The Guru’s Directions: A Story About Success

A man met a guru. The man asked the guru - ‘Which way should I go to achieve success?’ 

The robed, bearded sage said nothing, but he pointed to a place in the distance. 

The man, thrilled by the prospect of quick and easy success, rushed in the appropriate direction. 

Suddenly, there came a loud ‘Splat.’ 

Soon, the man limped back, tattered and stunned, assuming he must have misinterpreted the 

message. He repeated his question to the guru. ‘Which way should I go to achieve success?’ The 

guru again pointed silently in the same direction. 

The man obediently walked off once more. This time the ‘splat’ was deafening. 

When the man crawled back, he was bloody, broken, tattered, and irate. 

‘I asked you which way I should go to achieve success,’ he screamed at the guru. 

‘I followed the direction you gave me, and all I got was splatted! 

No more of this pointing! Talk! ’ 

Only then did the guru speak. What he said was: 

‘Success is that way. Just a little past splat.’ 

The Woodcutter’s Axe: A Story About Being Busy

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it.
The pay was really good and so were the work conditions and for that reason, the woodcutter
was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was to work and the first day,
the woodcutter cut down 18 trees.

‘Congratulations,’ the boss said. ‘Go on that way! ’

Very motivated for the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could
cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only could cut down 10 trees. Day
after day he was cutting less and less trees.

‘I must be losing my strength,’ the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologised,
saying that he could not understand what was going on.

‘When was the last time you sharpened your axe?’ the boss asked.

‘Sharpen! I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut down trees.’

Life gets like that. Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t take time to ‘sharpen the axe.’

Which Wolf Will Win?

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, ‘A fight is going on inside me ... it is a terrible fight and it is between two
wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,
friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside
you, and inside every other person, too.’

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf will
win?’

The old Cherokee simply replied . . . ‘The one you feed.’ 

The King’s Picture Of Peace: A Story About Calming The Heart

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of 
peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really
liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains
were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture
thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky
from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a
foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind
the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her
nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect
peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know
why?

‘Because’ explained the King, ‘peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise,
trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your
heart. That is the real meaning of peace.’ 

Punching The Balloon Clown: A Story About Bouncing Back

A father took his young son into a toy shop to give him a chance to look at some special gifts he
would like to receive from Santa Claus. The father told the boy to have a wander around on his
own for a few minutes to see what he would like. At the back of the shop, his young son found a
statue of a clown made out of lot of colourful balloons.

He looked at the balloon clown for a minute, and then he drew back his fist and hit him just as
hard as he could. The balloon clown fell back and hit the floor, then rocked backwards and
forwards and after a few seconds he stood upright again.

The confused boy backed off and looked at the balloon clown and then hit him again, as hard as
he could. The balloon clown fell back once more and hit the floor, but was soon standing upright
again.

The father saw his young son hit that balloon clown and asked, ‘Why do you think he comes
bouncing back up when you hit him and knock him down?’

The boy thought for a minute and said, ‘I don’t know Dad, I guess it’s because he’s standing up
on the inside.’ 

Merlin The Magician: The Magic Of Believing Story

Once upon a time, there was a young man who dreamed of becoming a knight for
King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.

Before he could become a knight, he had to pass one last test - he had to slay a dragon.

The young man was scared to death.

He asked one of the knights what he should do about his tremendous fear.

This knight advised him to see Merlin the Magician because Merlin had a magic sword.

When the young man told Merlin about his problem, Merlin went to his back room and brought
out a beautiful, gilded sword.

Merlin then instructed him, “This sword is magic and the day that you go out to slay your
dragon, come see me and I will give you this magic sword. But make sure that your scabbard is
empty. And remember that this sword only works its magic if you are in danger.”

One week later, the would-be knight returned. He was dressed for battle and, as Merlin
instructed, his scabbard was empty.

As Merlin went to the back room again, he told the young man to close his eyes.

Then Merlin returned and put the sword into his scabbard.

As the young man left. Merlin reminded him, “This sword will only work its magic if you are in
danger.”

The young man, now more confident, rode his horse out onto the plains where he confronted his
dragon.

It was a fierce battle. The dragon was breathing fire. The dragon’s tail knocked the young man
off his trusty steed.

The young man was on the ground and the dragon came in for the kill.

Just at that moment, the young man remembered about the magic sword. He took the sword out
of his scabbard and started slashing the dragon’s legs.

The dragon was hurt and fell down. The young man jumped onto the dragon and put the sword
into the dragon’s heart and killed the dragon.

The young man returned home victorious.

The first person he went to see was Merlin.

He told Merlin about how the magic sword saved his life.

As he took it out of his scabbard to return it, he looked at it in amazement. “Merlin this isn’t the
same sword you showed me last week. This isn’t the beautiful, gilded magic sword. It’s just an
ordinary sword!”

Merlin nodded and said, “There is no magic sword. The magic is believing.” 

Zen Martial Arts Academy Training Story

A young boy travelled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist.

When he arrived at the dojo, he was given an audience with the sensei.

“What do you wish from me?” the master of the zen martial arts academy asked.

“I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land,” the boy said.

“How long must I train?”

“Ten years at least,” the master replied.

“Ten years is a long time,” said the boy. “What if I studied twice as hard as all your other
students?”

“Twenty years,” replied the master.

“Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all of my effort?”

“Thirty years,” was the master’s reply.

“How is it that every time I tell you I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” said
the boy.

“The answer is clear. When you have one eye fixed upon your destination,
there is only one eye left with which to find the way.”