Mindset story: A King his adviser and two piglets

In a faraway kingdom, one day the King attended a grand performance by a renowned magician. The spectacle was so enchanting that the entire audience was captivated, and when the show ended, the crowd erupted in applause. In his excitement, the King proclaimed with deep admiration that the magician possessed a rare, God-given talent, a gift bestowed upon him at birth. Yet not everyone shared the King’s view. Among the King’s advisors was a wise counselor who, with calm conviction, explained that true genius was not something one was simply born with. The counselor gently reminded the King that the magician’s remarkable skills were the product of countless hours of disciplined practice, determination, and perseverance. He emphasized that every dazzling trick was learned over time, honed through effort rather than gifted by the heavens. The King, however, was troubled by this message. The counselor’s words seemed to diminish the wonder of the performance in his eyes. In a fit of indignation, the King denounced the idea that talent could be cultivated. He sneered that genius was innate either a person had it or they did not and he claimed, with bitter sarcasm, that he himself lacked such divine endowment. Overcome with pride and anger, the King ordered his loyal bodyguard to imprison the wise counselor in the deepest dungeon of the castle. To make his punishment even more bitter, the King ridiculed the counselor by assigning him two piglets as companions in his cell, mocking him with the notion that only animals could share his fate.

Locked away in the cold, dark dungeon, the counselor could have given in to despair. Instead, he chose to embrace the very principle he had so passionately defended that genius is made, not given. From the very first day of his imprisonment, the counselor turned his cell into a training ground. He began a rigorous routine: each day, he would carry one piglet in each hand as he ran up and down the steps of his cell. In his mind, this simple exercise was a metaphor for the power of disciplined practice and the gradual transformation of potential into strength. At first, the piglets were small and unremarkable, much like the humble beginnings of any great endeavor. But as days turned into weeks and weeks into months, the counselor’s routine never wavered. The piglets grew steadily into sturdy wild boars, symbols of progress and determination. With every careful step and every repetition of his exercise, the counselor’s own strength increased. His body grew powerful and resilient, a living testament to the idea that persistent effort could transform even the most ordinary circumstances into something extraordinary. After a couple of years, curiosity and a desire to witness change led the King to summon the wise counselor from his dungeon. When the counselor appeared before him, the King was astonished. The man who had once spoken with gentle humility now stood tall and robust, each arm effortlessly supporting a wild boar. At that moment, the King could not help but echo his earlier exclamation now with genuine wonder declaring that the counselor, too, possessed a remarkable, God-given talent. But the counselor, with quiet dignity and a knowing smile, repeated his message. He explained that his newfound strength was not a miracle granted by fate but the result of years of disciplined training and unwavering determination. He reminded the King, as he had before, that genius was crafted through practice and perseverance. His transformation was living proof that talents are not simply inherited or given at birth but they are earned through hard work, commitment, and the courage to face one’s challenges even in the darkest of dungeons.