire, turned into an obsession that will generate the energy to bring you to achieve any goal that you may desire.

From the book, “Cappuccino & Success”.
by Richard Quek
http://www.capcess.com