In 1850 it took the average piece of mail five weeks to travel from Missouri to California. This was frustrating, since in 1848 somebody had discovered gold in the California hills and the wild rush was on. America was moving west and needed a much more efficient, streamlined way to communicate with its West Coast. The Pony Express was the answer. Four(..)
A little boy brought home a cocoon from a picnic in the woods. He put the cocoon in his garden, and watched it daily in fascination, awaiting it to crack and a beautiful butterfly to emerge! However, the cocoon was too exposed—the urban setting did not protect it from wind, water, and sun. As it struggled to survive, one day a crow scooped down and(..)
There was once a group of tiny frogs who arranged a competition. Their goal was to climb the ladder that was resting against the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race. The race began. No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:(..)
Once there was a group of men—a young, hot-blooded guy and a bunch of old folks. Their job was to chop down trees in the jungle. The young chap was very hard working. He always continued to work through his break time and often complained that the older folk were wasting time, taking breaks throughout the day to drink and chat. As time went by, this(..)
There was a business owner who was deep in debt and could see no way out. He sat on a park bench, head in hands. Suddenly an old man appeared before him. After listening to the man’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name and wrote out a check, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from(..)
Two travelling monks reached the bank of a river, where they met a young lady of the night. Wary of the current, she asked whether they could carry her across. The first monk just stood there hesitantly, but the second one quickly lifted her up onto his shoulders. Together, the monks waded through the river until they reached the other side, where the(..)
A young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull’s eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. “There,” he said to the old man, “see if you can match that!” Undisturbed, the(..)
Horror gripped the heart of a World War-I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle on the enemy’s side of the bridge. The soldier asked his Lieutenant whether he could go out to bring his fallen comrade back. “You can go,” said the Lieutenant, “but I don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your(..)
Once, a middle-aged jobless man was invited to a networking dinner. He put on his trousers and t-shirt, then opened the closet to discover that he had only three pieces of formal wear left—a shirt, a tie, and a jacket. “Great”, he said, “I get to use my full wardrobe today”. So, he put on his shirt, tie, and jacket and had a great evening.(..)
An old farmer travels a great distance through freezing snow to his local chapel for Sunday service. No-one else is there, aside from the clergyman. "I'm not sure it's worth proceeding with the service. Shall we go back to our warm homes for a hot drink?" asks the clergyman. “Well, I'm just a simple farmer," says the farmer, "But when I go to feed my(..)
A project manager feared that his most committed engineer couldn’t hear as well as he used to, and he thought that the engineer might need a hearing aid. He strategized a simple, informal test he could perform to get a better idea about this hearing loss. That afternoon, as the manager was walking through the corridor, he noticed his engineer busy(..)
A group of children is playing near two railway tracks, one still in use, while the other disused. Only one intelligent child is playing on the dysfunctional track, the irresponsible rest on the operational track. A train approaches, and you happen to be in charge of the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track to(..)
Once there was an illiterate man who was good at only one thing—that is, he enthusiastically made the best hot dogs in town and sold lots of them. His sales went up so he ordered more meat, got a bigger stove and put up an advertising hoarding. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from college, joined his father. Then something(..)
Truth is the foundation of a healthy partnership. No rocket science there. Movies like “Lage Raho Munnabhai” help reinforce our appreciation for the timeless ‘Truth’ principles. Particularly when it comes to personal relationships where the stakes are high, shying away from deceit comes natural to us. However, what about business(..)
In the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific, some villagers practice a unique form of logging. If a tree is too large to be felled with an ax, the natives cut it down by yelling at it. Woodsmen with special powers creep up on a tree at dawn and suddenly scream at it at the top of their lungs. They continue this for thirty days. The tree dies and falls(..)
