It was June, a pleasant summer evening. As Emre was returning home from work, he saw the neighborhood children fixing their bicycles.
“Emre, don’t even ask… It’s not going well,” replied one of the children.
“Shall I help?” he offered, and without hesitation, rolled up his sleeves. Emre was a civil servant, always seen in his neatly pressed white shirt. Ignoring the risk to his shirt, he immediately set to work. However, his shirt was no longer spotless by the end.
While helping the children, Emre found himself lost in thought, recalling his own childhood. He remembered saving the money he had collected during religious holidays and what he had earned, and buying a large, blue and white bicycle. He had learned to ride it early on, all by himself, because Emre always preferred figuring things out on his own.
Lately, his mind was on his daughter Sinem, who had just started elementary school. He was eager for her to learn how to ride a bicycle as well.
That day, after work, he surprised his little girl with a pink bicycle with a cute basket in front. Sinem was speechless with excitement when she saw it. She jumped into her father’s arms with joy, then immediately started examining her new bike, eager to ride it.
“Dad, I want to ride it right now!” She shouted excitedly. Her tiny hands gripped the handlebars, her little feet unable to stay still, eager to press the pedals.
With her small feet, Sinem tried both to reach the pedals and to maintain her balance.
“Daddy, I’m scared! Daddy, please don’t leave me!” her trembling voice echoed throughout the neighborhood.
In her excitement, Sinem fell and badly injured her knee. She no longer wanted to ride her bicycle because of the pain. The next day, out of fear, she asked her father to push her instead of pedaling herself. Emre knew that the true joy of cycling came not from being pushed by someone else, but from riding through one’s own effort. He wanted his daughter to experience the satisfaction that comes from perseverance. Sinem encountered the painful side of making effort for the first time. Naturally, she could not succeed on her first attempts.
After her last fall, she became even more hesitant, climbing the stairs in tears and running to her mother.
“Mom, Dad is forcing me to ride the bicycle, but I do not want to!” she said, wiping her tears and hiding behind her mother. Alev and Emre smiled.
“Come here, my dear… Let me see your elbow,” her mother said and embraced Sinem. “Life is a long journey, my girl. If we give up just because we fail once, we will never reach what we desire.”
The next day, Sinem was calm. Emre made a small gesture to motivate his daughter once again.
“My dear, shall we clean your bicycle today? It may have gotten a bit dirty after yesterday’s accident,” he said. Sinem accepted her father’s offer with a loud “Yesss!”unaware of what awaited her.
Father and daughter immediately gathered the cleaning supplies and went down to the garden together.
Emre knew this very well in his life; people loved the things they made time for. He had learned this lesson in his childhood, which is why the bicycle meant so much to him... Because he had earned it with his sweat and tears, saving up his pocket money patiently. He had given up eating his favourite chocolate to be able to buy the bicycle.
At the same time, Emre was also aware that for Sinem to succeed at cycling, she needed to keep practising. If she took too long a break, she might never want to ride again.
Emre was taking a strategic approach to this matter. He was both calming his daughter and gently encouraging her to enjoy cycling. He had never seen his efforts go unrewarded, either in his professional or personal life.
And finally, the moment he had been waiting for arrived.Sinem was very nervous and excited at first as she pressed the pedals, but soon she found her balance and began to pick up speed. She was riding on her own within a few seconds. She rode her bicycle from one end of the street to the other with the pride of success. There was joy on her face, a sparkle in her eyes.
Watching from afar, Emre felt a deep sense of peace. He was proud of his daughter; she had succeeded through her own efforts...
Now, Sinem was not only a skilled cyclist but also carried with her a lesson she would never forget for the rest of her life:
Those who put in the effort never lose!
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Experiental Desing Teaching is a body of knowledge that generates strategies for designing our future, drawing on past experiences.
It offers methods for people to be happier, more successful, and have better relationships.
The programs, which begin with "Who is Who" and continue with "Mastery in Relationships" and "Success Psyhology" help people become happier and more successful than they were yesterday.
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"Among billions of people, what could possibly be important about 'one' person?
Ask that 'one' person!"
Effort is never lost…
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