This One Thing I Do

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before… —Philippians 3:13

The great tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates how his father introduced to him the beauty of singing. His father urged him to work hard to develop his voice. Arigo Pola, a professional tenor in Modena, Italy, took Luciano on as a pupil. At the same time Luciano was enrolled in a teacher’s college.

Upon graduation he asked his father, “Shall I be a teacher or a singer?”

His father answered, “Luciano, if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.”  Luciano chose to sing.

It took him seven years of study and frustration before he made his first professional appearance. It was another seven years until he reached the Metropolitan Opera.

Pavarotti said, “And now I think whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book—whatever we choose—we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”