John and his friends used to go mountain climbing once every year. This time they have decided to climb mountains in the Swiss Alps. They reached the famous mountain spot in the Swiss Alps and were surprised to see already many people were climbing the mountains. John and his friends started wearing all the mountain climbing gear and started climbing. In no time they reached the top of the hill.
After reaching there, friends thought let’s camp here for some time and then go back.
Then John saw another mountain where only a handful of people were trying to climb it.
He told his friends, “Let’s go and climb that mountain also. It will be fun and challenging, instead of camping here! A friend replied, “No way, I have heard people talking about that mountain. It seems the path is very difficult to climb and only a few people are able to climb”.
People who were hearing the conversation made fun of John and said, “If it was easy to climb, why would we be sitting idle here”. Hearing them, John took that as a challenge and went alone towards climbing the peak. And two hours later he reached the top of the hill. People who were already there welcomed John with a round of applause.
John was very happy to reach there and he could see the beautiful views of nature.
He then started discussing with people and asked them, “While climbing this peak, it was not so difficult. Then why are there a lot of people on the below peak and only a handful of people here? If people could reach that peak, they can reach here also if they put in some effort!
A veteran climber smiled and said, “Most people in the crowd right there, are happy with what they find easy. They never think that they have the potential to achieve more. Even people who are not happy there, don’t want to take any risk. They think that, if they take risks they will lose what they already have.
The reality is, to reach a new peak, you just need effort. Many of them do not show any courage and they remain part of the crowd their whole life. They also keep complaining about the handful of courageous people and call them lucky! After hearing this, John thanked the veteran for explaining the importance of courage in our life.
The moral of the story:
In our life, many of us just satisfy ourselves and stay in our comfort zone. But to achieve something big, we need effort and courage. Being courageous in our life gives us the power to chase our dreams.
Think about our students. They are great examples of demonstrating courage to achieve something great. Auditioning for an honor band or all-state in front of an expert can be quite daunting. If they were to let their fear keep them from trying, they would never know how great they could be. One of the awesome powers we have is our ability to encourage and push our students to become more than they thought possible. In many cases, we help them find the courage they need to persevere. This is a monumental lesson that will serve them well throughout their lives. So, thank you, friends and colleagues. Thank you for helping to create the next courageous generation.
Jeana M. Larson
IBA President
jeana.larson@bandmasters.org
