21 February 2010

An Age Old Fable

I heard this story many years ago as a young lad in my early teens. Although it stuck with me throughout my life it would take many years and experiences for me to understand the full magnitude of the value of this particular fable. As with so many of life fables it is only after years of trial and error does one truly see the brilliance in the simplicity of message.

Many years ago there was an accomplished, successful businessman. This man had a son and so one day while riding one of their many horses on their farm the son took a really bad fall off of the horse. While he was not seriously injured the trainer felt it serious enough to go and alert the boy’s parents to make sure the 15 year old boy was okay.

Once the father arrived and assessed that there was nothing broken and the boy was in reasonable health. Despite his shaken nerves and spirit his father insisted that he get back up on that horse.

Now the father loved his son very much and only wanted the best for the son. Even though the son protested and cried and his mother was horrified that the father would make him remount the horse after such a terrible fall, the father insisted. The boy reluctantly got back on the horse and rode for the entire afternoon.

Today he is an extremely successful lawyer and businessman living in Switzerland with his wife and children.

In life as in business we sometimes take great falls and if we don’t get back up on that horse we may never ride again and that would be shameful. The longer we put off re-mounting our horse the more we let defeat set in. If anything in life is worth doing in the first place, it is worth doing until you succeed at it.

Stay the course since in life as in business: “To err is human to forgive is divine but to give up is failure”.