The Seeds..

A successful businessman was growing
old and
knew it was time to choose a successor
to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors
or his children,
he decided to do something different. He
called all the young executives in his
company together. He said, "It is time for me to step down
and choose the next CEO. I have decided
to choose one of you. "The young executives were Shocked,
but the boss continued. "I am going to
give each one of you a SEED today - one
very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it,
and come back here one year from
today with what you have grown from
the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you
bring, and the one I choose will be the
next CEO." One man, named Tom, was there that
day and he, like the others, received a
seed. He went home and excitedly, told
his wife the story. She helped him get a
pot, soil and compost and he planted the
seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch
to see if it had
grown. After about three weeks, some
of the other executives began to talk
about their seeds and the plants that
were beginning to grow. Tom kept checking his seed, but nothing
ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks
went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their
plants, but Tom didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in
Tom's pot. He just knew he had killed his
seed. Everyone else had trees and tall
plants, but he had nothing. Tom didn't
say anything to his colleagues,
however... He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the
seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the young
executives of the company brought their
plants to the CEO for inspection.
Tom told his wife that he wasn't going to
take an empty pot.
But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Tom felt sick to his
stomach, it was going to be the most
embarrassing moment of his life, but he
knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board
room. When Tom arrived, he was
amazed at the variety of plants grown
by the other executives. They were
beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Tom put his empty pot on the floor and
many of his colleagues laughed, a few
felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the
room and greeted his young executives. Tom just tried to hide in the back. "My,
what great plants, trees, and flowers
you have grown," said the CEO. "Today
one of you will be appointed the next
CEO!" All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Tom at
the back of the room with his empty pot.
He ordered the Financial Director to
bring him to the front. Tom was terrified. He thought, "The CEO
knows I'm a
failure! Maybe he will have me fired!" When Tom got to the front, the CEO
asked him what had happened to his
seed - Tom told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down
except Tom. He looked at Tom, and then
announced to the young executives,
"Behold your next Chief Executive
Officer! His name is Tom!" Tom couldn't believe it. Tom couldn't
even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" the
others said. Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I
gave everyone in this room a seed. I told
you to take the seed, plant it, water it,
and bring it back to me today. But I gave
you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it
was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Tom, have brought me
trees and plants and flowers. When you
found that the seed would not grow, you
substituted another seed for the one I
gave you. Tom was the only one with the courage
and honesty to bring me a pot with my
seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who
will be the new Chief Executive Officer!" * If you plant honesty, you will reap trust * If you plant goodness, you will reap
friends * If you plant humility, you will reap
greatness * If you plant perseverance, you will
reap contentment * If you plant consideration, you will
reap perspective * If you plant hard work, you will reap
success * If you plant forgiveness, you will reap
reconciliation * If you plant faith in God , you will reap
a harvest So, be careful what you plant now;
it will determine what you will reap
later.. "Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives
You Back"