Moral story ‣ To be a duck or an eagle? You decide

 

I was waiting in line at the airport. The first thing you notice when you hail a taxi is its shiny finish. A smart taxi driver in a white shirt, black tie and freshly pressed black trousers jumped out and opened the rear passenger door of the car.
He handed me the folded card and said, “I’m Vasu, your driver. I’d like you to read my mission statement when I put it in the trunk of your bag.”
I read the card to my surprise. It reads: “Vasu’s mission: To reach our customers in the fastest, safest, cheapest and most friendly environment.”
It blew my mind. Especially when you notice how the inside of the cabin matches the outside: Spotlessly clean!
As he slipped behind the wheel, Vasu said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have some plain hot water, decaffeinated.”
“No, I prefer soft drinks,” I joked.

“No problem. I have a cooler with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice,” Vasu said with a smile.
“I’ll have a lassi like I’ve never had before,” he almost stammered.
Handing me the drink, Vasu said, “If you want to read, I have good Homework, Reader’s Digest, Bible, Travel + Leisure.”
As we moved on, Vasu handed me another piece of paper that said, “If you want to listen to the radio, these are the stations I get and the music they play.”
As if that was not enough, Vasu said that he had turned on the heater and asked if the temperature was right for me.
And at that time of the day, he showed me the best route to my destination. He will be happy to chat with me and tell me about interesting places, if you want, please leave me your thoughts.
“Tell me, Vasu,” I asked him in amazement, “have you always served customers like this?”

Vasu smiled in the rear view mirror. “No, not always. Just the last two years. I spent the first five years complaining like any other taxi driver. Then one day I heard the power of choice.”
“The power of choice is you can be a duck or an eagle. You wake up in the morning and rarely feel depressed thinking it’s going to be a bad day. Stop complaining! duck. Be an eagle. Ducks fret and complain. Eagles fly high.”
“It was perfect for me,” says Vasu. He continued, “This is about me. I was constantly being teased and complained about, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at other cabs and drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were uncomfortable. The customers were not happy. So I took some I decided to make a change. I added a few more. When my customers responded well, I made more.”

“I rewarded you,” I said.
“Of course,” replied Vasu. “My first year as an Eagle, I doubled my sales from the year before. This year, I’m probably going to quadruple. My clients call me for an appointment or leave a message.”
Vasu made a different choice. He decided to stop ducking like a duck and fly like an eagle. I hope we all decide to fly like eagles and not ducks.
Credit: Summer Grace Vanney