Inspiring True Stories
True, real life stories that inspire people to believe in miracles.
Here are a few to get you started
Acres of Diamonds: How to Recognise
The Opportunities That Are All Around YOU!
This is a TRUE story - with its ageless moral…
The story was about a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor became tremendously excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and this farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line.
He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds, wealth, which he never found. Eventually he went completely broke and threw himself into a river and drowned.
Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his mantle as a sort of curiosity. A visitor stopped by and in viewing the rock practically went into terminal convulsions. He told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. The new owner of the farm said, "Heck, the whole farm is covered with them" - and sure enough it was.
The farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine … the richest the world has ever known. The original farmer was literally standing on "Acres of Diamonds" until he sold his farm.
The moral of the story…
Each of us is right in the middle of our own "Acre of Diamonds", if only we would realise it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures.
The 48th Try!
Max Filer became a lawyer in 1991 at age 61. He passed the bar on his 48th try, 25 years after he'd first taken it in 1966. During that time, he worked as a machinist, raised seven children (two of whom became lawyers) and served four terms on the Compton, California, City Council.
The moral of the story…
Max never, ever gave up on his goal. But he lived a full, meaningful, important life while doing it.
The Guy Who Cut His Leg Off With A Pocket Knife!
Donald Wyman was a woodsman. A tree fell on him, breaking his left leg and pinning the leg beneath it. He called for help for an hour, then realized that there was no one close enough to hear him. If he stayed where he was, he'd die. It was just a matter of time.
So, Donald pulled out his pocket knife. He cut off his own leg, just below the knee. He cut through the skin, the muscle, then, with that pocket knife, sawed through the broken bone.
He crawled 90 feet uphill to a bulldozer. He dragged himself up and in and drove to his truck. He hauled himself from the bulldozer to the truck then worked the standard transmission with his right leg and his hand, while holding onto the shoestring he'd tied as a tourniquet with the other hand. He reached help just as he was slipping into shock.
The moral of the story
Are you willing to do whatever it takes TODAY to start creating a compelling future that inspires you?
A Very Old Lady With A Very Great Attitude
A very old lady looked in the mirror one morning. She had three remaining hairs on her head, and being a positive soul, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she braided her three hairs, and she had a great day.
Some days later, looking in the mirror one morning, preparing for her day, she saw that she had only two hairs remaining. "Hmm, two hairs... I fancy a centre parting today." She duly parted her two hairs, and as ever, she had a great day.
A week or so later, she saw that she had just one hair left on her head. "One hair huh...," she mused, "I know, a pony-tail will be perfect." And again she had a great day.
The next morning she looked in the mirror. She was completely bald. "Finally bald huh," she said to herself, "How wonderful! I won't have to waste time doing my hair any more.."
The moral of the story
You choose your own reality in every moment through your attitude.
Oh No, Sometimes They Change The Biscuits...
This is a true story.
Some years ago the following exchange was broadcast on an Open University sociology TV programme.
An interviewer was talking to a female production-line worker in a biscuit factory. The dialogue went like this:
Interviewer: How long have you worked here?
Production Lady: Since I left school (probably about 15 years).
Interviewer: What do you do?
Production Lady: I take packets of biscuits off the conveyor belt and put them into cardboard boxes.
Interviewer: Have you always done the same job?
Production Lady: Yes.
Interviewer: Do you enjoy it?
Production Lady: Oooh Yes, it's great, everyone is so nice and friendly, we have a good laugh.
Interviewer (with a hint of disbelief): Really? Don't you find it a bit boring?
Production Lady: Oh no, sometimes they change the biscuits...
The moral of the story
Do not impose your own needs and ambitions on to other people who may not share them. Don't assume that things that motivate you will motivate someone else. Recognise that sources of happiness may vary widely between people.