Short Story (Ducks Quack , Eagles Fly)

Subject: Short Story (Ducks Quack , Eagles Fly) Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:19 pm

Years ago, my friend, Harvey Mackay, told me a wonderful story about a
cab driver that proved this point. He was waiting in line for a ride
at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey 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 Harvey.

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."

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement:
"To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and
cheapest way possible in a friendly environment." This blew Harvey
away, especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched
the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally
said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and
one of decaf."

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
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 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 was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow
Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers
over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I
go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers
quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of
what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop
quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. So, what are you?
No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service
is a choice.

Anbu Number of posts : 499 Age : 38 Registration date : 2008-01-22

before i was a duck, always complaining about the tasks that was given to me because it's difficult, i don't have any idea how to do it, etc...

but now, I'm so proud, that I'm an eagle...because I already knew
that the given tasks are the one which can help me to improve myself, especially in programming.

Very Happy

Subject: Re: Short Story (Ducks Quack , Eagles Fly) Fri Mar 14, 2008 7:02 pm

Yup... this is actually the truth of the line:

Change your thought about something, change the way you react on something, and you'll create a change in the world....

And i hope many of us will try to adapt this thinking... napaka-inspiring talaga ng story...

Anbu Assasin Number of posts : 118 Age : 39 Registration date : 2007-06-25

i wantad to soar high
hmmm
like eagles do....... Laughing

Kazekage Number of posts : 1184 Age : 113 Registration date : 2007-06-07

The Law of Attraction... a theory turned to science.

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