The Old Man, the Boy, and the Donkey

I read the story below in Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid. That book is about how self-employed service professionals can build their business.

The lesson from this story applies to both business and life in general:


An old man, a boy, and a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked beside him. As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding. The man and boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people who remarked, "Whate a shame! He makes that little boy walk." They then decided that they would both walk.

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy and man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey. As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal, and he fell into the river and drown.

The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.