Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.
Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.
The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer."
In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle."
The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"
With head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch of the tree where the bird was sitting."
Moral :-
We are all made to fly - to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling. So let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight..
A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers).
The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation.
Boy: ‘Lady, 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: ‘Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.’
Woman: I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.
Boy: (with more perseverance) : ‘Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida.’
Woman: No, thank you. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. 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!’
Moral: This is what we call ‘Self Appraisal’. Every time if we don’t get ahead of others, we blame others for it. We should look to our self and compare, find our weaknesses and work hard to throw away weaknesses. Always Work Hard, Honest and with full Dedication. It will always pay up.
The young man was climbing the hill, slowly a step at a time. His bowed
head seemed to indicate that something was bothering him. Perhaps he was
lonely, or discouraged. He was coming to seek guidance from the wise man that
lived on the hill on the outskirts of town.
Entering the counsellor's house, the young man found him reading, deep in
thought.
"Excuse me, sir," he said hesitantly. The old man lifted his eyes.
Timidly, with a courteous bow and a voice of desperation, the young man said, "I
have come seeking your help … sir." After a short pause, he continued, "I have
dreams that I believe I can achieve, but no one thinks I have the ability
to
reach them. People see little value in me."
The old man continued his reading. After a while, he said, "Before I can
give you any counsel, I need your help. Are you willing?" Somewhat
disappointed for having his own needs ignored, the young man nevertheless
responded, "I will try, sir."
The wise man stood up. Stretching himself a bit, he said, "I may need to
pay a large debt in the future, for which I will need money. Here is my gold
ring. Take it to the market and find out how much I can get for it, but
don't settle for anything less than five gold coins. There is my horse.
Go!"
The young man held onto the ring tightly and upon reaching the market
place, went from stall to stall, offering it in exchange for cash. The fruit
seller ignored him. The clothes merchant told him that he was not interested. The
farmer selling chickens continued to bargain with a customer and waved him
away.
Finally, the young man reached the pig seller's stall. After examining the
ring for a while in his dirty hand, he said with a covetous smirk, "Tell
the owner that I am willing to give him five bronze coins for this."
"I fulfilled your assignment, sir," said the young man upon his return.
"No one in the market is willing to give five gold coins for your beautiful
ring."
"That's fine," responded the wise man. Now we know how little the market
people value this ring. Go to the jeweller in town and show it to him."
When the jeweller saw the gold ring, he quickly stood up and used a silk
handkerchief to hold it carefully. Bring it under a lamp, he examined it
in detail with a magnifying glass. "A masterpiece," he said softly. "If the
owner of the ring is in a hurry, I will buy it for 10 gold coins myself.
But if he gives me time to bring out all its beauty, I shall find a wealthy
customer willing to pay at least 20 gold coins for it."
The wise man listened attentively to the report the happy young man
brought back and then told him, "Don't let the ignorant tell you the value of
something they know nothing about. Listen only to the appraisal of the
skilled specialist, the one who can recognize the true value of a master
artist's work."
And with a smile, the wise man placed the golden ring back on his finger
and waved the young man good-bye.