An emperor
in an ancient Far East country was growing old and knew it
was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one
of his assistants or his children, he decided to do
something different. He called young people in the kingdom
together one day. He said, "It is time for me to step
down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose
one of you."
The children were shocked, but the emperor 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 this one seed. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the
next emperor."
One boy, named Ling, was there that day and he, like the
others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told
his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and
planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it,
carefully. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if
it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other
youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that
were beginning to grow.
Ling 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 Ling
didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by--still nothing in Ling's pot. He just
knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and
tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything
to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed
to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom
brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling
told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But his mother asked him to be honest about what happened.
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his mother was
right. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling
arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by
the other youths. They were beautiful--in all shapes and
sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the
other children laughed at him. A few felt sorry for
him and just said, "Hey, nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted
the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back.
"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have
grown," said the emperor. "Today one of you will
be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of
the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to
bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. He thought,
"The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have
me killed!" When Ling got to the front, the
Emperor asked his name. "My name is Ling," he
replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him.
The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at
Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your
new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't believe
it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the
new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave
everyone here 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 that would not grow. All of you,
except Ling, 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. Ling 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 emperor!"
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 victory.
If you plant consideration, you will reap harmony.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
If you plant openness, you will reap intimacy.
If you plant patience, you will reap improvements.
If you plant faith, you will reap miracles.
So be careful what you plant, now; it will determine what
you will reap tomorrow. The seeds you now scatter will
make life worse or better for you or for the ones who will
come after you. Someday you will enjoy the fruits or you
will pay for the choices you make.
The best way to predict the future is to create it - Peter
Drucker
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