I will regularly post a story taken from ’101 Inspiring Stories and Metaphors for Business and Life’. If you would like to add your own stories, we would love to read them. You can post them on the ‘A Sprinkling of Magic’ blog
7th May 2012
The Road not Taken – Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Clare’s Notes: I just love this poem. Every time I read it there’s a little voice inside saying “Come on, stretch yourself, take the risk. Don’t care for what others say, take the road less travelled and enjoy the ride!”
26th March 2012
Lack or Abundance….it’s an Attitude or Choice
Upon hearing that another store was to open close to his business, the owner went to see the President of the local Chamber of Commerce. “I’m ruined” he lamented. “Do you know what is happening across the street from my business? Someone else is opening another store with an identical service. He’ll take my business and I’ll lose my livelihood! The town’s too small for two of us and there’s not enough to go around”
The president tried to calm the frantic man, “Sit down. I know you own a few horses and regularly take them down to the lake do you not?
“Yes” he replied. “but what’s this got to do with” He was cut off before he could finish.
“Have you ever noticed how the horse stamps in the water before drinking?”
“Yes, of course, it’s just a habit they all have.”
“Really? Let me tell you why the horse stamps his hoof.” The President leaned forward in his chair. “The horse sees his reflection in the water. He doesn’t know he is seeing himself; he thinks there is another horse at the pool. The horse is afraid there won’t be enough water for both of them. So he tries to chase away the other horse by stamping.”
“But there is plenty of water for many horses. Our world’s abundance flows like a river.”
The president leaned back in his chair and smiled. For the first time that day, the business owner smiled back.
Clare’s Notes – I’m afraid I don’t know the source of this story as it’s been in my files for many years. This is one of the many extra stories that didn’t make it into the original ’101 Stories’ (maybe it’s time for version 2!) but its simplicity in demonstrating the sometimes futility of our fear of lack speaks loudly and clearly. When I read this I also think of car yards piled side by side and whoever provides the greatest service is often the winner.
27th December 2011
Knowing where to Tap
Many of us at this time of year are thinking about goals and plans for 2012. This short but punchy story reminds me to place the appropriate value on my products and services and in a humorous way! Happy New Year!
A boilermaker who was hired to fix a huge steamship boiler system that was not working well. After listening to the engineer’s description of the problems and asking a few questions, he went to the boiler room.
He looked at the maze of twisting pipes, listened to the thump of the boiler and the hiss of escaping steam for a few minutes, and felt some pipes with his hands. Then he hummed softly to himself, reached into his overalls and took out a small hammer, and tapped a
bright red valve, once.
Immediately the entire system began working perfectly, and the boilermaker went home.
When the steamship owner received a bill for $1,000 he complained that the boilermaker had only been in the engine room for fifteen minutes, and requested an itemised bill.
This is what the boilermaker sent him:
For tapping with hammer: $ 1.00
For knowing where to tap: $ 999.00
Total: $1000.00
Author unknown
23rd November 2011
Circle of Joy
As we approach the festival of Thanksgiving in the USA this uplifting story of gratitude came to mind immediately. Happy Thanksgiving!
A countryman knocked hard on a monastery door. When the monk tending the gates opened up, he was given a magnificent basket of grapes. “Brother, these are the finest my
vineyard has produced. I’ve come to bear them as a gift”. “Thank you! I will
take them to the Abbot immediately; he’ll be delighted with this offering”.
“No! I brought them for you” said the man. “For me?” the monk blushed for he
didn’t think he deserved such a fine gift of nature. “Yes”, insisted the man. “For
whenever I knock on the door, it is you who opens it. When I needed help
because the crop was destroyed by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a
cup of wine every day. I hope this bunch of grapes will bring you a little of
the sun’s love, the rain’s beauty and the miracle of God, for it is he made it
grow so fine”.
The monk kept looking at the basket of grapes and thought how beautiful they were. Because of this he decided to deliver the gift to the Abbot who always encouraged him with words of wisdom. The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but he recalled
that there was a sick brother in the monastery, and thought: I’ll give him the grapes. Who knows, they may bring some joy to his life. And that is what he did.
But the grapes didn’t stay in the sick monk’s room for long, for he reflected:
The cook has looked after me for so long, feeding me only the best meals. I’m sure he will
enjoy these. When the cook appeared at lunch, to bring him his meal, he presented him with the grapes.
“They’re for you” said the sick monk. “Since you are always coming into contact with that
which nature produces, you will know what to do with this work of God”. The cook was amazed at the beauty of the grapes and showed his assistant how perfect they were. So perfect, he thought to himself, that no one would appreciate them more than the sexton since he was responsible for the Holy Sacrament and many at the monastery considered him a holy man.
The sexton, in turn, gave the grapes as a gift to the youngest novice, that he might understand that the work of God’s creation. When the novice received them, his heart was filled with gratitude for he had never seen such beautiful grapes.
Just then, he remembered the first time he came to the monastery, and of the person who had opened the gates for him; it was that gesture which allowed him to be among
this community of people who knew how to value the wonders of life. And so,
just before nightfall, he took the grapes to the monk at the gates.
“Eat and enjoy them” he said. “For you spend most of your time alone here, and these grapes will make you very happy”. The monk understood that the gift had been truly
destined for him, and relished each of the grapes, before falling into a pleasant sleep.
Thus the circle was closed; the circle of happiness and joy, which always shines brightly
around generous people.
Original author Bruno Ferrero
Clare’s notes – I often shorten this story which I first came across as a follower of the site Inspirationpeak. It’s a beautiful example of the law of reciprocity. If you don’t want to use a religious context then you can change it to a company or family or hospital –
just use your imagination. The grapes can be replaced with chocolates, flowers
or whatever your imagination wants to use!
31st October 2011
The Tomato Garden
This funny was recently sent to me by my friend Janet – enjoy and think laterally today!
An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.
His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won’t be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.
Love,
Papa
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Don’t dig up that garden. That’s where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Vinnie
At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived
and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologised to the
old man and left.
That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you,
Vinnie
22nd October 2011
Be the Hummingbird – Short, Inspiring and Powerful
5th October 2011
A Short Tail about Happiness
I was listening to a seminar given by Wayne Dyer yesterday when he recounted the story of the 2 cats. Here’s my slightly embellished version.
An old wise Alley Cat saw a younger cat chasing its tail over and over again. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’ve just been to cat philosophy class and have learned that the best thing for a cat is to find happiness and that happiness resides in my tail. So I’m never going to give up chasing my tail, because once I’ve caught it, I’ll have never-ending happiness”.
“Ah, I see” said the Alley cat. “Well let me share something with you. I never had the luxury of going to cat philosophy class but I also learned on the street that happiness resides in my tail but I do something different to you”.
“What is it, what is it, pleeeeeease tell me”, pleaded the little cat.
“Well little fella, instead of chasing it, I just go about my business and follow my heart. I do good where I can, I seek to be kind and grateful and you know what?”
“WHAT???” said the little cat
“Happiness follows me wherever I go. Try it sometime”
This also reminds me of the saying “Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it eludes you, but when you turn your attention to other things it comes and sits softly on your shoulder”
Happiness is not a conditional outcome. I’ll be happy when…….is a never-ending road
Go well
Clare
10th September 2011
This funny story is one that was sent to me by a friend in the UK and it tickled me. Hope it makes you smile too.
The Wrong email Address
A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly
icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their
honeymoon 20 years earlier.
Because of hectic schedules, itwas difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the
following day.
The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife. However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realising his error, sent the email.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband’s
funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack.
The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends.
After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted.
The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw
the computer screen which read:
> To: My Loving Wife
> Subject: I’ve Arrived
> Date: September 10, 2011
I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived, was greeted warmly and have been checked in.
I’ve seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow and so glad we’ll be together.
Looking forward to seeing you then!!!! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.
P. S. Sure is freaking hot down here!
21st August 2011
The Parable of the Porcupine
I have just received this via an email and thought it would be good to share
It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.
After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the warmth that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.
The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.
If you are interested in purchasing any of the guides then there is a special 20% discount available until the end of August – coupon code is CARPEDIEM
11th August 2011
The Flat Tyre
I spent yesterday working with a group of Uni students who enrolled in an ‘Employability Program’ providing practical life skills on how to increase your success in transition to the world of work. These students were nothing like the 4 in this short and amusing story that is a short sharp lesson in values and integrity – enjoy!
Four college students stayed out too late the night before a midterm exam and missed their early morning class. The young men, realising they’d missed the test, knew they had to come up with something fast for why they were late.
So they rushed in to see the professor and told him that they had suffered a flat tyre on their way to the class and pleaded for the opportunity to take the exam the next day. To their astonishment, the professor gleefully agreed.
“Sure”, he said. “Meet me here tomorrow and, understanding of your unfortunate circumstances, I’ll allow you to take the exam tomorrow”.
Off they went, kicking their heels that the ploy had worked. The next morning when they arrived, the professor asked them to each go to a different room and then he would provide them with the test.
The test had only one question. Which tyre was flat?
Author unknown
19th April 2011
I have been subscribing to Michael Neill’s ‘Supercoach’ newsletter for as long as I can remember and it is one of the few newsletters I would never unsubscribe to as I find it practically motivating and inspiring me to action. This week Michael shared a powerful story here below. I would recommend that you subscribe to his newsletter or buy his book. I will leave you to interpret the story as only you can do.
Many years ago, a man was sitting in quiet contemplation by a riverbank when he was disturbed by a beggar from the local village.
The man smiled up at him. “What stone do you seek?”
“You have returned, my friend!” said the man, who was again sitting in his favorite spot enjoying the peaceful flow of the water before him. “What has happened?”
The beggar humbled himself before the man.
“Many wonderful things have happened to me because of the diamond you gave me so graciously. I have become wealthy, found a wife and bought a home. I am now able to give employment to others and to do what I want, when I want with whomever I want.”
“For what have you returned?” asked the man.
“Where is the stone?” the beggar demanded. “I must have the precious stone!”
“I had a dream,” the beggar continued, barely able to slow his words to speak, “and in that dream a voice told me that if I went to the riverbank I would find a man who would give me a precious stone that would end my poverty forever!”
The man looked thoughtful, then reached into his bag and pulled out a large diamond.
“I wonder if this was the stone?” the man said kindly. “I found it on the path. If you’d like it, you may certainly have it.”
The beggar couldn’t believe his luck, and he snatched the stone from the man’s hand and ran back to the village before he could change his mind.
One year later, the beggar, now dressed in the clothes of a wealthy man, came back to the riverbank in search of his anonymous benefactor.
“Please,” the rich beggar said. “Teach me whatever it is inside you that allowed you to give me that stone so freely.”
6th April 2011
Rejoicing over Spilt Milk – a Valuable lesson in learning to ‘fail’
There was once a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?
He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor—a veritable sea of milk!
When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, “Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?”
Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, “You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?” He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.
His mother then said, “You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let’s go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it.” The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it.
What a wonderful lesson!
This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn’t need to be afraid to make mistakes.
Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment ‘doesn’t work’, we usually learn something valuable from it.
Author Og Mandino – Source Internet email received
9th March 2011
Here is a wise tale about the value in learning from mistakes and doing things differently!
A lion, a fox and a wild pig went hunting for rabbits. By the end of the day they had a large pile of rabbits to split up. The lion said to the wild pig “Divide the rabbits up among the three of us in a way that you think is fair.” The pig divided the rabbits up into three equal piles and said to the lion “Here you are. One pile for each of us. How’s that?” The lion immediately sprang at the wild pig and killed him. He then threw all the rabbits into one big pile again.
The Lion turned to the fox. “Well now Mr Fox, why don’t you divide the rabbits between the two of us in a way that you think is fair.” The fox walked over to the pile of rabbits, took the smallest one for himself, and left the rest in a big pile. “This one rabbit is for me Mr Lion and that big pile is for you.” At that point the lion said “Where did you learn to divide so evenly, Mr Fox?” Mr Fox replied, “The wild pig just taught me.”
Extracted from The Management Bible by Flanagan & Finger - Plum Press, 2003.
1st March 2011
I love this simple story of the $20 note because it needs no explanation and you can use it to help anyone increase their self-wrth and self-esteem by giving them the note and asking them to grind it into the ground.
Your Value – the Story of the $20 note
Inspiration, Living your Truth, Optimism
A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 note. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 note?” Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 note to one of you but first, let me do this.
He proceeded to crumple up the $20 note. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, “What if I do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. Still the hands went into the air.
My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by who we are.
Author unknown
Clare’s notes – I have used this in one on one coaching sessions to good effect though with plastic notes in Australia – it’s hard to make one look crumpled and dirty!
29th January 2011
Today I’m choosing a poem as my story and it seems appropriate given the challenges so many people here in my country of residence Australia are facing. Of course we all have our uphill battles and sometimes it helps to be reminded that we are not alone, that things happen for a reason (even if at the time we can’t fathom out why) and that resilience and persistence can be our greatest allies.
Don’t Quit Poem
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but do not quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow
you may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
Source – Anthony Fernando www.thedontquitpoem.com – Original author disputed
Clare’s notes – Anthony has created a video to accompany this poem which I have played (wih his permission) at my emotional resilience workshops and he has also created posters from the poems. He has written an inspiring book called ‘The Oracles Secret’ which is has been written in a parable form and is excellent.