A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned up against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly, he was late for work.
The person who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. The action was repeated by several other children.
All the parents, without reception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there and recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written on a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.
Two days before playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the Metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people.
Here a thought to think about: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, HOW MANY OTHER THINGS ARE WE MISSING?
Learn to stop and smell the roses once in a while…you never know what you might miss!
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Source: Pinterest
My Good Time Stories 
Wonderful post.
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I remember seeing this on TV a few years ago actually. Our society, and human nature in general, tends to honor expectations. If we expect a broke city guy trying to make a few bucks, we wiIl experience a mediocre distraction in our day. If we pay to see a master musician, we will experience the show of a lifetime! Think about all of the detailed, intricate, incredible artwork done by in high schoolers across the nation that aren’t getting paid at all and whom we have never heard of, and the millions of dollars we would pay for “modern art” by famous artists.
Does talent make the public figure, or does something else entirely?
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nice post, interesting story
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The opposite holds true as well. Think of the celebrities sought after because of clever marketing and well-orchestrated hype, not necessarily because of talent.
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I’ve read this story many times since it first happened. It still amazes me every time. I play bassoon myself, and went to college for music. I wonder if one person had stood there and watched for a while, would it have gained attention from others?
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