An Inspirational Story

Tonight I'll share with you a little story that I don't really remember where I first heard. There's a moral here, but I share it with you not because I think you necessarily need to hear it, but because, from time to time, I do.

A young man who played the violin managed to get a meeting with the great and famous Master Violinist. He told the Master of his love of music and his desire to become a professional violinist, and he humbly requested that the Master Violinist listen to him play and tell him whether or not he had what it takes to be a successful performer. The Master Violinist smiled kindly and agreed.

The young man played several songs for the Master, performing the music brilliantly and demonstrating great skill with the instrument. When he was finished he looked expectantly at the Master Violinist. The older man looked into his eyes and said simply "I'm sorry, you do not have the Fire in your Soul."

Crestfallen, the man left without saying a word. He stopped playing violin and kept the instrument on a shelf in his closet. He went on to become an accountant, get married, have children, and lead a good, if somewhat ordinary, life.

Many years later he saw the Master Violinist at a concert and caught up with him after it was over. He told the Master of their meeting so long ago and what had become of his life. He thanked the Master Violinist for being so honest with him so that he could give up his unacheivable dream and focus on the respectable career which now supported his family. "But I have one question," he said. "How did you know back then that I didn't have the fire to become a great musician?"

The Master Violinist looked him in the eyes and said "Many young musicians have come to me through the years to ask me the same question that you did. I say to all of them, as was said to me when I was a young man 'You do not have the Fire in your Soul.' I have no way of knowing when I say it whether it is true or not. But I do know, that if you had truly had the Fire in your Soul to become a great musician, you would not have let the opinion of one old man such as myself stop you."