Passion is the new rich

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a taxi pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that it was polished bright and shiny. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black pants, the taxi driver quickly jumped out to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated business card and said: 'I'm Mpho, your driver. While I'm loading your bags into the boot I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Surprised, I read the card. It said: Mpho’s Mission Statement: “To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.”

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the taxi matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Mpho said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one with decaf.”

I said jokingly, “No, I'd prefer a soft drink.”

Mpho smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”

Almost stuttering, I said, “I'll take a water please.”

Handing me my drink, Mpho said, “If you'd like something to read, I have The Star and The Daily Sun.”

As he pulled away, Mpho handed me 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 was not enough, Mpho told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

“Tell me, Mpho,” I was amazed and asked him, “have you always served customers like this?”

He smiled into the rear view mirror and said, “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 taxi drivers do. Then I heard about the power of choice one day: that you can either be a duck or an eagle.”

“If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself so stop complaining!

“Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.

“That hit me right,” said Mpho.

“It is 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 taxis and their drivers. Their cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few changes at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”

“I take it that has paid off for you,” I said.

“It sure has,” Mpho replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year, I'll probably quadruple that. My customers call me for appointments on my cell or leave a message for me.”

Mpho made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and start soaring like an eagle.

You don't die if you fall in water, you die only if you don't swim.

Stop quacking and start soaring then see the difference in your life. Life is beautiful. Be unique. Do things differently.

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a taxi pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that it was polished bright and shiny. Smartly dressed, the taxi driver quickly jumped out to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated business card and said: “I'm Mpho, your driver. While I'm loading your bags into the boot I'd like you to read my mission statement.”

Surprised, I read the card. It said: Mpho’s Mission Statement: ‘To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.’

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the taxi matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Mpho said, “Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one with decaf.”

I said jokingly, “No, I'd prefer a soft drink.”

Mpho smiled and said, “No problem. I have a cooler box up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.”

Almost stuttering, I said, “I'll take a water.”

Handing me my drink, Mpho said, “If you'd like something to read, I have The Star and The Daily Sun.”

As he pulled away, Mpho told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for me.

Then he told me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also said he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

“Tell me, Mpho,” I said amazed, “have you always served customers like this?”

He smiled and said, “No, not always. My first five years of driving, I complained like all the rest of the taxi drivers do. Then one day, I heard about the power of choice: that you can either be a duck or an eagle.

“If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll have one!

“Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd. Be an eagle.

“That hit me,” said Mpho. “I realized I was always quacking so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked at the other taxis. Their cars were dirty, the drivers unfriendly, and the customers unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few changes at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.”

“I take it that it has paid off for you,” I said.

“Oh yes,” Mpho replied. “My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year, I'll probably quadruple that.“

Mpho decided to stop quacking like a duck and he immediately started soaring like an eagle.

Please note that this was a WhatsApp story and not an actual account of events

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