Half an effort counts as none

A maths teacher in Kuwait decides to offer private lessons in the evenings.

He posts once in a neighbourhood group: available for tutoring, message me. Nobody does. A month later he tries another group, with the same line. Then a notice in the lift of his building, which falls down within a week. Then a mention to a cousin, who forgets.

By the end of the term he has made six attempts and has not had one student. He concludes there is no demand.

There is plenty of demand. Every family in that building with a child sitting exams wants exactly what he offers. What there has not been is a single real attempt.

We like to think effort accumulates. Six small tries should add up to something, perhaps to three decent ones. They do not. Each half-hearted post was too thin to be noticed, and a thing nobody notices earns precisely nothing. Repeat nothing six times and you still have nothing.

The reasons for holding back are always respectable. He was busy. He did not want to seem pushy. He wanted to test the water before committing. Underneath, there is usually a quieter reason: a small, half-hearted try is safer, because when it fails it does not really count.

The alternative is not more noise. It is one real attempt, aimed at a few families who badly need it. Learn their names. Say exactly which exam, which topic, which evenings. Turn up for the first lesson early, prepared, and do it properly.

One whole effort can start something. Any number of halves, multiplied together, still comes to zero.