THE BOULDER AND THE GOLD

There once was a king who decided to do a little experiment. He had a giant boulder(a very large stone) put right in the middle of the street. He then hid near the boulder to see who, if anyone, would try to move it out of the way.

First, some wealthy merchants walked by. They walked around the boulder, complaining that the king hasn’t been maintaining the roads very well.

 

Next, a peasant walked by, heading home with his arms full of food for his family. When he noticed the boulder, he put his groceries down and attempted to move it out of everyone’s way. It took him a while to move it, but he eventually succeeded.

If you’re able to push through moments that are challenging, you may end up being much better off than you were before you started trying.

 

After the peasant gathered up his groceries to carry on home, he noticed a bag lying in the middle of the road, just where the boulder once was. He opened the bag to find that it was stuffed full of gold coins, along with a letter from the king saying that the bag’s gold was a reward for the peasant to keep because he had taken the time and energy to move the boulder out of the road for the convenience of others who would be travelling the road in the future.

 

MORAL

The peasant in this story was taught by the king that every obstacle you face offers an opportunity to improve. If you’re able to push through moments that are challenging, you may end up being much better off than you were before you started trying.

 

This story also offers a lesson of personal responsibility. If you see a job ahead of you, don’t leave it for the next person to do. Rather, step up and get the job done to help the people who come after you.

THE SWITCH

A young trial lawyer developed a reputation for himself a short time of being an accomplished attorney. His opponents feared him; his clients loved him. He was sure to win each case. He began writing in law journals and invitations to speak about his techniques began to appear. After a number of these, he developed a standard lecture to be used for these audiences.

 

He travelled with his chauffeur, a bright young man who was proud to be associated with this renowned lawyer. After months of listening to the same lecture, the brash young chauffeur said that he had heard the same speech so many times that he could give it himself. It was agreed that the next time they are out of town and no one would recognize them, they would exchange duties. The lawyer dressed as the chauffeur while the chauffeur, dressed like the lawyer, was introduced to a room full of expectant lawyers.

 

The chauffeur gave the lecture, demonstrating techniques and addressing details with precision. At the end of the speech, the chauffeur was given a standing ovation. It was magnificent talk. The moderator indicated there were still a few minutes left and asked the appreciative audience if they had any questions for the honored guest.

 

One lawyer ventured to ask a question concerning the legal precedents for one of the techniques referred to earlier in the speech. The lawyer, dressed as a chauffeur, in the back of the room felt his heart sink. He could easily field the question, but there was no way to let his chauffeur no the answer. They were about to get exposed!

 

The chauffeur asked the questioner to repeat the question. After listening to the question a second time, the chauffeur chuckled. With just a slight hint of mockery, he responded, “why, that’s just a simple and well-known precedent that all of you should know! The common lay person should also know the answer. In fact, to demonstrate my premise, I’m going to let my chauffeur give you the answer.

KEEPING THE ROOTS STRONGER.

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was an insurance agent who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden.

 

The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give a full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.

 

The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, there was a heavy rain and a wind due to a minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

 

The insurance agent neighbor was surprised to see it, he went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. 

 

Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”

 

The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it. You made it easy for them. While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more. And, because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger. That is why my plants survived”.

 

Moral: This story is about parenting where children are like plants. If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things. They will not learn to work themselves and respect it. Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving them

BAD COMPANY

A rich man had only one son. The son fell into the bad company. He developed many bad habits.

The man was much worried about the habits of his son. He tried his best to mend his habits but he could not succeed. One day he thought of a plan to teach his son a lesson.

 

He went to market and purchased some fresh apples and a rotten one. He came back to his home and called his son. He asked his son to put all the apples along with the rotten one in the almirah.

 

The son did the same. After some days father asked his son to bring the apples. As he opened the door of almirah he was surprised to note that all the apples had become rotten. He felt sad.

 

At this his father told him to see how one rotten apple had spoiled all the rest. In the same way one bad companion could spoil all others. The father's advice had the desired effect. The boy gave up bad company and became good again.

 

Moral:

Better alone than in bad company.

Factors That Contribute To the Development of a Successful Person

The main factors that contribute to the development of an effective and successful person are ambition, determination, self-confidence, rationality and continued learning.

 

'Ambition' means the desire to do something or succeed. 'Determination' is being serious in doing something. 'Self-confidence' is believing in one's ability to win or succeed. Self-confidence provides courage to talk to people in public, to ask questions or to say 'NO' to something that is not right. 

 

To gain self-confidence, one needs patience because without patience, self-confidence may seem like rudeness.

 

'Rationality' is using logical reasoning to solve problems. The opposite of rational thinking is using superstition and its various forms like agnosticism for solving problems. Does agnosticism help one to be successful in life?

 

'Continued learning' means learning should never stop after leaving school. Success in life depends on the amount of knowledge the person has. One must, therefore, keep on learning new things in order to be more productive.

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

One night in July at an all-girls summer camp, the campers were gathered around in a circle for their nighttime devotions. The counselor asked if any of the girls wanted to share something that had happened that day that impacted them. One camper raised her hand and said a girl from another camp cabin had said something that hurt her feelings and she was really upset about it.

 

The camp counselor went to the bathroom to grab a tube of toothpaste. She took the tube and squeezed it just a bit so some toothpaste came out. She then tried to put the toothpaste back in the tube, but it just created a mess.Then she squeezed the tube even more, pushing more toothpaste out and creating even more of a mess, but none of it would go back into the tube.

 

The counselor then told the campers, “this toothpaste represents the words you speak. Once you say something that you want to take back, it’s impossible and it only creates a mess. Think before you speak, and make sure your words are going to good use before you let them out.”

 

MORAL

Speaking is a fundamental social skill required for living a successful life. However, many are careless with their words, but they hold so much power. They can have a direct impact on the outcome of a situation, creating a helpful or hurtful reaction in our world. The problem is, once words come out of your mouth, no amount of “I’m sorrys” will make them go back in: blurting something out and then attempting to take it back is like shutting the gate after the horse has taken off. 

 

Thinking before you speak allows you the time to consider the potential impact of your words. Be careful when choosing where and when you let your words out. You can easily hurt other people, and once you do, you can’t take it back.

Words define who we are by revealing our attitudes and character, giving people an indication of our intellect or ignorance. Stop for a minute before you speak and question yourself about why you’re saying what you are.

CHERISH YOUR STRUGGLES

One day, a girl came upon a cocoon, and she could tell that a butterfly was trying to hatch. She waited and watched the butterfly struggle for hours to release itself from the tiny hole. All of a sudden, the butterfly stopped moving–it seemed to be stuck.

 

The girl then decided to help get the butterfly out. She went home to get a pair of scissors to cut open the cocoon. The butterfly was then easily able to escape,however, its body was swollen and its wings were underdeveloped. 

 

The girl still thought she had done the butterfly a favor as she sat there waiting for its wings to grow in order to support its body. However, that wasn’t happening. The butterfly was unable to fly, and for the rest of its life, it could only move by crawling around with little wings and a large body.

 

Despite the girl’s good intentions, she didn’t understand that the restriction of the butterfly’s cocoon and the struggle the butterfly had to go through in order to escape served an important purpose. As butterflies emerge from tight cocoons, it forces fluid from their body into their wings to prepare them to be able to fly.

 

The Moral:

The struggles that you face in life help you grow and get stronger. There is often a reason behind the requirement of doing hard work and being persistent. When enduring difficult times, you will develop the necessary strength that you’ll need in the future.

 

Without having any struggles, you won’t grow–which means it’s very important to take on personal challenges for yourself rather than relying on other people to always help you.