In 1492, Christopher Columbus made what’s probably the most profitable mistake in history. In his search for a quicker route between Europe and Asia, he stumbled upon America, which he quickly claimed for the crown of Spain. As they explored Central and South America, the Spanish soon found gold – lots of gold. So much,…
Two monks were walking from their monastery to another one nearby. One was an old wise monk, the other a novice. As they walked in silence, they came across a river. Unseasonal rains had caused the river to run a bit high and on the bank of the river was a young lady wearing a…
Jack was an electrical engineer. His days were exhausting and mentally demanding; he would need to deal with complex physics as part of his design work. One oversight could lead to his company losing crores of rupees, or worse, him getting fired. It was a Thursday and Jack was the most tired he had ever…
A man was once buying groceries from a supermarket. He was pushing his trolley whilst looking at the scribbled list his wife gave him when he crashed into another trolley. ‘Sorry!’ he exclaimed automatically. But what he saw shocked him. It was a dog pushing the other shopping trolley and picking up a variety of…
Here’s a quick story to inspire you. Brian Acton was a software engineer who graduated from Stanford. Acton worked first at Apple and then at Yahoo for around a dozen years, until in 2007, he decided to travel to South America for a year with his friend and colleague Jan Koum. On their return, both…
A woman traveled a great distance to bring her son to Gandhiji and said “Please Bapu, tell my child not to eat sugar”. Gandhiji asked the woman to leave and come back in thirty days. She agreed returning in 30 days with her son. “We are back Bapu”, she said, “please tell my son not…
This was about a scientist who was studying the behavior of caterpillars. He took a flowerpot and placed a number of caterpillars in single-file around the circumference of the pot’s rim. Each caterpillar’s head touched the caterpillar in front of it. He then placed the caterpillars’ favorite food in the middle of the circle created…
A young girl and her father were walking along a forest path. At some point, they came across a large tree branch on the ground in front of them. The girl asked her father, “If I try, do you think I could move that branch?” Her father replied, “I am sure you can, if you…
There is this story about a time when Mark Twain caught pneumonia. When the doctor visited, he saw Mark Twain smoking a cigar. He asked, “How many of those do you smoke each day?” Twain said, “Oh, about a dozen or so.” And the doctor said, “I see a bottle of whiskey. How much do…
Colin Wilson, the prolific and influential British writer, was born to working-class parents from a relatively poor community in Britain. Although his ambition was to become the next Albert Einstein, he was forced to quit school at age sixteen. Working as a laboratory assistant, he fell into despair and decided to end his own life…
“An 85-year-old man went fishing in Louisiana. When he was winding up, he caught a frog. He was just about to release it into the marsh again, when the frog spoke. “Just kiss me passionately,” it said, “and I will turn into a beautiful young woman.” The old man inspected the frog for a long…
There is something profound we can learn from the way the Chinese bamboo tree grows: You take a little seed, plant it, water it, and fertilize it for a whole year, and nothing happens other than a tiny shoot, poking its head up from the ground.
Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment in NYC. She wasn’t too young or too old, not too short or too tall, not particularly beautiful nor ugly. She was just an average woman. She worked as a secretary at a large company, and her life was pretty much boring and mundane.
There was a small boy who when walking down the street one day found a bright copper penny. He was so excited that he found money and it didn’t cost him anything. This experience led him to spend the rest of his days walking with his head down, eyes wide open, looking for wealth.
A man was walking down the road with his 8 year old son. As they were walking, they heard the sounds of a dog whining. They looked around and they saw a big brown dog whining loudly. The boy, intrigued and concerned asked his father, “Dad, why is that dog making those noises?” “It’s whining,…
Very recently, a poet named Chanie Gorkin wrote a very interesting and inspiring poem. The poem went viral on the net, unfortunately without attribution to Chanie. Here it is.. Today was the absolute worst day ever And don’t try to convince me that There’s something good in every day Because, when you take a closer…
There were three ships which were nearby when the Titanic sunk. One of them was known as the Sampson. It was 7 miles away from the Titanic and they saw the white flares signalling danger, but because the crew had been hunting seals illegally and didn’t want to be caught, they turned and went the…
There is a story about a man phoning Dr. Schuller… The man said, “It’s over. I’m finished. All my money has gone. I’VE LOST EVERYTHING.” Dr. Schuller asked, “Can you still see?” The man replied, “Yes, I can still see.” Dr. Schuller asked, “Can you still walk?” The man replied, “Yes, I can still walk.”…
A father left 17 Camels as an Asset for his three Sons. When the father passed away, his sons opened up the will. The will of the father stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels, the middle son should be given 1/3rd of 17 camels and the youngest son should be…
There was once a man who did a lot of penance, prayer and he obtained a boon from God. A boon of a conch. Whatever he asked, the conch would give him. This was the boon. The man was so satisfied to meet God that even though he had the conch, he never asked it…
This story is about a beautiful, rich lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt her whole life was empty; it had no meaning. So the counselor called the lady who cleaned the office floors, and then said to the lady, “I am going to ask Beatrice here to tell you how she found…
It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry. The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to…
Maya Angelou is a famed American poet and author. From the age of three to seven she was raised by her grandmother, a period of calm and stability in what would be a very traumatic childhood. Grandma ran a general store and one thing that riled her was people complaining. They’d complain about the heat,…
A long time ago there was a great Shah. He ordered to build a beautiful palace which had many wonderful things in it. Among other curiosities in the palace there was a hall, where all the walls, the ceiling, the door and even the floor were made of mirror. The mirrors were so clear and…
In ancient times, the Creator wanted to hide something from the humans until they were ready to see it. He gathered all the other creatures of creation to ask for their advice. The eagle said, “Give it to me and I will take it to the highest mountain in all the land,” but the Creator…
In a forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth. She finds a remote grass field near a strong-flowing river. This seems a safe place. Suddenly labour pains begin. At the same moment, dark clouds gather around above and lightning starts a forest fire. She looks to her left and sees a hunter with his…
Once upon a time there was a young stone cutter who looked with envy upon the rich merchant who employed him. One day he was muttering to himself about what it would be like to have such freedom and power when, to his amazement, an angel appeared and spoke the words “You are what you…
A man was complaining to a sage about the troubles and problems in his life. “Sometimes I wonder if they will ever end. Most of the time they are not big, they are only irritants. Yet I am not at peace. Will I ever be free of them?” he asked. “Perhaps these irritants will remain,”…
Many years ago, a man was sitting in quiet contemplation by a riverbank when he was disturbed by a beggar from the local village. “Where is the stone?” the beggar demanded. “I must have the precious stone!” The man smiled up at him. “What stone do you seek?”
One day a young Buddhist on his journey home, came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he…
There once lived a farmer. He had a son and a horse. One day the horse ran away and the neighbours came to the farmer to console him “What bad luck that your horse has run away!” The farmer said “Who knows whether it’s good luck or bad luck?” “Of course it’s bad luck!” said…