He handed my friend a laminated card and said: “I’m Wally, your driver.
While I’m loading your bags in the trunk I’d like you to read my
mission statement.”
Wally’s Mission Statement: “To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.” My friend said jokingly, “No, I’d prefer a soft drink.” Wally smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with
regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.” Almost stuttering, Harvey said, “I’ll take a Diet Coke.” Handing him his drink, Wally said, “If you’d like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.”
As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend 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, Wally told Harvey that he had the air
conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.
Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that
time of day. He also let him know that he’d be happy to chat and tell
him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with
his own thoughts. “Tell me, Wally,” my amazed friend asked the driver, “have you always served customers like this?” Wally smiled into the rearview 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 the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He said, “Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your
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, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some
changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I
did more.” “I take it that has paid off for you,” Harvey said. “It sure has,” Wally replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my
income from the previous year. This year I’ll probably quadruple it.
You were lucky to get me today. I don’t sit at cabstands anymore. My
customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message
on my answering machine. If I can’t pick them up myself, I get a
reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.” Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop
quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. Give
it a thought, how true it is. How many times we just start our day by
complaining; – “Oh No! It’s a Monday.” And then go feeling miserable
the entire day. How many times, have we got up in the morning, felt
the excitement within and exclaimed “This is going to be the BEST day
of my life”. Now even if after saying that you seem to not have a good
day then turn around and do say and feel “This too shall pass”. At the end of the day, go to bed content that you know and feel right
from the bottom of your heart that you have done the best you could. At the end of it, you will be the one who would have changed your own life forever. |
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