I have a story to share pertaining to the phrase above: Duck or Eagle. I was at the airport when a taxi driver approached me. The first thing I noticed in the cab was a phrase: Duck or Eagle? You decide.
The second thing I noticed was a clean, shiny cab, the driver well dressed, white shirt 👕 & well pressed pants, with a tie. The taxi driver got out, opened the door for me & said: “I am John, your chauffeur. While I’m putting your luggage away, I’d like you to read on this card what my mission is.”
On the card was written:
John’s Mission
- To get my clients to their destination quickly, safely and economically, while providing a friendly environment.
I was impressed. The interior of the cab was equally clean. John asked me: “Would you like some coffee?”
Joking with him I said: “No, I’d rather have a juice.
He immediately replied: “no problem. I have a thermos with regular juice & also diet juice, as well as water,” he also told me: “if you wish to read, I have today’s newspaper & also some magazines.”
As the race began John told me: “These are the radio stations I have and this is the repertoire they play.”
As if that wasn’t enough, João even asked me if the temperature of the air conditioning was good. Then he told me what was the best route to my destination & if I wanted to talk to him or if he preferred that I not be interrupted.
I asked: “Do you always serve your customers like this?”
“No,” he replied. “Not always. Only in the last 2 years. My first few years as a taxi driver I spent most of my time complaining just like the other taxi drivers. One day I listened to a doctor who was a specialist in personal development. He wrote a book called: Who you are makes the difference! He said:
If you get up in the morning expecting to have a lousy day, you certainly will. Don’t be a DUCK! Be an eagle!
Ducks just make noise & complain, eagles soar above the pack. I was all the time making noise & complaining. So I decided to change my attitudes & be an eagle. I looked at the other cabs & drivers.
The dirty cabs, the unfriendly drivers, & the dissatisfied customers. I decided to make some changes.
Since my customers responded well, I made a few more changes. In my first year as an eagle, I doubled my turnover. This year, I have already quadrupled it. You’re lucky you took my cab today. I’m no longer at the cab stand. My customers book thru my cell phone or send me a message. If I can’t pick up, I get a trusted “Eagle” taxi driver friend to do the job.”
John was different. He offered a limousine service in a regular cab. John, the taxi driver, decided to stop making noise complaining like ducks do & started flying over the group like eagles do.
It doesn’t matter whether you work in an office, with maintenance, a teacher, a civil servant, a politician, an executive, an employee, a freelancer, or a taxi driver!
How do you behave? Are you dedicated to making noise & complaining? Or are you elevating yourself above the others? Remember:
DUCK OR EAGLE, THE DECISION IS YOURS! That key only opens from the inside! and YOU HAVE LESS & LESS TIME TO CHANGE!
Each new year will be nothing new if we don’t have new attitudes!
May we be better fathers, better husbands, better wives, better mothers, better children, better friends, better Christians or Muslims! May we not repeat the mistakes of the past! May we pray more, praise more, thank more!
May the deity we believe in give us the wisdom we need to be eagles, so that we can fly high & live in a better world of peace!!!
LET’S BE EAGLES 🦅 IN 2022 and always!
