INSPIRATIONAL STORIES

10. The Elephant Rope (Belief)

A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants
weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains. All that was holding them
back from escaping the camp, was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs.
As the man gazed upon the elephants, he was completely confused as to why the
elephants didn’t just use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They
could easily have done so, but instead, they didn’t try to at all.

Curious and wanting to know the answer, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants
were just standing there and never tried to escape.

The trainer replied;

“when they are very young and

much smaller we use the same
size rope to tie them and, at that
age, it’s enough to hold them. As
they grow up, they are
conditioned to believe they
cannot break away. They believe
 the rope can still hold them, so
they never try to break free.”
The only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping from the camp
was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible.

Moral of the story: No matter how much the world tries to hold you back, always
continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible. Believing you can
become successful is the most important step in actually achieving it.

9. Thinking Out of the Box (Creative Thinking)

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large
sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy
that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he
owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could
marry the businessman’s daughter. Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look
of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a

bag, one white and one black.
The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was
black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white,
the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn’t have to marry the loan-shark.
Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent
over and picked up two pebbles. Whilst he was picking them up, the daughter noticed
that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag.
He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

1. Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.

2. Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
3. Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for
her father’s freedom.
She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it
into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark;

“Oh, how clumsy of me. Never

mind, if you look into the bag for
the one that is left, you will be
able to tell which pebble I
picked.”
The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to
be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and
clear her father’s debt.

Moral of the story: It’s always possible to overcome a tough

situationthroughout of the box thinking, and not give in to the only options you think
you have to pick from.

8. The Group of Frogs (Encouragement)

As a group of frogs was traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep
pit. When the other frogs crowded around the pit and saw how deep it was, they told the
two frogs that there was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs decided to ignore what the others were saying and they
proceeded to try and jump out of the pit. Despite their efforts, the group of
frogs at the top of the pit were still saying that they should just give up. That they would
never make it out.
Eventually, one of the frogs took heed to what the others were saying and he gave up,
falling down to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Again,
the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs
said, “Did you not hear us?”
The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were
encouraging him the entire time.
Moral of the story: People’s words can have a big effect on other’s lives.
Think about what you say before it comes out of your mouth. It might just be the
difference between life and death.

7. A Pound of Butter (Honesty)

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided
to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the right amount, which he wasn’t. Angry
about this, he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure to weight the butter. The
farmer replied, “Honor, I am primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a
scale.”

The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”

The farmer replied;

“Your Honor, long before the

baker started buying butter from
me, I have been buying a pound
loaf of bread from him. Every day
when the baker brings the bread,
I put it on the scale and give him
the same weight in butter. If
anyone is to be blamed, it is the
baker.”
Moral of the story: In life, you get what you give. Don’t try and cheat others.
6. The Obstacle In Our Path (Opportunity)

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and
watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s
wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them
did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the
boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the road.
After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the
road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note
from the King explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from
the roadway.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle we come across in life gives us

an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and whilst the lazy
complain, the others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity,
and willingness to get things done.

5. The Butterfly (Struggles)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and
watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little
hole. Until it suddenly stopped making any progress and looked like it
was stuck.
So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the
remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen
body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn’t think anything of it and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to
support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable
to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body.

Despite the kind heart of the man, he didn’t understand that the restricting
cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small opening;
were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. To prepare
itself for flying once it was out of the cocoon.
Moral of the story: Our struggles in life develop our strengths.
Without struggles, we never grow and never get stronger, so it’s important for us to
tackle challenges on our own, and not be relying on help from others.

4. Control Your Temper (Anger)

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him
a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail
into the fence.

On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence.
The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the
number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. He discovered it
was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence.
Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the
news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept
his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails
were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

“you have done well, my son, but

look at the holes in the fence.
The fence will never be the same.
When you say things in anger,
they leave a scar just like this
one. You can put a knife in a man
and draw it out. It won’t matter
how many times you say I’m
sorry, the wound is still there.”
Moral of the story: Control your anger, and don’t say things to people in the heat
of the moment, that you may later regret. Some things in life, you are unable
to take back.

3. The Blind Girl (Change)

There was a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind. The only
person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She
said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see
everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see
the world, will you marry me?”
The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to
marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

Moral of the story: When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some
people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to
appreciate them. There are many things to take away from this story, not just one.
This is one of the inspirational short stories that left me speechless.

2. Puppies for Sale (Understanding)

A shop owner placed a sign above his door that said: “Puppies For Sale.”

Signs like this always have a way of attracting young children, and to no surprise, a boy
saw the sign and approached the owner; “How much are you going to sell
the puppies for?” he asked.
The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”

The little boy pulled out some change from his pocket. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I
please look at them?”

The shop owner smiled and whistled. Out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the
aisle of his shop followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.

One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the
lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”

The shop owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had
discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to
buy.”
The shop owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll
just give him to you.”

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his
finger, and said;
 “I don’t want you to give him to
me. That little dog is worth every
bit as much as all the other dogs
and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll
give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents
a month until I have him paid
for.”
The shop owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never
going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly
twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the shop
owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need
someone who understands!”

1. Box Full of Kisses (Love)

Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold
wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to
decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This
is for you, Daddy.”
The man became embarrassed by his overreaction earlier, but his rage continue when
he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you give
someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried;

“Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all.

I blew kisses into the box.
They’re all for you, Daddy.”
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her
forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child.

Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was
discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child
who had put it there.

Moral of the story: Love is the most precious gift in the world.

Summary of the 10 Best Inspirational Stories

1. Box Full of Kisses (Love)
2. Puppies for Sale (Understanding)
3. The Blind Girl (Change)
4. Control Your Temper (Anger)
5. The Butterfly (Struggles)
6. The Obstacle in Our Path (Opportunity)
7. A Pound of Butter (Honesty)
8. The Group of Frogs (Encouragement)
9. Thinking Out of the Box (Creative Thinking)
10. The Elephant Rope (Belief)
Thanks for reading these inspirational short stories. Some of them left me speechless
for a minute or two, and it really does make us think.

If you know of any other inspirational short stories that you think should be featured on
the list, then let me know in the comments below or drop me an email and I’ll feature
them in part two later on in the year.

Which are your favorite inspirational short stories?

Leave a comment below.
RELATED TOPICS:BEST INSPIRATIONAL BOOKSINSPIRATIONAL QUOTESWEALTHY GORILLA

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12 Reasons to Stop Eating Sugar All the Time

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5 Genuine Reasons to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Dan Western
Dan Western is the founder of Wealthy Gorilla. Dan is a young ambitious guy who has
been researching self-development for the past two years and is now off travelling the
world. His mission is to inspire others to live their dreams and be the person to whom
they say; "Because of you, I never gave up." Join Wealthy Gorilla on Facebook.

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MISCELLANEOUS QUOTES

30 Positive Thinking Quotes to Overcome

Negativity
Published
4 months ago
on
Jun 19, 2018
By
Dan Western
Today, in the world that we live in, there are a lot more people thinking negatively than
there are thinking positively.

It’s sad really, that so many people are depressed with their lives; most of them
because they just can’t quite see how great their lives would actually be if they changed
their attitude and the way they think.

I’ve compiled a list of 30 positive thinking quotes, which you should definitely
read to destroy and overcome negativity within you. It amazing how much of an affect
quotes can have on someone’s mindset.

30 Positive Thinking Quotes

It may only take 1 of these positive thinking quotes to completely change your attitude
about things. Only 1. But I can’t tell you which one that may be.

Sometimes certain words speak to certain people. Enjoy:

1. “Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” –
Maya Angelou
2. “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always
to try just one more time.” – Thomas Edison
3. “We are all here for some special reason. Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become
the architect of your future.” – Robin Sharma
4. “I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.” – Muhammad Ali
5. “There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference.
The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.” –
W. Clement Stone
6. “The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.” –
Unknown
7. “Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” –
Michael Landon
8. “With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or
treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an
obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer
9. “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn
bushes have roses.” – Abraham Lincoln

10th of 30 Positive Thinking Quotes

“Minds are like flowers,
they only open when the
time is right.” – Stephen
Richards
11. “Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the
problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a
problem and turned it into an opportunity.” – Joseph Sugarman
12. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have
any.” – Alice Walker
13. “The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely
changing his attitude.” – Oprah Winfrey
14. “Take chances, make mistakes. That’s how you grow. Pain nourishes your courage.
You have to fail in order to practice being brave.” – Mary Tyler Moore
15. “The next time you feel slightly uncomfortable with the pressure in your life,
remember no pressure, no diamonds. Pressure is a part of success.” – Eric
Thomas
16. “All things are difficult before they are easy.” – Thomas Fuller
17. “Being miserable is a habit; being happy is a habit, and the choice is yours.” –
Tom Hopkins
18. “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I
needed to be.” – Douglas Adams
19. “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” – Mark
Twain
20. “Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power
to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead,
tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in
it.” – Groucho Marx

21st of 30 Positive Thinking Quotes

21. “When we are no longer
able to change a situation,
we are challenged to
change ourselves.” –
Viktor Frankl
22. “You must make a decision that you are going to move on. It wont happen
automatically. You will have to rise up and say, ‘I don’t care how hard this is, I don’t care
how disappointed I am, I’m not going to let this get the best of me. I’m moving on with
my life.” – Joel Osteen
23. “If someone tells you, “You can’t” they really mean, “I can’t.” – Sean
Stephenson
24. “If you want light to come into your life, you need to stand where it is shining.” –
Guy Finley
25. “The past has no power over the present moment.” – Eckhart Tolle
26. “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais Nin
27. “The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.” –
Robert H Schuller
28. “I am thankful for all those who said no to me. It’s because of them I’m doing it
myself.” – Albert Einstein
29. “Always think extra hard before crossing over to a bad side, if you were weak
enough to cross over, you may not be strong enough to cross back!” – Victoria
Addino
30. “You will evolve past certain people. Let yourself.” – Mandy Hale

Summary
I hope you enjoyed these 30 positive thinking quotes. Please don’t forget to share them
with your friends and family by dropping them an email or sharing on Facebook, Twitter
etc. Especially if you think today is a day that they will need to see these.

Stay positive!

Which were your favorite positive thinking quotes?

Leave a comment below.
CONTINUE READING

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Should Your Self-Improvement Start With

You?
Published
7 months ago
on
Mar 11, 2018
By
Alex Moore
The world’s perception of human psychology has changed and evolved a lot during the
last couple of decades.

However, in spite of all this knowledge, a lot of people still mistakenly believe that self-
improvement means reading a few books and then starting to change your life on your
own. But the truth is that the discussion is a lot more nuanced than that.

Personal development can be pursued in a variety of ways, from joining support groups
to following positive examples from your peers and so on. There are as many
alternatives as there are people in the world, and we all have some sort of untapped
potential just waiting to be explored.

The Reality of Being a Better You

It’s no secret that popular culture has been promoting the ‘better you’ concept for so
long, it has now become a cliché of sorts.

And according to common myths on the topic, being the ultimate version of yourself
means always performing bigger and better than others, and doing it constantly.
However, such misconceptions are more of a drawback than anything else.
Buying into the generalizations and stereotypes sold by many self-proclaimed self-help
experts can lead to massive burnouts caused by an excessive drive to always best
other in everything.

In reality, self-improvement doesn’t imply anything of the sort. In order to not allow this
way of thinking to harm your progress, you need to come to terms with the actual facts.

Although it is mostly true that any change, no matter how small, should come from
inside you, it shouldn’t become a ‘me against the rest of the world’ type of endeavor.

This is a widely-encountered misconception that is, unfortunately, a clear recipe for

disaster in most cases, and here’s why.

Constant rivalry brings nothing but trouble. Thus, instead of competing with others and
constantly comparing yourself to them, you should try to learn from them. Other people
who are in a similar position as yourself should be your allies, not your enemies. It’s
easy to forget this when you’re faced with a challenge, so make a mental note of it right
now.

Self-Improvement and Mental Illness

Although just about anyone can benefit from the positive effects of personal growth, it’s
no secret that mental illness patients are one of the risk groups who need it most.

Regardless of whether you’re dealing with anxiety, clinical depression or

even borderline schizophrenia symptoms, taking control of the situation on
your own is a great source of comfort.
Due to this, self-improvement can be truly beneficial for those trying to come to terms
with their disorders, especially when said disorders pertain to matters of the mind. And
the first step lies in identifying your problems. What drives your negative behaviors and
patterns of thought?

After you discover that, it’s a lot easier to pursue change.

Although medical resources in this area are scarce at the moment, there are still some
out there that you can try. For example, Mental Health America has plenty of self-help
tools readily available for those who struggle with poor mental health and want to
pursue change on their own terms. They come in the form of worksheets, actionable
plans and so on.
Nevertheless, this doesn’t need to start with you, and you don’t have to go at it alone.
While it’s important that you keep the personal focus on this journey, there are external
factors which can help you go through such a major development. In fact, studies
show that joining self-help groups can be an important ally for anyone in this battle.
Participants’ tendencies for substance abuse and overall symptoms reduced in intensity
over time thanks to this type of therapy, and so did the rate of hospitalization among
them. This goes to show that self-improvement is something that can be externally
motivated as well, and said motivation can be anyone: a friend, a family member, a
partner or another group member.

How It Improves Your Life

So far, we’ve established how important taking control of your life can be when you
struggle with mental illness, but also in general.

There are many ways in which self-improvement truly does a lot to change your life
and pave your way towards success. Here are the most important three benefits of
undertaking such an endeavor.

1. Self-Esteem Boost
When you’ve become determined to believe in yourself and your goals, beautiful things
can happen. One of them is the fact that your self-esteem will grow before your very
eyes. And motivation can come from anything: a book, a colleague or even your favorite
TV show.

Use your surroundings as an example worth following and your dreams will become
attainable.

2. Stability and Success

Setting yourself up for success every day from the moment you wake up until you
go back to sleep is a classic and essential approach, but it’s also one that becomes
impossible when your ambitions are low.
To begin following a steady route in life, you will need to welcome the power of self-
improvement and accept that there are a lot of things that lead to it.

3. New Opportunities
When you’re stuck in a toxic loop, good things tend to avoid you because of your
mindset. But when you open yourself to change and allow your mind to flourish and
expand past its previous limitations, that’s when new opportunities appear as well.

Once they do, don’t be afraid to take them. It will be scary at first, but it will also be
worth it in the long run.

Being brave enough to seize the day is one of the most important qualities a successful
person can have. So, if that’s your goal, then you need to work hard for it and not let
any sort of adversity bring you down.

The path towards becoming a better you is a rocky one, but the final destination will
take your breath away.

Summary
Self-improvement has the potential to make you more confident, stable and successful,
as well as open up a new world of amazing possibilities in front of your very eyes. But in
order for this to happen, you will need to find the proper motivation to regain control of
your life.

And while this certainly won’t be easy, the end results will be worth it.

CONTINUE READING

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Lunchtime Life Hacks: How to Improve

Your Life In 1 Hour
Published
7 months ago
on
Mar 2, 2018
By
Dan Western
For most of us, the non-eating portion of our lunch hour typically consists of browsing
through forums and news sites, making small talk with colleagues or staring at our
phone.

In truth, all that time squandered adds up. What could you do to improve your life and
emotional well-being if you devoted just one hour a day to it?

Snowy was a beautiful little pony.

Since the day she was born, she had wanted to be a show jumping pony, just like her mother and
every day she would pester her mother to be allowed to jump.

Eventually, Snowy’s mum decided that she was big enough and they went into the jumping arena
together for the first time.

Snowy was very excited, but when she saw how big the jumps were, she starting shaking.

“I don’t think that this is a good idea. I could never jump that high. I think that we had better leave.”
She said.

Snowy’s mum smiled and said, “I wouldn’t expect you to start that high. There’s a log on the ground
over there, why don’t you start jumping over that.”

Snowy was a little bit scared at first, but she took a deep breath, cantered over to the log and jumped
over it.

“I did it!” She exclaimed.

Soon Snowy became an expert at jumping over logs, but her mum said to her, “You can’t jump over
logs if you want to be a show jumper. Try that low jump over there.”

Again, Snowy was nervous, but she gave it a go and found that she could do it.

As the weeks and months went on, Snowy progressed to taller obstacles, until eventually, she entered
the arena and looked at the tallest jumps that her mum was able to clear with ease.

Over the past few weeks, something had changed.

These jumps didn’t look as high.

They were much less scary.

They looked achievable.

Snowy’s mum looked with pride at her daughter and said, “See how far you’ve come? What once
seemed impossibly huge now seems much smaller. This is what happens when you start small and
build your way up. What did you learn from this, Snowy?”

“Don’t give up too soon, but start small and keep trying.”

“That’s right darling, if you can remember that, you’ll be able to do anything.”

And she did.

This story is for my beautiful daughter Madison, who turns 9 today, along with her brother, Logan.

I hope that she always remembers not to be daunted by life’s many challenges, but to start at the
beginning and work her way up from there.