Hey friends, finally found some time for writing something,, however writing isn't an apt word for this post as i have none of my words here, but i could not resist sharing these beautiful short stories i came across in last few months while reading books, articles over internet and mags. Hope you guys enjoy reading as well and learn the practicalities highlighted in these short stories :)
Powerful Expectations
The famous French ruler, Napolean Bonaparte was given a star sapphire when he was a boy. The sapphire came with a prophecy that it would bring him good fortune and make him Emperor of France. Napolean believed in the promise of the sapphire and accepted it to be true. He was crowned Emperor of France in 1804.
Moral: Create powerful expectations for your life. Your beliefs about yourself are arguably the greatest determinant of your success.
Which Wolf Wins?
An old man is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves – a good wolf and a bad wolf.
One wolf is negative - he is angry, envy, sorrowful, regretful, greedy, arrogant, self-pitiful, guilty and resentful. He tells lies all the time and has false pride.
He continued, "The other is positive - he is encouraging, peaceful, loving, hopeful, sincere, kindness and humble. He is full of empathy, generous and compassionate.
The grandfather explained that “the same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.”
The boy thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"
The old farmer simply replied, "The one you feed the most."
Moral: Positive thinking is just as easy as negative thinking, but worthwhile.
From Fight to Flight
During nature class, a teacher was explaining to her students how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. She told to her students that in the next couple of hours, the caterpillar would struggle to come out of the cocoon, but no one should help the butterfly. She then left.
The students waited patiently, and just as the teacher had described, the butterfly began struggling to come out of the cocoon. One particular student couldn't bear to watch the butterfly struggle any longer so he decided to help the butterfly. He broke the cocoon and the butterfly was free, but shortly afterwards, the butterfly died.
When the teacher returned she heard what happened. The teacher then explained to her students that it is a law of nature. The struggle to come out of the cocoon helps develop and strengthen the butterfly’s wings. By helping the butterfly the boy allowed it to be free of struggle.
Moral: We need challenges that stretch us and help us grow.
Focus on What you Want
Will Smith says:
“People ask me about racism in Hollywood. Why would I acknowledge racism? When you acknowledge the obstacle you actually give it power. I want to walk through it. I want to walk over it. I want to walk around it. So my preoccupation is with the power that we all possess individually.”
There are 3 steps:
1. Focus with clarity on the goal.
2. Imagine your goal as if it were already happening.
3. We commit ourselves to it. We know in our hearts that this will be. There is absolutely no doubt.
A quote from the movie The Pursuit of Happiness - "Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something… not even me. You got a dream...you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period."
Moral: The more you imagine you goal, the quicker you will accomplish it.
The Obstacle in our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a road. The king then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road.
After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.
Moral: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve.
Limiting Beliefs
Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He founded Grameen Bank in the late 70’s to help fight poverty after visits to the poorest households in the villages of Bangladesh. Yunus found that conventional banks would not lend to poor people without any collateral. He provided the first loan of $27.00 from his own pocket to 42 women in the village.
Today Grameen Bank has 7.61 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,535 branches, Grameen Bank provides services in 83,343 villages, covering more than 99 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh.
Grameen Bank has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity.
More importantly we see not only lending but something else. We see that limiting beliefs have been subverted.
Moral: Challenge your beliefs and the beliefs of others. They determine how you behave.
Sharpen the Saw
There was once a woodcutter who was working feverishly to saw down a tree. A young man came across the woodcutter and asked “What are you doing?”
“Can't you see” the woodcutter replied. “I am sawing down this tree.”
The young man sat down and asked the woodcutter to take a break and sharpen his saw as he looked exhausted. The woodcutter explained to the young man that he had been sawing for five hours straight and did not have time to take a break.
The young man looked at the woodcutter and said “If you sharpen the saw, you would cut down the tree much faster.”
The woodcutter said “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw. Can you not see I am too busy.”
Moral: Preserve and enhance the greatest asset you have – You. Take time refresh your skills, your knowledge and your mind.
from "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" - Stephen R. Covey
The Boat Builder
A boat builder decided to retire to spend more time with his family. His employer said that he would be sad to see him go. One last request was before he went that he would build one last boat. The boat builder reluctantly agreed and rushed to complete a six birth cruiser to the luxury standard specified. The workmanship was poor and the finish was below standard.
On the day the boat builder was due to complete his work, his employer arrived. The employer handed the key to the boat builder saying “This is my gift to for!” The boat builder was shocked. He thought if I had to have known this was for me I would have built the boat perfectly. Now he was not sure if he even wanted this gift.
We do the same in life, we sometimes do not give ourselves, our families and our work the best effort and seem disappointed with our situation, when we realise we could have done it differently.
Moral: Your life today is the result of your attitudes and choices in the past. Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.
Expand your Comfort Zone
From birth a baby elephant is tied with a rope to a wooden post planted in the ground leaving it confined to very small space. Soon the elephant learns that he cannot break the rope. This space defined by the rope becomes the elephant’s comfort zone.
As the elephant grows up it could easily break the rope, but it does not even try because it was conditioned as a baby that it could not break free. As a result, the large elephant remains restricted and confined in a small space.
This metaphor can be used to describe what happens human beings as we become trapped in a comfort zone. The elephant can easily break the rope and we can easily leave our comfort zone. Just as the elephants space determines what it can do, our comfort zone determines what we are capable of achieving.
In order to expand our potential and succeed in life we must expand our comfort zone into unfamiliar territory.
Moral: You will never realise what you are truly capable of achieving if you remain in your comfort zone.
Do let me know, how you found them...
Good Day :)
