Children's Business Review

More Important Than Intelligence Or Ability, Determination Is An Indicator Of Future Success

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Clara was usually the one to call on Aris, often when something was bothering her or she needed someone to confide in. This was no ordinary day however and so early one evening, anticipating how his friend might be feeling, Aris flew silently above the forest’s trees until he arrived at the glade housing the den where Clara and her family lived. 

Aris descended to a branch of an old oak tree close to the den’s entrance and called out quietly, “Clara, are you there?”

Before long, a sad-looking bear poked her head out of the den and looked mournfully at the tiny grey owl waiting patiently. “How was your field day?” Aris asked cautiously; “Did you have fun?”

“It was terrible!” Clara exclaimed and then turned her sad eyes towards the ground. 

I may have told you before that Clara is a rather small bear and, as Aris had assumed, she did not perform well against her classmates, all bigger bears, during her school’s field day. I would never say this while Clara was within earshot, but I will confide in you that it really was a disastrous day for her.

The sum it all up – Clara was not able to run for very long and when it came to the sprints, was quickly outpaced by others. To make matters worse, Clara was by no means a strong swimmer and while she loved climbing trees, her small paws prevented her from assenting as quickly as her peers. Needless to say, Clara’s achievements that day were, in comparison to her classmates, limited. 

Wisely, Aris decided against pressing Clara further about her day and chose a different tact. 

“Did I ever tell you about a duckling I once knew who reminds me a lot of you?” Aris asked.

“I don’t think so…” replied Clara as she lifted her head towards her friend with a look of interest. What would a duckling and I have in common? Clara thought to herself. 

Aris smiled. “Well then, let me tell you all about him. How should I begin……Oh! I know exactly.”

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In the unlikely event that you’re asked to list the similarities between ducks and goats, start with the size of their appetites. Goats have a well-earned reputation for being willing to eat almost anything and, with some exception, ducks aren’t much different. In fact, on any given day it’s not surprising to find a duck devouring a wide variety of things such as breadcrumbs, grass, water-plants, insects, fish and even tiny grubs and worms. 

Now this story takes place many years ago, long before you or I were born, and at a time when ducks were quite different animals than they are now. In those days a duck had only two ways of getting food. The first, dabbling, would require a duck to paddle around in shallow water and pick out the small fish, plants or insects that were within easy reach of their beak. When not in the mood to dabble, the other way a duck could find food was by waddling along a shoreline and nibbling on whatever worm, insect or piece of grass he or she might come across. Despite their preference for the plants and insects that live and grow in water, many ducks at that earlier time tended to collect the majority of their food from the shoreline rather than dabbling. 

Now it isn’t that ducks don’t like being in water, in fact paddling about in ponds, rivers or lakes is probably a duck’s favourite pastime. The reason why ducks collected from the shoreline rather than from water is because in those days, ducks weren’t able to dive beneath the water’s surface and it’s there, in the deeper parts of the lake, pond or river, where the juiciest plants, largest insects and tastiest fish tend to be. And so, because the food they really wanted would usually be out of reach and because what they could catch at the water’s surface ended up being, more often than not, less than satisfactory, most ducks preferred not to dabble.

Our story begins on a day, those many years ago, when a young duckling named Rupert was out swimming in a pond with his mother, brothers and sisters. As they dabbled about, Rupert’s eye was caught by a particularly yummy-looking insect that was swimming under the water, just out of the reach of his beak. “There’s so much delicious food under the water that I can’t get ahold of,” Rupert exclaimed to his mother. “What do I need to do to be able to reach it?”

“You’re better off forgetting about the food that’s out of reach,”  Rupert’s mother replied. “Be content with the food that you can easily get.”  

Now for most things, Rupert listened to his mother’s advice. But in this case, Rupert’s mind was set and he felt a sense of determination build. Rupert was certain that one day he would be able to eat all of the delicious food found beneath the water’s surface despite the suggestion that it was out of his reach. 

The next day, when Rupert’s family returned to the pond to dabble, Rupert set about getting to the food found in the pond’s depths. He began by pushing his beak and face as deep into the water as possible, much deeper than ducks were used to doing when dabbling for food. “Look at our foolish brother!” Rupert’s brothers and sisters exclaimed, “He’s getting nothing to eat from the depths and missing all the easy food within reach; he’ll have an empty tummy tonight!” 

Unfortunately for Rupert they were right. Despite his best efforts, Rupert went home that evening with an empty stomach.

The next few days found Rupert no less determined at retrieving food from the depths of the pond however despite his labours, Rupert remained unsuccessful. After several disappointing days, Rupert decided that a change in technique was needed if he would ever be able to get at the food resting beneath the pond’s surface. Maybe I’ll be able to reach just a little bit deeper if I can get more of my body under the water. Rupert mused.

And so, for the next few days, Rupert adopted a new approach to increasing the depths he could reach in search of food. Like his previous attempts, Rupert started by pushing his beak and face as deep into the water as he could only now, Rupert would also propell himself forward into the water with his feet.  Unsuccessful in his initial attempts, Rupert drew considerable laughter from the other ducklings as he tended to roll upside down in the water, looking much like you or I do when we’re somersaulting. Undaunted, Rupert continued in his labours and, after a few days, was able to propel himself into waters deeper than any duck had swam before. Unfortunately, despite this improvement, Rupert was still unable to get to the food he was after. 

For several weeks, while Rupert toiled at what seemed like an impossible task, his brothers and sisters played in the water and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as ducklings are prone to do. “Why doesn’t he give up?” Rupert’s siblings asked themselves. “If no one has been able to get that food before, who is Rupert to think that he’ll be able to do it?”

With a self-found assurance that he was on track to achieving his goal, Rupert ignored the looks and comments from his siblings and continued with his efforts. I’m so close. I just need to get that little bit deeper. Rupert thought to himself one day as he paddled around. All of a sudden, his eye was drawn to a fish swimming in the water. Within minutes, a big smile crossed Rupert’s face.  

The next morning Rupert set off especially early for the pond and, as the other ducks quickly realized, was trying a new technique for getting food. Just like before, Rupert started by dunking his head as deep into the water as he could and followed this by kicking his legs backwards, propelling his body into the water. In contrast to his previous attempts at getting below the water’s surface, this time Rupert followed these first two steps by adding a third, that is pulling at the water with his wings, much like a fish propels itself in the water with its fins. 

Rupert’s first two tries with this new technique resulted in his returning to the water’s surface within seconds, coughing up what seemed to be his weight in water. On his third attempt, Rupert disappeared completely beneath the water’s surface and, as the other ducks watched with growing anxiety, the seconds passed away. 

“Oh no!” exclaimed Rupert’s mother. “My son Rupert will surely drown…if only I’d…”

Before Rupert’s mother could continue with her lament, Rupert triumphantly emerged from beneath the water with one of the biggest fish his family had ever seen lodged firmly in his beak. Rupert’s catch that day was a sight in itself but this sight was unquestionably surpassed by the look of satisfaction radiating from Rupert’s face combined with the looks of surprise and admiration attached to the faces of every creature who witnessed what had happened at the pond that day. Against all odds, Rupert accomplished a feat that no duck had realized before. 

That night, Rupert and his family feasted and celebrated his success. And wouldn’t you know, the next morning every one of Rupert’s brothers and sisters dutifully followed him to the pond to begin their diving lessons. As I mentioned earlier, this story took place a long time ago and it’s common nowadays to see ducks diving beneath the water’s surface in search of food. What you probably didn’t know is that when they are learning to dive, every duck is told the story of Rupert, the first duck to do so. 

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“I like Rupert!” Clara declared as Aris finished his story. “I can’t believe that I cared so much about being the best swimmer, runner or climber.” 

“Why the change of heart?” Aris asked.  

“I mean, I can always work on those things, like Rupert did, and I should get better,” Clara explained. “But even if I’m never the best swimmer, runner or climber, there are so many other things that I want to try and I’m going to find something else to work towards, maybe even something that’s never been done before, just like Rupert!” 

Aris said nothing but listened as Clara, who by this point was rather excited, began telling him about all of the projects, activities and adventures she intended to pursue.