Ini cerita saya dengar dari IKIM.fm. Pagi-pagi time pergi kerja ada satu segmen motivasi pagi - and being me, I do need that.
This topic was aired a couple months ago and I have been drafting this entry since then only to post it today (padahal copy paste je pun). Trust me, it's a very inspiring true story.
I did some research on the internet to share this meaningful story because I couldn't really remember the details and found this
webpage.
Let's ponder...
In an oil company in Saudi Arabia, late 1940s. A young local mineworker felt very thirsty, he then looked for drinking water desperately. In one of the office building he found cold water so he just quickly poured the water to a cup and was ready to drink it.
Hadn't he put the glass of water to his lips and taken a sip, he heard somebody's yelling at him: "Hey, stop it! You don't deserve to drink water from here, you just blue scholar worker. This water is only for engineers for God sake!" The voice came from an American engineer worked for the company.
The young worker was stopped of the voice, craved for the water still. He understood very well that he just a poor boy graduated from elementary school. If there was some educational background he could be proud of, it must be his Qur'an Tahfidz which had no value in this oil company controlled by American management.
The strong uneasy voice was always clinging on his head. He started asking himself: Why did it happen to me? Why was I forbidden to have a glass of water? Was it because I am only a low level worker and they are engineers? If I were an engineer, would I be allowed to drink the water? Is it possible for me to be an engineer like them?
The very query was kept in his mind, and the accident became a momentum for him to get a revenge. He found himself had a resolution to work hard during the day and started to continue his education at night. He worked very hard to achieve this, he had to sacrifice his life, felt very tired everyday. Some of his friends sometimes also underestimated and gave him hard times.
His hard work attained good result. He finished high school. The company, seeing his hard work, rewarded him an opportunity to continue his study. So he went to USA took his engineer under graduate program and mastering his geological study with a summa cum laude. He then was recommended by his professor to take his doctorate which he followed. The result was also summa cum laude.
Then he went back to his country and continued working to the company, now as a very valuable worker. Yes, he was back as an engineer and eligible to drink the previous forbidden water. That's it? No, his carrier was still climbing up. He was used to work very hard and catch his position. He became a supervisor, head of branch, general manager and at last he placed himself as the vice president of the company. That was the highest position could be achieved by local people. The American engineer that once yelled at him was under his supervision.
One day this western engineer came to him to ask for his leave permission. He said, "I want to apply for my leave. I hope you don't mind and don't make this in relation to the drinking water incident happened long time ago. I hope you forgive me and don't want to revenge for my very bad, cruel and rude manner on the past." The vice president, the used to be low-level unskilled worker replied calmly, "Deep from my heart I just want to thank you because you forbade me to drink the water that time. Yes, I once hated you, but it was long time ago and because of Allah bless, you were the reason I have achieved my success."
In a not long period, the ex indigence worker became the president director of the company. The first Arabian Director there. Do you know what is the company under him? The name is Aramco (Arabian American Oil Company), the world's biggest oil company. Under his leadership the company grows bigger and Arabian shares was getting more significant.
Now the compony produces 3.4 million barrels (540,000,000 m3) and controls more than 100 gas and oil fields in Saudi Arabia with total 264 billion barrels (4.20รข€”1010 m3) oil and 253 trillion gas reserved. On this achievement, the King of Saudi rewarded him to become the minister of petroleum and mineral resource, a very strong position for the development of oil business i the world. And the very extraordinary man in this story is Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi who is on the position as the Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resource since 1995 until now.
In a way I think most of us can relate to this story. So, do not waste our energy being so negative - complain belakang bos ni tak betul, company ni teruk or whatsoever, instead twist the urge of revenge to the positive one. Action always speak louder than words, right?
P/S : Allah tidak akan mengubah nasib sesuatu bangsa jika dia sendiri tidak berushaha mengubahnya.
