Bobo was a nice, popular boy, whom everyone loved. He was so good and so kind with everyone that they treated him wonderfully. And as everything he needed was given to him without asking, Bobo became weak. He was so spoiled by everyone that he couldn’t endure any hardship, nor did he have any strength of will. A little stone in his shoe would almost kill him and if he were to fall and hurt himself then someone would have to come and nurse him.

He became so well known for being weak that one day Bobo heard a mother saying to her son “Come on, my boy, get up and stop crying. You’re behaving like Bobo”. That made Bobo feel so ashamed that he didn’t know what to do. But he was sure that he would prefer to be known as a good boy rather than a softie.

He spoke to his father about all this, though he was afraid maybe he would be laughed at for having such worries. His father, far from laughing at Bobo, told him that the same had happened to him when he was a boy, but his teacher had taught him a secret trick to turn him into the toughest boy of all.

“And what is the trick?”, Bobo asked.
His father replied-“Eat a candy less, study a minute more, and count to five before crying” Bobo could not believe it.

“Just that?”
“Yes, just that.” – said his father, -“It’s very simple, but I warn you that it won’t be easy.”

Bobo was happy, ready to follow the advice. He went to see his mother, and she noticed how happy he was. When she offered him two candies, “One candy less”, thought Bobo, so he only took one. It wasn’t easy, though, and he realised his father had been right. To leave one candy offered to him, really was tough decision for him!

That same afternoon he had another chance to put his father’s advice into practice, by studying for one minute more. The outcome was that he missed the first minute of his favourite TV show! But having achieved this gave him a great feeling of satisfaction. The same happened when he bumped into the corner of the kitchen table. He only managed to count to four before not-crying. His mother was well impressed at that.

Over the following days Bobo kept applying the motto to his life.

Eat one candy less, study one minute more and count to five before crying and the more he put this into practice, the easier it got. Before long he realized that not only could he eat fewer candies, study more minutes, and cry fewer times. Along with that he learnt good habits like eating vegetables or helping others in need.

Moral of the story: You have power over your mind – not the outside events. Realize your motivation and you will find strength.