Tag: Motivational

One day, a farmer’s Mule fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the mule. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the mule realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down.  A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the mule was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step-up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step-up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the mule stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.

The Moral:
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step-up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up! Shake it off and take a step-up!

I was working in my old building this morning and saw these quotes on Laura/Nitesh’s old whiteboard, which didn’t get erased before we moved.  Found them pretty inspirational so you know me, I took a picture of them with my iPhone so they could be shared with the world.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

As he got closer, he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”

The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”

“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”

“The sun is up, and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves, and said- “It made a difference for that one.”

How many “starfish” do you come across in a day?

— Author Unknown