Stanford University 1892
An 18 years old student was struggling to pay his school fees.
He was an orphan, and not knowing where to
turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. He
and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for
their education.
They
reached out to The Great Pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager demanded a
guaranteed fee of $2, 000 for the piano recital. A deal was struck and the boys
began to work to make the concert a success.
The
big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough
tickets. The total collection was only $1600. Disappointed, they went to
Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a
cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest
possible.
“No,”
said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the
$1600 and told the two boys: “Here’s the $1600. Please deduct whatever expenses
you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me
whatever is left”. The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.
It
was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a GREAT
HUMAN BEING.
Why
should he help two people he did not even know? We all come across situations
like these in our lives. And most of us only think “If I help them, what would
happen to me?” The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will
happen to them?” They don’t do it expecting something in return. They do it
because they feel it’s the right thing to do.
Paderewski
later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader,
but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged. There were more
than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.
Paderewski did not know where to turn for help. He reached out to the US Food
and Relief Administration for help.
The
head there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US
President. Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to
feed the starving Polish people.
The
calamity devastating Poland was averted. Paderewski was relieved. He decided to
go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to
thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said, “You
shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister. You may not remember this, but
several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one
of them.”
The
world is a wonderful place. What goes around comes around!
às
January 31, 2018
