Once upon a time, there were two boys, John and Max. They grew up in the same little village, under the same condition, and in the same home. They didn’t have a lot of money, and they barely managed to get by. Once, a big tsunami hit the village, and the family was scattered around. Later, John realized that his parents were both killed in the tsunami, but he never managed to find out what had happened to Max.
Ten years later, John is sitting in a park in Vienna. He tells his friends about his childhood, how hard it was, and how he never managed to move on from the trials and hardships of his past. John says that he never had money during his childhood, and when he got a penny, it wasn’t enough for anything at all. As a result, he could never get what he wanted and needed. Further on, they couldn’t afford books at home, so he never got to read books. His parents were so busy trying to make ends meet, that they barely had time for him. The fact that he then lost his parents at an early age, made things even harder. Nobody can blame him for him having such a hard time succeeding in life.
Suddenly someone comes running towards the spot where John is sitting. He looks up, and that is when he recognizes the person standing in front of him… it is Max! They both jump for joy, and give each other big hugs. They sit down and John quickly asks Max what’s up with him. He gets a shock when he hears his story!
„You cannot imagine what has happened to me. You probably remember that we didn’t have much as kids. But, I learned an important lesson back then. When I got a penny, I took well care of it, and it made me realize how important it is to value what you have. We didn’t own any books, so when I got my hands on something to read, I read it for everything it was worth, and I tried to learn everything that could be learned from the book.
Even though our parents were busy, I learned to value every second I could spend with them, and make the most of every minute of time I have with people.
It wasn’t an easy childhood, but I learned so much and it has really helped me become who I am today.”
John was so amazed by what he heard, and so were his friends. They had just listened to two persons who experienced the same and grew up in the same homes, tell two completely different stories. One blamed his surroundings for everything, while the other claimed that the same surroundings had been his help to step up to new levels.
Which story are you telling your friends?
