The story is told of a man who lived in a house with his wife and their twelve children.  The house was small for his family, but he couldn’t afford a larger home.  He went to see a recommended wise man who lived high atop a mountain outside the city where the man lived.  Upon hearing of the man’s predicament, the wise man told the man to go out to a farm and ask to borrow two pigs and a horse – bringing them into his house to live.  Although the man thought it odd, he did as the wise man said and returned to see the wise man a week later.

The man told the wise man that with the horse and two pigs the house was even more crowded.  The wise man replied, “Then you must go back to the farm and get a cow and two chickens – keeping them in your house too.”  The man thought this was odd advice but continued to trust the wise man and brought a cow and two chickens under his roof.  He returned as he had promised to see the wise man in another week.

Now the man was filled with frustration about how cramped (and smelly) the house had become.  The wise man then told the man to go and get two more of every animal he currently had in his house – adding them to his menagerie.  The man stomped out of the wise man’s house but did as he was told – returning to vent his frustration to  the wise man in another week.

“I am disappointed,” the man told the wise man.  “You had come highly recommended, and you have only made my house more crowded than ever before!”  Then the wise man said, “You must now go and return all the animals to the farm from which you borrowed them and come back to see me in a week.”  The greatly relieved man quickly did as he was told.

Returning to the wise man the next week, the fellow said, “Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you for letting me take the animals out of my house and back to the farm.  I can’t believe how roomy my house now feels with just my wife and my twelve children!  I’m so grateful.”

How might you leverage the lessons taught by the wise man to help tap into the motivational power of greater gratefulness in your own leadership life?

Categories: Vitality

Tags: vitality