Pillars of Success.....
A young boy often looked up at the sky, fearing that the sky might fall any time, as it had no pillars to hold it. He ran into the forest, with the hope, that the trees would act as pillars to the sky and save him from being crushed if it fell.
In the forest, he came across a monk and asked him, ‘Are you not afraid that the sky may fall as there are no pillars supporting the sky?’ The monk replied, ‘There are pillars supporting the sky, but you need special eyes to see them.’ ‘How do I possess those special eyes?’ asked the boy. The monk’s suggestion to the boy was to go to the village and arrogantly demand food. If villagers gave food with a difference, then he was to come and report to the monk. The boy went to many houses, arrogantly seeking food. Most people refused to oblige him. Surprisingly, in one house, a woman came and begged his pardon for the delay in giving him food as she was feeding her baby. When this incident was reported to the monk, he said, ‘This act of goodness of the woman, is one of the pillars supporting the sky.’ Every good act is a pillar propping the sky. It is not visible but it exists. If life comes from such belief, then you get strength from an unknown source. Is goodness the only way of life? Many people are good but they are not successful... has goodness failed? Goodness should be the substratum on which life is built. Being good is important, but being good alone does not lead to success. To be successful, one should also be smart. People think that only working hard is going to make them successful. This is a false belief. It is not only working hard but also working smart that make us successful. Goodness gives us spiritual strength, but one has to be smart in life... another variable that one needs to develop. How do we develop smartness in life? Being in the company of smart people one learns to develop smartness in life. One of the qualities of successful people is being skilful with others. They are good in their people skills. They know how to motivate people and get motivated by them in turn. They know the art of accepting people and gracefully rejecting them when required, to present their point of view and not ‘poke’ their point of view. Successful people know how and when to praise others. They also know the art of sandwiching criticism between praises. They have a commitment to excel and treat failures as fertilizers to success. They are not like oak trees in flowerpots...!
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