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Character Leadership - VIP Mini Story

Hi this is A.J., welcome to the mini story for this month’s lesson. Let’s get started.

There was a Thai guy. He was from Thailand. He was very poor. He had no money and he wanted to be rich. In fact, he had been poor his whole life. And, he had always wanted to be rich. For many years he had dreamed of being rich, but had never achieved success.

Had he achieved success?

No, he had never achieved success.

Had he had any money during his life?

No. He had no money, but he had wanted to be rich for his whole life.

And so he became a muai Thai boxer. He trained and trained by himself everyday because he couldn’t afford a trainer.

Could he afford a trainer?

No, he could not afford a trainer.

Who couldn’t afford a trainer?

The Thai guy. The Thai guy couldn’t afford a trainer, so he trained and trained by himself everyday. It was very difficult.

Finally, one day he got his first professional fight. The winner of the fight would win $50. The man entered the fight but he lost. He was knocked out in the first round.

‘To be knocked out means to be hit and to go unconscious.’

Was he knocked out or did he fall asleep?

He was knocked out. Where was he knocked out?

In the ring, the fighting area. He was knocked out in the fighting ring.

Did he win or did he lose?

He lost. He was knocked out in the first round.

Next he tried to find a coach, a trainer, but he was too poor and no one would train him. They all said to him, get lost punk.

‘Punk is slang for a young person who’s not very successful, doesn’t have much money and may be a troublesome type of person.’

What did they call him?

A punk.

Who called the guy a punk?

Trainers and coaches called him a punk. They said get lost punk. Get lost kid.

The man was destitute and desperate.

‘Destitute means super poor, no money at all.’

Was he rich or was he destitute?

He was destitute.

Why was he destitute?

Because he had no income, no job and he lost the fight.

What was destitute?

The Thai guy. The Thai guy was destitute. He was destitute and desperate.

Finally, he went to a temple where there was a famous shaman.

What was there?

A famous shaman.

‘A shaman is like a priest, but more like a magical priest, like maybe they have magical abilities.’ Was it a normal shaman or a famous shaman?

A famous shaman.

He met the shaman and he said I’ll give you half of my earnings if you help me win fights.

‘Earnings means income.’

He promised to give half of what?

Half of his earnings. He said I’ll give you half of my earnings if you help me win fights.

The shaman agreed. He drew a magic tattoo on the man’s right arm.

‘A tattoo is a drawing on the skin that’s permanent. They use ink and make drawings or pictures on skin.’

So he drew a magic tattoo on the man’s right arm.

Where did he draw the magic tattoo?

On the man’s right arm.

Did he draw the magic tattoo on his left arm or his right arm?

On his right arm. He drew the magic tattoo on the man’s right arm.

Suddenly, his right arm became very strong. In his next fight, the man hit his opponent with his right arm and laid him out.

‘To lay someone out means to hit them, knock them down so they’re laying down flat. So you hit someone, they fall flat on the ground, you laid them out.’

Who lays out his opponent?

The man, the Thai man lays out his opponent. The man with the tattoo on his right arm lays out his opponent. He hits him with his right arm and knocks him flat. Lays him out or past, laid him out.

The man was very happy. He returned to the shaman and paid half his winnings, half his earnings to the shaman. Then he said, give me another tattoo. He got another on his left arm and it also became very strong and so he entered another fight and he won again. He entered more and more fights and won them all. After each fight he paid the shaman and got yet another tattoo. He got tattoos on his legs, his hands, his feet, his neck, his body and even his face. Because he was so strong the tattooed man became the muai Thai boxing champion of all of Thailand.

What did he become?

The muai Thai boxing champion of Thailand.

Who became the boxing champion of Thailand?

The tattooed man.

‘We can call him the tattooed man now because he had tattoos all over his body. The tattooed man became the muai Thai boxing champion.

After winning the championship the tattooed man decided that he didn’t need the shaman anymore, so he went to see the shaman again. He said, “I have all the tattoos I need now and I am the champ. The shaman said you must honor our agreement.

‘To honor an agreement means to follow an agreement. What does he do with the shots? We also say to keep your word. To keep your word means you keep your promise, you follow your promise.’

So the shaman said you must honor our agreement. You must honor our promise. You must follow your promise.

Who said you must honor our agreement?

The shaman. The shaman said you must honor our agreement.

Who needed to honor the agreement?

The tattooed man. The tattooed man needed to honor the agreement.

Who wanted to break the agreement?

The tattooed man. He wanted to break the agreement. He said I don’t need you, so I don’t need to pay you anymore.

But they agreed that the tattooed man would always give the shaman half his earnings.

Who broke the agreement?

The tattooed man broke the agreement he did not honor the agreement

In fact the tattooed man laughed and punched the shaman in the stomach. The shaman glared at the tattooed man and said I curse you. You will always be poor. Every time you gain money you will lose it quickly.

What did the shaman first do?

The shaman first glared at the tattooed man

‘To glare at means to stare at someone, to look at them in an angry way. To look at someone with an angry look, an angry way, it means to glare, to glare at.’

The shaman glared at who/whom?

At the tattooed man. The shaman glared at the tattooed man.

Did the tattooed man glare at the shaman?

No. The shaman glared at the tattooed man.

Was the shaman angry?

Yes, very. The shaman was very angry, so he glared at the tattooed man and said, I curse you. You will always be poor. Every time you gain money you will lose it quickly.

The tattooed man just laughed. The next month he went to a casino near the Cambodian border.

‘Cambodia is a country.’

The tattooed man won his first bet so he bet more and he won again. Yes he said I’m going to be super rich. Eventually the tattooed man bet all of his money and of course he lost it all. And, because he was gambling the Thai Boxing Association barred him from fighting again.

‘To bar someone means to block them.

So, the Thai Association blocked him from fighting again. They said you cannot fight again, because you were gambling.

Was he barred from fighting? Was he blocked from fighting?

Yes he was. The tattooed man was barred from fighting.

Could he fight again?

No he could not, he was barred from fighting. Who barred him from fighting?

The Thai Boxing Association. The Thai Boxing Association barred him from fighting again.

Because he was barred from fighting and had no money and no job he decided to become a bandit.

‘A bandit is a kind of thief.’

He beat up people and took their money. He started a small gang of bandits.

‘To beat up means to hit and punch someone.’

So he beat up people and took their money.

One day his gang decided to steal a box of gold from a temple. It was a big job and he needed more help. He needed some muscle.

‘In this case, muscle is kind of slang, it means strong people or strong guys.’

He needed some muscle means he needed some strong guys to help him steal the gold.

He hired a giant rat named Getty, along with Getty’s crew of rats.

‘A crew is a group or a team.’

What was Getty?

Getty was a rat, a giant rat the size of a person.

Was Getty a dog?

No Getty was not a dog Getty was a rat and he had a crew of rats, a group of rats.

Together with the tattooed man they broke into a temple and stole the box of gold, but then the Thai Army arrived quickly and chased them. During the escape the tattooed man tried to double cross Getty the rat. The tattooed man wanted all the gold for himself.

‘To double cross means to betray.’

The tattooed man tried to double cross?

Getty the rat. Did Getty try to double cross the tattooed man?

No, Getty didn’t try to double cross him. The tattooed man tried to double cross Getty. He tried to betray Getty the rat, tried to double cross him.

Why did he try to double cross Getty the rat?

Because he wanted all the gold for himself.

Since the tattooed man was so strong he thought he could easily beat Getty the rat, but Getty the rat was a very tough and strong rat. The two fought and Getty the rat won. He was stronger and tougher than the tattooed man. The tattooed man was knocked unconscious by Getty.

‘Unconscious is like being hit and then you fall asleep, you’re not awake.’

The tattooed man awoke just as the Thai Army was arriving. The Army caught all of his friends and bandits, but the tattooed man managed to slip away and escape.

‘To slip away means to get away quietly, to leave very quietly, almost secretly. To slip away.’

Who slipped away when the Army came?

The tattooed man slipped away. He got away very quietly.

After he slipped away and escaped he returned to Bangkok, but the dishonest tattooed man was poor and alone again.

That is the end of our mini story. As usual, listen to this every day for at least two weeks maybe more, pause and answer the questions. When you answer the questions just use a few words, one or two or three words that’s fine. And when you answer the question try to shout. It’s really nice to go for a walk and listen to the mini stories. Keep your energy high. Or, if you’re alone you can pause and shout your answers with energy. It keeps your mind awake, keeps you motivated and you’ll enjoy the story more.

I’ll see you next time have a great day. Bye for now.