Patience, Belief and a Desire to Help

Grandma Ica Shares Her Values

When I was sixteen, and our parents become more prosperous, they decided to build a house for our family. My mothers’ parents sold their apartment and moved in with us. There was plenty of room and since they had great personalities, the cohabitation worked surprisingly well. It was a great solution for my sister and I, as we could spend more time with our grandparents and they rubbed off on us. My grandfather, Sandor was always reading five books simultaneously, could tell a million stories and was disciplined with managing his time. My grandma, Ica was the most loving and caring person and a great cook. I will always be grateful for her quitting her job in her mid fifties to look after me while my mom was working overtime at the dermatology clinic.

Grandma Ica lost 98% of her eyesight during the births of her two daughters and used thick glasses and a magnifier glass to do her crosswords. She would not recognize me in the street if I walked past her. Nevertheless, whenever we mislaid anything around the house, glasses, keys, cuff-links, etc., it was her who found it for us. Without saying anything, she would meticulously sweep the house until she found whatever we lost. No matter if it took her 30 minutes or three hours.

Taking Grandma’s Lessons to Business Life

In the last couple of years, I have found myself starting to perform the same service in our household from time to time. Most recently, our younger son (also named Sandor), lost his AirPods and spent the evening and the morning looking for them in vain. Again, I remembered Ica grandma and started meticulously going through the house and soon found the white shiny box in my son’s soccer bag.

Sandor was astounded and grateful, and as I relayed grandma’s story, tears fogged my eyes. I realized she did it because she had a deep desire to help us, believed she could help, and had the patience to go through with it.

Then I realized that the patience the belief and the desire to help are the very qualities a successful business guide needs to have, to meet his clients where they are and help them move towards the pinnacle of their business.

Thank you grandma Ica! It took thirty years since you’ve gone, but I finally found the gift you left for me.