Growing Optimism
How parents can supercharge
their child's attitude

There is an old story told of two men, contemporaries, named Donatello and Michelangelo. Both men were

working on projects requiring a block of unfinished marble, and both were expecting delivery the same day. The quarry delivered a particular block of marble to Donatello, who after careful consideration pronounced "that it was unfit for any use whatsoever!" It had flaws and cracks throughout the block, and was really a poor specimen. He demanded that the workmen return the block and bring him something more suitable.

The workmen decided that rather than haul the block back to the quarry, they would try to give it to Michelangelo. After all, he was known for being a little absent-minded. And they succeeded. When Michelangelo looked at the block he saw the same flaws and cracks that Donatello had. However, instead of rejecting the block, he viewed it as a challenge to be met and defeated. So he accepted the block of marble and carefully worked on what would become one of the world's greatest masterpieces. This seemingly useless piece of marble became known to the world as "David."