Inspirational Teamwork Story - Tortoise And Hare

This is an age old fable of the tortoise and hare race. Everyone knows who won the race or do you? Well, recently I heard a new version of this story with a new twist. Read this inspirational teamwork story with lessons in teamwork from an age old fable.

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1. Once upon a time a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. The tortoise and hare both agreed on a route and started off the race. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ. The hare woke up and realised that he'd lost the race.

The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race. This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with.

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2. But then recently, someone told me a more interesting version of this tortoise and hare story. It continues.

The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul-searching. He realised that he'd lost the race only because he had been overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there's no way the tortoise could have beaten him. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed.

This time, the hare went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.

The moral of the story? Fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady. If you have two people in your organisation, one slow, methodical and reliable, and the other fast and still reliable at what he does, the fast and reliable chap will consistently climb the organisational ladder faster than the slow, methodical chap.

It's good to be slow and steady; but it's better to be fast and reliable.

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3. But the story doesn't end here. The tortoise did some thinking this time, and realised that there's no way he can beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. He thought for a while, and then challenged the hare to another race, but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. The tortoise and hare started off. In keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast, the hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometres on the other side of the river.

The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.

The moral of the story? First identify your core competency and then change the playing field to suit your core competency.

In an organisation, if you are a good speaker, make sure you create opportunities to give presentations that enable the senior management to notice you.

If your strength is analysis, make sure you do some sort of research, make a report and send it upstairs. Working to your strengths will not only get you noticed, but will also create opportunities for growth and advancement.

The story still hasn't ended.

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4. The tortoise and hare, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realised that the last race could have been run much better. So the tortoise and hare decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time.

They started off, and this time the hare carried the tortoise till the riverbank. There, the tortoise took over and swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the tortoise and they reached the finishing line together. Both the tortoise and hare felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they'd felt earlier.

The moral of the story? It's good to be individually brilliant and to have strong core competencies; but unless you're able to work in a team and harness each other's core competencies, you'll always perform below par because there will always be situations at which you'll do poorly and someone else does well.

Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership.

Focus on What you Want

Will Smith says:
“People ask me about racism in Hollywood.  Why would I acknowledge racism?  When you acknowledge the obstacle you actually give it power.  I want to walk through it.  I want to walk over it.  I want to walk around it.  So my preoccupation is with the power that we all possess individually.”

There are 3 steps:

1. Focus with clarity on the goal.
2. Imagine your goal as if it were already happening.
3. We commit ourselves to it. We know in our hearts that this will be. There is absolutely no doubt.

A quote from the movie The Pursuit of Happiness - "Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you can’t do something… not even me.  You got a dream...you gotta protect it.  People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it.  You want something?  Go get it.  Period."

The more you imagine your goal, the quicker you will accomplish it.

We'll See

Once upon a time, there was a farmer in the central region of China. He didn't have a lot of money and, instead of a tractor, he used an old horse to plow his field.
One afternoon, while working in the field, the horse dropped dead. Everyone in the village said, "Oh, what a horrible thing to happen." The farmer said simply, "We'll see." He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, gave him a new horse as a gift.

Everyone's reaction now was, "What a lucky man." And the farmer said, "We'll see."

A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, "What a poor fellow!"
The farmer smiled and said, "We'll see."

Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, "What a fortunate man."
The farmer said, "We'll see."

Later in the year, the farmer's young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, "What a shame for the poor boy."
The farmer said, "We'll see."

Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer's son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him.
Everyone said, "What a fortunate young man."
The farmer smiled again - and said "We'll see."

Moral of the story: There's no use in overreacting to the events and circumstances of our everyday lives. Many times what looks like a setback, may actually be a gift in disguise. And when our hearts are in the right place, all events and circumstances are gifts that we can learn valuable lessons from.

As Fra Giovanni once said:
"Everything we call a trial, a sorrow, or a duty, believe me... the gift is there and the wonder of an overshadowing presence."

Things Are Not Always Black or White

In life, a lesson learned in your past that you will never forget completely.

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson learned that day.

I was convinced that "I" was right and "he" was wrong - and he was just as convinced that "I" was wrong and "he" was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson. She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other.

In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White." It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side was it black.

My teacher taught me a very important lesson learned that day: You must stand in the other person’s shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective.

"I have learned more from my mistakes than from my successes." -- Humphrey Davy

Gratitude is the Best Attitude.

Someone once said that 'no duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks' and I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to everyone who has been following this blog for the past two months, you have made what I put on this blog all the more worthwhile. There is really nothing like gratitude unexpressed.  If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude so from the bootom of my heart I say thank you.   

I want to share some interesting facts about my postings : The first posting simply entitled 'Gratitude' has received 58% more page-views than the second most popular posting 'Think Different' so knowing that the topic of gratitude is one most of my readers like I have decided that I will be putting a lot more articles and quotes about gratitude on my blog.

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.” — Sarah Ban Breathnach

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

 Author Unknown

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say 'thank you?'"   -- William A. Ward

Top 10 Albert Einstein Quotes

Whether or not you're familiar with theories of relativity, quantum physics or relativistic cosmology, quotes by Albert Einstein can still be enjoyed by all.

And who knew Albert Einstein was such a funny guy? For example, "The wireless telegraph is not difficult to understand. The ordinary telegraph is like a very long cat. You pull the tail in New York, and it meows in Los Angeles. The wireless is the same, only without the cat."

And how about quotes by Albert Einstein on love? "Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves." Or are you looking for inspirational Albert Einstein quotes like, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

But here are 10 that really that really stand out for me:

1)  Intellectuals solve problems; geniuses prevent them.

2)  When the solution is simple, God is answering.

3)  Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.

4)  Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.

5)  If A equals success, then the formula is: A=X+Y+Z. X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut.

6)  Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it.

7)  Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others; it is the only means.

8)  The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a  society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

9)  The hardest thing in the world to understand is income tax.

And then one of my personal favourites;
10)  The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.

Habits of High Achievers

Aristotle said "We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”  High achievers have developed good habits such as goal setting, taking action and continuous improvement.  Build on on the success you have already achieved by improving at least one of the following:

1.  Conquer Fear
Fear is a goal stopper, think of the goals that you have set that you never achieved.  Think of how great it would be to achieve some of your goals in life.  Often we are afraid of the unknown.  If we learn to conquer our fear who knows what we could overcome.

2.  Eliminate Perfectionism
There is a healthy and unhealthy side to perfectionism.  The unhealthy side leads us punishing ourselves for things that we feel we did not do our best in.

3. End Procrastination
Stop talking and start doing, we can all set our goals and reset them over and over.  If we do this we will never get started. List your goals and stick to them.  There is no point lighting the fire if you are not going to keep it going.