"Somebody once said that in looking for people to hire, you look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence, and energy. And if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you. You think about it; it’s true. If you hire somebody without the first, you really want them to be dumb and lazy." - Warren Buffett.
Story Line:
Long time ago, in a northern part of India, there was one very famous wrestler. He had a long and illustrious career in which he had won every match and defeated many well known wrestlers. But age and years of competitions had taken toll on his body. He planned to retire but not before identifying a young man to carry on his legacy.
Many candidates showed up. He picked one young man who displayed tremendous ability and high energy. For next several years, the Master taught his student tricks of the trade and years of knowledge that he had acquired through his wrestling experiences. After few years the student had learned many skills and ventured into the real world with the blessings of the Master.
He was well taught and started winning the competitions all over India. A day came when he had beaten every well known wrestler in the land. He felt “I am the Greatest.” But one thing that bothered him was that people still remembered his Master and at times referred to him as “the student of The Great Master.”
He felt jealous and decided to eradicate his Master’s brand. He challenged his master to face him in the ring and prove to the world that he and only him was “The Greatest.” People in the land were shocked when they heard of this challenge.
Finally the day of the event arrived. Thousands of people gathered in the arena to watch the match. The whistle blew and the wrestling began. The student was strong and fast and knocked master on the ground in a few minutes. Master got up and the student flipped him again to the ground. The crowd was in shock. The Master let it go on for a while and finally made one move and the student flipped and fell on the ground so hard that his shoulder broke. He could not get up and the match was called off. The crowd cheered and bowed to The Master.
A few months late, the student had recovered from shoulder injury. Still wondering how he could have lost, he wanted to do Postmortem. He went to see the Master. While he reached there, The Master gave him a hug and instead of reminding him about the event, talked about the old times. As the day ended and the young man (student) was leaving, he asked The Master “How come you did not teach me that trick which knocked me down for good in our match?”
Replied The Master “The teacher always saves one trick/move for himself in case a day like this arrives.” (where student gets too proud and challenges the teacher.)
Reflection: “At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person.Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” - Albert Schweitzer
That's what the Chinese Kung Fu master do... always keeping the last step, just in case... and the fighters or students are always looking for ways to learn the last and final fatal step or stroke...hoping that their master will pass it on to them.
Posted by: SH | February 27, 2010 at 01:37 PM