There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He
was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy. One day
a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power
that goes along with them.
The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of
your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your
fist, you could probably own your own country." And then he went away.
That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He
was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy.
The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm,
took care of his family and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over
Africa and couldn't find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn't find
any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially
broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River
and committed suicide.
Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering
the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays
of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it
would look good on the mantelpiece. He picked up the stone and put it in the
living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling.
He asked, "Is Hafiz back?" The new owner said,
"No, why do you ask?" The wise man said, "Because that is a
diamond. I recognize one when I see one." The man said, no, that's just a
stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show you. There are many
more."
They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis.
Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered
with acres and acres of diamonds.
A story often attributed to Dr Russel Conwell, it implies
that opportunity is right under our nose, if only we could see it!
