ACT OF KINDNESS This is a true story that had happened in 1892 at Stanford University. A young, 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees. He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money, he came up with a bright idea. A friend and he decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski. His manager
A TRUE STORY OF GRIT AND PERSEVERANCE
Sales is all about managing rejections. You will have to listen to 100 No before a YES. I consider sales as one of the best professions to test your perseverance and GRIT.
I am reminded of a True Story of GRIT and Perseverance which I wanted to share.
This story is of Cape Town’s uneducated surgeon Mr. Hamilton Naki, who was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Medicine.
So what’s special here?
The honorary degree of Master of Medicine was awarded to someone who had never seen the face of medical school in his life.
Someone who could barely read and English word and couldn’t write at all.
Let’s see how this was made possible.
Cape Town Medical University has a leading position in the medical world.
The world’s first heart transplant took place at this university, which was performed by Dr Christiaan Barnard in Dec 1967
One morning in 2003, world-renowned surgeon Professor David Dent announced in the university auditorium: “Today we are awarding an honorary degree in medicine to the man who produced the most surgeons in the world.” Who is an extraordinary teacher, and an amazing surgeon, and who studied medical science and surprised the human mind.
With this announcement, the Professor took the name “Hamilton” and the entire auditorium stood and greeted Hamilton Naki. It was the biggest reception in the history of this university.
Hamilton was born in Centani, a remote village in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa He studied for 6 years and realised that his father couldn’t afford any more education for him. He hitched a ride to Cape Town at an early age of 14. Construction was underway at the University of Cape Town in those days and he managed to find some work in the university.
He joined the university as a labourer. He would send home as much money as he could get after a hard day’s work.
He worked as a labourer for many years (14 years – from 1940 till 1954). Eventually he got the job of mowing the tennis court. He would arrive at the tennis court every day and starts mowing the lawn. To do this he had to leave from his house on outskirts of Cape town very early every morning and he would do it every day, without any break of holiday
Then came a strange turn in his life
He reached a point in medical science where no one else had ever been.
It was a mild, warm morning. Professor Robert Joyce, researching Giraffes, wanted to see:
“When a giraffe bends its neck to drink water, why doesn’t it have a seizure?”
They laid a giraffe on the operating table, knocked him unconscious, but as soon as the operation started, the giraffe shook its head. So, they needed a strong man to keep the giraffe’s neck tight during the operation.
The professor came out of the theatre, Hamilton was mowing the lawn in front, the professor saw that he was a healthy young man of strong stature. They beckoned him and ordered him to grab the Giraffe’s neck. Hamilton grabbed his neck.
The operation lasted eight hours. During this time, the doctor continued to take tea and coffee breaks, however Hamilton stood there holding the Giraffe’s neck. When the operation was over, he quietly went out and started mowing the lawn.
The next day the professor called him again. He came and grabbed the giraffe’s neck and stood up, after which it became his routine. He worked like this for many months.
A soft-spoken Hamilton never demanded any additional compensation for this duty and nor did he complain about this additional work , something , that a lab assistant should have been doing.
Professor Robert Joyce was impressed by Hamilton’s perseverance and sincerity and “Hamilton” was promoted from mowing the tennis court to a “lab assistant.”
He now came to the university, went to the operating theatre and helped the surgeons. This process continued for years.
In 1958 another turning point came in his life. This year Dr. Barnard came to the university and started working on heart transplant operations.
Hamilton became his assistant, during these operations and in this process he went from being an assistant to becoming and additional surgeon.
The doctors would operate and after the operation, Hamilton was given the task of stitching. He used to do excellent stitches. His fingers were clean and fast. He stitched fifty people in one day. While working in the operating theatre, he began to understand the human body more than surgeons. So, the senior doctors gave him the responsibility of teaching the junior doctors.
He now began teaching surgery techniques to junior doctors. Gradually he became an important figure in the university. He was unfamiliar with the terms of medical science but he could learn them fast and the junior doctors loved him as a teacher as he could teach them practical skills in area of surgery.
The third turning point in his life came in 1970, when research on Liver began in the university and he identified one such liver artery during surgery. ….. which made liver transplantation easier.
His observations astonished the great minds of medical science.
Today, when a person has a liver operation in some corner of the world and the patient opens his eyes and sees the light the reward for this successful operation goes directly to Hamilton.
Hamilton achieved this position with sincerity and perseverance. He was associated with the University of Cape Town for 50 years; in those 50 years he never took a vacation.
He would leave home at three o’clock early morning, walk 14 miles to the university, and he would enter the Operation theatre at exactly six o’clock. People could fix their watches with his time.
He received an honour that no one in medical science has ever received.
He was the first illiterate teacher of medical history.
He was the first illiterate surgeon to train approx. 30,000 surgeons in his lifetime. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_Naki
HE died in Langa on May 29, 2005 age 78.
You know how he got this position?
Only one YES made the difference and rest was his perseverance and willingness to learn and work without expecting anything in return.
The day he was called to the operating theatre to grab the giraffe’s neck if he had refused that day, if he had said that day, I am a Grounds Maintenance Worker, my job is not to hold the giraffe’s neck , what do you think would have happened?
It was a YES and an extra eight hours of hard work that opened the door to success for him and all that he achieved.
As a sales professional, are you looking for a dream job?
We want a good life and expect “IT to HAPPEN for US” when we hear about successful people who have made it to the top.
- Do you have the required skills to succeed as a sales professional?
- What work are you willing to do to make yourself great at Selling?
- What is that you are willing to sacrifice for making your current sale-role rewarding and fulfilling?
Hamilton had found the secret; he gave importance to work rather than his job. Imagine if he applied for a surgeon’s job, could he have become a surgeon? Never but how did he make it happen? Well – he focussed on the work and worked to hone his skills and learn. He persevered with great dedication and found no time, even to complain.
Perseverance and persistence allow the sales person to listen to the word “no” and still pursue the GOALs bravely. This encourages the salesperson to easily pick up, dust off, and start again. Remember – the GAP between where you are in your sales journey and where you want to be is largely driven by your ability to Persevere.
Are you all set to Start?