Mindset story: A King his adviser and two piglets

One day in a faraway kingdom the King was watching a great magician perform his act. The crowd was enthralled and so was the King. In the end, the audience roared with approval. And the king said: »What a gift this man has. A God-given talent.«

But a wise counselor said to the king, »My Lord, genius is made, not born. This magician’s skill is the result of discipline and practice. These talents have been learned and honed over time with determination and discipline.« The King was troubled by this message. The counselor’s challenge had spoiled his pleasure in the magician’s arts. »Limited and spiteful swine. How dare you criticize true genius. As I said, you either have it or you don’t. And you most certainly don’t.«

The king turned to his bodyguard and said, »throw this man into the deepest dungeon. And, » he added for the counselor’s benefit, »so you won’t be lonely you can have two of your kind to keep you company. You shall have two piglets as cellmates.« From the very first day of his imprisonment, the wise counselor practiced running up the steps of his cell to the prison door carrying in each hand a piglet. As the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months, the piglets steadily grew into sturdy wild boars. And with every day of practice, the wise counselor increased his power and strength.

One day after a couple of years the king remembered the wise counselor and was curious to see how imprisonment had humbled him. He had the wise counselor summoned. When the prisoner appeared, a man of powerful physique, carrying a wild boar on each arm, the king exclaimed, »What a gift this man has. A God-given talent.« The wise counselor replied, »My lord, genius is made, not born. My skill is the result of discipline and practice. These talents have been learned and honed over time with determination and discipline.«