Once upon a time,a tortoise & a hare had an argument about who was faster. They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route & set off. The hare shot ahead & ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise,he fell asleep under a tree. The tortoise overtook the hare & soon finished the race,emerging as winner. The hare woke up & realised that he had lost the race.
Moral 1 : Slow & steady wins the race.
The hare was disappointed at losing the race & he did some thinking. He realized that he had lost the race only because he had been over-confident,careless & lazy. If he had not taken things for granted,tortoise could not have beaten him. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed. This time,the hare went all out & ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.
Moral 2 : Fast & consistent will always beat the slow & steady. It's good to be slow & steady,but it's better to be fast & consistent.
The tortoise did some thinking this time,& realized that there's no way he could beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. He thought for a while & then challenged the hare to another race,but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. They started off,in keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast,the hare took off & ran at top speed until he came to a river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river. The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime,the tortoise got into the river,swam to the opposite bank,continued walking,& finished the race.
Moral 3 : First,identify your core competency & then change the playing field to suit you core competency.Working on the basis of your strengths will not only get you noticed,but will also create opportunities for growth & advancement.
The story continues. The hare & the tortoise,by this time,had become good friends & they did some thinking together. They decided to run the race again,but this time,as a team. They started off, & this time,hare carried the tortoise till the river bank. Then,the tortoise took over swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank,the hare again carried the tortoise & they reached the finishing line together. They both felt a greater sense of happiness,satisfaction & success.
Moral 4 : It is good to be individually motivated & to have strong core competencies: but unless you're able to work in a team & harness each other's core competencies,you'll always perform below par,because there will always be situations in which you'll do poorly & someone else will do well. Team work is mainly about situational leadership,letting the person with the relevant core competency in a situation take the leadership.
{Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after failure. Failure is an event;it is never permanent.}
Moral 5 : The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could. In life,when faced with a failure,sometimes it is appropriate to work harder & to put in more effort by working smarter. Sometimes,you just have to change strategy & try something different. & sometimes it is appropriate to do both.
Moral 6 : When we stop competing against a rival &,instead,start competing against the situation,we perform far better.
Moral 1 : Slow & steady wins the race.
The hare was disappointed at losing the race & he did some thinking. He realized that he had lost the race only because he had been over-confident,careless & lazy. If he had not taken things for granted,tortoise could not have beaten him. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed. This time,the hare went all out & ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.
Moral 2 : Fast & consistent will always beat the slow & steady. It's good to be slow & steady,but it's better to be fast & consistent.
The tortoise did some thinking this time,& realized that there's no way he could beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted. He thought for a while & then challenged the hare to another race,but on a slightly different route. The hare agreed. They started off,in keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast,the hare took off & ran at top speed until he came to a river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river. The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime,the tortoise got into the river,swam to the opposite bank,continued walking,& finished the race.
Moral 3 : First,identify your core competency & then change the playing field to suit you core competency.Working on the basis of your strengths will not only get you noticed,but will also create opportunities for growth & advancement.
The story continues. The hare & the tortoise,by this time,had become good friends & they did some thinking together. They decided to run the race again,but this time,as a team. They started off, & this time,hare carried the tortoise till the river bank. Then,the tortoise took over swam across with the hare on his back. On the opposite bank,the hare again carried the tortoise & they reached the finishing line together. They both felt a greater sense of happiness,satisfaction & success.
Moral 4 : It is good to be individually motivated & to have strong core competencies: but unless you're able to work in a team & harness each other's core competencies,you'll always perform below par,because there will always be situations in which you'll do poorly & someone else will do well. Team work is mainly about situational leadership,letting the person with the relevant core competency in a situation take the leadership.
{Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after failure. Failure is an event;it is never permanent.}
Moral 5 : The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could. In life,when faced with a failure,sometimes it is appropriate to work harder & to put in more effort by working smarter. Sometimes,you just have to change strategy & try something different. & sometimes it is appropriate to do both.
Moral 6 : When we stop competing against a rival &,instead,start competing against the situation,we perform far better.
Great deepak the story you have written it is mind-blowing. I am highly impressed by the morals it gives. Uptill now I was only aware of the simple story which we used to listen in our childhood. But I think you have changed the whole face & heart of it. Well I am Riya Singh 23 yrs old female studying Marketing like you in Maryland(USA). I got to view your blog through search.Thanks a lot. bye.
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