A young boy asked the wise old man of the village to tell him what the secret of success was. He asked, "how can I guarantee that I can have all I want?". The old man simply turned to the boy and said, "Bring some food and water and let us walk." The young boy could not contain himself with excitement for at last he was going to learn the greatest of all Secrets.

They walked together in silence for a whole day and the boy's curiosity was heightened - was the secret of success then to be silent? Out of respect for the old man he was not going to ask lest he be accused of impatience.

This heightened curiosity was replaced by genuine confusion when by the end of the second day the pair had still not spoken a word and nothing was revealed.

By mid-point during the third day, that initial innocent curiosity that had been replaced by confusion was now in danger of being replaced by despair. At that point they came to a lake. For the journey to continue they had to cross the lake. There was no boat or any form of transport in sight. Undeterred the old man waded into the lake.

The young boy was reassured to see that the lake came up no more than half way on the old man and he quickly followed to remain at the old mans side. Whilst it was deeper for the young boy he was not consumed and was able to proceed at his ease.

However, the feeling of dispair was now being accompanied by disillusionment. He had followed this man in silence for what seemed like days. He was still none the wiser and now, to make matters worse, he was soaking wet.

Suddenly the old man turned to the young boy and placed his hand on the boy's head. Then, to the boy's complete bewilderment, submerged the boy underneath the water and held him there. At that point the young boy felt he had been tricked and was facing certain death. The seconds seemed like hours as the old man's grip was like that of a younger man at his prime. Why is the old man trying to kill me? Yet the boy held on to life for at that moment it was all he had. Then, as suddenly as he had plunged the boy under the water, he released him and the boy was free.

As angry as he was, the boy was more grateful for the fresh air, that seemed sweeter than ever before. The old man then turned to the gasping boy and said, " My son, when you were under the water what was the most important thing to you?" Even though the boy was angry and wet, the resentment in the boy's answer was as clear as the cleanest sea, "To breath you old fool, of course it was to breath !" The old man simply smiled and said...

" When you desire success as badly as you want to breathe you will get it. I just reminded you how much you wanted to breathe. Now show me how badly you desire Success."

At that moment, the boy knew he had been taught the most powerful lesson he had ever learned and he could not believe how short a time it had taken to learn it.