1892, Stanford University
This is a true story that had happened in 1892 at Stanford
University.
An 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He
was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a
bright idea. A friend and he 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 $2000 for the piano recital. A deal
was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.
The big day arrived. Paderewski performed at Stanford. 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 foodgrains to feed the starving Polish people.
A calamity 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 in the US.
I was one of them.”
The world is a wonderful place. What goes around comes
around!
