Inspirational message

Stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles!

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.

Johnny the Bagger and Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. They
decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.


How about you?