Good Life
A boat docked in a tiny Goan village. A tourist from Mumbai complimented the Goan fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.
’Not very long,’ answered the fisherman.
’But then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?’ asked the Mumbaite.
The Goan fisherman explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family.
The Mumbaite asked, ’But what do you do with the rest of your time?’
’I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play guitar, sing a few songs... I have a full life.’
The Mumbaite interrupted, ’I have an MBA from IIM-A, and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat.’
’And after that?’ asked the Goan.
’With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Panjim, or even Mumbai. From there you can direct your huge new enterprise.’
’How long would that take?’ asked the Goan.
’Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,’ replied the Mumbaite.
’And after that?’
’Afterwards? Well my Friend, That’s when it gets really interesting,’ chuckled the Mumbaite, ’When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!’
’Millions? Really? And after that?’ asked the Goan.
’After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings doing what you like with your buddies.’
’With all due respect sir, but that’s exactly what I am doing now. So what’s the point wasting 25 years?’ asked the Goan.
And the moral of the story is? Know where you’re going in life. You may already be there.
Life in the present world is indeed a rat race. Many who have good qualifications too do not know where they are going in life.
Give it a serious thought, and please don’t forget to take charge of your health.
. Building Your House
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said ”Yes.”
But over the time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.
When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, ”This is your house... my gift to you.”
The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.
So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.
But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, ”Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the ”house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!
Parable Of The Pencil - Pencil story
The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
”There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, ”Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
”One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in Someone’s hand.”
”Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better pencil.”
”Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
”Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s inside.”
”And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write.”
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.
Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.
And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.
Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.
Things May Not be What They Seem.
Imagine you are at an Airport. While you’re waiting for your flight, you notice a kiosk selling cookies. You buy a box, put them in your traveling bag and then you patiently search for an available seat so you can sit down and enjoy your cookies. Finally, you find a seat next to a gentleman. You reach down into your traveling bag and pull out your box of cookies.
As you do so, you notice that the gentleman starts watching you intensely. He stares as you open the box and his eyes follow your hand as you pick up the cookie and bring it to your mouth. Just then he reaches over and takes one of your cookies from the box, and eats it!
You’re more than a little surprised at this. Actually, you’re at a loss for words. Not only does he take one cookie, but also he alternates with you. For every one cookie you take, he takes one.
Now, what’s your immediate impression of this guy? Crazy? Greedy? He’s got some nerve? Can you imagine the words you might use to describe this man to your associates back at the office?
Meanwhile, you both continue eating the cookies until there’s just one left. To your surprise, the man reaches over and takes it. But then he does something unexpected. He breaks it in half, and gives half to you.
After he’s finished with his half he gets up, and without a word, he leaves.
You think to yourself, ”Did this really happen?” You’re left sitting there dumbfounded and still hungry. So you go back to the kiosk and buy another box of cookies. You then return to your seat and begin opening your new box of cookies when you glance down into your traveling bag. Sitting there in your bag is your original box of cookies still unopened.
Only then you realize that when you reached down earlier, you had reached into the other man’s bag, and grabbed his box of cookies by mistake.
Now what do you think of the man? Generous? Tolerant? You’ve just experienced a profound paradigm shift. You’re seeing things from a new point of view. Is it time to change your point of view?
Now, think of this story as it relates to your life.
Seeing things from a new point of view can be very enlightening. Think outside the box.
Don’t settle for the status quo. Be open to suggestions. Things may not be what they seem.
