What Goes Round Comes Round
At the end of the 19th century in America, there were once two young men working at odd jobs to pay their way through Leland Stanford University. Their funds got desperately low, and the idea came to one of them to engage Paderewski for a piano recital and devote the profits to their board and tuition. The pianist’s manager asked for a guarantee of two thousand dollars. Undaunted, the students proceeded to stage the concert. They worked hard, only to find that the concert had raised only sixteen hundred dollars.
After the concert, the students sought the great artist and told him of their efforts and results. They gave him the entire amount, and accompanied it with a promissory note for four hundred dollars, explaining that they would earn the amount at the earliest and send the money to him.
“No,” replied Paderewski, “that won’t do.” Then tearing the note to shreds, he returned the money and said to them: “Now, take out of these sixteen hundred dollars all of your expenses, and keep for each of you 10 per cent of the balance for your work, and let me have the rest.”
The years rolled by … years of fortune and destiny.Paderewski had become premier of Poland. When the devastating war came, Paderewski had to strive might and main to feed thousands of the starving citizens of his beloved Poland. Amazingly, even before he could make his appeals, thousands of tons of food were sent to Poland by the United States. Paderewski later traveled to Paris to thank Herbert Hoover, who headed the U.S. relief effort.
“That’s all right, Mr Paderewski,” was Hoover’s reply. “Besides, you do not remember it, but you helped me once, when I was a student at college and I was in a hole.”
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It is nature’s rule that “what goes around, comes around.” Your kindness and generosity must not be based on the expectation or hope of recompense; nevertheless, that is good enough reason to be kind and generous.