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A
Moment to Invest
by Lee J.
Colan, Ph.D.
In
7 Moments… that Define Excellent Leaders some of my
favorite stories appear under a moment to invest. Here is one
of them….
In the late 1890s, two young men were
working their way through Stanford University when, during the
semester, their funds got desperately low and they came up with
the idea of engaging Ignacy Paderewski, the great pianist, for a
recital. After paying the concert expenses, the two students
could use the profits to pay their board and tuition.
The great pianist's manager asked for a
guarantee of two thousand dollars. The students, undaunted,
proceeded to stage the concert. But alas, the concert raised
only sixteen hundred dollars.
After the performance, the students sought
the great artist, gave him the entire sixteen hundred dollars, a
promissory note for four hundred dollars and explained they
would earn the remainder of his fee and send the money to him.
"No," replied Paderewski, "that won't do."
Then tearing the note to shreds, he returned the money and said
to them, "Now, take out of this sixteen hundred dollars all of
your expenses and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance
for your work."
The years rolled by – years of fortune and
destiny. Paderewski had become Premier of Poland. The
devastating war came, and Paderewski's only focus was to feed
the starving thousands in his beloved Poland. Yet just as the
need was most severe, thousands of tons of food began to come
into Poland for distribution by the Polish Premier.
After all the starving people were fed and
hard times had past, Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank
Herbert Hoover for the relief he had sent. "That's all right,
Mr. Paderewski," was Mr. Hoover's reply. "You don't remember it,
but you helped me once when I was a student at college and I was
in a hole. You invested in me... now it's my turn."
Investing in other people, and ourselves,
provides a far greater return on investment than the best mutual
fund. When we do good, we feel good. One of the most joyful
moments for any leader is to pass the baton to someone we have
invested in, and then see our values reflected in the new
leader. We were meant to give away our lives. We must
focus on living our legacy instead of worrying about leaving our
legacy. If we do, we will define ourselves and others by a life
of excellence!
In our own small way, each of us can create
defining moments that last a lifetime. Investing in others is
not about money. It’s about time. Who are you investing
in?
Copyright © 2006-2008 by Lee J. Colan and The L
Group, Inc. Return to Back Issues
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