The Duck and the Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.

He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.

He Practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target.

Getting A little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was Walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck Square in the head, and injure it badly. He was shocked and grieved.


In a panic, he hid the injured duck in the wood pile, only to see His sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the Dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in The kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go picnik and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make Supper."

Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny told Me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally Went picnick and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, He finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had injured the duck.

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long You would let Sally make a slave of you."

**********

Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil Keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad Habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ....whatever it is....You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing..... He has seen your whole life.

He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.

He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave Of you.

The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He Not only forgives you, but He forgets . It is by God's grace and Mercy that we are saved.

Go ahead and make the difference in someone's life today. Share This with a friend and always remember : God is at the window.

A Story of Two Pebbles

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.


Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.


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.


MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story and have a nice day.

A Story of Two Pebbles

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.


Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.


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.


MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think. Start your day with this thought provoking story and have a nice day.

15 ways to build a great relationship with your boss

Wish you had a better relationship with your boss? Feel like you are ignored in favor of others? Wondering if you have any career progression left?



Think about how well you are helping your boss get her job done and meet her obligations. Are you doing everything you can (within legal and ethical bounds, of course) to help her look good and get ahead.



If not, your relationship may be getting in the way. Consider this list of 15 things you can do to improve your relationship with your boss.



1. Show up every day full of energy and enthusiasm. Love your job, and dive into it eagerly every moment of the day. Can't do that? Perhaps you need to find a different job!
2. Be positive. No griping around the water cooler, or in emails or text messages or elsewhere. No complaining and no wallowing in misery. Find the silver lining and focus on it. That does not mean you can never point out a problem to your boss. Just make sure it is a real problem and try to bring two or three potential solutions along with the problem.
3. Learn every day. Learn new skills, pickup new knowledge, meet new people, find new resources. Help refresh the mind of the group.
4. Set SMART goals, review them with your boss to get agreement on targets and deadlines, report on your progress and seek an evaluation when you have delivered on the goals.
5. Speaking of which - Deliver Results! Bosses love that.
6. Take all the time-off you are entitled to. Smart bosses understand that folks are much more productive when they have time to recharge - at night, on the weekend and on vacation. (Bosses note: you need to take time off, too, or your team never will.)
7. Under-promise and over-deliver. Make your mind up to promise only what you know you can control and deliver, and then do it.
8. Do work that is accurate, complete, relevant and useful.
9. Contribute your ideas to make things better.
10. Support your boss. Just like all of us, bosses need positive feedback and encouragement. Make your feedback specific, tied to goals, and behavior based.
11. Focus your work on the things that make a difference to your boss.
12. Communicate just enough and not too much. Learn how much your boss wants to know about various work issues, opportunities and projects and respect those desires.
13. When you communicate with your boss, use her style. If she loves details, give her details. If she wants the big picture, give her that. If she wants to know how a proposal will affect people, provide your thoughts. If she just wants the facts, just give her the facts. If she wants you to get to the point quickly, do so. If she wants to chat first, do that too. Communicate the way your boss likes, not necessarily in your natural style.
14. Say "No" when you need to. The best bosses fear they won't be told when an idea is stupid - so tell 'em!
15. When the boss gives you an assignment, develop a plan of attack and share it with her soon. A good boss will delegate the "what" and expect you to put together the "how." Reward her with a quick and well-thought response.

Does Management know their Staff?

On walking into the factory, the MD noticed a young guy leaning
against the wall, doing nothing. He approached the young man and
calmly said to him, how much do you earn?"

The young man was quite amazed that he was asked such a personal
question, he replied, none the less, "I earn $ 2 000.00 a month, Sir.
Why?"

Without answering, the MD took out his wallet and removed $ 6000.00
cash and gave it to the young man and said, "Around here I pay people
for working, not for standing around looking pretty! Here is 3 months
'salary, now GET OUT and don't come back".

The young man turned around and was quickly out of sight. Noticing a
Few onlookers, the MD said in a very upset manner, "And that applies
for everybody in this company". He approached one of the onlookers
and asked him, "Who's the young man that I just fired?" To which an
amazing reply came of, "He was the pizza delivery man, Sir...!!!"