As life is changing. There is a lot of negative, scarcity thinking is out there in the media. How we see our life is a matter of perspective. It reminded me of a story I heard many years ago.
A farmer lived in Africa. He had his animals, his orchards and all his crops. A recent visitor shared the fascinating tales of finding diamonds in Africa. The farmer thought that it would definitely be easier to make his fortune looking for diamonds, than working the farm. Diamonds were being discovered in abundance on the African continent. They cannot be that hard to find. He got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm and headed out to strike it rich!
For many years, he wandered all over the continent searching for diamonds. As the years slipped by, his chance of finding a diamond appeared to diminish. Finally completely broken by the whole search, he became despondent. He threw himself into a river, and drowned.
Meanwhile, back at the farm that he had sold, the new owner had found an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg, right behind the house. He was not sure what it was, but placed this rock on his mantle, as a sort of curiosity. Later, the same visitor who had brought the story of diamonds to the previous owner came by again. When the visitor spied this rock on the mantle, he found an unexpected surprise. Pulling himself together, he told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was just about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. Whereupon the new owner of the farm said, “Heck, the whole farm’s covered with those things.” Sure enough, it was a raw diamond, before it was cut and polished.
This farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine…the richest the world has ever known. The farmer who had sold the place had literally been standing on acres of diamonds.
This story, made famous by Dr. Russell Cromwell, was first published in 1890. I find it still applies today. For many of us we have all we need, we just do not know we need it or we cannot see it for what it is.
“Opportunity does not just “come along” as most people think.
It’s there all the time – we just have to be able to see it.”
If you are having a challenge in your business, not seeing the diamonds in the rough, it might be time to get an outside point of view. Give us a call, 920-351-4842 and we can go through a “Strategy Review” meeting. We use your financial statements to find your “diamonds”.
Retold by Mary Guldan-Lindstrom, CPA
