Short Stories

YOU CAN WIN

BY SHIV KHERA

COLOURS OF BALLOONS

There was a man who made a living selling balloons at a fair.  He had all colours of balloons, including red, yellow, blue, and green.  Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air and when the children saw it go up, they all wanted to buy the one.  They would come to him, buy a balloon and his sales go up again.  He continued this process all day.  One day, he felt someone tugging at his jacket.  He turned around and saw a little boy who asked, If you release a black balloon, would that also fly?  Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied with empathy, Son, it is not the colour of the balloon, it is what is inside that makes it go up.

ACRES OF DIAMONDS

   There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content.  He was happy because he was content.  He was content because he was happy.  One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them.  The wise man said, If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city.  If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.  And then he went away.  That night the farmer couldn’t sleep.  He was unhappy and he was discontent.  He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy.

   The next morning he mad arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds.  He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any.  When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke.  He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide. 

   Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that run through the farm.  Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow.  He thought it would look good on the mantelpiece.  He picked up the stone and put it in the living room.  That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling.  He asked, is Hafiz back? The new owner said, No, why do you ask?  The wise man said, Because that is a diamond.  I recognise one when I see one.  The man said, No, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream.  Come, I’ll show you.  There are more.  They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis.   Sure enough, the stones were diamonds.  They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres of diamonds. 

Moral of the story:             

a)     When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds.  Opportunity is always under our feet.  We don’t have to go anywhere.  All we need to do is recognize it.

b)     The grass on the other side always looks greener.

c)     While we are eyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are eyeing the grass on our side.  They would be happy to trade places with us.

d)     When people don’t know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it knocks. 

e)     They same opportunity never knocks twice.  The next one may be better or worse, but it is never the same one. 

DAVID AND GOLIATH:

We all know the story of David and Goliath.  There was a giant who was bullying and harassing the children in the village.  One day, a 17-year-old shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked, why don’t you stand up and fight the giant? The brothers were terrified and they replied, don’t you see he is too big to hit? But David said, No, he is too big to miss.  The rest is history.  We all know what happened.  David killed the giant with a sling.  Same giant, different perception.

LOOKING FOR THE GOLD

As a young Scots boy, Andrew Carnegie came to America and started doing odd jobs.  He ended up as one of the largest steel manufacturers in the United States. 

At one time he had 43 millionaires working for him.  Several decades ago, a million dollars used to be a lot of money; even today it is a lot of money.  Someone asked Mr. Carnegie how he dealt with people? Andrew Carnegie replied, Dealing with people is like digging gold:  Whey you go digging for an ounce of gold, you have to move tons of dirt to get an ounce of gold.  But when you go digging, you don’t go looking for the dirt, you go looking for the gold.

What is your focus?  If you are looking for what is wrong with people or with things, you will find many.  Look for the positive things.  Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

SOME PEOPLE ALWAYS LOOK FOR THE NEGETIVE

There was a hunter who brought a bird dog, the only one of its kind in the world, that could walk on water.  He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw this miracle.  At the same time, he was very pleased that he could show 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 run and fetch the birds.  All day long, the dog ran on water and kept fetching the birds.  The owner was expecting a comment or a compliment about this amazing day, 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 always look at the negative side. They are pessimists.

EDUCATION DOES NOT MEAN GOOD JUDGEMENT

There is a story about a man who sold hotdogs by the roadside.  He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers.  He was hard of hearing, so he never listen to the radio.  His eyes were weak, so he never watched the television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs.  His sales and profit went up.  He ordered more meat and got himself a bigger and a better stove.  As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father. 

Then something strange happened.  The son asked, Dad, isn’t you aware of the great recession that is coming our way? The father replied, No, but tell me about it. The son said, The international situation is terrible.  The domestic is ever worse.  We should be prepared for the coming bad time.  The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, and listened to the radio, he ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly.  So the next day, the father cut down his order for the meat and buns, took down the sign and  was no longer enthusiastic.  Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hotdog stand.  And his sales started coming down rapidly.  The father said to his son, Son, you were right.  We are in the middle of a recession.  I am glad you warned me ahead of time.

·  Many times we confuse intelligence with good judgement.

·  A person may have high intelligence but poor judgement.

·  Choose your advisers carefully and use your judgement.

·  What is important is

1.      Character

2.      Commitment

3.      Conviction

4.      Courtesy

5.      Courage.

Intelligence is quickness to learn.  Ability is the skill to apply what is learned.  Competence is the ability and the desire to apply what is learned.  Desire is the attitude that makes a skilful person competent.  Ability without the right attitude is wasted.

BROAD BASED EDUCATION

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 and it was decided that flying, tree climbing, swimming, and burrowing would be part of the curriculum in order to give a broad based education.  All animals were required to take all subjects. 

The bird was excellence at flying and was getting As but when it came to borrowing, it kept breaking its beak and wings and started failing.  Pretty soon, it started making Cs in flying and of course in tree climbing and swimming it was getting Fs.  The squirrel was great at tree climbing and was getting As, but was failing in swimming.  The fish was the best swimmer but couldn’t get our of the water and got Fs 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 As in borrowing but tree climbing was a real problem.  It kept falling and landing on its head, suffered brain damage, and soon couldn’t ever borrow properly and got Cs 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.

What is broad-based education really means is that the student is prepared for life, without losing their areas of specialization or competence.

SHARPEN YOUR AXE

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.  This caused resentment in John and he 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 John to go talk to Bill, May be there is 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 sharpened your axe? This question hit home like a bullet and John got his answer. 

Past glory and education don’t do it.  We have to continuously sharpen the axe.

TEACHING ATTITUDE AND SELF-ESTEEM TO THE JAIL INMATES

A Few years ago, I stated volunteering my time to teach attitude and self-esteem programs to jail inmates.  In just a few weeks, I learn more than I had learned in years.

After attending my program for two weeks, one of the inmates stopped me and said, Shiv, I want to talk to you.  I’m going to be released from prison in a couple of weeks.   I asked him what he learned through the attitude development program.  He thought for a while and then said that he felt good about himself.  I said, good doesn’t tell me anything. Tell me specifically what behaviour has changed?    I believe that learning has not taken place unless behaviour changes.  He told me he read his Bible every day since I started the program.  I then asked him what reading the Bible did to him.  He replied that he felt comfortable with himself and others, which he hadn’t felt before.  I said, that is nice, but the bottom line is, what are you going to do when you leave jail?  He told me he was going to try to be a contributing member of society. Then I asked him the same question again and he gave me the same answer.  For the third time I asked him the same question what are you going to do when you leave jail? Obviously, I was looking for a different answer.  At this point, in an angry tone, he said, I am going to be a contributing member of society.   I pointed out to him that here was a world of difference in what he said then and what he said now.  Earlier he had said, I am going to try to be and now he said I am going to be.  The difference is the word try.  He got rid of the word trying and that made sense.  Either we do it or we don’t.  The word trying keeps the door open for him to come back to jail. 

Another inmate, who was listening in our conversation, asked, Shiv, what do you get paid to do all this?  I told him that the feeling that I just experienced was worth more than all the money in the world.  He then asked, why do you come here?  I said, I come here for my own selfish reason, and my selfish reason is that I want to make this world a better place to live.  This kind of selfishness is healthy.  In a nutshell, what you put into the system, you always get back, and most times more than you can ever put in.  But you don’t put it in with the desire to get something back.

Another inmate said, what anybody does is their business.  When people take drugs, it is none of your business.  Why don’t you leave them alone? I replied, My friend, even though I disapprove, I will compromise and accept what you are saying- that it is not of my business.  If you can guarantee that when someone takes drugs, and when they get behind the wheel of a car and have an accident, the only thing they will ever hit is a tree, I will compromise.  But if you cannot guarantee that when they take drugs and have an accident, then your kids or I or my kids could be dead under the wheels, you better believe it is my business.  I have to get this person off the road. 

A CAR OR A BROTHER.

A man was washing his new car when his neighbour asked him, when did you get the car? He replied, My brother gave it to me.  The neighbour’s response was, I wish I had a car like that.  The man replied, you should wish to have a brother like that.  The neighbour’s wife was listening to the conversation and she interrupted, I wish I was a brother like that.   What a way to go. 

NEGATIVE PEOPLE

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 dis.  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 was conditioned to lose.

A BUDDHIST MONK

A Buddhist monk was reciting his prayers every day.  His prayer goes like this.  Let all living beings be happy.  Let no living being suffer.  Let all living beings live in peace. 

But he was very annoyed about the dog of his neighbour who was very furious.  This dog used to bite anyone he sees.  He does not spare even this monk.  He even went to the house of the monk and bite him.  So the monk was very angry.  So one day he set a trap at the door.  If the dog comes, it will enter through the small opening door and the heavy object will fall on the dog and it will never come back. 

So he set a trap and then started saying his prayers.  “Let all living beings be happy.”  Then he says, “No, how can I see that dog happy?”  So he changes his prayer.  “Let some living beings be happy, Let some living beings suffer, Let some living being live in peace”.

He prayed for two hours and the dog did not come.  He prayed for another hour and still the dog did not come.  Then he forgot about the trap he has set for the dog.  “I will take a break and come back”, he said.  Then he went and opens the door and the heavy object falls on him and he was hospitalise for many days. 

Lesson:  If you set a trap for others you will fall in it yourself.

A MOTHER-IN-LAW AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW

A daughter-in-law was quarrelling with her Mother-in-law the very day she came into the house of her Mother-in-law.    She was so upset and as days passed by, it was intolerable.  So the daughter-in-law went to the doctor and asked for a poison to kill her Mother-in-law.  The poison should kill the Mother-in-law gradually.  So the doctor told her to use the poison in the food.  But in order that the Mother-in-law will not realise that the food is poisoned, she should show a great love to her while serving the food.  The daughter-in-law did as advised by the doctor.  After a few days, the Mother-in-law realized the love of the daughter-in-law and she began to change.  She also started loving the daughter-in-law.  The daughter-in-law found that the Mother-in-law has changed.  So she does not want her to die.  She went back to the doctor and asked the antidote to keep her Mother-in-law alive.  But the doctor told her that there is no such kind of antidote.  “It is too late” she said.  In fact there was no poison at all.

Moral:  What you give to others you get back yourself.