fit52 11/29/2022
At the beginning of a new school year, a class teacher stands up in front of her students holding a $100 bill.
She tells them, “Put your hands up if you want this money”.
Every hand in the room goes up, to which the teacher says, “I am going to give this money to someone here, but first, let me do this…”
She takes the bill and crumples it up in her hands, before asking, “Who still wants it?”
The hands stay up.
The teacher then drops the bill on the floor, stomps and grinds it into the ground, and picks it back up. “How about now?” she asks again.
The hands stay up.
“Class, I hope you see the lesson here. It didn’t matter what I did to this money, you still wanted it because its value stayed the same. Even with its creases and dirtiness, it’s still worth $100.”
She continues, “It’s the same with us. There will be similar times in your life when you’re dropped, bruised, and muddied. Yet no matter what happens, you never lose your value.”
Moral of the story:
Life’s hardships are inevitable and we’ll all be put through the ringer at some point, often through no fault of our own.
Don’t let these challenges alter your feelings of self-worth. You’ll always be enough; you have something unique and special to give and offer the world.
fit52 11/24/2022
A lady worked as a janitor in a company for many years.
Now being a janitor is a pretty thankless job, which many of us might consider as a "dirty" job or at least pretty far down the totem pole. In other words, probably not a whole lot of fun.
It happened the company changed owners. Within a few days, the new owner wrote a personal thank you card to every employee in the company. He had his assistant go around and hand them out.
When this lady received and opened her card, she burst into tears. She asked if she could be excused from work. Thinking she was sick, she was allowed leave for the rest of the day.
What the story was - they found out a few days later - she had never received even a verbal thank you from the previous owners and management - much less a personal card.
And she had worked there 20 or 30 years !
So she was really touched when the new owner sent her a card of appreciation.
And ... she had been thinking the change of ownership was probably a good time to quit.
And ... she she was planning to let them know that very day.
Which she didn't. Because the little time, the little extra effort of the owner to send a little business thank you card, helped the lady change her mind.
-
Go the extra mile. Thank your stars, and pray for them. You're a star when you do.
Sometimes saying it is not enough. You can document it with a simple thank you card or note.
Then send it on it's way, to touch the hearts and lives of your family and friends. And your customers, partners, employees, and suppliers. And so many others we often take for granted.
fit52 11/21/2022
One morning, an elderly man was walking along the beach when he noticed a young boy picking something off the sand and throwing it into the sea.
As he got closer, the man realized the child was throwing stranded starfishes that had washed up on the shore back into the breaking waves.
Approaching the boy, the man asked what he was doing.
“The starfish will die if they’re still on the shore when the sun rises,” he replied.
Perplexed, the old man said, “But that’s pointless! There are countless miles of beach and thousands of starfish. It doesn’t matter how many you return to the water, you can’t make a difference.”
Unfazed, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and tossed it into the sea.
“It matters to this one,” he said.
Moral of the story:
No matter the odds of success or the scale of the challenge, your actions can make a difference. It’s better to light a candle than curse the dark.
Every little counts. Doing something to make a positive change is always better than nothing!
fit52 10/31/2022
One morning, an elderly man was walking along the beach when he noticed a young boy picking something off the sand and throwing it into the sea.
As he got closer, the man realized the child was throwing stranded starfishes that had washed up on the shore back into the breaking waves.
Approaching the boy, the man asked what he was doing.
“The starfish will die if they’re still on the shore when the sun rises,” he replied.
Perplexed, the old man said, “But that’s pointless! There are countless miles of beach and thousands of starfish. It doesn’t matter how many you return to the water, you can’t make a difference.”
Unfazed, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and tossed it into the sea.
“It matters to this one,” he said.
Moral of the story:
No matter the odds of success or the scale of the challenge, your actions can make a difference. It’s better to light a candle than curse the dark.
Every little counts. Doing something to make a positive change is always better than nothing!
fit52 10/24/2022
An old Cherokee chief sat down to teach his grandson about life.
“There’s a fight going on inside me,” he tells the young boy, “a fight between two wolves.”
“One wolf is evil. It’s full of malice, anger, greed, self-pity and false pride. The other is good. It’s full of peace, love, joy, kindness, and humility.”
“This same fight is going on inside you and everyone else on the face of the earth.”
The grandson was quiet, pondering this revelation for a moment before asking, “Grandfather, which wolf will win?”
The old man smiled and replied, “The one you feed.”
Moral of the story:
Good and evil exist within each of us. It’s our responsibility to own that reality and do whatever we can to nurture the good.
fit52 10/17/2022
At the beginning of a new school year, a class teacher stands up in front of her students holding a $100 bill.
She tells them, “Put your hands up if you want this money”.
Every hand in the room goes up, to which the teacher says, “I am going to give this money to someone here, but first, let me do this…”
She takes the bill and crumples it up in her hands, before asking, “Who still wants it?”
The hands stay up.
The teacher then drops the bill on the floor, stomps and grinds it into the ground, and picks it back up. “How about now?” she asks again.
The hands stay up.
“Class, I hope you see the lesson here. It didn’t matter what I did to this money, you still wanted it because its value stayed the same. Even with its creases and dirtiness, it’s still worth $100.”
She continues, “It’s the same with us. There will be similar times in your life when you’re dropped, bruised, and muddied. Yet no matter what happens, you never lose your value.”
Moral of the story:
Life’s hardships are inevitable and we’ll all be put through the ringer at some point, often through no fault of our own.
Don’t let these challenges alter your feelings of self-worth. You’ll always be enough; you have something unique and special to give and offer the world.
fit52 10/07/2022
“Do you know how hunters of old used to trap monkeys?” A man asked his child.
“Rather than chasing them up a tree or shooting arrows from below, they’d put a heavy glass jar with a narrow neck on the floor, which had the monkeys’ favourite food inside.
They’d then step back and hide, waiting for the unsuspecting animal to approach.
When it did, the monkey would reach inside, clench a fist around the food, and try to pull it out. However, the narrow neck of the jar would stop the poor monkey from getting its hand out!
It’d pull and pull, but to no avail. There was simply no way to get its hand out of the jar without releasing the food.
Rather than letting go, though, the monkey would persevere, refusing to drop its dinner.
The hunters would then approach and catch it to enjoy a meal of their own.”
“Don’t be like that monkey,” warned the man, “In life, to fight another day and grow as person, you must know when to quit, when to move on, and when to let go of whatever’s holding you back.”
Moral of the story:
Sometimes you have to let go and give up what you have now in order to receive something better in the future. Don’t let stubbornness be your downfall!
fit52 10/03/2022
A pet shop owner got a new litter of puppies and was ready to sell them to their “forever” families.
A young girl walked by the shop and noticed a sign saying, “Puppies for Sale” and of course was very eager to go inside.
She asked the owner, “How much do the puppies cost?” The owner replied, “They are all around $50.”
The girl emptied her pocket change and told the store owner that she only had about $2, but she still wanted to look at them.
The shop owner whistled for the dogs, who came running down the hall of his shop. Five tiny furballs, followed by one, limping behind the rest. The girl immediately singled out the lagging puppy and asked the store owner what was wrong with him.
The owner explained that the puppy was born with a deformity– he was missing a hip socket. He would walk with a limp for the rest of his life.
The girl got excited, saying, “I want that puppy!”
The owner replied, “You don’t want to buy that puppy. If you really want him, you can have him for free.”
The girl became upset. She looked at the owner and said, “I don’t want to have him for free. That puppy is worth just as much as the others. I’ll give you the change I have now and a dollar a month until I have paid for the puppy entirely.”
The owner continued, “This dog is never going to be able to run and play like all of the other dogs, I think you’re going to regret this decision.”
To his surprise, the girl reached down and rolled up her pant leg to reveal a crippled leg that was supported by a large metal brace. She looked up at the owner and softly replied, ‘Well, I’m not much of a runner, and this puppy needs someone who understands.”
The Moral:
Don’t make assumptions about other people’s wants, needs, or abilities. Every one of us has our own weaknesses, whether it’s physical or mental. The trick is to not allow your weaknesses to slow you down, and instead, find others in the world who can support you. Find and surround yourself with people who challenge you to reach your potential.
fit52 9/16/2022
There was once a man who walked his dog every Sunday morning around a lake near his house.
Week after week, he saw the same elderly woman sitting at the edge of the water with a small metal cage next to her.
The man’s curiosity finally got the best of him and he approached the woman one day. He noticed that the cage was actually a small trap and she had three small turtles in it. In her lap, there was a fourth turtle that she was carefully wiping down with a sponge.
The man greeted her and said, “If you don’t mind my asking, what do you do with these turtles every week?”
She smiled and explained to him that she was cleaning their shells because any algae or scum that builds up on a turtle’s shell reduces its ability to absorb heat and slows down their swimming. It can also corrode their shell and weaken it over time.
The man was impressed as the woman continued, “I do this every Sunday morning to help the turtles.”
“But don’t most turtles live their entire lives with algae on their shells?” the man asked.
The woman agreed that was true.
He replied, “Well then, you’re kind to do this, but are you really making a difference if most turtles don’t have people around to clean their shells?”
The woman laughed as she looked down at the small turtle on her lap. “Young man, if this little turtle could talk, he would say I’m making all the difference in the world.'”
The Moral:
fit52 9/8/2022
Once there was a girl who was complaining to her dad that her life was so hard and that she didn’t know how she would get through all of her struggles.
She was tired, and she felt like as soon as one problem was solved, another would arise.
Being a chef, the girl’s father took her into his kitchen. He boiled three pots of water that were equal in size. He placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in another, and ground coffee beans in the final pot.
He let the pots sit and boil for a while, not saying anything to his daughter.
He turned the burners off after twenty minutes and removed the potatoes from the pot and put them in a bowl. He did the same with the boiled eggs. He then used a ladle to scoop out the boiled coffee and poured it in a mug. He asked his daughter, “What do you see?”
She responded, “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee.”
Her father told her to take a closer look and touch the potatoes. After doing so, she noticed they were soft. Her father then told her to break open an egg. She acknowledged the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he told her to take a sip of the coffee. It was rich and delicious.
After asking her father what all of this meant, he explained that each of the three food items had just undergone the exact same hardship–twenty minutes inside of boiling water.
However, each item had a different reaction.
The potato went into the water as a strong, hard item, but after being boiled, it turned soft and weak.
The egg was fragile when it entered the water, with a thin outer shell protecting a liquid interior. However, after it was left to boil, the inside of the egg became firm and strong.
Finally, the ground coffee beans were different. Upon being exposed to boiling water, they changed the water to create something new altogether.
He then asked his daughter, “Which are you? When you face adversity, do you respond by becoming soft and weak? Do you build strength? Or do you change the situation?”
The Moral:
Life is full of ups and downs, wins and losses, and big shifts in momentum, and adversity is a big part of this experience. And while many of us would rather not face adversity, it doesn’t have to always be a negative thing. In fact, handling adversity can be a positive experience that can lead to personal development.
You choose how you respond to adversity, whether you let it break you down or you stand up in the face of it and learn from it. In many instances, facing adversity gives you a chance to learn important lessons that can help you grow as a person.
When facing adversity, it’s important to recognize your freedom to choose how you respond. You can respond in a way that ultimately limits you, or you can choose to have a more productive response that could potentially open windows of opportunity that we didn’t know existed.
“To the world you may be one person; but to one person you may be the world.” — Dr. Seuss
Just because you may not be able to change the world or help everyone, you can still make a huge difference in one person’s life by offering them any help that you can. Don’t choose to not do anything because you can’t do everything.
The actions of one person can make a world of difference to someone else. When you see someone in need, you may never know how much of a difference your help can make in their life.
fit52 9/1/2022
There was once a company whose CEO was very strict and often disciplined the workers for their mistakes or perceived lack of progress.
One day, as the employees came into work, they saw a sign on the door that read, “Yesterday, the person who has been holding you back from succeeding in this company passed away. Please gather for a funeral service in the assembly room.”
While the employees were saddened for the family of their CEO, they were also intrigued at the prospect of being able to now move up within the company and become more successful.”
Upon entering the assembly room, many employees were surprised to see the CEO was, in fact, present. They wondered among themselves, “If it wasn’t him who was holding us back from being successful, who was it? Who has died?”
One by one, the employees approached the coffin, and upon looking inside, each was quite surprised. They didn’t understand what they saw.
In the coffin, there was simply a mirror. So when each employee looked in to find out who had been “holding them back from being successful” everyone saw themselves. Next to the mirror, there was a sign that read:
The only person who is able to limit your growth is you.
You are the only person who can influence your success. Your life changes when you break through your limiting beliefs and realize that you’re in control of your life.
The most influential relationship you can have is the relationship you have with yourself.
Now you know who has been holding you back from living up to your true potential. Are you going to keep allowing that person to hold you back?
The Moral:
You can’t blame anyone else if you’re not living up to your potential. You can’t let other people get you down about mistakes you make or their negative perception of your efforts. You have to take personal responsibility for your work–both the good and the bad–and be proactive about making any necessary adjustments.
fit52 8/24/2022
There was once a very wise man living in ancient times.
He was elderly and educated and held knowledge and books to the highest regard.
One day while on a walk, he realized that his shoes were really starting to wear out. Because he spent a lot of time walking on a daily basis, he knew he had to find the best shoes to support and protect his feet. But, back then, this wasn’t such an easy task, as he couldn’t jump online to do some research and have shoes delivered to his door.
The man didn’t want to make things worse by purchasing the wrong shoes and having inadequate protection, which would lead to injuries and the inability to leave his home and walk to find new books to read.
The man gathered all of the books he could that were written by only those that he admired the most to search for the answer to his question, “What do I do if my shoes have fallen apart?”
He read through several books for many hours before finding out that he had no choice but to go buy a new pair of shoes. He then spent a lot of time reading about how to know if a pair of shoes fits properly.
Once he was satisfied with the answers he found, he was proud of himself for doing the research and he felt confident in his ability to buy a high-quality replacement for his old shoes. He figured if he hadn’t done his research, he probably would have gone barefoot for the rest of his life, as he had no one to tell him how to fix his shoes.
Following the books’ instructions, the man took a stick and measured his foot with it. He then went to the market and finally came upon a pair of shoes that he liked. However, he realized he had left the stick back at home, which was far away from the shop.
By the time the man returned to the market, the shop was closed. And, by that point, his shoes were completely split, so he had to return home barefoot.
The next morning, he walked back to the market with bare feet, but the shoes that he had chosen the day before had been sold. The wise man explained what had happened to the shopkeeper, who reacted with a sense of surprise, asking, “Why didn’t you buy the shoes yesterday?”
The wise man replied, “Because I forgot the stick that I had used to measure my feet back home. And anyone who knows anything about shoes knows that you have to have the correct measurements of your feet before you can buy shoes. I didn’t want to buy the wrong size, and I was following the normal instructions.”
Even more confused, the shopkeeper asked, “But your foot was with you, why didn’t you just try the shoes on?”
The wise man was equally confused in return and responded, “All the books say shoes must be bought with the exact same measurements of the shoes you already own.”
Laughing, the shop owner replied “Oh, no! You don’t need the advice from books to buy shoes. You just need to have your feet, some money, and some common sense to not complicate things.”
The Moral:
Sometimes you need to take action without overthinking things. Knowledge often comes in handy, but in some circumstances, if you lack experience or common sense, your knowledge will only get you so far. In fact, it could make things seem a lot more complicated than they actually are.
If you’re facing an issue, don’t forget to use your reasoning skills in addition to anything you’ve learned in a formal learning environment.
fit52 8/15/2022
Once there was a boy who lived with his family on a farm.
They had a beautiful dog who would go down to the pond for hours every day in the spring and summer with the boy to practice retrieving various items. The boy wanted to prepare his dog for any scenario that may come up during duck season because he wanted his dog to be the best hunting dog in the whole county.
The boy and his dog had vigorous training sessions every day until the dog was so obedient, he wouldn’t do anything unless he was told to do so by the boy.
As duck season rolled in with the fall and winter months, the boy and his dog were eager to be at their regular spot down at the pond near their house. Only a few minutes passed before the two heard the first group of ducks flying overhead. The boy slowly raised his gun and shot three times before killing a duck, which landed in the center of the pond.
When the boy signaled his dog to retrieve the duck, the dog charged through the duck blind and bushes toward the pond. However, instead of swimming in the water like he had practiced so many times, the dog walked on the water’s surface, retrieved the duck, and returned it to the boy.
The boy was astonished. His dog had an amazing ability to walk on water–it was like magic. The boy knew no one would ever believe this amazing thing that he had just witnessed. He had to get someone else down there to see this incredible phenomenon.
The boy went to a nearby farmer’s house and asked if he would hunt with him the next morning. The neighbor agreed, and met up with the boy the following morning at his regular spot by the pond.
The pair patiently waited for a group of ducks to fly overhead, and soon enough, they heard them coming. The boy told the neighbor to go ahead and take a shot, which the neighbor did, killing one duck. Just as the day before, the boy signaled to his dog to fetch the duck. Miraculously, the dog walked on the water again to retrieve the duck.
The boy was bursting with pride and could hardly contain himself when he asked his neighbor, “Did you see that? What do you think?!”
The neighbor responded, “I wasn’t going to say anything, but your dog doesn’t even know how to swim.”
The boy sat in disbelief as his neighbor pointed out a potential flaw of the dog rather than recognizing the fact that what he had just done was a miracle.
The Moral:
People will often downplay others’ abilities or achievements because they’re unable to accomplish the same thing. Don’t let this bring you down. Just move on and keep working on improving yourself. Maintaining a positive mindset is a key part of being successful.
Furthermore, be conscious of instances in which you may be tempted to not give credit where it is deserved. Pointing out other people’s shortcomings does not make you a superior person.