Story #1 Self Confidence
Moral : If you don’t believe in yourself, you will never get anywhere in life!
Once there was an artist. He painted pictures of wondrous things. He sometimes painted hot air balloons high up in the clouds. Sometimes he painted oceans of trees. And sometimes he would paint colorful gardens. The painter had a son and one day when his son got old enough the painter said, “Son I want you to paint a picture.” The son said, “But Daddy what do I paint?” The artist smiled and said, whatever you want to paint.” The son did not have an idea though. But he wanted to make his daddy proud so he tried to paint a picture his Daddy would like. He painted a picture of what was right next to him. The cup of brushes and different paint, a little green paint spilled and a paint brush his Daddy had left out. The painter came back to his son. “Did I do it right? Asked the son. “No,” said the artist, “try again.” And he walked away. The son was devastated what had he done wrong? Did he use enough paint, were the colors too bland? Was the canvas too small, or the paint brush too big? He didn’t know but would not do it again. So he painted a picture of two birds eating at a table. He told himself, “Daddy will be pleased.” The artist came back. Did I do it the right way this time? Asked the boy. The painter smiled and shook his head ‘no’. But but Daddy you must teach me then! , said the boy on the verge of tears. “No, son I know you will get it right”, said the painter. The boy nodded and got to work this painting took him a very long time. Finally a picture of a prowling cat was painted on the canvas. It was amazing; the boy could hardly believe he had done this picture himself! The painter came to his son again. “Did I do it right?, asked the son. No said the painter. “What?” said the son outraged. “This is a really good piece of art. I worked hard to come this far! It is amazing! I think it is good even if you don’t.
The painter smiled and said, “All of them were good.” The son looked at his father puzzled, “But you said…” The painter sat next to his son and said, “Son you are not to do art for anyone but yourself, do not try to impress people with your amazing skills. I want you to impress yourself, you need self confidence if you are to really be the best painter. If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you accomplish anything? The boy smiled and said, “Then my other paints are good?The painter told his son, “I thought they were amazing. But my opinion doesn’t matter. If you believe your paints are good, then that’s all that matters”. And together, the son and the painter painted a beautiful picture.
Story #2 A Meaningful Story - Two Seeds
Moral : Those of us who have goals and dreams will grow and prosper.
Those of us who refuse to risk and grow will get swallowed up by life.
Story :
Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile soil.
The first seed said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me ... I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring ... I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!"
And so she grew.…….
The second seed said, "Hmmmm. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts ... what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."
And so she waited.…….
A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it
Story #3 Acres of Diamonds:
Moral :
1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always under our feet. We don’t have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it.
2. The grass always looks greener on the other side. While we are eyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are eyeing the grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us.
3. People, who don’t know how to recognize opportunity, complain of noise when it knocks.
4. Lost opportunities are easier recognized when they are leaving rather than when they are coming.
5. Opportunity only knocks once. The next one may be better or worse, but never the same one. That is why it is so crucial to make the right decision at the right time. A right decision at the wrong time becomes a wrong decision.
Story :
Hafiz was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said,” If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then the wise man left. That night, Hafiz couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and discontented. He was unhappy because he was discontented and discontented because he was unhappy.
The next morning Hafiz made arrangement to sell his farm, took care of his family, and went off in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. By the time he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically, and financially depleted. He was so disheartened that he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Barcelona River.
Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at the stream that ran through the property. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought the stone would look good in his living room. He picked up the stone and put it on his mantle piece. That afternoon, the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is Hafiz Back?” The new owner said,’ No, why do you ask?” the wise man said,” Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one.” The man said,” No, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come I’ll show samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres of diamonds.
Story #4 A Wiseman
Moral: "Every situation has a solution... You might have realized it many times in your life, but it totally depends on how we find it".
Story :
A loud noise broke his sleep.... "What`s that?" he asked himself.
He switched on the light. A glance at the watch gave him an idea, it was three in the morning.
He stood up and slowly walked up to the window, as the sound came from outside.
Three muscle men were there in his backyard. One was busy in trying to break the security lock of his car and other two were trying to break his backdoor, it was a heavy duty gate." but won`t last much longer" he murmured.
He knew he won`t be able to match these young and insanely crazy bunch of goons.
He thought of yelling, "No benefit, your house is at the outskirt. Nobody is there for help", his conventional wisdom explained.
As a last straw, he called the emergency no.
"Hello... There... are... There are...... three people inside my home...... trying to loot us."
" Calm down sir"
"Please do something-I am a retired old man with my ill wife with me"
"Sir, With due regret, all our officers are busy at the moment, there is no one in the office. We won`t be able to send somebody immediately"
"Please, they are armed and dangerous, they can kill both of us"
"Don`t worry sir. One of our officer is in your area, we will inform him. He will be there in next half an hour"
"Meanwhile you shut all your doors and windows. And try keep yourself safe"
Old man thought for a while and hung up the phone.
He started counting 1..2...3... and as he reached fifty, he again called up the emergency number and said
"Oh, I just called to tell you-that-those three goons who were in my backyard trying to rob me, I have shot them with my shot gun. They are dead now So don`t worry and please don`t send any officer here" he disconnected the phone.
After just five minutes, three police cars, two paramedic vans and 10 officers surrounded the area.
All three thieves were caught red handed.
The chief-Inspector was surprised.
He asked the old man "I thought you said, you shot these three men"
The old man smiled and said "I thought; you said, all officers are busy and no one is in the office"
Story #5 Struggles of our Life
Moral: In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. Life is all about learning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.
Story :
Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.
Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.
Turning to her, he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.
“Look closer”, he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.
He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.
“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.
He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.
“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
Story #6 Self-belief
Moral: Believe in oneself leads to the great satisfaction.
There is a legend of a man who was lost in the desert, dying of thirst. He stumbled on until he came to an abandoned house. Outside the dilapidated, windowless, weather beaten, deserted shack was a pump. He stumbled forward and began pumping furiously, but no water came from the well. Then he noticed a small jug with a cork at the top and a note written on the side: “You have to prime the pump with water, my friend. P.S. And fill the jug again before you leave.” He pulled out a cork and saw that the jug was full of water.
Should he pour it down the pump? What if it didn’t work? All of the water would be gone. If he drank the water from the jug, he could be sure he would not die of thirst. But to pour it down the rusty pump on the flimsy instruction written on the outside of the jug?
Something from inside told him to follow the advice and choose the risky decision. He proceeded to pour the whole jug of water down the rusty old pump and furiously pumped up and down. Sure enough, the water gushed out! He had all he needed to drink. He filled the jug again, corked it and added his own words beneath the instructions on the jug: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”
Story #7 Be Positive
Moral: Strength doesn't help all the time, be positive
Once there was a bear named Grim. He was known to be ferocious, violent and tough. He always engages in battles of the wild. For him, the desire to be recognized as the strongest beast in the wild was his dream. All of his enemies were defeated and he was always the one left standing and glorious with his own victory. All the animals knew him by his name and they were all scared of him. They showed respect to Grim and treated him as their King.Grim was so happy that everyone in the forest serves him what he needed. From food, to entertainment, to pleasure and to doing any single task, he would always ask from his servants. Every day he would enjoy a sumptuous buffet and so he enjoyed his luxurious and extravagant life. For him no one could take the power that he had for he is big and strong. But he still wondered “What if there are other beasts bigger than me?” At that thought he planned to grow bigger so all will bow to him for they would fear him. Each day, he had nothing to do but to sit in his throne and eat until he could not even take a sip.Grim became stronger and even searched for more power. He invited other creatures from outside the forest to fight with him. The enemies who responded went to his kingdom to fight with Grim. The enemies fell in line, first was the lion, second the rhinoceros and the third was the elephant. As Grim went outside of his house and roared. Every enemy who looked at him got scared and runaway. They were afraid of how gigantic Grim was and how scary was his voice. As a result Grim was even happier for all the beasts in the forest will respect him and he had gained even more power for his Kingdom.The desire for power made him want to become even bigger than he is. He was to eat everyday with tons of meat, fruits and anything on his plate. He gained weight of 100 pounds each day. He had nothing else to do than to watch entertainment, laugh at the mistakes of everyone else and punish his servants when his order was not served. The servants were afraid of him that they were keen not to commit any slightest mistake. When Grim gets angry he would say out loud “If you will make a mistake, I will eat you fresh and alive.” All creatures heard his voice and shivered with every roar.One day a little chipmunk from another forest came to his place. He was a wise and cheerful chipmunk named Tom. Tom came to see Grim and asked Grim to fight with him. All of the animals in the forest gathered and was shocked of what Tom has offered. All were in awe and felt pity for Tom. They knew that any moment Tom could be smashed and get eaten.Tom was confident of himself. He knew that Grim was big and he could not miss a single arrow on him. Grim on the other hand said, “Don’t you dare waste my time. Be worthy to be my opponent or else embrace defeat and I will tear your heart apart.” All the creatures in the forest gasped. And some closed their eyes. They anticipated that Tom will soon be dead.But in there amazement Tom stood still with his valiant pose. Grim was angered with Tom’s confidence and took an effort to lift himself from his throne. But there was a problem with Grim. He could not stand anymore because of the weight he had to carry. He attempted several times to stand from his throne but he could not. Angered, he asked his servants to lift him up. All of his servants helped him up but just as soon as they left him he fell to the ground.Seeing Grim fall down, the fear from every creature was gone and they all laughed and cursed him. Tom did not use any arrow but he walked towards Grim and said “Surrender now for I am the new King”. Defeat is what was fated to Grim. He was captured by Tom and he was locked up on a cage. From then on all the animals were freed from fear. They now lived without worries from the beast named Grim. Now it was Tom, the little chipmunk they consider the King.Tom was happy for he had proven that even the mighty Giants have their weaknesses. They can be shot with every single arrow without a miss. And they could fall easily from the weight of their body. He made all the creatures realize that danger is always imminent still choose not to fear and look onto the positive side. Tom gained his power with his own wisdom and character. All the creatures respected him not because of his strength but the positive things he shared to them.
Story #8 Ignore Negativity
There was a hunter who came into the possession of a special bird dog. The dog was the only one of its kind, because it can walk on water. One day he invited a friend to go hunting with him so that he could show off his prized possession. After some time, they shot a few ducks, which fell into the river. The man ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds. The dog ran on water to fetch the birds. The man was expecting a compliment about the amazing dog, but did not receive it. Being curious, he asked his friend if the friend had noticed anything unusual about the dog. The friend replied, “Yes, I did see something unusual about your dog. Your dog can’t swim!”
More than 90% of the people that we face everyday are negative. They choose to look at the hole in the middle rather than the doughnut. Do not expect compliments or encouragement from them. These are the people who cannot pull you out of your present situation. They can only push you down. So be aware of them, spend less time with them, and do not let them steal your dreams away from you.
Story #9 Never Underestimate
Moral: When you think the other person is dumb, you are making a fool of yourself
A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his Customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you."
The barber puts a five rupee coin in one hand and two one rupee coins (1+1=2) in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"
The boy takes the two one rupee coins and leaves.
"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"
Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.
"Hey, son! May I ask you a question?
Why did you take two one rupee coins instead of five rupee coin?"
The boy licked his cone and replied, "BECAUSE THE DAY I TAKE THE FIVE RUPEE COIN, THE GAME IS OVER"
Disclaimer: Intention of copy and pasting these stories here are that, when kids are asking me for stories during bed time., that moment I forgot easily the very beautiful ones. So, Whatever I have heard / read all are putting at one place for easy access later.
