Did not know it could not be done

Two rabbinical students were caught by the Rabbi gambling and drinking in the company of undesirable characters – even before the sunset on the evening of the Sabbath. The Rabbi called them into his study the next day. Both confessed to having given in to weakness and admitted they deserved punishment.

The Rabbi thought, then went into his kitchen and brought back two bags of dried peas. “Put these in your shoes,” he told them, “and walk on them for a week to remind yourself how hard life can be when you turn away from the Law.”

A few days later, the two students met. One limped, had dark circles under his eyes and looked tired, while the other seemed much as he had been the week before.

“Hey,” said the first. “How is it that you are walking so freely? Didn’t you do as the Rabbi told us and put the peas in your shoes?”

“Of course I did,” said the other. “How could I disobey the Rabbi?” He started walking away, paused and said, “But I boiled them first.”

The poor and repentant student did not know it could be done, and that is to boil the peas first. The other was smart enough to devise a creative idea of compliance without physical punishment.

Funny stories like these always catch my attention because they amuse me and spark my imagination, often teaching valuable lessons. This brings me to another story that caught my interest. While the first one was fictional, this one is real.

A student at Columbia University in the United States fell asleep during a mathematics lecture and woke up to the sound of the students’ voices. When the lecture ended, he found that the professor had written two problems on the blackboard. He said to himself, “Sure, homework problems.” He transferred them to his notebook to solve them at home.

When he tried, he found that they were tough, but he kept trying. He went to the library to get references and research until he could solve only one problem with difficulty.

In the lecture that followed, he noticed that the professor did not ask about the assignment! So, the student got up and asked, “Doctor, why didn’t you ask about the assignment for the previous lecture while making it obligatory for us to work on it as our home assignment?”

The doctor said: “Obligatory? It was not obligatory. Rather, I was presenting examples of mathematical problems that science and scientists were unable to solve!” The student was amazed and said: “But I solved one of them in four papers!”

The solution to the problem was recorded at Columbia University and is known by his name. The student’s name was George Dantzig, and the problem was from Math Stack Exchange. This issue, with its four papers, is still on display at the university. This student solved the problem for one reason: because he did not hear the professor say: “No one could find their solution.” He convinced himself that it had to be solved, so when he tried it without feeling frustrated, he solved it.

Today, as I begin to receive invitations to speak in their “Mid-year Sales Rallies,” clients and companies would like to rally, encourage, inspire and motivate their people to boost their performance with an extra surge of energy and reach their targets for this year (or even surpass it). I always have to remind them to give it their best shot and refuse to entertain thoughts or complaints from others that it cannot be done. When you pre-qualify yourself in the negative because you think you cannot do it, then you would be right. Surprise yourself with what you can do. Developing the mindset of positive expectations is central to the achievement process. Techniques, technologies and other related tools and activities are mere peripherals.

Do not miss the story’s morale: Not sleeping through the class caused the math student to solve the “unsolvable” problem. The lesson here is that he was unaware that the problem could not be solved, so he solved it anyway because he did not pre-qualify himself in the negative.

Francis Kong’s “Inspiring Excellence” podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, or other podcast streaming platforms