Inspirational Stories

Saving Lives by Saving Time

This is a great motivational story about saving time. It teaches how to inspire and motivate others to pursue a worthy goal. This excerpt was taken from an article written by Andy Hertzfeld in 1983 called “Saving Lives”. One of the things that bothered Steve Jobs the most was the time that it took to … Read more

In the Eye of the Beholder

Once upon a time, a terrible dragon settled beside a stream in the mountains. The people were left without water. Women were crying, children were dying of thirst. The men tried to kill the dragon, but he swept everyone with his long tail. The people were in despair. It was at this time that a … Read more

The Stonemason

Once upon a time there lived a stonemason, who went to the mountains every day to dig out and break stones. He enjoyed his work, so he was constantly singing, satisfied with what he had, bothered by nothing. One time, he was invited to work in a mansion. Upon seeing the luxurious palace, the stonemason … Read more

Two Stones

Once upon a time there was a king who had a very beautiful daughter. The king did not want to give her in marriage, because he was told that, somewhere on the planet, there is a man much smarter than him, who is destined to first take his daughter as his bride, and then take … Read more

Clay

After God formed the first man from clay, he noticed that he still had a small piece of clay left. – What else do you want me to create for you, man? The man thought a bit and said: – Create me happiness! But God, did not know what happiness the man wants. So, he … Read more

Whatever Happens, Happens for the Best

A peasant owned a beautiful purebred horse. One day, he ran away from the stables and disappeared for some time. The neighbors in the village sympathized with the peasant, but he remained calm. A week later, his horse returned and brought with himself a wonderful female horse. The villagers talked about the event for a … Read more

Most Difficult Thing to Draw

An artist was once asked: – Which is the most difficult thing to draw? He replied: – It’s hardest to draw a rooster. – And which is the easiest thing to draw? – It’s easiest to draw a God or a ghost – the artist replied. – How so? – the people were amazed. The … Read more

Sheep – A Motivational Story About Leadership

A prince inherited a kingdom. And, like all kings, he had everything in abundance. But suddenly the troubles began. The drought killed many, the diseases even more. And then, an enemy state stormed the kingdom and killed the ones who survived. The king somehow managed to escape. He went to his childhood friend, who ruled … Read more

The Fox and the Crane

The Fox and the Crane became friends. After a while, the Fox invited the Crane over for dinner. The Crane accepted the invitation and went to the Fox’s house. The Fox had some soup  prepared and served it on a flat plate. The Crane tried peck-peck-pecking on the plate, but couldn’t get anything in his … Read more

Mutual Help – An Inspirational Story About Compassion

A believer once went to the Prophet and asked to see heaven and hell. The Prophet took his hand and led him to a palace. When they entered one room, he saw multitudes of people. In the middle of the room, there was a long table with a pot full of soup, spreading a pleasant … Read more

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons. Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story. Avoid loud and … Read more

The Gift of the Magi

Delia and James were a poor couple in their 20’s living in a modest apartment. They owned very little and took pride in two of their belongings: Delia’s beautiful hair and Jim’s gold watch. Delia wanted to buy her husband a gift, but the money never seemed enough. A day before Christmas, she was twenty … Read more

In the Blink of an Eye

During the feudal Civil Wars of the nineteenth century, an army took over the control of a small and peaceful Japanese village. All of its inhabitants ran away – all, except an aged Zen master. The general of the conquering army was amazed to hear this and ordered his soldiers to spare his life and … Read more

The Most Difficult Game of Chess

I. The Young Man Without a Purpose… Some time ago, a desperate young man headed towards a distant monastery to find a purpose in life. When he arrived, he explained to an elder monk: “I can find no pleasure in life. I am incapable of focusing. Everything bores me and I am easily tempted. Is … Read more

tree of life quote toast

The Gates of Heaven

Inspirational Story About Anger and Remorse   Once upon a time, a samurai warrior named Nobushige traveled a long way to visit a wise Zen master in order to finally learn the answer to a question he had struggled with his whole life. “Are there Heaven and Hell?”, he asked immediately. “And may I know … Read more

Elephant

There is a story about a man who, as he was passing some elephants, suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their … Read more

tree of life quote toast

The Problems Tree

A contractor that I hired to to do some repair work had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw broke down, and now his old pick-up truck refused to start. While I drove him home, he sat in total silence. On … Read more

Cracked Pots

A water bearer had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream … Read more

The Brick

A successful executive was travelling down a neighbourhood street, going fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. All of a sudden, a brick flew and smashed into the Jaguar’s side door! He slammed on … Read more

Airplane Tickets

Here is a time management story about airplane tickets. Consider for a moment the price of an airplane ticket. Each airplane has a limited amount of space. And the goal of the airline is to fill the airplane as much as possible. When an airplane leaves the gate with empty seats, the price of those … Read more

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