ACRES OF DIAMONDS Hafiz 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 buy your own city.If you had a diamond the size of your fist,you could probably own your own country."And then the wise man left.That night,Hafiz couldn't sleep.He was unhappy and he was discontented.He was unhappy because he was discontented and discontented because he was unhappy. The next morning Hafiz made arrangements to sell his farm,took care of his family,and went off in search of diamonds.He looked all over Africa and couldn't find any.He looked all through Europe and couldn't find any.By the time he got to Spain,he was emotionally,physiacally,and financially depleted.He was so disheartened that he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Barcelona Rive. Back home,the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at the stream that ran through the property.Across the stream,the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow.He thought the stone would look good in his living room.He picked up the stone and put it on his mantle piece.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 of diamonds.*

A study attributed to Harvard University found that when a person gets a job or a promotion,85% of the time it is because of his attiude,and only 15% of the time because of intelligence and knowledge of specific fact and figures.It is suprising that almost 100% of education dollars go to teach fact and figures,which account for only 15% of success in life!

Our attitude determines how we look at a setback.To a positve thinker,attitude can be a steeping-stone to success.Napoleon Hills,author of Think and Grow Rich,as well as many other have said that every problem comes with an equal or greater opportunity.

David And Goliath We all know the Biblical story of David and Goliath.Goliath was a giant of a man.He struck fear in everyone's heart.One day,a 17-year-old shepherd boy came to visit his brothers and asked."Why don't you stand tp and fight the giant?"The brother were terrified of Goliath and they replied."Don't you see he is too big to hit?" But David said,"No,he is not too big to hit,he is too big to miss." The rest is history.We all know what happened.David killed the giant with thd slingshot.Same giant,different perceptions.

There was a man who made his living selling balloons at a fair.He had balloons of many different colors,including red,yellow,blue,and green.Whenever business was slow,he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air.When the children saw the balloon go up,buy a balloon and his sales would go up.All day,he continued to release a balloon man felt someone tugging at his jacket.He turned around and a little boy asked "If you release a black ballon,would that also fly?"Moved by the boy's concern,the man replied gently,"Son,it is not the color of the balloon,it is what's inside that makes it go up"