The story goes that a certain court jester went too far one day and insulted his king. The king became so infuriated he sentenced the jester to be executed. His court prayed upon the king to have mercy for this man who had served him well for so many years. After a time, the king [...]
Once the great Anthony of the Desert was relaxing with his disciples outside his hut when a hunter came by. The hunter was surprised to see Anthony relaxing, and rebuffed him for taking it easy. It was not his idea of what a holy monk should be doing. Anthony replied, “Bend your bow and shoot [...]
One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, “Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it.” “If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty,” replied [...]
Stress is a commonly used term but not a well understood one. Most of the times we hear people say things like ‘Oh there maybe problems around but I can cope well. I’m not stressed.’ or ‘Getting married is a happy time, I can’t possible be stressed.’ It’s important to understand that even though you [...]
A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, [...]
One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops – a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. [...]
Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went for a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he was back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went for such a long [...]
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player, was dying of AIDS. He contracted HIV during the blood transfusions he had received during a heart surgery in 1983. From all over the world, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: “Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease?” To this [...]
“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.” — Frank Outlaw
One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students. He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. He produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the [...]