Do what you can with what you have where you are. Theodore Roosevelt.

The story goes about the farmer in Africa who had heard tales about many who made their fortunes by prospecting for diamonds. Rumours abounded about the number of people staggering under the weight of the bags.

So the farmer, tired of tilling his sandy, stone strewn land for so many years, dissatisfied with the meagre results, decided one day to join them. He sold off his unproductive farm and set out prospecting, seeking his fortune.

Meanwhile, the man who had bought his farm, as he walked his property one day, tripped over a small piece of rock. He didn’t know what it was but it looked interesting so he took it home and put it up on his fireplace mantel. A curiosity piece.

Some months later, a friend of his came to visit. He spied the rock on the mantel.

“Do you know what this is,” he asked?

“No, I don’t replied the farmer. “I just saw it lying on the ground and liked it so I brought it home and put it up on the mantel.”

“Well,” responded his guest. “It’s not just a little piece of rock. It’s a diamond, in the rough.”

The idea to this story, of course, is that each of us, dissatisfied with our work, occasionally can find ourselves in the middle of our own field of diamonds, searching for greater opportunities further afield.

If only we would have the patience and the wisdom to intelligently and effectively explore the work in which we are engaged, to further explore ourselves, we would most likely find the riches we are seeking, be they financial or intangible.

The far away fields that appear greener might just be getting better attention than ours.

Hmmm….

Now that you’re here! If you are in your own rocky field and would like to know how to spot the diamonds, you won’t want to miss my seminar, March 27. Read Step Into Life. I hope to see you there.