Magical Teamwork

Steve Wynn, the founder of Wynn Resort & Casino, shared a story of his family’s vacation in Paris. They were staying at Four Seasons and had ordered breakfast in bed. His daughter only ate a half of a croissant, leaving the other half for later. Wynn and his family left to explore Paris, and upon returning to the hotel room, the pastry was gone. His daughter was disappointed, assuming the housekeeping had got rid of it.

On the telephone, there was a message from the front desk. They said that housekeeping had removed the half croissant from the room, assuming that upon arrival, they would prefer a fresh pastry. So the front desk contacted the kitchen to set aside a croissant, and room service was informed that upon request, they would need to deliver the pastry.

The level of teamwork and communication between different departments in the hotel was simply magical. All participants understood the end result – customer satisfaction. And everyone accepted their role in making the experience fantastic.

It shows that in order to achieve satisfaction on different levels within the organisation, employees should be empowered to be creative, intuitive, thorough, and generous.

Dare to be Different

A carpenter and his apprentices were travelling through the province of Qi in search of building materials. They saw a giant tree; five men all holding hands could not encompass its girth, and its crown reached almost to the clouds.

'Let's not waste our time with this tree,' said the master carpenter. 'It would take us for ever to cut it down. If we wanted to make a ship out of that heavy trunk, the ship would sink. If we tried to use it to build a roof, the walls would have to be specially reinforced.'

The group continued on its way. One of the apprentices remarked:

'Such a big tree and no use to anyone!'

'That's where you're wrong,' said the master carpenter. 'The tree was true to its own destiny. If it had been like all the others, we would have cut it down. But because it had the courage to be different, it will remain alive and strong for a long time yet.'

Don't allow your parrot to die

The story is told of a woman who bought a parrot to keep her company, but she returned it the next day.
“This bird doesn't talk,” she told the owner.
”Does he have a mirror in his cage?”he asked. “Parrots love mirrors. They see their reflection and start conversation
The woman bought a mirror and left. The next day she returned; the bird still wasn't talking.
"How about a ladder? Parrots love ladders. The happy parrot is a talkative parrot
The woman bought a ladder and left. But the next day, she was back.
“Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, that’s the problem. Once he starts swinging, he’ll talk up a storm
The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left.
When she walked into the store the next day, her countenance had changed.
“The parrot died,” she said.
The pet store owner was shocked.
“I’m so sorry. Tell me, did he ever say anything?” he asked.
“Yes, right before it died,” the woman replied.
“In a weak voice, it asked me, ‘Don’t they sell any food at that pet store?’"
Sometimes we forget what’s really important in life. We get so caught up in things that are good while neglecting the things that are truly necessary.
Take a moment to do a “priority check”, and strive for what is most important today.

How deep is your root?

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was an insurance agent who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give a full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.

The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, there was a heavy rain and a wind due to a minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

The insurance agent neighbor was surprised to see it, he went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”

The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it. You made it easy for them. While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more. And, because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger. That is why my plants survived”.

Moral: This story is about parenting where children are like plants. If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things. They will not learn to work themselves and respect it. Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving them. Teach them how to walk, but let them follow their path.

Wodden Apples of our Life

There once was a happy monkey wandering the jungle, eating delicious fruit when hungry, and resting when tired. One day he came upon a house, where he saw a bowl of the most beautiful apples. He took one in each hand and ran back into the forest.


He sniffed the apples and smelled nothing. He tried to eat them, but hurt his teeth. They were made of wood, but they were beautiful, and when the other monkeys saw them, he held onto them even tighter.

He admired his new possessions proudly as he wandered the jungle. They glistened red in the sun, and seemed perfect to him. He became so attached to them, that he didn't even notice his hunger at first.

A fruit tree reminded him, but he felt the apples in his hands. He couldn't bear to set them down to reach for the fruit. In fact, he couldn't relax, either, if he was to defend his apples. A proud, but less happy monkey continued to walk along the forest trails.

The apples became heavier, and the poor little monkey thought about leaving them behind. He was tired, hungry, and he couldn't climb trees or collect fruit with his hands full. What if he just let go?

Letting go of such valuable things seemed crazy, but what else could he do? He was so tired. Seeing the next fruit tree, and smelling it's fruit was enough. He dropped the wooden apples and reached up for his meal. He was happy again.

Letting Go Of Wooden Apples…

Like that little monkey, we sometimes carry things that seem too valuable to let go. A man carries an image of himself as "productive" - carries it like a shiny wooden apple. But in reality, his busyness leaves him tired, and hungry for a better life. Still, letting go seems crazy. Even his worries are sacred apples - they prove he's "doing everything he can." He holds onto them compulsively.

This is a hard thing to see. We identify so strongly with our things even, feeling pain when our cars are dented. How much more powerfully do we identify with our beliefs and self-ideas? Yet they don't always feed our souls, do they? And we become tired of defending them.

How else could the story end?

The monkey might be found dead of hunger, under a beautiful tree, with fruit within reach, but still grasping his wooden apples.

I chose to end it with him letting go, because only with open hands can we receive. So be ready to welcome the coming time with open hands and mind!!

Keep the good work going

A man was asked to paint a boat.

He brought with him paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him.

While painting, he noticed that there was a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it.

When finished painting, he received his money and left.

The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice cheque, much higher than the payment for painting.

The painter was surprised and said "You've already paid me for painting the boat Sir!"

"But this is not for the paint job. It's for having repaired the hole in the boat."

"Ah! But it was such a small service... certainly it's not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant."

"My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened.

When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention about the hole.

When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip.

They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time.

When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole.

Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing.

Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your 'small' good deed."

So, no matter who, when or how. Just continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively and carefully repair all the 'leaks' you find, because you never know when one is in need of us or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone_.

You may have repaired numerous 'boat holes' along the way... of several people without realizing how many lives you've saved.

So Keep the  Good work ongoing.

What is real Compassion?

Once Buddha was in an assembly when a man walked in looking furious.
 He thought Buddha was doing something wrong. 
He was a restless businessman and he had found that his children were spending hours with
 Buddha when they could have engaged themselves in business at that time, making more and more money.
 He felt that spending four hours of their day seated next to someone whose eyes were always 
closed was incredulous. This was what had upset the businessman.
So, with furiousness walked straight up to Buddha looked him the eye and spat.
 He was so angry, he could not find the words to express them that he merely spat at Buddha.
 Buddha simply smiled. He showed no anger, though the disciples around him were angry. 
They would have liked to react but could not because Buddha was there. 
So, everybody was holding their lips and fists tight. 
After the businessman spat at Buddha and realised his action was not drawing a reaction, simply walked away in a huff.
Buddha did not react or say anything. He just smiled. 
And that was enough to shock the angry man.
 For the first time in his life, the man had met someone who would just smile when he spat on his face.
 That man could not sleep all night and his whole body underwent such a transformation. 
He was shivering, shaking. He felt as if the whole world had turned upside down. 
The next day he went and fell at Buddha’s feet and said, Please forgive me.
 I did not know what I did. To which Buddha replied, I cannot excuse you!
Everyone including the man and Buddha’s disciples were flabbergasted. 
Buddha then explained the reason for his statement. 
He said, Why should I forgive you when you have done nothing wrong.
The businessman looked a little more surprised and told Buddha that it was he who had wronged him
 by spitting on him.
 Buddha simply said, Oh! That person is not there now. 
If I ever meet that person whom you spat on, I will tell him to excuse you.
 To this person who is here, you have done no wrong. 

That is real compassion.