A Little boy went to a telephone booth which was at the cash counter of a store and dialed a number. The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation. Boy: “Madam, can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?” Woman: (at the other end of the phone line) “I already have someone to cut my lawn.” Boy: “Madam, I will cut your lawn for half the price than the person who cuts your lawn now.” Woman: “I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting the lawn.” Boy: (with more perseverance) “Madam, I’ll even sweep the floor and the stairs of your house for free.” Woman: “No, thank you.” With a smile on his face, the little boy put the receiver down. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy. Store-owner: “Son….I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.” Boy: “No thanks.” Store-owner: “But you were really pleading for one.” Boy: “No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!” This is called “Self-Appraisal” Give your best and the world comes to you !!

Many many years ago two wood cutters  Sandy and John went into a forest for firewood. They started chopping trees , after some time sandy looked at John’s pile … it was much bigger than his and John leaning towards is pile and this made sandy jelous. Resolving to chop more wood than John .. he worked tirelessly without stopping. Around lunch time he put down his axe and stopped to eat, as he sat down he looked at John’s pile.. it is still larger than his, this annoyed him so much that he decided not to eat but to continue chopping, more determined to out to John, he started chopping trees continuously without having food and water. In the evening when it is getting dark, and Sandy was keen to see if he had managed to cut more wood than John, again he was vexed to notice John has chopped a very large pile of wood, far more than all the wood he had cut. Now, Sandy marched against John and asked to know how he had cut more wood, especially when he had noticed John resting more frequently. John smiled at Sandy and asked him to calm down. He told Sandy that he had mistaken him for resting, it appeared him to be resting … actually he was sharpening his axe. The moral of the story is that there is always time for everything in life. Learn to prioritize important tasks like health, work, family and pay attention to things that are significant in our life.

What’s Prettier than Freckles?
An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright
freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their
cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.

“You’ve got so many freckles, there’s no place to paint!” a girl in the line said to
the little fella.

Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head. His grandmother knelt down next
to him. “I love your freckles. When I was a little girl, I always wanted freckles,”
she said, while tracing her finger across the child’s cheek. Freckles are
beautiful.”

The boy looked up, “Really?

“Of course,” said the grandmother. “Why just name me one thing that’s prettier
than freckles.”

The little boy thought for a moment, peering intensely into his grandma’s face
and softly whispered, “Wrinkles.”

An eight-year-old boy went to his grandfather and proudly announced, “I am going
to be very successful when I grow up. Can you give me any tips on how to get
there?”
The grandfather nodded, and without saying a word, took the boy by the hand and
walked him to a nearby plant nursery.
There, the two of them choose and purchased two small saplings.
They returned home and planted one of them in the garden.
The other sapling was placed in a pot and kept indoors.
“Which one do you think will be the most successful in the future?” asked the
grandfather?
The boy thought for a moment and said, “The indoor tree. It’s protected and safe
while the outdoor one has to cope with the elements.”
The grandfather shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’ll see.”
The grandfather carefully tended to both plants and in a few years, the boy, now a
teenager came to visit again.
“You never really answered my question from when I was a young boy. How can I
become successful when I grow up?” he asked.
The old man showed the teenager the indoor tree and then took him outside to
have a look at the towering tree outside.
“Which one is greater?” the grandfather asked.
“The outside one. But that doesn’t make sense, it has to cope with many more
challenges than the inside one.”
The grandfather smiled, “Yes, but the risk of dealing with challenges is worth it as
it has the freedom to spread its roots wider and its leaves towards the heavens.
Boy, remember this and you be successful in whatever you do; If you choose the
safe option all of your life you will never grow and be all that you can be, but
if you are willing to face the world head-on with all of its dangers and
challenges, the sky’s the limit.”
The young man looked up at the tall tree, took a deep breath and nodded his
head, knowing that his wise grandfather was right.
The same is true for all of us.
If you choose the safe, well-worn path, then a life of mediocrity awaits.
But if you have the courage and capacity to live in the elements, you give yourself

a great chance of reaching your full potential and being successful in your chosen
field of endeavour.
God created trees to grow outside.
He created people to live lives of significance.

Recently Steve had a car accident. So he put his car in the garage to carry out the
repair work. Since he had to go to the job daily, he decided that until the car is
ready, he will travel by the metro train. One day, he noticed a homeless guy at the
train station at night. He felt pity for him, so he gave him some change from his
pocket.
The homeless guy thanked him for it. Next day again, he noticed the homeless
guy at the same place. This time Steve though to get him something to eat, so he
went outside the station and brought him a meal. The homeless guy thanked him
for his kindness. But Steve got curious and asked him, “How did you get to this
point?”
The homeless guy looked up at him and with a smile, he said, “By Showing Love.”
Steve didn’t understand it, so he asked him, “What do you mean by that?” The
homeless guy replied that “Throughout my whole life, I made sure that everyone
was happy. No matter what was going right or wrong in my life, I always helped
everyone.”
Steve asked him, “Do you regret it?” To which the homeless man replied, “No, It
just hurts my soul that the very people I gave the shirt off my back to wouldn’t give
me a sleeve of that same shirt when I was in need. Son, It is better to build your
own house and invite someone in for shelter than to hand them your bricks while
you are building yours. Because one day you will turn around and look at the spot
where you had planned to build your house. It will be an empty lot. Then you are
the one looking for bricks.”
Steve understood what the homeless guy meant and thanked him for the good
advice.
Moral: Helping others is not a bad thing at all. But sometimes, while we are
helping others, we forget our own problems and needs. One must remember that
sometimes sharing is better than giving away. You can do a lot more by being in a
strong position instead of bringing yourself into a weaker situation.

Once upon a time, there was a small town. There lived a man by himself who
couldn’t see. He was blind. Yet, he carried a lighted lamp with him whenever he
went out at night.
One night as he was coming home after having a dinner outside, he came across
a group of young travellers. They saw that he was blind, yet carrying a lighted
lamp. They started passing comments on him and made a fun of him. One of them
asked him, “Hey Man! You are blind and can’t see anything! Why do you carry the
lamp then?!”
The blind man replied, “Yes, unfortunately, I am blind and I can’t see anything but
a lighted lamp which I am carrying is for the people like you who can see. You
may not see the blind man coming and end up pushing me. That is why I carry a
lighted lamp”.
The group of travellers felt ashamed and apologized for their behaviour.
Moral: We should think before judging others. Always be polite and learn to see
things from others point of view.

One man was searching for an answer to the question: “What is the power? “.
He found out that there was a sage in his region. He came to this sage and saw
that there was a nice house instead of poor shag and children were playing in the
yard… A man was surprised; he thought that people, who comprehended the
truth, should live differently. He asked the owner to help him to find the answer.
A sage said:
— you can find the strength in yourself. Seek for your way or follow the road of the
ancestors… I’ll tell you a story…
One man, looking for perfection, was training hard day after day. And he knew the
power of body.
Not bowing to the difficulties, he went ahead. Defeated himself. And he knew the
power of spirit.
Comprehending the thoughts of great people, he found his opinion. And he knew
the power of knowledge.
He fell in love, bowed down to the earth goddess of his heart. And he knew the
power of feelings.
He had a house and a family. He took his child in the arms, and knew the power of
life.
Encountering the unknown with pacification, he did not regret about the past and
knew the power of death.

Once upon a time in a village, there was an old man named Jerry. He hadn’t seen
his son for few years and wanted to meet his son who lived in a city. He started
his journey and came to a city where his son used to work and stay. He went to
the place from where he used to get letters long back. When he knocked the door
he was excited and smiled with joy to meet his son. Unfortunately, someone else
opened the door. Jerry asked, “I suppose Thomas should be staying in this
place.” The person said, “No! He had left the place and shifted to a different
location.” Jerry was disappointed and just thinking how to meet his son.
He started to walk in the street and the neighbour asked Jerry, “Are you looking for
Thomas?” Jerry responded by nodding his head. The neighbour gave the present
address and office address of Thomas to the Jerry. Jerry thanked them and
started towards the path which will lead to his son. Jerry went to the office and
asked at the reception counter, “Could you please tell me the location of Thomas,
in this office?” The receptionist asked, “May I know how you are related to him?”
Jerry responded politely by saying, “I’m his father.” The receptionist said, Jerry to
wait for a moment and rang up to Thomas and conveyed the same. Thomas was
shocked and told the receptionist to send his father to the cabin immediately.
Jerry entered the cabin and when he saw Thomas, his eyes were filled with tears.
Thomas was happy to see his father. They had a simple conversation for a while
and then Jerry asked Thomas, “Son! Mom wants to see you. Can you Come home
with me?”
Thomas responded, “No father. I can’t come. I am very busy working for my
success and it’s hard to manage a leave to visit as my hands are full with loads of
stressful work .” Jerry gave a simple smile and said, “Okay! You may do your
work. I’ll be going back to our village today evening.” Thomas asked, “You can
stay for few days with me. Please.” Jerry responded after a moment of silence,
“Son. You are busy with your tasks. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or
become a burden for you.” Continued, “I hope if ever had a chance to meet you
again, I would be happy.” He left the place.
After a few weeks, Thomas wondered why his father came alone after a long time,
he felt bad for treating his father in a weird manner. He felt guilty for it and took a
leave in office for few days and went to his village to meet his father. When he
went to the place where he was born and grew up, he saw that his parents were
not there. He was shocked and asked the neighbour, “What happened here? My
parents have to be there. Where are they now?” The neighbour gave the address
of the place where his parents are staying.
Thomas rushed to the place and noticed that the place was like a graveyard.
Thomas eyes were filled with tears and started to walk slowly towards the place.
His father Jerry noticed Thomas in a far distance and waved his hand to draw his
attention. Thomas saw his father and started to run and hugged him.
Jerry asked, “How are you?” and continued, “What a surprise to see you here. I

didn’t expect that you would be coming to this place.” Thomas felt ashamed and
kept his head down. Jerry said, “Why are you feeling bad. Has anything wrong
happened?” Thomas responded, “No father” continued, “It’s just I never knew that
I would be seeing you in this position in our village.”
Jerry smiled and said, “I had taken a loan when you moved to a city for your
college to pay for your education, then again when you wanted a new car, but
due to a loss in farming, I couldn’t repay the loan. So I thought of approaching you
for a help, but you were very busy and stressed with your work. I just didn’t want
to burden you with this problem and remained silent and I had to let go of our
home to repay the loan.”
Thomas whispered, “You could’ve told me. I’m not an outsider.” Jerry turned
around and said, “You were very busy and stressed with your work which made
me remain quiet. All we wanted was your happiness. So I kept quiet.”
Thomas started to cry and hugged his father again. He apologised to his father
and asked to forgive him for his mistake. Jerry smiled and said, “No need for that.
I’m happy with what I got now. All I want is that you spare some time for us, we
love you very much and at this old age it’s hard to travel to see you often.”
Moral: Parents will always be there and give everything they could just to make
you happy. We take them for granted, we don’t appreciate all they do for us until
it’s too late. When you find a path of success in your life, carry on but don’t leave
your parents behind as they are the true reason of your success.

The octopus felt heartily relieved when he was finally set free, but he was so shy
that he didn’t dare talk to the fish and make friends with him. He simply thanked
the fish, and quickly swam off. Later, the octopus spent the whole night
thinking that he had wasted a great opportunity to make friends with that
very kind little fish.
A couple of days later the octopus was resting between some rocks, when he
noticed that everyone around was hurriedly swimming past. He looked into the
distance and saw an enormous fish coming over to feed in that area. The octopus
quickly hid; then, peeping an eye out from his hiding place, he saw that the
huge fish was chasing the kind little fish who had untied him. That little fish really
needed urgent help, but the big fish was so dangerous-looking that no one
dared to go near. The octopus, remembering how the little fish had helped him,
felt that he had to do whatever he could to come to his aid.
Without hesitating, the octopus shot out from the rocks, like a ray. He put himself
right in the path of the giant fish, and before the fish could do anything about it,
the octopus had shot out the biggest jet of ink of his life. He grabbed the little fish,
and swam off back to hide in the rocks. Everything happened so fast that the
big fish had no time to react. However, he soon recovered from the surprise. Off
he went to the rocks, looking for the octopus and the little fish. Now he really
wanted to gobble them down!
Soon, though, he began feeling a terrible itch; first in his gills, and then in his fins,
and then all over his body. It turned out that this giant fish had a very artistic
nature, he adored colours; and the octopus’s dark ink had given him a terrible
allergy!!
So the big fish swam away, irritated all over.
As soon as he was gone, all the fish who had been hiding came and

congratulated the octopus for being so brave. Then the little fish told them
all how he had helped the octopus a few days earlier, but he had never
known anyone be so grateful that they would end up doing something so
dangerous. Hearing this, the other fish discovered how nice the shy octopus
was, and everyone around was keen to be the friend of such a brave and
honourable octopus.

There once lived a monkey and an elephant, in a faraway jungle who was best
friends. The two of them did everything together. Suddenly one day an unusual and
somewhat heated disagreement between the two had broken out who contributed
more to their exploits. The monkey had told the elephant that it was better to be
fast, flexible, and agile. The elephant argued it was much better to be strong. The
two of them simply couldn’t agree. So they went to the wise owl of the jungle and
asked him.
The owl pointed to a tall tree far across the river with a unique fruit towards the top
of its large trunk. He told the monkey and the elephant that when they bring that
fruit from the tree back to him he would answer their question. The two friends
argued that it would be next to impossible to get the fruit, but they agreed to try.
As they to the banks of the river the monkey realized that the river was too deep.
When the elephant reached the river he just charged in the river towards the tree.
Once there the elephant tried to reach the fruit but the fruit was too high, and when
the elephant tried to knock it down with its strength the tree being so big it
wouldn’t budge. So the elephant went back to the banks where the monkey was
waiting.
Once together again the elephant told the monkey to jump on his back and they
would successfully cross the river together. Once they reached the tree, the
monkey climbed the tree and was able to successfully pick the fruit. Then the
monkey climbed down with the fruit, sat on the elephants back, and rested as they
made their journey back to deliver the fruit to the wise owl. The owl asked, “Of the
two of you, which one brought the fruit to me?” The monkey loudly declared he had
because he was the one who had actually plucked the fruit. The elephant strongly
argued that he had because without his help the monkey would have never gotten
to the other side of the river.
It was at that point that the owl stopped the argument and said, “Tell me what’s
more important? That one of you is right or that you got the job done in the end? If
you take a look at the big picture each of you has your own abilities and strengths
and none of them is more superior to the others. Together they are powerful,
individually they are weak. Together you have achieved what would have been
impossible alone.”

Moral of the story:

Think about what is more important to you when you work in a group. Is
it that you are “the one” that is always right or in charge or is it that you bring
the group together and achieve your goals?