The Power of Stories "Getting the World Right"

One of the most powerful skills a speaking or training
professional can develop is the ability to select and share
stories that empower and motivate their audiences -- and our
industry has a rich history, filled with countless stories that
are as meaningful today as when they were first told generations
ago.

Here's a great story that can set the stage for any talk about
personal accountability, self-discipline or individual growth.
It was first printed in Napoleon Hill's classic book, "Success
Through a Positive Mental Attitude" published in 1960. As with
any story coming from a time period so long ago, you always need
to update elements of the story for political correctness and to
mesh better with contemporary audiences, as I have done here:

A preacher had been having a very difficult time all week coming
up with a powerful message for his sermon the following Sunday
-- and his time was quickly running out...

The preacher finds himself on a cold and rainy Saturday
afternoon. His wife had gone out for a few hours to do some
shopping, leaving him to entertain his young daughter. With the
bad weather preventing her from going outside to play, the
little girl had grown bored and was driving her father crazy
with her constant interruptions and general mischief.

In a desperate attempt to occupy his daughter's attention so he
could focus his thoughts on his sermon, the preacher grabbed a
magazine, flipped through, found a colorful picture of the
world, ripped it out, tore it into dozens of pieces, threw them
on the floor and said, "If you can put the world back together,
I'll give you a dollar."

Thinking he had just bought himself a couple of hours of peace
and quiet, he was surprised when not ten minutes later, his
daughter re-appeared with the re-assembled page in her hand and
a smile on her face.

"Hi, Daddy! Here's your picture. Can I please have my dollar?"

The preacher looked at his little girl and said, "Honey, how did
you do this so fast?" She replied, "Well there was a picture of
a man on the other side, so I just put the man back together and
turned it over. I figured if I got the man right, the world
would be right too."

The preacher smiled, pulled out his wallet, handed his daughter
a $1 bill and said, "Thank you honey -- you've just given me my
sermon for tomorrow!"

Isn't that a great little story to capture the heads and hearts
of an audience and a great theme for any presentation about
leadership, responsibility and focused effort?

It's also a perfect reminder for all of us in the human
development industry: to make our WORLD a better place, we need
to stop worrying about our circumstances and get back to work on
OURSELVES.

Now, go share the story!