A
young and earnest student approached his
teacher and asked, "If I
work very hard and be very diligent how long will it take for me to achieve mastery"
The Master thought about this for a moment, then said, "Ten years."
The student said, "Ten years! What if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast? How long then?"
The Master smiled and said, "Twenty years."
"Twenty years!," said the student. "What if I quadruple my efforts? How long then?"
The Master didn't even hesitate: "Forty years."
"But wait," said the disappointed student, "each time I tell you I'll work harder, you tell me it will take longer. Why is that?"
"Because," said the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."