There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were chasing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in his hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.
Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “ I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque, and pushed into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, you can pay me back at that time.”
Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a cheque for $500000, singed by John D Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!
“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized.
But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought. With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payments. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long, he had been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it was not the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.
“I am so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D Rockefeller.” And she led the old man away by the arm.
The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long, he had been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. Suddenly, he realized that it was not the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.
Previously published at The Himalayan Times on 21 Oct 2013
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