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Please allow me to share with you an incident that
happened not so long ago.
One day Christy went out shopping and spotted a magnificent
gold bracelet displayed seductively in a jeweller's
display window. The moment she laid her eyes on that
mesmerising bracelet, she fell in love with it. She
had to have it... no matter what the cost!
She decided to call home to ask her father for the
money.
"Dad... can you lend me $300.00? I just found the
most amazing bracelet I have ever seen. It is worth
three times the asking price and I really love it...
dad, will you lend me the money, please?"
"Well... don't you think it's a bit expensive? After
all, you do remember that I must pay for the big international
call you made last week as well." dad replied.
Christy felt deeply disappointed. This was the first
time in 15 years that her father was showing any signs
of not doing what she asked for.
"If you do this, dad, I promise I'll never ask for
anything else ever again"
"Sorry, honey, but I'm afraid the budget won't stretch
that far right now."
This was just too much! Christy was getting really
angry.
"Look dad, if you don't help me buy this bracelet
today... I'll... I'll... I'll leave home and you'll
never see me again! I mean it! Now, what's it
going to be?"
Ouch! Does that sound familiar to you? Would you
know what to say in a situation like this? I didn't...
but then again... at that time I never heard of No Excuse!
by Jay Rifenbary so I blundered on
and helped to make the situation not as satisfying as
it could have been.
Imagine my reaction when I did eventually find this
book and just happened to glance at the following passages...
Your Life Is
In Your Hands
High on a hilltop overlooking a beautiful city,
there lived a wise old man. The local children were
taught to seek his guidance and respect his teachings.
One day, two boys devised a plan to confuse the
old man. They caught a small bird and headed for the
hilltop. As they approached the seated figure, one of
the boys held the little bird cupped in his hands.
"Wise old man," the boy said, "Can you tell me
if the bird I have in my hands is dead or alive?"
The old man gazed silently at the two boys, and
then said: "If I tell you the bird locked in your hands
is alive, you will close your hands and crush the life
from it. If I tell you the bird is dead, you will open
your hands and it will fly away to freedom."
"Son, in your hands
you hold the
power of life and death. In
you resides the
power to choose destruction and the end of a spirit
and a song. Or you
can choose to free the bird so it has a future, with
all its potential. You are wise to know
you can choose
between life and death."
"If you allow my answer
to determine whether the bird lives or dies, you will
have given away your power. You will have
also given away your responsibility to make the correct
choice, and to rejoice in your own strength and wisdom."
The boys came down that hill a bit wiser. The
old man, in respecting their desire to test themselves
and his authority, proved to be a leader and a teacher.
He perceived their rebelliousness as an underlying desire
to relinquish their self-responsibility. By refusing
to cooperate, he contributed to their self-awareness
and growth.
Excerpt from
No Excuse! by Jay
Rifenbary
(Page 23)
No Excuse! by Jay Rifenbary is a treasury of ideas and action steps
that will help you overcome your obstacles and empower
you to be all you can be.
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