A very interesting excerpt from the book “The Zahir” by Paulo Coelho
What is this Favour Bank?
You Know. Everyone knows.
Possibly, but I still haven’t quite grasped what you’re saying
It was an American writer who first mentioned it. It’s the most powerful bank in the world, and you’ll find it in every sphere of life
Yes, But I come from a country without a literary traditions. What Favours could I do for anyone?
That doesn’t matter in the least. Let me give you an example: I know that you’re an up-and-coming write and that, one day, you’ll be very influential. I know this, because, like you, I too was once ambitious, independent, honest. I no longer have the energy I once had, but I want to help you because I can’t or don’t want to grind to a halt just yet. I’m not dreaming about retirement, I am still dreaming about the fascinating struggle that is life, power and glory.
I start making deposits in your account – not cash deposits you understand, but contacts. I introduce you to such and such a person, I arrange certain deals, as long as they are legal. You know that you owe me something, but I never ask you for anything.
And then one day…
Exactly. One day, I’ll ask you for a Favour and you could, of course, say NO, but you are conscious of being in my debt. You do what I ask, I continue to help you, and other people see that you are a decent, loyal sort of person and so they too make a deposit in your account – always in the form of contacts because this world is made up of contacts and nothing else. They too will one day ask you for a Favour, and you’ll respect and help the people who have helped you, and, in time, you’ll have spread your net worldwide, you’ll know everyone you need to know and your influence will keep on growing.
I could refuse to do what you ask me to do
You could. The Favour Bank is a risky investment, just like any other bank. You refuse to grant me the Favour I asked you, in the belief that I helped you because you deserved to be helped, because you are the best and everyone should automatically recognize your talent. Fine, I say thank you very much and ask someone else into whose account I’ve also made various deposits; but from then on, everyone knows, without me having to say a word, that you are not to be trusted.
You’ll grow only half as much as you could be grown, and certainly not as much as you would have liked to. At a certain point, your life will begin to decline, you got halfway, but not all the way, you are half-happy and half-sad, neither frustrated, not fulfilled. You’re neither cold not hot, you’re lukewarm, and as an evangelist in some holy book says: “Lukewarm things are not pleasing to the palate”
