A
successful business man was growing old and knew
it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to
do something different. He called all the young executives in his
company together.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have
decided to choose one of you." The young executives were Shocked, but
the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today -
one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come
back here one year from today with what
you have grown from the seed I have given you.
I will then judge
the plants that you bring, and the one
I choose will be the
next CEO."
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received
a seed.He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped
him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the
seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk
about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still
nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a
plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had
nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just
kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she
asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his
stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life,
but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to
the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at
the variety of
plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all
shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his
colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young
executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and
flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be
appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his
empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front.
Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he
will have me fired!"
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his
seed - Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and
then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief
Executive Officer!
His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his
seed.
"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room
a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and
bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were
dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers.
When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another
seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and
honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one
who will be the new
Chief Executive Officer!"
* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant
forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap
later.
Think about this
for a minute....
If
I happened to show up on your door step crying, would you care?
If I called you and asked you to pick me up because something happened,
would you come?
If I had one day left to live my life, would you be part of that last
day?
If I needed a shoulder to cry on, would you give me yours?
This is a test to see who your real
friends are or if you are just someone to talk to you when
they are bored
Do you know what the relationship is between your two eyes?
They blink together,
they move together,
they cry together,
they see things together,
and they sleep together,
but they never see each other;
....that's what friendship is..
Your aspiration is your motivation, your
motivation is your belief,
your belief is your peace,
your peace is your target,
your target is Heaven, and life is like hard core torture without it!
AUTHOR ~ UNKNOWN |