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Legendary
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Once a Texan, always a Texan.
Posts: 11,976
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Legendary
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Once a Texan, always a Texan.
Posts: 11,976
|
"The Seed"
"The Seed"
A successful businessman was growing old and
knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the
business.
Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children,
he decided to do something different. He called all the
young executives in his company together.
He said, 'It is time for me to step down and choose
the next CEO.
I have decided to choose one of you. 'The young
executives were Shocked, but the boss continued.
'I am going to give each one of you a SEED today -
one very special SEED. I want you to plant
the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today
with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will
then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will
be the next CEO.'
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the
others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife
the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he
planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if
it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other executives
began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were
beginning to grow.
Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still
nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim
didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He
just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall
plants, but he had nothing.
Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however.
He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so
wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the
company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an
empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim
felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing
moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his
empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the
variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were
beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty
pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his
young executives.
Jim just tried to hide in the back. 'My, what great
plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO.
'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!'
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the
room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring
him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO
knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!'
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had
happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked
at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Behold
your next Chief Executive Officer!
His name is Jim!' Jim couldn't believe it. Jim
couldn't even grow his seed. 'How could he be the new CEO?' the
others said. Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave
everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant
it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled
seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants
and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you
substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was
the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot
with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the
new Chief Executive Officer!'
* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest
So, be careful what you plant now;
it will determine what you will reap later.
'Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back'
__________________
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"Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil -- it has no point.
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