I heard about this story on my way back from office today. I was so inspired by the story that I quickly did a research and ended up doing this posting. I suppose the lessons from this story should inspire us to look forward to a successful future provided there is a willingness to work hard and persevere in pursuing our dreams.
It is about an office boy working for an oil company in Saudi Arabia. One day he felt so thirsty and went around to find water to drink. When he found what he was looking for he was abruptly stopped from drinking it by an American engineer. The water was meant only for engineers, not a lowly ranked employee like him.
That incident really woke him up and he committed himself to work hard and eventually was sponsored by his company to continue his studies. He went to study Beirut, Pennsylvania and Stamford before coming back to be an engineer in Aramco's Exploration Department. Eventually he became the company's President in 1984 and it's CEO in 1988.
This is the story of H.E. Ali Ibrahim Al-Naim who was appointed as the Minister of Petroleum and Minirel Resources of Saudi Arabia in 1995. He eventually became a very influential personality in the oil industry as such that the rumors regarding his retirement caused a record crash in the price of oil.
Remember the American engineer who prohibited him to drink? One day he went to see Ali to ask permission for time off and said, "I want to ask permission for my holiday. I hope you do not take revenge, for my rudeness and bad behavior in the past when I prevented you to drink the water"
Ali responded "I want to thank you from bottom of my heart because you forbid me to drink. Yes, I used to hate you. But, because of you I am in this position"
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