With the correct motivation there is NOT very much that we can’t do when we put our mind to it!

I couldn’t have felt more proud…

This what happened!

My 12 year old daughter Lele: “Dad, you know that you had asked if I would learn to play ‘Gnossienne No 3’ by Eric Satie this summer.”

Me: Yes!

Lele: “Well if I can learn to play it before I fight at the Kent International at Crystal Palace this Saturday will you pay to have my belt embroidered with my name on it?”

Me: “ABSOLUTELY! But do you think that is enough time?”

Lele: (with a powerful look of determination on her face) “I’ll do it! …failure is not an OPTION!”

Me: I just went week at the knees with pride and a tear came to my eye…

So let me put you in the picture of the event which lead up to this conversation.

My daughter Lele plays the piano, in fact, and in MY OPINION she plays it really well and is at an ‘Associated Board of music’ grade five level. In fact she has now completed and is WELL practiced in all of her pieces, scales and orals  for her grade six also, but won’t be sitting her exams until late November or even early December.

Typically Lele has learned everything for this next level in record time and with her ‘I can do ANYTHING‘ attitude has had a TON of fun doing so.

Lele Playing the Buccaneer by: Sir Malcom Arnold

She learned one EXCEPTIONALLY blistering and descriptive piece entitled the “Buccaneer” by English composer Malcolm Arnold in JUST a couple of weeks …and for a 12 year old I think is quite an achievement. She then went on to master a BEAUTIFUL piece by Beethoven, and a VERY challenging and difficult bit of J. S. Bach. WOW! …am I proud of her! …does it SHOW?

Having worked so hard to reach this point in time, Lele now wants to relax a little be allowed to play the pieces which interest her most which is quite fair. She has asked for the sheet music for some Jazz pieces that she is interested in, and a collection by ‘Ludovico Einaudi’ an Italian composer who’s music she is very fond of. I am of course happy to get this for and had planned to do so this week when I went to Bristol.

However, as I looked through her grade 6 sheet music examination book, and the pieces she had decided NOT to learn, I noticed a couple of pieces which I and my wife PARTIUCULARLY liked and hoped she would learn to play.

I had tried to encourage her on a couple of occasions, but being a strong headed stubborn little woman she had her eyes FIRMLY focused of the music I had mentioned above and NOTHING else would do.

Now here is the other HALF of this story…

Lele’s main passion in life, and the carrot and stick to motivate her to do anything is Judo!

I sometimes feel that she MUST BE the reincarnation of a ‘Samurai Warrior’ as she  lives and breathes Judo.  I have absolutely NO DOUBT at all that in a few years time she will be chosen to participate in the Olympic games – just watch this space! She is even better at Judo than she is at the piano, watch the below video to see here finishing off the MUCH OLDER opposition at a recent competition, click here…

Recently she has been working EXCEPTIONALLY hard to buy new Judo Gi’s (judo suits) for herself and has decided that nothing short of the best quality Japanese Mizuno suits will do. I did Judo for 25 years and could never justify the EXPENCE as they are NOT cheap. But she has decided that she deserved them and so worked EVERY SPARE moment she had raising funds for two new Gi’s, one blue and one white.

She has worked and paid for MOST of them herself and as a result appreciates them like you would not believe. However, for completeness she now wants to have her name embroidered in her blue belt!

Unfortunately, she is out of cash as this time as she has spent EVERY penny on her new Gi’s and still has a good few weeks of chores ahead of her to complete before the debt and the bit we lent he is repaid.

The Kent International Judo contest…

Next Saturday she will be fighting at crystal Palace in London and here will be an opportunity to get the embroidery on her belt done a little cheaper and without paying for postage! …but UNFORTUNATLY she is TOTALLY skint (broke)! I was going to treat her to this additional extra because she is SUCH a good SMART and hard working girl, but had decided to keep it a surprise until the day.

Lele, being an independent little madam who did not want to miss this opportunity has obviously been scheming CREATIVE thoughts and came up with her cunning plan.

I was DELIGHTED!

Being an entrepreneur by nature I had ALWAYS taught my children that the VERY best way to get what you wanted out of life was to give others what they both needed and wanted first! Just find a want and then fill it and here was my BEAUTIFUL 12 year old doing just that and leading by example!

Its a deal I just CAN’T lose!

The deal with Lele is this…

She will play it to me on Friday evening and if I think she has learned it and can play it to a decent standard I will fulfil my side of the bargain.

So what is she DOSN’T play it to the required standard?

Knowing my daughter and the level of tenacity that she possesses I DON’T think there will be much chance of that happening. However, it is a difficult bit of music for one so young to master in such a short period of time, so I am sure she will get it anyway just for trying and being so positively creative.

I will video her playing it, perhaps even on Friday evening if we have the time and you can tell me if you think she plays it well enough.

So what is the MOREL of this short story?

Take a leaf out of Lele’s book and start working out ways of getting what you want by ‘giving others what they want and need’ in return. What are the problems which they have in their lives to which you can find a solution? I promise you that there is something, and once you have started thinking in this way it will become both a habit and HIGHLY addictive!

Get your pen and pad out right now and start making notes, there is ALWAYS a way!