The Boulder and the Gold
The Story:
There once was a king who
decided to do a little experiment.
He had a giant boulder 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.
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.
(To learn more about this
concept, here are 8 key
ingredients of personal
responsibility .)
7. Dirty Money
The Story:
A well-respected speaker began a
seminar by showing an audience
of 150 people a crisp $20 bill.
He asked, “Who wants this $20
bill?”
All 150 people nodded.
He said, “I am going to give this
money to someone, but first….”
Then he proceeded to crumple the
bill up.
He asked the crowd again if
anyone wanted it.
All 150 hands went up in the air.
The speaker then dropped the
money on the floor and stomped
all over it.
He then raised it in the air to show
the crowd. The money was filthy.
“Does anyone want it now?”
Every hand went up.
The speaker proceeded to tell the
crowd that no matter what he did
to ruin the money, people still
wanted it because its value
remained the same .
It was still worth $20.
The Moral:
Life often beats us up to the point
where we feel inadequate. We
deal with bad circumstances and
make bad choices that we have to
deal with later. However, no
matter what you go through, your
value will remain the same .
You have something special to
offer that no one can take away
from you.
8. The Ultimate Test
The Story:
One night, four college students
stayed up late partying, even
though they knew they had a test
the next day. The next morning,
they came up with a plan to get
out of having to take their test.
Each student rolled around in dirt
and then went to the teacher’s
office.
They told the teacher that they
had gotten a flat tire the night
before, and they spent the entire
night pushing their car back to
campus.
The teacher listened, and to the
students’ delight, he offered a
retest three days later.
On the day of the test, the
students went to their teacher’s
office. The teacher put all four of
the students in separate rooms to
take the test. The students were
okay with that because they had
been given a chance to study.
[NewsNaira]Stories
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