| "The
condition of the human spirit [is] so profound that it encourages
us to build bridges." - Maya
Angelou |
We all have a bridge to build. We hope you find inspiration in the
stories below.
One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing
pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the
sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun
and the prospect of catching a fish.
About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying
to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman
sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was
fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and
his family. "You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the
businessman to the fisherman. "You should be working rather than lying
on the beach!"
The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And
what will my reward be?" "Well, you can get bigger nets and catch
more fish!" was the businessman's answer. "And then what will my reward
be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling. The businessman replied,
"You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will
then result in larger catches of fish!" "And then what will my reward
be?" asked the fisherman again. The businessman was beginning to get
a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a
bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said.
"And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman. The businessman
was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet
of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees
catch fish for you!" Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what
will my reward be?" The businessman was red with rage and shouted
at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich
that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend
all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset.
You won't have a care in the world!" The fisherman, still smiling,
looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"
| The
Most Important Question |
During
my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz.
I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions,
until I read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who
cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several
times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know
her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before
class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward
our quiz grade.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many
people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care,
even if all you do is smile and say hello."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
Bringing a giraffe
into the world is a tall order. A baby giraffe falls 10 feet from
its mother's womb and usually lands on its back. Within seconds it
rolls over and tucks its legs under its body. From this position it
considers the world for the first time and shakes off the last vestiges
of the birthing fluid from its eyes and ears. Then the mother giraffe
rudely introduces its offspring to the reality of life.
In his book, A View from the Zoo, Gary Richmond describes how a newborn
giraffe learns its first lesson.
The mother giraffe
lowers her head long enough to take a quick look. Then she positions
herself directly over her calf. She waits for about a minute, and
then she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long, pendulous
leg outward and kicks her baby, so that it is sent sprawling head
over heels.
When it doesn't
get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The struggle
to rise is momentous. As the baby calf grows tired, the mother kicks
it again to stimulate its efforts. Finally, the calf stands for the
first time on its wobbly legs.
Then the mother giraffe does the most remarkable thing. She kicks
it off its feet again. Why? She wants it to remember how it got up.
In the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible
to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards,
and wild hunting dogs all enjoy young giraffes, and they'd get them
too, if the mother didn't teach her calf to get up quickly and get
with it.
The late Irving Stone understood this. He spent a lifetime studying
greatness, writing novelized biographies of such men as Michelangelo,
Vincent van Gogh, Sigmund Freud, and Charles Darwin.
Stone was once
asked if he had found a thread that runs through the lives of all
these exceptional people. He said, "I write about people who sometime
in their life have a vision or dream of something that should be accomplished
and they go to work.
"They are beaten over the head, knocked down, vilified, and for years
they get nowhere. But every time they're knocked down they stand up.
You cannot destroy these people. And at the end of their lives they've
accomplished some modest part of what they set out to do."
|
Napolean's
Greatest Speech
|
Why are some days
great and others terrible? Is it because of chance or luck?
Good days can actually be created.
One time, I attended an awards banquet of the Chase National Life
Insurance Company. The speaker was the famed author of Think and Grow
Rich, Napoleon Hill.
When Hill was introduced it was obvious his age had caught up with
him. We all wondered if the octogenarian would be physically be able
to give the speech. (He passed away not long after this event.)
Napoleon Hill slowly walked to the podium, placed both of his hands
on the sides of it, looked out at the audience and announced, "Ladies
and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times
in my life. But tonight I am going to deliver it the best it has ever
been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!"
Wow! It was like a bolt of lightning. I watched 300 adults move to
the edge of their chairs and absorb every word like a sponge.
He set a course of action that did not allow for failure. You can
do it too!
Sources: - "Heart
At Work." Editor: Jack Canfield and Jacqueline Miller - Craig B. Larson.
Adapted from "Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching from Leadership
Journal." - Neil Eskelin
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