You Want Me to do What?

A majority of people think about getting by on mediums the best they can. It's getting through the day however possible. It's waiting on a check, making plans to watch the latest Netflix hit, looking forward to Saturday night, going out to dinner. They are a mirror of their thoughts and most people are looking for ways to save money instead of earning money. 

We are a mirror of our thoughts

When I was a kid and got a hole in my pants, we wouldn't get a new pair of well fitting jeans but rather we patched the hole, which was our thought processes. We thought in terms of patching the hole. We also thought in ways of putting $5 worth of gas in the tank, not a fill-up. These were our thought processes and consequently, that was what we had.

Ask and ye shall receive

But across the board of religions, philosophies and history, there is one constant truth all agree on. From King Solomon, Buddha, Jesus, Rome, Shakespeare, Aristotle, Emmerson and modern 21st century science, all are in agreement about one particular principle: As you think, so shall you become. 

We become what we think about

I bargained with life for a penny

and life would pay no more,

However I begged at evening

When I counted my scanty store.

For life is a just employer,

he gives you what you ask,

But once you have set the wages,

Why, you must bear to task.

I worked for a menials hire,

Only to learn, dismayed,

That any  wage I had asked of life,

Life would have willingly paid.

-Jesse B. Rittenhouse

Diamonds Revisited

 What if...?

Russell Conwell

Russell H. Conwell was a lawyer, writer and minister and was approached by young people who wanted a college education but lacked the money. He began to imagine ways in which poor but deserving people could get an education and this led to the founding of Temple University.

Upon barnstorming the country for investors for his idea, Conwell used the story of "Acres of Diamonds", which is a true story he learned of during his travels in the middle east. 

Acres of Diamonds

Ali Hafed was a wealthy land owner in possession of a large ranch filled with livestock and he increasingly heard stories about people who had discovered diamonds on the continent who subsequently became very  wealthy. Ali decided he too wanted to own a diamond mine so he sold all his property and livestock to set out in search of the precious gems. 

He searched years for diamonds and after traveling three continents and spending his entire fortune on his endeavor, he never found the object of his desire. Finally completely broke and despondent he tragically took his own life.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch, (the one that Hafed sold) the new owner was working in the field one day and while watering his livestock a shiny rock caught his eye and he reached in, picked it up, and was impressed by this glistening crystal. He hefted it up and down, about the size of a baseball, cleaned it up and placed the curio on his fireplace mantel.

There it sat until a visiting friend asked him what it was and where he got it. "I found that crystal in a stream not far from here" he answered, "and there are other smaller ones scattered about."

The man nearly fainted, "This is no crystal" he said. "This is a diamond!"

It turned out that the ranch was filled with diamonds and eventually became Golconda Diamond Mine, one of the worlds most productive mines whose booty decorated the crowns of heads of state worldwide.

It turns out that Ali Hafed, the original rancher, owned free and clear, acres of diamonds but gave them all up to search for them elsewhere. If he had simply taken the time to explore his own land, learned everything he could about diamonds and what they looked like in their rough state, he would have found what he was looking for right under his feet.

The moral of the story is fairly obvious. Right now we are all standing on our own acres of diamonds. If we were to explore the work in which we are now engaged, learn everything we can about it, then we may find our own riches, whatever they are. 

We're standing on our own acres of diamonds

So often people never stick to one thing long enough to find success and are often looking to other's professions. The grass seems greener on the other side of the fence but if the grass is greener, it may be because he or she is taking better care of it. It could also be that our neighbor is looking towards ours and thinking the same thing.

It could also be that we are only giving a halfhearted effort in applying ourselves to the work we've chosen. What woukd happen if we gave it all we've got? Imagine the possibilities.