By Saleh Miri

The first story relates to a Persian king who asked his minister a simple question: “As the ruler of this country – possessing everything imaginable and deciding on every matter – why am I not happy whilst those who work for me, having far less, appear to have a smile on their face?”

The minister told the king that this shows that he did not know the 99 per cent rule! The king asked, “What is this so-called 99 per cent rule?”

The minister asked him to put 99 golden coins into a bag, write ‘100 coins’ on it and give it to one of the servants. When the servant reached home, he opened the bag and began counting the coins. In no time, the servant was shocked to discover that one coin was missing! He hurriedly asked his family to help search for the missing coin.

The next day, not having slept, the tired and nervous servant came to see the king. The minister whispered in the king’s ear: “See, Your Majesty, people spend their time looking for so-mething that they do not have, and do not see what they have. This is the 99 per cent rule.”

The second story relates to a company in Sweden that wanted to hire a fresh staff member. They prepared a questionnaire, expecting an answer to the following question: ‘You are driving down the road in your car on a wild and stormy night. The weather is like a hurricane, with heavy rains, high winds, and lightning flashing constantly. While driving, you come across a partially-covered bus stop where you see three people waiting for a bus –

An old woman who looks like she’s about to die.
An old friend who is a doctor and once saved your life.
The perfect partner you have been dreaming of (your soul mate).

‘Knowing that you have room for only one passenger in your car (it’s a really small car), who will you choose to offer a ride? And why?’

Many responses came with a variety of solutions. The person who was selected had the following response: ‘I would give the car keys to my old friend, the doctor, and let him take the old woman to the hospital, while I stay behind and wait for the bus with the partner of my dreams.’

The third story is about an American businessman observing a man sitting next to a ridiculously small boat catching two small fish. When asked what he was doing, the man answered, “I came to catch two fish, which I will take home and eat with my family.”

The businessman asked him, “Why don’t you spend more time and go further up the river and catch bigger fish?”

The fisherman asked, “Why would I do that?” The businessman said, “You could sell the bigger fish and make money.”

“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again. The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You could buy a bigger boat and hire some people to work for you!” he said. “And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.

By now, the businessman was getting angry. “Don’t you understand? You could build a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”

Once again, the fisherman asked, “And then what will my reward be?”

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, “Don’t you understand that you could become so rich that you never have to work for your living again! You could spend the rest of your days sitting by this river, looking at the sunset. You wouldn’t have a care in the world!”

The fisherman, still smiling, said, “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”

Many stories exist in life. All we need to do is open our eyes, ears and hearts and begin listening to them.