Interesting Anecdotes

[Russellhaj]

""Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.[/QUOTE]

Very Nice one !! " Belive in your self, that's the place to start"

[Bipolar]

The Business Man and His Lesson...
A business man was deep in debt and just couldn't see a way out. His creditors were closing in on him, the phone wouldn't stop ringing with demands for payment and he couldn't pay. One day, he went to the park and sat on a bench, wondering if life was worth living, if he should just give up and declare bankruptcy.
That was when an old man with a kind face walked over to him.
“Oh my, something is troubling you isn't it?" he said.
The business man, deep in his despair, told the kind old man his troubles.
“I believe I can help you.” Said the old man, and he reached into his pocket and dug out a checkbook.
old manHe asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and put it in his hand.
“Take this money and meet me here in exactly one year from today, that is when you can pay it back to me.”
He turned and vanished as quickly as he had appeared
The business man saw in his hand a check for $1,000,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, who was, back then, one of the richest men in the world!
“My problems are over," cried the businessman in relief, "I can pay my debts!"
He kept telling himself he will use the check, but instead, he put it in a safe and decided to try and handle his financial problems on his own. Just knowing that he can always use the check gave him the determination toork out a way to save his business.
With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the un-cashed check.
At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.
“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried.
“I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”
And she led the old man away by the arm.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.
Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

I remember reading a very similar short story somewhere - I can't remember the name of the story or the author, would be grateful if anyone can tell me.

It was a story about a small town where the local economy had been doing very badly for a few years, many small businesses in the town were just barely surviving, the people in the town were feeling depressed, because their situation appeared hopeless, etc.

Then a guy comes along to the local car showroom, and places an order for two very expensive cars - a Rolls Royce and a Bentley car - to be delivered to him at the end of the month. The owner of the showroom is extremely surprised, and pleased, as his business was doing poorly for the last few years, but now with two expensive cars to be sold, he is going to get a significant payment at the end of the month. When he gets home, he shares the news with his wife. She is also pleased, and decides to order some new furniture for their home. In turn, when she places the order for the new furniture, the guy at the furniture shop is now pleased - he too can expect a significant amount of cash for his business as a result of this order. He then goes out to make a purchase of his own - etc. This stimulates the town's economy, and over the following month things improve significantly. The cash starts flowing around, and people start to feel more positive, more cheerful, less depressed, etc. The twist at the end is - the guy who placed the original order for the expensive cars - which was the original "stimulus" for the town's economy - is a psychiatric patient, so he had no intention of buying the cars, and cannot pay for the cars. Still, the owner of the car showroom is now in a position where he can sell the cars to other interested buyers. He is grateful to the psychiatric patient for "saving" their town.

Anyone remember reading that story anywhere? Would be grateful if you can remember the details of the story title and author...

[NOV]

14 very short stories worth reading, feeling and forwarding to all those dear to you...

1. Fall and Rise
Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground. He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago .

2. A father's advice
Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try! You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product. Amateurs started Google and Apple. Professionals built the Titanic

3. The power of uniqueness.
Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success. He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.

4. Looking Back
Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class. When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.

5. Try and U shall know
I am blind by birth. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to play baseball. I asked my father- "Dad, can I play baseball?" He said "You'll never know until you try." When I was a teenager, I asked him, - "Dad Can I become a surgeon?". He replied "Son, you'll never know until you try." Today I am a Surgeon, just because I tried!

6. GOODNESS & GRATITUDE
Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug. When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her. She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”

7. LOVE CONQUERS PAIN
Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying. And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

8. A DOOR CLOSES TO OPEN ANOTHER
Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job. I start tomorrow.

9. LOOKING BACK
Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

10. AFFECTION
Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed. About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

11. INNOCENCE
Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.” I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.

12. JOY
Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

13. KINDNESS
Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me. He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”.

14. SHARING
Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy. Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating. The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”
Cheers to life.

[NOV]

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.
So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.
The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors.
The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell u how she found happiness. All I want u to do is listen to her."
So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story:
"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody. I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months, I smiled.
Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, may be doing something for people could make me happy.
So, the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.
Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.
Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do.
I've found happiness, by giving it to others."
When she heard this, the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.
"The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; but on how happy others can be because of you..."
Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey.
Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now.
Happiness is not dependency, it is a decision.
Happiness is what you are, not what you have..

[NOV]

This is an actual letter sent to the DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) Immigration Minister. The Government tried desperately to censure the author, but got nowhere because every legal person who read it couldn't stop laughing!


Dear Mr Minister,

I'm in the process of renewing my passport, and still cannot believe this.

How is it that K-Mart has my address and telephone number, and knows that I bought a television set and golf clubs and what not from them back in 1997, and yet the Federal Government is still asking me where I was born and on what date?
For Christ sakes, do you guys do this by hand?

My birth date you have in my Medicare information, and it is on all the income tax forms I've filed for the past 40 years.
It is also on my driver's licence, on the last eight passports I've ever had, on all those stupid customs declaration forms I've had to fill out before being allowed off planes over the past 30 years.

It's also on all those insufferable census forms that I've filled out every 5 years since 1966.

Also... would somebody please take note, once and for all, that my mother's name is Audrey, my father's name is Jack, and I'd be absolutely bloody astounded if that ever changed between now and when I drop dead !!!

SHIT! What do you people do with all this information we keep having to provide?

I apologize, Mr. Minister. But I'm really pissed off this morning.
Between you and me, I've had enough of all this bullshit!

You send the application to my house, then you ask me for my bloody address!
What the hell is going on with your mob? Have you got a gang of mindless working there!

And another thing, look at my damn picture. Do I look like Bin Laden? I can't even grow a beard for God's sakes. I just want to go to New Zealand and see my new granddaughter. (Yes, my son interbred with a Kiwi girl). And would someone please tell me, why would you give a shit whether or not I plan on visiting a farm in the next 15 days? Well, I have to go now, 'cause I have to go to the other side of Sydney , and get another bloody copy of my birth certificate - and to part with another $80 for the privilege of accessing MY OWN INFORMATION!

Would it be so complicated to have all the services in the same spot, to assist in the issuance of a new passport on the same day?
No, that'd be too bloody easy and makes far too much sense.

You would much prefer to have us running all over the bloody place like chickens with our heads cut off, and then having to find some 'high-society' wanker to confirm that it's really me in the goddamn photo! You know the photo... the one where we're not allowed to smile?...you bloody morons.

Signed - An Irate Australian Citizen.

P.S. Remember what I said above about the picture, and getting someone in 'high-society' to confirm that it's me?
Well, my family has been in this country since before 1820! In 1856, one of my forefathers took up arms with Peter Lalor. (You do remember the Eureka Stockade!)

I have also served in both the CMF and regular Army for something over 30 years (I went to Vietnam in 1967), and still have high security clearances. I'm also a personal friend of the president of the RSL Lt General Peter Cosgrove sends me a Christmas card each year.

However, your rules require that I have to get someone "important" to verify who I am; you know...someone like my doctor - WHO WAS BORN AND RAISED IN PAKISTAN!...a country where they either assassinate or hang their ex-Prime Ministers
You are all pen-pushing paper-shuffling bloody idiots.

[NOV]

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said:
'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 year old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Ok and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of 2 babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'

The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be OK with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.'

The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point.

He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!

[NOV]

An anthropologist thought he would test these African children. He placed a bowl of fruit underneath a tree and told them that the first one to reach the tree could have the fruit.

When he told the children to run, they all took each others' hands and ran together. They all enjoyed the fruit together. This is the African concept of Ubuntu.

In my opinion, it is also why Africa is preyed upon by the vultures untamed and let loose by other cultures.

When asked why they didn't run the course alone, they answered, UBUNTU! How can we be happy when others are sad?

UBUNTU in Xhosa is roughly translated, "I am because we are."

[NOV]

[NOV]

A man was an avid Gardner..
Saw a small butterfly laying a few eggs in one of the pots in his garden. since that day he looked at the egg with ever growing curiosity and eagerness.
The egg started to move and shake a little. He was exited to see a new life coming up right in front of his eyes. He spent hours watching the egg now.

The egg started to expand and develop cracks.. A tiny head and antennae started to come out ever so slowly.

The man's excitement knew no bounds. He got his magnifying glasses and sat to watch the life and body of a pupa coming out.
He saw the struggle of the tender pupa and couldn't resist his urge to HELP.
He went and got a tender forceps to help the egg break, a nip here a nip there to help the struggling life.
And LOL, The pupa was out the man was ecstatic! He waited now each day for the pupa to grow and fly like a beautiful butterfly,

but Alas that never happened
the larvae pupa had a oversized head and kept crawling along in the pot for the full 4 weeks and died!

Depressed the man went to his botanist friend and asked the reason. His friend told him
the struggle to break out of the egg helps the larvae to send blood to its wings and the head push helps the head to remain small so that the tender wings can support it thru its 4 week life cycle, in his eagerness to help the man destroyed a beautiful life!

Struggles help all of us, that's why a wee bit of effort goes a long way to develop our strength to face life's difficulties!

[NOV]

An elderly Chinese woman had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which she carried across her neck.
One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.
At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.
Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.
But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself,because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old woman smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?"
"That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them."
"For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.
You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.
So, to all of my crackpot friends, have a great day and remember to smell the flowers on your side of the path.