This was a story I received on WhatsApp. I tried to find the article on the internet and have included a link where this story is referenced.
This is Harvey McKay’s story about a real life cab driver named Wally:
Harvey McKay was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing he 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.
He handed over 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, McKay read the card: “Wally’s Mission Statement: ‘To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.”
Mckay said this blew him away, especially when he noticed the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally asked if McKay would like a cup of coffee, since he had with him a thermos of regular and one of decaf. McKay joked that he’d prefer a soft drink. Wally said that would be no problem because he also had a cooler with sodas, water and orange juice. Almost stuttering, McKay said he’d have 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 McKay another laminated card that listed the radio stations the cab could receive in the city and the types of programming they featured.
McKay was understandably impressed, so he asked the driver whether he had 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,” Wally said. “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.”
“I take it that has paid off for you,” McKay 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 the ducks and start soaring like the eagles.
OK, you’ve heard the story. Now the choice is up to you. Are you willing to change and, more importantly, will you follow through and do it? If you do make changes, give me a call and we will share how you doubled your income with the rest of the industry.
Reference: https://www.pmmag.com/articles/102111-ducks-quack-eagles-soar
Sometimes we have to take some rash decisions in our life too. It reminded me of that.
I had a maid for 14+ years. So I don’t have to do any house cleaning or cooking at all. Just wash my hands and sit near the dining table, just to eat. Life was perfect.
Very Royal, indeed…
Last January, 2020, I felt, something is wrong. I noticed that it is my maid who is deciding what kind of day it should be for me.
If she is not feeling good 😌, that day, my day becomes bad too.
If she is happy, my day will be good. Everything depended on her daily mood. So when she went on 2 months’ vacation in February, 2020, the first week, I started to cook, warm food and clean the dishes & so on…
After 5 days, I decided that I don’t need a maid to determine what kind of day I should have daily.
I told Babu,
“Please don’t say no to me, I have decided that I don’t need a maid any more . There are so many plus for having a maid, but my days will be better without one. I think I can manage the house all by myself. Now the grandkids are not with us. So we are better off without a maid.”
I have to persuade him, since I was not that strong or healthy after the Cancer treatments.
But that decision I made gave me happiness and peace of mind…
May be more work for me, still…
I don’t regret my decision.
I don’t feel guilty either, because I am sure I would have treated her nice, otherwise 14 years is a long period.
Peace of mind is most important, I learned.
A nice read and well-written .
interesting read
You took a wide decision on living without a maid. Better for mind and body.
I loved reading about the cabbie. I have always wanted to start each day on a positive note but life being not a fairytale hasn’t paved way for it all the time. The cabbie has taught us a lesson.
And Gikkamma, i salute you for your undertaking. No wonder i get recipes every now and then.
Well written. Enjoyed reading.
I too am inspired by the story. I will too stop complaining about the small aches and discomforts that made my day sometimes very boring. Thank you, Gigi, for sharing with this. Please keep giving us more!!