A Wise Man’s Jokes
A wise man once encountered a gathering of people who kept harping on the same problems. One day, he told them a joke instead of listening to their complaints, and everyone burst out laughing.
Then he said the joke once more. Several folks grinned.
The man then told the joke a third time, but nobody responded.
You won't laugh at the same joke more than once, the man remarked with a smile. What are you hoping to gain by making the same complaint over and over again?
The Moral:
If you continually whining about the same issue without taking any action to resolve it, you won't get far.
Don't waste your time whining and hoping that others would respond to your complaints. Instead, make a change by acting.
Three Feet From Gold
A miner who had been mining in Colorado for a while quit his job during the gold rush because he hadn't found any gold yet and the work was getting boring. He sold his machinery to another man, who picked up where he had left off in mining.
His engineer told the new miner that the first miner had stopped digging three feet from where there was gold.
The first miner gave up just three feet from striking gold, proving that the engineer was correct.
The Moral:
Try to persevere through adversity when things start to get difficult.
The Boulder and the Gold
The Gold and the Boulder.
A king once made the decision to conduct a small experiment. He ordered the placement of a huge boulder squarely in the street's centre. When no one attempted to move the boulder out of the way, he hid close by to watch.
First, a few well-off businessmen passed. They circled the boulder while griping about how poorly the monarch had been maintaining the roads.
Then a peasant passed by carrying food for his family in his arms as he made his way home. He set his goods down and tried to push the boulder out of everyone's path when he saw it. It took him some time, but he managed to relocate it.
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.
The king gave this gift because the peasant had taken the time and energy to move the boulder out of the road for the convenience of others who would be traveling the road in the future.
The 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 Ultimate Test
Four college students partied late one night despite knowing they had a test the following morning. They devised a strategy the following morning to avoid having to take their test.
Each pupil entered the teacher's office after rolling around in the dirt.
They explained to the teacher that they had a flat tyre the previous evening and had tow their vehicle back to college the entire night.
The teacher listened, and much to the joy of the students, he proposed a second exam three days later.
The pupils went to their teacher's office on the day of the test. For the test, the teacher separated the four pupils into their own rooms. Given the opportunity to study, the students were fine with that.
The test had 2 questions:
1) Your Name __________ (1 Points)
2) Which tire was flat? __________ (99 Points)
1. Front Right
2. Front Left
3. Back Right
4. Back Left
The Moral:
In addition to making good decisions, you should always accept responsibility for your actions.
You need to always accept responsibility for your actions in addition to making informed decisions.
This entails refraining from pointing the finger at others for your errors, grumbling about the circumstances of the present, and caving in to peer pressure.
What a Waste
A mother camel and her baby were lying down, soaking up the sun.
The baby camel asked his mom, “Why do we have these big bumps on our back?”
The mom stopped to think and then said, “We live in the desert where there is not much water available. Our humps store water to help us survive on long journeys.”
The baby camel then stopped to think and said, “Well, why do we have long legs with rounded feet?”
His mother replied, “They are meant to help us walk through sand.”
The baby asked a third question, “Why are my eyelashes so long?”
The mother replied, “Your long eyelashes offer you protection from sand when it blows in the wind.”
Finally, the baby said, “If we have all of these natural abilities given to us to walk through the desert, what’s the use for camels in the Zoo?”
The Moral:
The skills and abilities that you possess won’t be useful if you’re not in the right environment.
Try to test your potential in all available environments…
Breathing With No Air
A boy once asked a wise old man what the secret to success is.
After listening to the boy’s question, the wise man told the boy to meet him at the river in the morning and he would be given the answer there.
In the morning, the wise man and the boy began walking toward the river. They continued on into the river, past the point of the water covering their nose and mouth. At this time, the wise man ducked the boy into the water.
As he struggled to get out, the wise man continued to push him further down. The boy felt a fish slip by his leg and squirmed to get up even harder. The man eventually pulled the boy’s head up so he could get air. The boy gasped as he inhaled a deep breath of air.
The wise man said, ‘What were you fighting for when you were under water?”
The boy replied, “Air!”
The man said, “There you have the secret to success. When you want to gain success as much as you wanted air when you were under water, you will obtain it. That’s the only secret.”
The Moral:
Success starts with the desire to achieve something.
Think about what you desire the most in life and work towards getting it. Don’t allow your environment or other people to influence the things that you truly want.
Just because the fish swimming by is comfortable with being under water doesn’t mean that you are.
