Opportunity

Well, like I've mentioned in my previous post, there is this Iranian lecturer who possesses a unique accent which has the ability to capture my attention through out the length of time, right? This is what happened. He wanted someone to stand in front of the class and explain about the Porter's Five Models. But no one seemed to have the guts to do so, not even after he offered his "bonus card". For your information, he imposes the bonus card system for students who show commitments in the class. Thus, the number of bonus cards you have is the extra bonus to be added to your coursework marks before the semester ends.

I understand the model, and wanted to try, but, erm, I'm not much of an outspoken person actually, especially to speak in front of the crowd. However, the way he gazed at me, some how made me felt like I had to give it a try amid the uncertainty on my ability to explain it up to his expectation. Taking in a deep breath, I volunteered myself, made a move to the front and started pointing at the slide, point-by-point explaining based on what I understand. Though I couldn't remember if my voice was trembling, I'm pretty sure that at least I made eye contact. lol

He then corrected me on some parts and added on elaborations to my brief explanation on the model. AND, he awarded my the "bonus card", with a motivational quote. I received it with a thanks and erm, I really like the way he smiles. lol. He then referred me as the "lady hero" for no apparent reason. Ha. In order to motivate the whole class, he shared a story with us, pertaining the spirit to seize opportunity (because only a limited number of "bonus card" will be given in each semester).

"If your belief is not Liberating, it is likely to be Limiting"
~Dr. Billy Kueek, an international NLP Master Trainer

And this, is what I wanted to share here:

Once upon a time, there was a guy, walking by the river, deeply puzzled by his own thoughts. Then, he saw a girl on the opposite of the bank, she was such an exquisite. Being hypnotized by her beauty, he was determined to pursue her. He followed her into the town only to find her missing to nowhere. He was so eager to know more about her, led him to ask around the town on everything about the girl. Along with the information he got on her, was the advice he received from the people in the town. They sincerely advised him to give up on the girl because she was the daughter of the mayor, and the mayor wanted only "special" person for her daughter, not just any random dude.

In order to let the mayor know how "special" he was, he started performing on the streets, singing songs he dedicated to the girl. Volunteered for any activities which seemed to help the locals, be it chopping off the trees to build a bridge, or diving into the sea to rescue drowning kids, he did everything he could to gain the recognition and support from the people. More importantly, to present qualities that THE "special" person may have. As time passed by, he had become the hero of the town. Few years later, the mayor summoned him and offered him a chance. The mayor promised him a marriage only if he managed to cut a tail off from a cow. Three cows would be released from a dungeon, one after another, if he failed, he would be forced to leave town.

With a scissor ready in his grip, determination overtaken his fear, he stood firm on the ground staring right at the dungeon. First cow was released, it rushed out as soon as the gates opened. Its size was huge, far larger than any ordinary cows! It ran as if there was no tomorrow and scared the shit out of him. Within a split second, the little voice in his head said, "This is probably the largest cow of the century. Let it go and you would get a smaller cow next." He did exactly what his common sense told him to, watching his first chance slid through his finger tips.

With that notion in his mind, he had become more ready than ever, expecting a smaller cow to appear from behind the gates. With extraordinarily high adrenaline rush thanks to the first cow, he calmed himself down awaiting the next challenge. His mind had started plotting perfect moves to get to the tail, rehearsed the images over and over again until it reached perfection. With 120% of confidence that he would close the deal as soon as the second cow was released, he started imagining his ideal marriage with the girl he loved. However, the second cow was nothing like what he imagined it to be. The second cow was extravagantly large, probably the most enormous cow in the universe! It was as large as a dinosaur! (The exaggeration he used when he told us the story. lol) His fear took over his body, with his flight mechanism activated against his consciousness, he bolted for his life rather than making way for the second cow which accelerated in unpredictable directions. There goes the second chance.

With his destiny nearly ended up in the heaven, or hell, rather than the church he had been dreaming of, he was grateful that he was still alive. Barely catching up his breath, he had no idea what to think of, his mind went blank. His life appeared to be in bleak, losing his confidence and faith, knowing that he would have no chance at all to marry the girl he had been dreaming of. However, his body managed to gain balance and he stood up. He stared at the scissor in his hand, knowing that, no matter what would happen next, he swore to do anything, anything at all to secure his last and only chance left. He couldn't bear the thought that, the only reason his fairy tale ended up literary a "fairy tale", was because of his cowardliness. With that in mind, his expression now resembled someone who would go to any length seeking for vengeance.

The moment-of-his-life had finally come. He beckoned on a mission to cut off the tail of the third cow, no matter what size of the cow was, even if it meant sacrificing his life, he vowed to himself that, he must at least do his best to fight for what he wanted so badly. To his surprise, the third cow was nothing like the first nor second, it was just a baby cow. His face turned from a vengeful man to a confident General who had never lost in any war and was 200% certain on his victory for the upcoming battle. His mind replayed the mini clip again, on how he was going to take down the cow and reach for its tail and close the deal. He walked to the cow, pat it into his arms while he was smiling to himself, contented with his efforts to fight for the girls, and at the same time, kissing the cow. He thanked the cow for making his dream a reality, at the same time, apologized for, he had to cut its tail off to fulfill his dream. 

Suddenly, he was drawn back from his dream when he was about to find out the shocking news himself. He reached his hand out at the back only to realize that, the baby cow has NO tail! Its either the cow was born with no tail, or its tail had been cut off some time ago, which he didn't even give a damn of it. What mattered the most was, NO tail meant NO wedding! A deal is a deal and there, gone his dream to marry the girl he longed for. He then left the town as promised. Deep down, no one knows how much he hated himself for watching the chances slip through his finger tips, how much he despised himself for being such a coward who fled away and valued his own life more than his vow, how much he regretted for being too optimistic and over-confident when the future is unforeseeable. Had he seize the chance and cut the tail off of the first cow despite of the evil voice behind his head, he'd be in a wedding with his dream girl by then. 

The moral of the story is, seize each opportunity which falls before you. Regardless of what the little voice tells you, or how the people around trying to stop you, be true to yourself and always be clear on what you want to achieve. Never let fear or over-confidence to screw you over. With each opportunity comes the risk. With everything you get, there are the opportunity costs. With every success you gained, there are sacrifices. There is no free lunch, everything comes with a string attached. Quoted from one of my friends, "There is a light at the end of every journey. At times, fear and uncertainty will fill you but it's when you succumb to your weakness that you fail. The ones who succeed are those who take the chance, take the leap and hold on, no matter how difficult it will get. Perseverance is the key to success".

Okay, there goes my day. I'm supposed to start doing my assignments which have been posted up last week. Who knows, because of this lecturer, I ended up writing a post on COW! lol.. Anyway, I need to go and get my hands on the assignments asap. Hope you enjoy the story despite of my poor adjectives in describing the story. The most important thing is, I hope you are motivated and inspired.

'Till next post, cheers :)