Lawyer's story !

Welcome to 103^rd Monday Musings !

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A lawyer purchased a box of 24 of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire.

Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of small fires.

The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion.

The lawyer sued - and WON! (this gets good...)

Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous.

The judge stated nevertheless, the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted the cigars insurable and guaranteed it would insure them against fire. Without defining what is considered to be unacceptable 'fire', so was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the 'fires'.

Now for the best part...

After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

Moral of the story :

The strength of the story lies in its ultimate lesson to the plaintiff. It is a morality story, showing that a person cannot get away with trickery, it highlights that bad deeds do get punished.

It also highlights that excessive greed will lead to your downfall because One who digs a hole for someone will fall into it himself.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

It all depends on our attitude !

Welcome to 102^nd Monday Musings !

It all depends on our attitude: Good News or Bad News

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Robert De Vincenzo, the great Argentine golfer, Once won a tournament and, after receiving the check and smiling for the cameras, he went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave.

Sometime later, he walked alone to his car in the parking lot and was approached by a young woman.

She congratulated him on his victory and then told him that her child was seriously ill and near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor's bills and hospital expenses.

De Vincenzo was touched by her story, and he took out a pen and endorsed his winning check for payment to the woman. "Make some good days for the baby," he said as he pressed the check into her hand.

The next week he was having lunch in a country club when a Professional Golf Association official came to his table. "Some of the boys in the parking lot last week told me you met a young woman there after you won that tournament."

De Vincenzo nodded.

"Well," said the official, "I have news for you. She's a phony. She has no sick baby. She's not even married. She fleeced you, my friend."

"You mean there is no baby who is dying?" said De Vincenzo.

"That's right," said the official.

"That's the best good news I've heard all week, that no baby is dying" De Vincenzo said.

Moral of the story :

Good news or bad news?  It depends on how you see things.

You can be bitter after cheated                      Or                        you can choose to move on with your life...

It is your life, you can either see a glass half full or half empty, but a positive way is “See the Glass Half full – then fill the rest of the way”.Positive attitude evokes more energy, more initiative and more happiness.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

The Cookie Thief !

Welcome to 101^st Monday Musings:

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A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight.

She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be, grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,

which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do.

With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half. He offered her half, as he ate the other,

she snatched it from him and thought  "oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn't even show any gratitude!"

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called.

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.  

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete.

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share.

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

Moral of the story :

Don’t Judge so quickly without knowing all the facts

Those who jump before looking end up on head first in the shallow end, When you jump to conclusions you often skip over the truth & sometimes it is too late to make amends.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Rock, Pebbles and Sand - Important Things in Life !

Welcome to 100^th Monday Musings:

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A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inch in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar.

He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar.

Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."

Then the professor took a cup of coffee and poured it into the ‘filled’ jar. Of course, it filled every little gap.

"Now," said the professor, I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter - like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.

Moral of the story :

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.

The same goes for your life, If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

·       Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

·       Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing.

·       There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans, so make sure to choose the right priorities to live life at it’s best.

Before the students left, one shouted out. ”You never mentioned what the Coffee represents!”

The professor smiled and said, ”Well I'm glad you asked. The Coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room to have a Coffee with a friend.”

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Know Your Value !

Welcome to 99^th Monday Musings:

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A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked. "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you - but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the 20 dollar note up.

He then asked. "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "what if I do this?"

He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless;  but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by ...WHO WE ARE.

Moral of the story :

You are special. Don't ever forget it! Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams. "Value has a value only if its value is valued.

Learn to value yourself, which means: to fight for your happiness. ~Ayn Rand

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Dedication !

Welcome to 98^th Monday Musings:

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There was a young boy who lived with his elderly mother.

His mother wanted him to learn how to play the piano because she longed to hear her son play for her.

She sent her son to a piano teacher who took Robby in under her guidance.

However, there was one small problem because Robby was not musically inclined and therefore was very slow in learning.

The teacher did not have much faith in the boy because of his weakness. The mother was very enthusiastic and every week she would send Robby to the teacher.

One day Robby stopped attending the piano lessons. The teacher thought that he had given up and in fact she was quite pleased since she did not give much hope to Robby.

Not long after, the piano teacher was given the task to organize a piano concert in town.

She sent out circulars to invite the students and public to attend the event.

Suddenly, she received a call from Robby who offered to take part in the concert.

The teacher told Robby that he was not good enough and that he was no longer a student since he had stopped coming for lessons.

Robby begged her to give him a chance and promised that he would not let her down.

Finally, she gave in and she put him to play last, hoping that he will change his mind at the last minute.

When the big day came, the hall was packed and the children gave their best performance.

Finally, it was Robby's turn to play and as his name was announced, he walked in. He was not in proper attire and his hair was not properly groomed.

The teacher was really nervous since Robby's performance could spoil the whole evening's brilliant performance.

As Robby started playing the crowd became silent and was amazed at the skill of this little boy. In fact, he gave the best performance of the evening.

At the end of his presentation the crowd and the piano teacher gave him a standing ovation.

The crowd asked Robby how he managed to play so brilliantly.

With a microphone in front of him, he said, "I was notable to attend the weekly piano lessons as there was no one to send me because my mother was sick with cancer. She just passed away this morning and I wanted her to hear me play”

He further added  “You see, this is the first time she is able to hear me play because when she was alive she was deaf and now I know she is listening to me. I have to play my best for her!"

Moral of the story :

Dedication is the only Success Principles:

This is indeed a touching story of love and excellence, but When you have a passion and a reason to do something, you will surely excel. You may not be talented or gifted but if you have a strong enough reason to do something, you will be able to tap into your inner God given potential.

There are people out there who tell you, that you can't. What you've got to do is turn around and say 'watch me’.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Listen to Understand !

Welcome to 97^th Monday Musings:

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A teacher teaching Mathematics to seven-year-old Emily

and asked her, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?

"Within a few seconds Emily replied confidently, "Four!"

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three).

She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought.

She repeated, "Emily, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?"

Emily had seen the disappointment on her teacher's face.

She calculated again on her fingers. But within her, she was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy.

Her search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make her teacher happy.

This time hesitatingly she replied, "Four!"

The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that Emily liked strawberries.

She thought maybe She doesn't like apples and that is making her lose focus.

This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?"

Seeing the teacher happy, young Emily calculated on her fingers again.

There was no pressure on her, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed.

With a hesitating smile young Emily enquired, "Three?"

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself.

But one last thing remained.

Once again she asked her, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?"

Promptly Emily answered, "Four!"

The teacher was aghast. "How Emily, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young Emily replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."

Moral of the story :

When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect don't think they are wrong.

There may be an perspective that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion.

Most people do not listen with the intent to understand. Most people listen with the intent to reply.

Listen to the sound

Understand the situation

Act after making use of the intuition and the brain

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh