One day, a wise man traveling a mountain road encountered a merchant struggling to get his donkey—loaded with a large bundle of merchandise—to move. The merchant yelled and cursed repeatedly, but to no avail. The donkey stood steadfast.
The wise man watched for a while, then told the merchant, “That’s no way to get your donkey to move. You’re going about it all wrong. Don’t curse him, but encourage him. You must speak gently to him. Then he’ll do what you want.”
The frustrated merchant replied, “I’ll tell you what, If you think that will work, you try it, and we’ll see where that gets you.
The wise man agreed. He went to the side of the road, and picked up a large beam of wood he found lying ground. Then he struck the donkey a powerful blow right between the eyes! “Wait a second,”said the merchant, completely astonished. “You said to speak gently to the donkey!”
“Yes, that’s true,” replied the wise man, “but first you have to get his attention!”