The Invisible Mentor

Posts Tagged ‘Aesop’s Fables’

What do you think of  the Aesop‘s Fable below? These fables often have a moral to the story and they are so easy to read. I was reminded of the seasons of life and the natural order to things. There is a time for planting, nurturing, reaping and resting and you need all four. See review of The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn.

In a field one summer’s day a Grasshopper was hopping about, chirping and singing to its heart’s content. An Ant passed by, bearing along with great toil an ear of corn he was taking to the nest.

“Why not come and chat with me,” said the Grasshopper, “instead of toiling and moiling in that way?”

“I am helping to lay up food for the winter,” said the Ant, “and recommend you to do the same.”

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew:

It is best to prepare for the days of necessity.

What other lessons can you learn from The Ant and the Grasshopper?

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Photo Credit: via Apture

The Buffoon and the Countryman

At a country fair there was a Buffoon who made all the people laugh by imitating the cries of various animals. He finished off by squeaking so like a pig that the spectators thought that he had a porker concealed about him. But a Countryman who stood by said: “Call that a pig’s squeak! Nothing like it. You give me till tomorrow and I will show you what it’s like.” The audience laughed, but next day, sure enough, the Countryman appeared on the stage, and putting his head down squealed so hideously that the spectators hissed and threw stones at him to make him stop. “You fools!” he cried, “see what you have been hissing,” and held up a little pig whose ear he had been pinching to make him utter the squeals.

Men often applaud an imitation and hiss the real thing.

The Buffoon and the Countryman is from Aesop’s Fables but it provides an important lesson to us. When you read the above tale, what immediately comes to mind? What is the moral of the story and how does it relate to your life? Are we so accustomed to conforming, to group think, that we are unable to differentiate between the real thing and an imitation? And, in your work and life, are your solutions creative, or do you only do the “true and tried” methods?

Do you have the courage to take the road less traveled and provide the real thing? Or will you subscribe to the herd mentality and provide imitations? As a spectator, do you applaud imitations and hiss at the real thing, or do you embrace the real thing? Or have you been conforming too long and have become too comfortable? What are some ways that you can shake things up and zig when others zag?

Keep the conversation flowing. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Photo Credit: Apture

Source of Fable: Page By Page Books

Below are two tales from Aesop’s Fables, what lessons can they teach you in the workplace?

The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

A Wolf found great difficulty in getting at the sheep owing to the vigilance of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep, whose skin the Wolf was wearing, began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep’s clothing; so, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her, and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals.

Appearances are deceptive.

The Bald Man and the Fly

There was once a Bald Man who sat down after work on a hot summer’s day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing about his bald pate, and stinging him from time to time. The Man aimed a blow at his little enemy, but acks palm came on his head instead; again the Fly tormented him, but this time the Man was wiser and said:

“You will only injure yourself if you take notice of despicable enemies.”

What do you think of the fables? The application for me from The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, is that things are seldom as they seem and you should do your due diligence. Do not be quick to jump on the bandwagon, investigate first. And, in desperation, some people will do whatever it takes to get what they want.The fable teaches us to operate with integrity.

As I was reading the lesson learned from The Bald Man and the Fly, I remembered something I read recently, “It’s none of your business what others think about you.” The lesson is very apt for office gossip. What other things come to mind? And I am also reminded of one of the four agreements, never take things personally.

To read more fables please click here.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

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