“Wishing to heighten his interest in his piano lessons, a mother took her young son to a concert by the famous Polish pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.

Seizing the opportunity to investigate the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually made his way through a door marked “No Admittance.”

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was missing.

Suddenly the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway onstage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently plinking out “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”

At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Then, leaning over, Paderewski began filling in the bass part with his left hand.

Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and Paderewski added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a potentially embarrassing situation into a wonderfully creative experience. And the audience was mesmerized.”

OFTEN WHAT GOES VERY WRONG is the beginning of something going very right; and what starts out as a mistake can be turned into a miracle. A visionary sees beyond appearances and thrives under all conditions. People with higher vision aren’t subject to conditions—they create them.

A true master can turn anything into a masterpiece. Ingenious people remain open to possibilities beyond the familiar and let their good find them rather than trying to squeeze it out of life. Many significant inventions and medicines were discovered “by accident” while experimenters were trying to develop something quite unrelated.

You can’t get rid of negatives by forcing, resisting, or denying; instead, find a way to turn them into positives. Take the raw materials before you and transform them into their highest potential. Act as William Blake suggested when he wrote, “To see a world in a grain of sand / And a heaven in a wild flower / Hold infinity in the palm of your hand / And eternity in an hour.”

If you’re faced with an awkward situation, step back and see if there’s something helpful or playful you can make out of it. You're bigger than any event you encounter—there’s a way you can make it work in your favor.

From the perspective of the child in this story, we find a powerful lesson: Paderewski’s advice—“Don’t quit; keep playing”—teaches us to never give up. Even if your skills are rudimentary or clumsy, if you persevere, you’ll eventually join in a great symphony. Your efforts will be met by God’s compassion, and together you’ll create a masterpiece.