HomeThe story of a woodcutter
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SrirangaVeteran
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Join date : 2014-02-23
Location : Colombo 
The story of a woodcutter
Fri Apr 04, 2014 11:49 pm
Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.
Author: Stephen Covey
http://academictips.org/
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work.
The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”
Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.
“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”
Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.
Author: Stephen Covey
http://academictips.org/
sereneTop contributor
- Posts : 4850
Join date : 2014-02-26
Re: The story of a woodcutter
Sat Apr 05, 2014 10:06 am
True.Simple story but has a real depth.
Especially in the Share Market also changes are drastic we should be aware about so many things even should have awareness about the general sentiment other investors also. Complacency will be a major harm in our lives.
Especially in the Share Market also changes are drastic we should be aware about so many things even should have awareness about the general sentiment other investors also. Complacency will be a major harm in our lives.
Ethical TraderTop contributor- Posts : 5568
Join date : 2014-02-28
Re: The story of a woodcutter
Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:29 am
Very true. We must study the market very carefully before we buy or sell. Time spent onserene wrote:True.Simple story but has a real depth.
Especially in the Share Market also changes are drastic we should be aware about so many things even should have awareness about the general sentiment other investors also. Complacency will be a major harm in our lives.
is not wasted. Thanks Red for sharing the story. Permissions in this forum:
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