Are you a Duck or an Eagle?

I would like to dedicate this blog to one of my Mentors,
Mike D. Tan,
who has been consistent in reminding me
that I am an Eagle.

I read in Manila Bulletin last Sunday an article about a Duck and an Eagle.

It's about a Businessman-Writer Harvey Mackay who met a cab driver and taught him an important lesson.

Based on the article, Harvey was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing he notices was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine.

He saw a a smartly dressed cab driver who jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for him.

The driver introduced himself as Wally, gave Harvey a laminated card stating his mission statement: "To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in friendly environment."

This blew Harvey away (and I too was blown away by this. I was thinking, "if only all cab drivers will be like that, how sweet it is, right? If only all people in this world would be like Wally... geez!").

As i continue to read, Harvey was already stuttering when Wally offered a drink, a newspaper, and even sounds from the radio stations that you can choose from.

Of course Harvey wasn't able to control himself and asked Wally, "have you always served customers like this?

Wally smiled in the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last 2 years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of tha cabbies do. Then i heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It."

"Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, "Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd."

"That hit me right between the eyes", said Wally. "Dyer was really talking 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 (So True! Hehe ü) and the customers were unhappy.

Then Wally said he decided to change. So he put in a few at a time. He said when his customers responded then he did more. Wally said, "My first year as an eagle, i doubled my income from the previous year. This year i'll probably quadruple it.

Geez! Wally was really phenomenal! Isn't it amazing that since he decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles, he made a lot?

I have met a lot of people in my life quacking and complaining about a lot of things, their projects, their teachers, the school regulations, the company policies, the benefits, the rewards and incentives, the schedule, the fees, the past, the present, the future and basically complaining about everything.

You know, i realize this isn't only for cab drivers. But for each and everyone of us. We may be a student or whatever work and profession we may have, we have to give it our best. God wants us to be achievers and that we can become the best that we can be.

Never too late, let's stop quacking and start soaring.