Many years ago in Russia, a chossid once complained to his Rebbe that he was having difficulty maintaining control of his eyes and thoughts, and he requested from his Rebbe a lesson that could perhaps help.
The Rebbe did not respond to his question. Instead, he was sent to visit the house of another chossid at the outskirts of town.
The chossid did as he was told, and began looking for the house he was sent to. It was in the dead of winter, and he was faced with ferocious cold. By the time he had arrived, he could bare it no more. He quickly ran towards the house and pounded loudly on the door.
From inside the house came a sound of an old man's voice. "Who's there?" he said. In response came, "It's Yankle", and he began to explain his his purpose for the visit. Still, the door was not opened.
After some time passed, feeling ignored, the chossid pounded on the door once again, only this time, much louder than before. Again, through the door came the voice of the old man: "who is it?". The chossid repeated his name and once again mentioned his reason for coming. Still, nothing! He wasn't let into the house.
This repeated itself over and over several times, till, cold, confused and with nowhere to go, the chossid cuddled up on the doorstep of the house and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, the old man, greeting the chossid with a smile, opened the door and welcomed him inside. The chossid angrily shouted out at him: "Didn't you hear me banging on your door yesterday?! Why didn't you open your door when you first heard me?!"
The old man smiled and calmly replied: "I'm the baal habayis here. No-one comes inside if I don't let!"