Hard Work Vs Smart Work

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job with a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions.
For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

 His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 21 trees.
"Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!"

Very motivated by the boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day but he only could bring 17 trees.

The third day he tried even harder, but he only could bring 10 trees.
Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought.
He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?"
the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe.
I have been very busy trying to cut trees.


Moral: Just hard work is not enough to achieve success. Work smart and with the right attitude to achieve success in life.

Right Motivation

A man was lost his way while driving through the outskirts of the city. To add to his woes, he accidentally drove his car into a trench. Though he wasn’t injured, his car was stuck deep in the mud. So the man walked to a nearby villager to ask for help.

“Tommy can get you out of that trench” said the villager, pointing to an old donkey standing near his house. The man looked at the decrepit old donkey and looked at the villager who just stood there repeating, “Yes, Tommy can do the job.”

The man figured he had nothing to lose, even though he wasn’t able to make out what the villager said.  The two men and the donkey made their way back to the trench. The villager hitched the donkey to the car. With a snap of the reins, he shouted, “Pull, Joe! Pull, Pat! Pull, George! Pull, Tommy!”

And the donkey pulled that car right out of the trench.

The man was amazed. He thanked the villager, patted the donkey, and asked, “Why did you call out all of those names before you called Tommy?”

The villager grinned and said, “Old Tommy is just about blind. As long as he believes he’s part of a team, he doesn’t mind pulling.”

How To Have a Great Attitude

How To Have a Great Attitude

 

 One day we were going in a cab and  driving in the right lane when suddenly a Mercedes car jumped out of  parking space right in front of us. My cab driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

 The driver of the Mercedes car whipped his head around and started shouting at us.

 My cab driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And was totally cool as if nothing happened.

 So I asked, ‘Why did you keep quiet? This guy almost caused an accident and we could had been in the hospital!’

This is when my cab driver taught me a lesson which I will not forget through out my life.

 

 He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They move around  full of junk, full of resentment, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally.

 Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. Just leave it aside, there itself.

 

 The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life’s too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so … Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don’t.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Great Lessons of Life

A 91-year-old woman died after living a very long dignified life. When she met God, she asked Him something that had really bothered her for a very long time. “If Man was created in God’s image, and if all men are created equal, why do people treat each other so badly?”

God replied that each person who enters our life has a unique lesson to teach us. It is only through these lessons that we learn about life, people and our relationships with God. This confused the woman, so God began to explain:

“When someone lies to you, it teaches you that things are not always what they seem. The truth is often far beneath the surface. Look beyond the masks people wear if you want to know what is in their hearts. Remove your own masks to let people know who you really are.

When someone steals from you it teaches you that nothing is forever. Always appreciate what you have. You never know when you might lose it. Never take your friends or family for granted, because today and sometimes only this very moment is the only guarantee you may have.

When someone inflicts injury upon you, it teaches you that the human state is a very fragile one. Protect and take care of your body as best as you can, it’s the one thing that you are sure to have forever.

When someone mocks you, it teaches you that no two people are alike. When you encounter people who are different from you, do not judge them by how they look or act, instead base it on the contents of what is in their hearts.

When someone breaks your heart, it teaches you that loving someone does not always mean that the person will love you back. But don’t turn your back on love, because when you find the right person, the joy that one person brings you will make up for all of your past hurts. Times a thousand fold.

When someone holds a grudge against you, it teaches you that everyone makes mistakes. When you are wronged, the most virtuous thing you can do is forgive the offender without pretense. Forgiving those who have hurt us is often the most difficult and painful of life’s experiences, but it is also the most courageous thing a person can do.

When a loved one is unfaithful to you, it teaches you that resisting temptation is man’s greatest challenge. Be vigilant in your resistance against all temptations. By doing so, you will be rewarded with an enduring sense of satisfaction far greater than the temporary pleasure by which you were tempted.

When someone cheats you, it teaches you that greed is the root of all evil. Aspire to make your dreams come true, no matter how lofty they may be. Do not feel guilty about your success, but never let an obsession with achieving your goals lead you to engage in malevolent activities.

When someone ridicules you, it teaches you that nobody is perfect. Accept people for their merits and be tolerant of their flaws. Do not ever reject someone for imperfections over which they have no control.”

Upon hearing the Lord’s wisdom, the old woman became concerned that there are no lessons to be learned from man’s good deeds. God replied that Man’s capacity to love is the greatest gift He has. At the root of kindness and love, and each act of love also teaches us a lesson. The woman’s curiosity deepened. God, once again began to explain:

“When someone loves us, it teaches us love, kindness, charity, honesty, humility, forgiveness, acceptance, and all of these can counteract all the evil in the world. For every good deed, there is one evil deed. Man alone has the power to control the balance between good and evil, but because the lessons of love are not taught often enough, the power is too often abused.

When you enter someone’s life, whether by plan, chance or coincidence, consider what your lesson will be. Will you teach love or a harsh lesson of reality? When you die, will your life have resulted in more loving or more hurting? More comfort or more pain? More joy or more sadness? Each one of us has the power over the balance of the love in the world. Use it wisely!”

Don’t miss an opportunity to nudge the world’s scale in the right direction!

Giant Ship Engine that Failed

The following is an incident about an engine failure in a giant ship. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a youngster. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand Rupees.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer Rs. 2.00
Knowing where to tap Rs. 9998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference

A Bowl that never gets filled

A King was going to his palace after his routine rounds in the city when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, “What do you want?”

The beggar laughed and said, “You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!”

The king was offended. He said, “Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”

And the beggar said, “Think twice before you promise anything.”

“I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?”

The beggar said, “It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?”

The emperor said, “Of course!” He called one of his viziers and told him, “Fill this mans begging bowl with money.” The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the begging bowl remained always empty.

The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said to his viziers, “If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar.”

Diamonds and pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty.The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it — everything! — immediately disappeared, went out of existence. Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. he said, “Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the beging bowl made of?”

The beggar laughed and said, “There is no secret. It is simple made up of human desire.”

Moral: Man's desire for Money will never finish. If he has a million dollars he will wish for two. So the right way is to be content with whatever you have.

A Painter - Saved by God

 Once upon a time, a well-known painter was working on a painting. It's an incredibly beautiful painting to be shown at the Airport during the upcoming festival season. The painter wanted this painting to be a master piece.

 He worked on it for weeks on the top of a 24 storey building. He was consumed by and excited with his own painting that he unconsciously took a few step backward while admiring the 2 x 8 m painting. He didn't look back when he walked backward. He kept on walking backward until it was a step away from the edge of the 24storey building. Just one more step backward and he could have fallen to his death.

 A man saw what the painter was doing and was about to shout at him to warn him when he realized that his shout might surprise the painter and thus make him take that fatal one step backward and fall down. So the man took a brush and some paint and began to paint on the beautiful painting until it was damaged.

 Upon realizing what happened to his painting, the painter got very angry and moved forward to hit the man. However, some other people who were also present at the vicinity held him and showed him his last position which almost made him fall.

MORAL: Sometimes we have painted our future with such beauty and dreamed of beautiful days we will spend with our loved one, but then God seemes to destroy our beautiful painting when God sees what danger lies ahead of us. Sometimes we are angry and annoyed by what God has done to us, but one thing we have to keep in our mind is that our Creator is Most Wise and always keeps our best of interest in mind!

 So when God, in His Infinite Wisdom, tests us with a situation that we think is difficult or takes away something that in our mind was good for us, we need to remember that perhaps it may not be so. Perhaps if we had continued in our way, it might have been harmful for us and whatever God decreed for us is actually better for us, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.