How Close Is Your Fortune?

A farmer in Pennsylvania decided to sell his farm, but before he sold it, he wrote to his cousin in Canada, who collected coal, and asked for a job. In those days, coal oil, which dipped from running Canadian streams, where it was first discovered, was lucrative business.

The farmer, a sensible man, did not want to leave his farm without securing his livelihood so he wanted to make sure his cousin would hire him before he left. His cousin, however, was not enthusiastic about the proposal and wrote back to discourage the farmer, arguing that the farmer did not know anything about the coal oil business.

This blatant rejection did not discourage the farmer. He simply sat down and studied all about coal oil, studying it from the second day of creation. He read about how the world had once been covered with rich vegetation which eventually turned to coal beds, and when those rich coal beds were drained, they furnished coal oil. The coal oil worth pumping came up from living springs.

The farmer studied coal oil until he could almost see it and smell it.

When he believed he knew how to refine it, he wrote back to his cousin asking for a job again. He spelled out how he had painfully studied every aspect of the business. Reluctantly, his cousin invited him over.

The farm was sold well below market value as the farmer was eager to make his way to Canada to begin a new life of industry and prosperity.

The new owner decided that the first thing he needed to do was to see if the cattle had enough water. At the brook, behind the dilapidated barn, he found a black-stained plank that appeared to have been placed years ago to throw dark scum onto the bank. The plank separated off the clean, drinkable water from the scum-laden water.

He called in a geologist, who, after careful tests, declared that the scum was coal oil, worth an estimated hundred million dollars. The geologist estimated that the coal-oil that stained the plank was about twenty-three years old. The new owner laughed at the irony of the whole situation: although the old farmer had studied coal oil from the second day of creation, he had sold his own vast reservoir for a mere $833.

"If only the old farmer had the wisdom to notice the fortune in his own backyard," said the new owner to the geologist.

Resource Box

Saleem Rana got his Masters degree in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life

Copyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.

---

Hip-Hop, Michael Phelps, and Peak Performance

I am unashamed to copy the peak performance techniques of... Read More

7 Ways to improve Your Listening Skills

Do you know how much time do you spend listening?... Read More

Create Your Future Through Visualization

The best way to predict your future is to create... Read More

Success ...Whats the Key Ingredient?

Don't expect results over night - what??If you were to... Read More

Reach Your Goals - Step Into Your Own Truth

Create a truth and step into it There is a... Read More

Associate with Losers And Youre Courting Failure

"You will be the same person in five years except... Read More

Today I Choose

Here is a great way to create affirmations that may... Read More

Affirm Your Intentions - Achieve Your Goals

Affirmations are emotionally driven statements of intention and faith that... Read More

Remembering What You Read - Nine Effective Strategies

Reading lots these days? Having trouble remembering and recalling? For... Read More

How To Use The Past, Future, And Present In Attaining Success

Did you know that your past, present, and future can... Read More

Taking Responsibility

Everything you are or ever will be is completely up... Read More

Become a Good Observer

We must never allow a day to pass without finding... Read More

The 7 Keys To Astonishing Success

Here are seven essential keys to success. Use these ideas... Read More

The Synchronicity of Success

I love the idea of synchronicity.Perhaps it's just part of... Read More

Success: How to Ask the Right Questions

Q. My problem is that I have trouble keeping my... Read More

Are You Learning?

Whether you are self-employed, whether you are an employee, whether... Read More

Do You Know Whats The #1 Success Secret Is?

How many people do you hear complaining about their job,... Read More

Why Wealth is Loving, Caring, and Sharing

Wealth is more than money. It's abundance, or as the... Read More

Success from Failure

Those of you who know me, know that I am... Read More

Your Words Have Power

You teach others how to treat you by how you... Read More

The 101 Habits of Highly Successful People

Personal missions statements (PMS) are just nothing but the winning... Read More

Identify Your Unique Factor and Succeed

What makes you unique? Answering this question will provide the... Read More

Ever Find Yourself Saying I Want My Instant Money Now?

If that sounds like you, you're not alone. Everyone needs... Read More

What Does Success Look Like To You?

So many of us want success, but how many of... Read More

Reach Your Goals - Make A Game Out Of It

Make a game out of reaching your goals Go to... Read More

Trusting The Higher Self

As very few people achieve enlightenment in one lifetime, as... Read More

Characteristics of Successful People

Each human being, who exists above the level of simple... Read More

Natural Laws of Success

Jim Rohn wrote in his book The Five Major Pieces... Read More

Like A One-Eyed Cat Peeping In A Seafood Store

Want to be successful in whatever it is you choose... Read More

Belief And Action Succeed

For centuries Protestant Christians have argued that you can reach... Read More

Expectations

I'll let you in on a little secret...life delivers pretty... Read More

Success Takes Practice

As a speaker and trainer, people often approach me after... Read More

Reach Your Goals - Throw A Success Shindig

Once you've made it...throw a Success Shindig! Of course you... Read More