Pebble story - Lateral thinking test, What would you recommend the girl to do?

Many years ago in a small Indian village,a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1.If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven.
2.If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.
3.But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1.The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2.The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3.The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
What would you recommend to the girl to do?



Well, here is what she did…................

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one.

And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one!

Conclusion of the Story

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don’t attempt to think.
When the mind is alert, sharp and calm while facing any problem, there definitely would crop a good solution to it whereas if the mind is too agitated, depressed and fidgety, the brain loses its ability of positive “thinking” and everything seems blank and bleak with no solution that the mind forces a person to take drastic and negative measures like committing suicide or a crime as an immediate solution.

If we can understand the problem, the answer will come out of it because the answer is not separate from the problem!

Also, the important thing about a problem is not its solution, but the strength we gain in finding the solution!

Next time you face a problem, consciously make an attempt to think more clearly, cleverly and calmly and you will surely find the best solution for it....

Sweet & Short Quiz you must take..

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade’s worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

The point is, none of us remembers the headliners of yesterday.

These are not second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school or life.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Was that easier?

The lesson: The people who make the biggest difference in our lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money or the most awards.They are simply the ones that care the most

WHITE ROSE - A TOUCHING STORY OF A BOY'S LOVE FOR HIS MOTHER AND SISTER

I was walking around in a supermarket when i saw a cashier hand this little boy his money back, the boy couldn’t have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, ‘I’m sorry, but you don’t have enough money to buy this doll.”

The little boy turned to the old woman next to him, ”Granny, are you sure I don’t have enough money?” She replied, ”You know that you don’t have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.” Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly.

The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. ‘It’s the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.’ I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. ‘No, Santa Claus can’t bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.’ His eyes were so sad while saying this, ‘My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.”

My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said, ‘I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.’ Then he showed me a very nice photo of himself. He was laughing. He then told me ‘I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won’t forget me.’ ‘I love my mommy and I wish she didn’t have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.’

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. ‘Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll!” OK’ he said, ‘I hope I do have enough.’ I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money.

The little boy said, ‘Thank you God for giving me enough money!’ Then he looked at me and added, ‘I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give it to my sister. He heard me!” ‘I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn’t dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.”

‘My mommy loves white roses.’ A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state of mind from when I started. I couldn’t get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn’t stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine, and in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him.

"ALL our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt disney

Once upon a time, every great thing that EVER happened started out as just an idea, a thought, a WHAT IF?
Your favorite song was just a tune that someone couldn't get out of their head, so they wrote it down and worked on it until it was a song and then released it out into the world. Your favorite book was the idea of somebody somewhere who had a story to document, and they wrote and wrote and wrote until the book was done. We talk on cell phones, we drive amazing vehicles, we see national monuments, we participate in worthwhile organizations. ALL OF THOSE THINGS started out as just an idea.

And then someone kept going until the idea was a reality.

So please don't get caught up in thinking, beautiful girl, that your dreams, hopes and ambitions don't matter, that your ideas are dumb or unattainable. Please remember that pretty much everything you put to use on a daily basis came about because someone had an idea and followed through on it. What if they hadn't followed through on it? What if they had been too afraid? THINK OF ALL OF THE THINGS that we would all be missing out on right now if the ideas of others never had a chance to be born.

Let your ideas be born, friend. If it feels like it's time, it probably is. You can do this. You are brilliant and very very loved.

"ALL our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them" - Walt disney

10 Tips To Stay Young Forever - Grow old gracefully

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop……And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s!”
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with HIM/HER.
6. The tears happen.Endure, grieve, and move on.
The only person who is with you your entire life, is yourself. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it.
If it is unstable, improve it.If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take,but by the moments that take our breath away.

Live your life, with nothing to lose
Whatever you want, whenever you choose
Make a difference, help out
Give some time to those without
Take risks, love, dance and thrive
Enjoy this time we are alive!

Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen!- Anonymous

Wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is about to happen!- Anonymous

Renew Your Dreams ---

Forget your age. Clearly it's what you do, not when you do it that really matters.
At age 7 Mozart wrote his first symphony.
At age 14 country singer LeAnn Rimes won her first two Grammy awards.
At age 16 swimmer Shane Gould won 3 Olympic Gold medals
At age 17 Joan of Arc led an army in defense of France.
At age 20 Debbi Fields founded Mrs. Fields cookie company.
At age 21 Fred DeLuca co-founded Subway with just $1,000. in the bank.
At age 43 John F. Kennedy ran for the U.S. Presidency, and won.
At age 45 boxer George Foreman regained the heavyweight championship of the world.
At age 46 Jack Nicklaus won his 6th Masters tournament.
At age 54 jockey Willie Shoemaker won the Kentucky Derby.
At age 57 Ray Kroc founded MacDonald's.
At age 62 Colonel Sanders devoted himself to Kentucky Fried Chicken.
At age 78 Grandma Moses started painting and was still participating in one-woman art shows well into her nineties.
At age 83 architect Frank Lloyd Wright was asked which one of his masterpieces was the best. "My next one," he said.
At age 84 Titian painted his famous "Allegory of the Battle of Lepanto."
At age 86 Ruth Rothfarb ran the Boston Marathon in just over 5 hours. "You lose a lot of speed between 80 and 86," she joked.
On his 104th birthday Cal Evans was interviewed by a Denver reporter. "Have you lived in Denver all your life?" asked the reporter. Cal laughed and replied, "Not yet, Sonny."

Whether you're five or 105, you have a lifetime ahead of you-- so renew your dreams!
What are you passionate about?
What is something you've always wanted to do but haven't done?
Right now is a good time to start.

Count Your Blessings!!

Another Beautiful poster ...

Beautiful Words..

The verses below reportedly were written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta, India, and are widely attributed to her.

Some sources say that the words below were written on the wall in Mother Teresa's own room. In any case, their association with Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity has made them popular worldwide, expressing as they do, the spirit in which they lived their lives.

They seem to be based on a composition originally by Kent Keith, but much of the second half has been re-written in a more spiritual way.

A very touching, meaningful and true story i happened to read today.How our inner EGO sometimes misjudges a PERSON....A True Story

A lady in a faded grey dress and her husband, dressed in a home-spun suit walked in timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President’s outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Harvard.

“We want to see the President “the man said softly.

“He’ll be busy all day “the secretary snapped.

“We’ll wait” the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn’t and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president..

“Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they’ll leave” she said to him. The President, stern faced and with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him “We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus.”

The president wasn’t touched….He was shocked. “Madam” he said, gruffly, “we can’t put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery.”

“Oh, no,” the lady explained quickly ” We don’t want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.”

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, and then exclaimed, “A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard.”

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now. The lady turned to her husband and said quietly,

“Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don’t we just start our own?”

Her husband nodded. The president’s face wilted in confusion and bewilderment. Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford got up and walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name: - Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

Most of the time we judge people by their outer appearance, which can be misleading. And in this impression, we tend to treat people badly by thinking they can do nothing for us. Thus we tend to lose our potential good friends, employees or customers.

Remember
In our Life, we seldom get people with whom we want to share & grow our thought process. But because of our inner EGO we miss them forever.

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem - Two Travelling Angels

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement. As they made th...eir bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed, where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, laid dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel, “How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” he accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything and you let their cow die.”

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I told him to take the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way we think they should. If you have faith in God, just trust that every outcome is always to your advantage.

“And we know that in all things God is working for the good of those who love Him” Romans 8:28.

Beautiful Poster on Life

Just saw this beautiful poster, meaningful and beautifully written. Every word of it counts,so thought to share ------- A great Manifesto that you could Print and put on your office wall or any other place where you see it daily.