  |
|
HOME Archives Subscription Money Chatter Services Advertise Area Rugs Iphone Shop Iphone Gossip Criticizing Power Selected Sites About Us Contact Terms and Conditions 
|
By Tatiana Velitchkov © 2002 Recently I came across this folktale from Switzerland, and it struck me how much we can learn from it as marketers and entrepreneurs. The tale is called "Stone Soup," and it goes like this: Once there was a traveler who reached a small village near a forest. There he met a woman, and he asked her if she could put him up for the night. The woman was rather rude, saying her cottage wasn't an inn, that they were living in hard times and she shouldn't be expected to feed a stranger when she couldn't even feed herself. But the traveler insisted and argued and begged, until finally the woman agreed to let him sleep on her wooden floor. At the cottage the traveler realized the woman wasn't as bad off as she said she was, but probably only saw things that way. So the traveler said, "You told me that you couldn't possibly feed me, since you hadn't had a bite all day, yourself. So in return for your shelter I will cook a meal for us both. All I would need is some water and a metal pot." The woman was surprised. "A meal for us both? And how would you do that, when you don't have any food?" "My dear woman," said the traveler, "There are many things I have learned from my travels, and one of them is how to make soup from stone." At that he took out a smooth clean stone out of his pocket. The woman was curious -- she wanted to learn how to make soup from stone, too. So she set a metal pot onto her stove and filled it with water. The traveler turned the stone over 3 times in his hand, dropped it into the pot, and started stirring. "You can really make soup from nothing but stone?" the woman asked as she watched. "Certainly!" said the traveler. "The finest soup you've ever tasted. But I've been using this stone for a week now, so our soup may come out a little thin. Now if only we had some flour or ground oatmeal to add, it would be a great deal better. But then, it's no use thinking about things we don't have." The woman thought for a while then said, "Wait, I just might have some flour somewhere." And when she came back she had more than a cup of the finest flour. The traveler sprinkled the flour into the soup, then went on stirring. "This soup is coming along nicely," he said, "and if only I had a few potatoes and a bit of salted beef to add, it would even be good enough for guests! But it's no use thinking about things we don't have." The woman was silent for a while, and then remembered a place where she could find some potatoes and a bit of beef. She ran to get them and gave them to the traveler, who went on stirring and stirring. "If only we had a little barley and a drop of milk," said the traveler, "we could invite the king himself to eat with us! In fact, I know from his cook that he eats this very soup every evening." "My goodness! The king himself!" cried the woman, growing more and more excited. "But it's no use thinking about things we don't have," said the traveler. "Wait, wait just a minute," said the woman, and sure enough, she did have some barley and more than enough milk. The traveler stirred and stirred and stirred. Suddenly, he reached down to the bottom of the pot, caught up the stone and said, "It's ready! Now we'll have a real feast, just like the king and queen. Of course, with Stone Soup the king and queen always have sandwiches and good red wine. And they always have a tablecloth on the table -- But then, it's no use thinking about things we don't have." Well, by this time the woman was feeling very grand. Whatever was good enough for the king and queen was good enough for her! So she ran to the cupboard and brought out a wine bottle & glasses, bread & butter, cheese, smoked beef, and veal. The table could hardly hold it all! Never in her life had the woman eaten such a feast or tasted such rich and delicious soup -- and just think, it was all made from a stone! They ate and they drank and drank and ate, until they had their fill. And when they finally got sleepy and the traveler was about to lie down on the floor, the woman said, "No, no! Such a grand person must surely have a bed to sleep in." "You are too kind," said the traveler. "In all my travels I have never met a more gracious woman." And he lay down in the soft bed and fell fast asleep. When the traveler awoke the next morning, the woman gave him coffee and bread, and as he was leaving she handed him a shiny gold coin. "Thank you, thank you so much for what you've taught me," she said. "Now I shall always live in comfort, for I have learned how to make soup with a stone." (Retold from the original folk tale as it appears on stonesoup.com.) So as marketers and entrepreneurs, what lessons could we learn from this story? - That we could always discover new resources & ideas when we really set our minds to finding them? - That no matter how bad things seem to be, we can always decide to change our outlook and view the same world with different eyes? - That even if we had nothing but a stone left to our names, we can still have the power to make our dreams come true? - Or maybe we've found other lessons of our own -- maybe three or four or even seven more of them -- and it amazes us that we've never thought of them before! This story, like many others, drives home the fact that only one thing is certain in this world: that WE control our destiny, and WE make the decisions that will determine the quality of our lives. I believe in this truth so much, in fact, that it led me to create the newsletter of my dreams: The Fortunes Weekly Ezine, where I invite everyone to join me as we all "Follow Our Dreams and Make Our Fortune!" (You can check it out at www.TakeYourFortune.com) The reason I created this ezine (and why I told you the Stone Soup story) is that I know how badly we often need encouragement, and insight, and renewed motivation to press on towards our goals. And although I can't claim to know everything there is to know about success, I do know that we need each other to achieve it. I also know that whenever things seem particularly bleak, it's really up to us to take action and change things. In fact, we should always be ready and "RIPE" for CHANGE: "R" = Re-invention We must never stop re-inventing ourselves, and keep breaking free from the boxes and labels that we (or other people) may have used to limit us in the past. "I" = Innovation When it's our product / service that needs changing, we should always find: - new ways of doing old things - new uses for old features - and new insights into old ideas. "P" = Proclamation I believe in the power of words, and the moment we stop complaining and start talking about the things we DO have (like the woman in the story), then we are changing not just our outlook but our situation as well. "E" = Education Finally, it is always important that we keep on learning, and growing, and evolving. The ability to learn is what separates animals from us human beings, and we should take full advantage of that fact. Yes, change will demand our commitment, yes it would demand our involvement, and yes it will require us to take risks. But indeed these are the only weapons we have in order to survive as business people -- and we should use them if we are determined to live more SUCCESSFUL and fulfilled lives! © Tatiana Velitchkov About the Author: Tatiana is the publisher of: http://www.TheFortunesEzine.com, the FortunesEzineWeekly at http://www.TakeYourFortune.com, and owner of the traffic-solution slam advertising sites http://www.Guaranteed-Hits.com and http://www.Guaranteed-Hits.net |