Lessons From Time Immemorial

The Wolves and the Dogs at War

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 17:11:00 +0000

One day, enmity broke out between the dogs and the wolves. The dogs elected a Greek to be their general. But he was in no hurry to engage in battle, despite the violent intimidation of the wolves.

"Understand" he said to them, "why I deliberately put off engagement. It is because one must always take counsel before acting. The wolves, on the other hand, are all of the same race, all of the same color. But our soldiers have very varied habits, and each one is proud of his own country. Even our colors are not uniform: some are black, some russet, and others white or ash-grey. How can I lead into battle those who are not in harmony and who are all disimilar?"

What is the moral? In all human struggle it is unity of will and purpose which assures victory over any adversary or in any situation.

Fables by Arnold Lobel

The Fox and the Lion

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 16:40:00 +0000

There was a fox who had never seen a lion. But one day he happened to meet one of these beasts face to face. On this first occasion he was so terrified that he felt he would die of fear.

He encountered the Lion again, and this time he was also frightened, but not so much as the first time.

But on the third occasion when he saw him, he actually plucked up the courage to approach him and began to chat.

MORAL: Familiarity soothes our fears. The more we face our fears the more we develop courage to overcome them.

The Classic Treasury of Aesop's Fables HERE!

The Bat and the House-Ferrets

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 06:58:00 +0000

A bat fell to the ground and was caught by a house-ferret. Realising that she was on the point of being killed, she begged for her life.

The house-ferret said to her that she could not let her go, for ferrets were supposed to be natural enemies to all birds.

The bat replied that she herself was not a bird, but a mouse. She managed to extricate herself from her danger by this means.

Eventually, falling a second time, the bat was caught by another house-ferret. Again she pleaded to the ferret not to eat her.

The second ferret declared that she absolutely detested all mice.

But the bat positively affirmed that she was not a mice but a bat. And so she was released again.

And that was how she saved herself from death twice by a mere change of name.

This story shows that it is not always necessary to confine ourselves to the same tactics. But, on the contrary, if we are adaptable to circumstances we can better escape danger.

THE MIDAS TOUCH

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:27:00 +0000

There was a greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had, the more he wanted. He would spend his days in his vaults counting his gold.

One day a stranger appeared and told King Midas he would grant him a wish. The king was delighted and immediately said: "I would like everything I touch to turn to gold". The stranger asked the king, "Are you sure?" The king replied, "Yes". So the stranger said, "Starting from tomorrow, with the first rays of the sun, you will have the golden touch".

The king thought he must have been dreaming, that this couldn't be true. But the next day when he woke up, he touched the bed and it turned to gold. It was true- everything he touched did turn to gold. He looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden. He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden, he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn't read it.

He sat down to breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and the glass of water, they turned to gold. He was hungry and he said to himself, "I can't eat and drink gold". Just then his daughter came running into the room and King Midas hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no more smiles left.

The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who had granted him the wish appeared again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch. The king said he was the most miserable man in the world. The stranger asked, "What would you rather have, food and your loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?" The king cried and asked for forgiveness. He said, "I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughter back because without her I have lost everything worth having". The stranger said to the king, "You have become wiser than before", and he reversed the spell.

King Midas got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forgot for the rest of his life.

What lessons can be learned?

Distorted values lead to tragedy.

Sometimes getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE GOAL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 07:56:00 +0000

On July 4, 1952, Florence Chadwick was on her way to becoming the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She had already conquered the English Channel. The world was watching. Chadwick fought the dense fog, the bone-chilling cold and the shark. She was striving to reach the shore but every time she looked through her goggles, all she could see was the dense fog. Unable to see the shore, she gave up.

Chadwick was disappointed when she found out that she was only a mile to the coast. She quit, not because she was a quitter but because her goal was not in sight anywhere. The elements didn't stop her. She said, "I am not making excuses. If only I had seen the land, I could have made it".

Two months later, she went back and swam the Catalina Channel. This time, in spite of the bad weather, she had her goal in mind and not only accomplished it but beat the men's record by two hours.

HEAVEN AND HELL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:16:00 +0000

A man died and St. Peter asked him if he would like to go to heaven or hell. The man asked if he could see both before deciding. St. Peter took him to hell first. There the man saw a big hall containing a long table, laden with many kinds of food. He also saw rows of people with pale, sad faces. They looked pale and there was no laughter. And he observed one more thing: Their hands were tied to four-foot forks and knives and they were trying to get the food from the center of the table to put in their mouths. But they couldn't.

Then, St. Peter took him to see heaven. There he saw a big hall with a long table, with lots of food. He noticed rows of people on both sides of the table with their hands tied to four-foot forks and knives also. But here people were laughing and were well fed and healthy-looking. The people were feeding one another across the table. The result was happiness, prosperity, enjoyment and gratification because they were not thinking of themselves alone; they were thinking win-win.

The same is true of our lives. When we serve our customers, our families, our employers and employees, we automatically win.

GOODNESS COMES BACK

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:07:00 +0000

Many years ago two boys were working their way through Stanford University. Their funds got desperately low, and the idea came to them to engage Ignacy Paderewski for a recital. They would use the funds to help pay their board and tuition.

The great pianist's manger asked for a guarantee of $2,000. The guarantee was a lot of money in those days, but the boys agreed and proceeded to promote the concert. They worked hard, only to find that they grossed only $1,600. After the concert the two boys told the great artist the bad news. They gave him the entire $1,600, along with a promissory note for $400, explaining that they would earn the amount at the earliest possible moment and send the money to him.

It looked like the end of their college careers.

"No, boys," replied Paderewski, "that won't do." Then, tearing the note in two, he returned the money to them as well.

"Now," he told them, "take out of this $1,600 all of your expenses and keep for each of you 10 percent of the balance for your work. Let me have the rest."

The years rolled back. World War 1 came and went. Paderewski, now Premier of Poland, was striving to feed thousands of starving people in his native land. The only person in the world who could help him was Herbert Hoover, who was in charge of the US Food and Relief Bureau. Hoover responded and soon thousands of tons of food were sent to Poland. After the starving people were fed, Paderewski journeyed to Paris to thank Hoover for the relief sent to him.

"That's all right, Mr Paderewski," was Hoover's reply. "Besides, you don't remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college and I was in trouble".

It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson.

CRIMINAL PARENTS

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 01:18:00 +0000

A judge, when sentencing a man for robbery, asked if he had anything to say.

The man replied,"Yes your honor. Please sentence my parents to jail also".

The judge asked, "Why?".

The prisoner answered, "When I was a little boy, I stole a pencil from school. My parents knew about it but never said a word. Then I stole a pen. They knowingly ignored it. I continued to steal many other things from school and the neighborhood until it became an obsession. They knew about, yet they never said a word. If any one belongs in jail with me. they do".

Giving choices to children is important, but choices without direction result in disaster. Complete mental and physical preparation is the result of sacrifice and discipline.

THE BOY AND HIS FATHER

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:59:00 +0000

There was a boy who came regularly to soccer practice but never made it to the starting team. While he was practicing, his father would sit at the far end of the field, waiting for him. The matches began and for four days, the boy didn't show up for practice or the quarter or semi-finals.

He appeared for the final game, went to the coach and said, "Coach, you have always kept me in the reserves and never let me play in the games. But today, please let me play".

The coach said "Son, I'm sorry, I can't let you. There are better players than you and besides, it is the finals; the reputation of the school is at stake and I cannot take a chance on you".

The boy pleaded, "Coach, I promise I will not let you down. I beg of you, please let me play".

The coach had never seen the boy plead like this before. He said, "Okay son, go play. But remember, I am going against my better judgment and the reputation of the school is at stake. Don't let me down".

The game started and the boy played like a house on fire. Every time he got the ball, he shot a goal. Needless to say, he was the star of the game. His team had a spectacular win.

When the game finished, the coach went up to him and said, "Son, how could I have been so wrong? I have never seen you play like this before. What happened? How did you play so well".

The boy replied, "Coach, my father is watching me today". The coach turned around and looked at the place where the boy's father used to sit. There was no one there.

He said, "Son, your father used to sit there when you come for practice, but I don't see anyone there today".

The boy replied, "Coach, there is something I never told you. My father was blind. Just four days ago, he died. Today is the first day he is watching me from above".

WAITING OR WISHING?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:40:00 +0000

A flood was threatening a small town and everyone was leaving for safe ground except for one man who said, "God will save me. I have faith".

As the water level rose a jeep came to rescue him, the man refused, saying, "God will save me. I have faith."

As the water level rose further, he went up to the second story of his house, and a boat came to help him. Again he refused to go saying, "God will save me. I have faith".

The water kept rising and the man climbed on to the roof. A helicopter came to rescue him, but he said, "God will save me. I have faith."

Well, finally he drowned. When he reached his Maker he angrily questioned, "I had complete faith in you. Why did you ignore my prayers and let me drown?"

The Lord replied, "Who do you think sent you the jeep, the boat and the helicopter?"

The only way to overcome a fatalistic attitude is to accept responsibility and believe in the law of cause and effect rather than luck. It takes action, preparation and planning rather than waiting, wondering and wishing, to accomplish any goal in life.

EASY WAY AND TOUGH WAY

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:43:00 +0000

Once there was a lark singing in a forest. A farmer came by with a box full of worms.

The lark stopped him and asked, "What do you have in the box, and where are you going?"

The farmer replied that he had worms and that he was going to the market to trade them for some feathers.

The lark said, "I have many feathers. I will pluck one and give it to you and that will save me looking for worms".

The farmer gave the worms to the lark and the lark plucked a feather and gave it in return. The next day the same thing happened and the day after and on and on until a day came that the lark had no more feathers. Now it could no longer fly to go hunting for worms. It started looking ugly and stopped singing and very soon it died.

What the lark thought was an easy way to get food turned out to be the tougher way after all. The same thing is true in our lives: Many times we look for the easy way, which really ends up being the tougher way.

TOMMY EDISON

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:21:00 +0000

One day a partially deaf four-year old child came home with a note in his pocket from his teacher, "Your Tommy is too stupid to learn, get him out of school".

His mother read the note and answered, "My Tommy is not too stupid to learn, I will teach him myself". And that Tommy grew up to be the great Thomas Edison.

Thomas Edison had only three months of formal schooling.

FAILURE OR SUCCESS?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:43:00 +0000

In 1913, Lee De Forest, inventor of the triode tube, was charged by the district attorney for using fraudulent means to mislead the public into buying stocks in his company by claiming that he could transmit the human voice across the Atlantic. He was publicly humiliated. Can you imagine where we would be today without this invention?

A New York Times editorial on December 10, 1903 questioned the wisdom of the Wright Brothers who were trying to invent a machine, heavier than air, that would fly. One week later, at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers took their famous flight.

Colonel Sanders, at age 65, had assets of a beat-up car and a $100 check from Social Security. He realized he had to do something to improve his situation. He remembered his mother's fried chicken recipe and went out selling.

How many doors

did he have to knock on before he got his first order? It is estimated that he had knocked on more than a thousand doors before he got his first order.

How many of us quit after three tries, a hundred tries, and then we say we tried as hard as we could?

As a young cartoonist, Walt Disney faced many rejections from newspaper editors who said he had no talent. One day a minister at a church hired him to draw some cartoons. Disney was working out of a small rodent-infested shed near the church. Seeing a small mouse inspired him to draw a new cartoon. That was the start of Mickey Mouse.

All success stories are stories of great failures. The only difference is that every time they failed, they bounced back.

NEGATIVE INFLUENCES

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:45:00 +0000

An eagle's egg was placed in the nest of a prairie chicken. The egg hatched and the little eagle grew up thinking it was a prairie chicken.

The eagle did what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds. It clucked and cackled. It never flew more than a few feet because that is what the prairie chickens did.

One day he saw an eagle flying gracefully and majestically in the open sky.

He asked the prairie chickens: "What is that beautiful bird?"

The chickens replied, "That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird, but you cannot fly like him because you are just a prairie chicken".

So the eagle never gave it a second thought, believing that to be the truth. He lived the life of and died a prairie chicken, depriving himself of his heritage because of his lack of vision. What a waste! He was born to win, but conditioned to lose.

Don't let negative people drag you down. Remember that a person's character is not only judged by the company they keep but also by the company they avoid.

WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:26:00 +0000

A man was washing his new car when his neighbor asked him, "When did you get the car?"

He replied "My brother gave it to me".

The neighbor said, "I wish I had a car like that".

The man replied, "You should wish to have a brother like that".

The neighbor's wife was listening to the conversation and she interrupted, "I wish I was a brother like that".

What a positive way to think!

SHARPEN YOUR AXE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:58:00 +0000

John, a woodcutter, worked for a company for five years but never got a raise.

The company hired Bill and within a year he got a raise. Then John resented Bill's getting a raise after only a year and went to his boss to talk about it.

The boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up"

John went back, started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees. He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma.

The boss told him to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there's something Bill knows that you and I don't". John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees.

Bill answered, "After every tree I cut, I take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpen your axe?"

When was the last time you sharpened your axe? Past glory and education don't count for much. We have to continuously sharpen the axe.

BROAD BASED EDUCATION?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Some animals in a forest decided to start a school. The students included a bird, a squirrel, a fish, a dog, a rabbit and a mentally retarded eel. A board was formed to determine the curriculum and it was decided that flying, tree climbing, swimming, and burrowing would give a broad-based education. All animals were required to take all subjects.

The bird was excellent at flying and was getting A's but when it came to burrowing, it kept breaking it's wings and beak and started failing.

Pretty soon, it started making C's in flying and, of course, in tree climbing and swimming it was getting F'S.

The squirrel was great at tree climbing, but was failing in swimming.

The fish was the best swimmer but couldn't get out of the water and thus got F's in everything else.

The dog didn't join the school, stopped paying taxes, and kept fighting with the administration to include barking as part of the curriculum.

The rabbit got A's in burrowing but three climbing was a real problem. It kept falling and landing on it's head, suffered brain damage, and soon couldn't even burrow properly and got C's in that too.

The mentally retarded eel, who did everything half as well, became the valedictorian of the class. The board was happy because everybody was getting a "broad-based" education.

LESSON: A true broad-based education prepares students for life without losing their areas of specialization and competence.

SELECTIVE LISTENING

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:10:00 +0000

There was a medical doctor who was invited as a guest speaker to address a group of alcoholics. He wanted to make a demonstration that would be powerful enough to make people realize that alcohol was injurious to their health.

He had two containers, one with pure distilled water, and one with pure alcohol.

He put an earthworm into the distilled water and it swam beautifully and came up to the top. He put another earthworm into the alcohol and it disintegrated in front of everyone's eyes.

He wanted prove that this was what alcohol did to the insides of our body.

He asked the group what the moral of the story was and one person from behind said, "If you drink alcohol you won't have worms in your stomach."

Was this the message? Of course not. This is a perfect example of selective listening.

People always like to see what they want to see, and to hear what they want to hear.

THE UNUSUAL DOG

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:09:00 +0000

There was a hunter who bought an amazing bird dog. This one-of-a-kind dog could walk on water. The hunter was looking forward to showing off his new acquisition to his friends.

He invited a friend to go duck hunting. After sometime, they shot a few ducks and the man ordered his dog to fetch the birds.

All day long, whenever there were birds to be fetched, the dog ran on water to retrieve the birds. The owner was expecting his friend to comment or compliment him about this amazing dog, but never got one.

As they were returning home, he asked his friend if he had noticed anything unusual about his dog.

The friend replied, "Yes, in fact, I did notice something unusual. Your dog can't swim".

Some people cannot help but look at the negative sides to every thing and every situation.

ANDREW CARNEGIE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Andrew Carnegie came to America from Scotland as a young boy. He started out by doing odd jobs and ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers in the United States.

At one time, he had 43 millionaires working for him. A million dollars is a lot of money today, but in the 1920's it was worth much more.

Someone once asked Mr Carnegie how he dealt with people.

Andrew Carnegie replied, "Dealing with people is a lot like digging for gold: When you go digging for an ounce of gold you have to move tons of dirt. But when you digging, you don't go looking for the dirt, you go looking for gold".

Andrew Carnegie's reply has a very important message. Though sometimes it may not be apparent there is something positive in every person and every situation. We have to dig deep to look for the positive.