I can sleep during a stormy night

Long ago in Italy, there lived a hardworking farmer. Over the years, with his dedicated effort, he had created a nice farm for himself. As years passed, age began catching up and he grew tired. He realized he needed help. One day he decided to hire someone who could help him manage his farm. While thinking about the kind of person he would need to hire, he thought to himself, “It would have to be someone who is confident around the cattle. And who would take good care of the livestock. Overall, someone who would really care about the farm.”??With this thought in mind, he saddled his horse and rode to the nearest village with the intention of bringing back a new recruit to look after his farm.?

While riding through the village he passed by the main square, where he spotted a young lad. This tall and thin young man happened to be the only one around. The farmer asked him if he would be interested in helping him with his farm.

“Would you be interested in helping me around my farm young man? Is that a job that you would consider?”, asked the farmer.

“I wouldn’t mind that at all sir”, said the young man.

“Do you have any experience working on a farm”, the farmer posed his next question.

?“I can sleep during a stormy night”, the young man replied with a calm demeanor.

?“Excuse me!” The farmer couldn’t make sense of this reply.

?“I can sleep during a stormy night”, the young man repeated.

Feeling utterly confused by the response the farmer decided to move on. He wandered all day but couldn’t find anyone to work on his farm.?At dusk, he decided to ride back home. On his way back, as he passed by the main square once again, he noticed that the young man he had spoken to earlier in the day, was still there.?

“Let me try one more time”, thought the farmer.

“What is your name young man?” he called out to the young man.

“Fermankampolius” the young man answered.

At this stage, the farmer was exhausted and thought that giving Fermankampolius a chance would not hurt.

“Fermankampolius, would you be willing to work on my farm?” asked the farmer.

“I can sleep during a stormy night”, said Fermankampolius.

“Come with me and let’s see if we can work together”, said the farmer.

Fermankampolius smiled and began following him.?

A couple of weeks passed by. Fermankampolius was working on the farm but the farmer had not had a chance to monitor him.

One night a fierce storm broke out.??So intense was the storm that it could blow away all the straw, scare the cattle and destroy the gate of the barn. The farmer ran straight to Fermankampolius’s room to wake him up.

“Fermankampolius wake up. Our farm will get destroyed”, he cried out.

Fermankampolius was fast asleep and the farmer’s distress calls had absolutely no effect on him. The farmer rushed down to see what he could do. As he ran, he mentally prepared himself to witness the destruction.?

When he reached the stable, he saw that the gates of the barn were firmly secured. The straw was neatly packed. All the animals were safe and sound.

The farmer heaved a sigh of relief and smiled to himself.

“Fermankampolius knows how to sleep through a stormy night”, he said to himself.

Who in your life does Fermankampolius remind you of??

I have had the honor and privilege of working with some leaders who are as prepared and calm as Fermankampolius. During the early years of my working life, I remember walking to a senior leader and asking, “What helps you present and speak so well in meetings? What helps you hold the attention of your audience?”.

“Preparation. Preparation. Preparation”, was the response.

The answer surprised me because until then, I had the perception that brilliant and smart people just show up for presentations and meetings. It seemed as though they have this gift of crafting wonderful presentations, giving the right examples, and answering the questions with precision. I had never thought of the hours of work that went behind the scenes. During the course of the years that followed, I continued to observe people who came across as sorted and clear in their thought process, and all of them had this one thing in common – they prepared. Be it people who were good at investing and managing finances well, people who were amazing hosts, people who won marathons – no matter what it was. Diverse areas but the underlying theme was the same – they prepared.?

A very common topic that comes up in coaching sessions is the fear of presentations and speaking up in meetings. While exploring this fear, when we touch upon the subject of preparation, just like my younger self, the coachees too think of good presenters as gifted or naturals. There is a dramatic shift in their own experience of presenting or speaking up, when they start preparing. In fact, the experience shifts from being scary to enjoyable. Confidence levels go up and of course, the sleep on the night before the presentation is deep, just like Fermankampolius?.

Let’s get prepared to have a great week ahead!

P.S - I heard this story on Dare to Do motivation. It has a great collection of stories.