Don’t be a Duck, Be an Eagle

(Excerpt from The Simple Truths of Service)

No one can make you serve customers well. That’s because great service is a choice. 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. How about you?

Finding My Filipino-ness

In the midst of all the celebration of Pacquiao’s triumph over Hatton and my reflection on the book of Nehemiah, I suddenly felt glad and proud to be Filipino; not that I never was but I just never had the need to emphasize that I am a Filipino. My pride does not only come from the honor that Pacquiao and Lea Salonga and all the popular Filipinos all over the world have brought our country; my pride comes from knowing that I am a Filipino who can do something to uplift the life of others in my country. I am a Filipino, born and raised as one—not as some other race—because I can contribute to bringing back the glory that our country once had. I am a Filipino who can help make this world a better place one person at a time.

I never dreamt of migrating to another country and living there permanently and getting another citizenship. I have been disillusioned once—I had given up any hope for our political system and politicians—and had planned to leave the country but I always had the intention of coming back to help my country. But I realized that my citizenship should not be limited by my address. I can be in London, Boston, or Tondo and still be Filipino in mind and heart.

Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country…The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.–JFK

My being Filipino now is more than abiding by the traffic rules. It is more than using the pedestrian lane when crossing the street; it is more than following the traffic lights. It is more than paying the correct amount of taxes. It is more than having integrity as a worker. It is in seeing to it that a child who cannot afford to go to school gets the education he deserves. It is in seeing to it that a worker gets paid decently. It is in seeing to it that a family has their own source of livelihood. It is in seeing to it that a child never goes hungry. Yes, even one decent meal can make a difference.

My advocacies since I was a kid haven’t changed—I have always wanted to help in the areas of education especially for children, in providing livelihood for the poor, and in conserving the environment. I thank God for the constant reminder to reach out. And I thank God because I now have a better view of my sphere of influence and where and how exactly I can make a difference. Change starts with a person, with one small step, and it starts with me.

Let these be my legacy—to help even just one child go to school, to teach a family to fish, to feed street children. For I know how it feels to go to bed hungry. During 2008’s prayer and fasting, I once had to go to bed with a headache due to hunger. And that hunger and headache were something that I could have avoided by eating. I had a choice. But a lot of children do not, and I would like to give them that choice. Too bad that good education and good food have become a privilege for the few in this country. I hope to change that—one kid, one person, one family at a time. Let me correct that…I am now walking in faith that I can change that because I have been doing things to change that because in 2009’s prayer and fasting, I was challenged to do something more concrete–to act on my desire to help for my fasting would have gone to waste if all I had was a desire, a vision with no action.

Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?—Isaiah 58:5-7

I continue to be moved by the sight of hungry children on TV. I passed by the Quirino Grandstand last June 14th and saw the long lines of people participating in the government’s employment program under the grueling heat of the sun. I was moved to the point of tears that I prayed for them to find a job. We will have a presidential election next year. I have been praying for discernment on who to vote for and for these aspirants to have the genuine concern for our country and not just the selfish desire for power. With the prayers comes the desire to be shown how to help better the lives of people.

All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.–JFK

I may not see the Philippines back in its former glory in my lifetime. It will not take just one government or one administration but I am standing in faith that my efforts to help my country will make a difference however small it may be.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Manang Bola at the Supermarket

Remember Manang Bola of Batibot (haha! did I just reveal my age?) Perlas na bilog…’wag tutulog tulog..sabihin sa akin ang sagot..ba be bi bo bu…

I was at the supermarket one night in front of my school, which has been my home also for almost two years now (can’t believe it!) when something in the frozen goods section caught my attention…big..white…smooth…and when I held it, omg, it was so heavy…good thing I didn’t drop it because it was worth P600++…So, what was this creature called? Ostrich egg….first time to see one in my life

The flyer said that one ostrich egg is equal to 20 to 24 chicken eggs (what a breakfast!) so limit your consumption to one serving size! Okay, so how do i divide the yolk?:) It has the same uses as chicken egg but the eggshells (they were really thick) are also used for lamps, jewelry boxes, or painted for decoration.

New Year’s Greetings!

Happy New Year Everyone!  Aren’t you excited about what God has in store for you this year???:)  I so am!!! For He promised that He has plans to prosper us and to give us hope and a future. (Jer. 29:11)

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