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An old woman found a precious stone within a stream while she was traveling. She put it in her bag, and continued on her way.
Later she met a hungry man, and she offered to share her food with him. The man saw the stone in her bag and kindly asked the woman to give it to him.
Without a second thought the woman gave the stone to the man.
The man left, excited about the riches he now had. He knew that all of his money problems were solved.
But a few days later the man started to search for the old woman. He wanted to give the stone back. When he found her he said, “I appreciate the gift you gave me, but I want to return it. I know that this stone is very valuable. I return it in the hopes that you can give me something more valuable. Please teach me what you have that enabled you to give me this stone.â€
Sometimes the best thing you can give is your inner wealth, not your riches.
One of my favorite quotes by Ayn Rand also sums this up:
Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think. – Ayn Rand
Today be thankful for your inner wealth. I am thankful for my critical thinking, creativity and compassion.
So what are you thankful for?
Financial Samurai said...
I’m thankful for the capacity to think. I’m thankful for having my health. Just having these two things is enough to let me do more!
Best,
Sam
Jaime said...
Health! Yes health is huge. I think health is the most important and least recognized. I tend to only realize how important health is when I am sick.
Physically I am thankful for my health by taking good care of my body, but I really need to mentally be thankful for it daily too.
Thanks Sam for reminding me
Budgeting in the Fun Stuff said...
I’m thankful for my health, my relationships, and my biggest three qualities: compassion, humor, and dependability. I like being dependable since it seems to be a dying quality…
Jaime said...
Wow, I never thought that dependability was a dying quality. Though now that I think about it, it has been hard to find! I’m of the mindset that being dependable is the only way anyone can ever trust you and trust is the biggest part of any relationship. Thanks for being dependable
Invest It Wisely said...
“I’m thankful for the capacity to think. I’m thankful for having my health. Just having these two things is enough to let me do more!”
Yep, so long as you have these two there is always somewhere to go!
Jaime said...
You’re right. That’s all we need.
Liberty Bracelet said...
Hey, nice article. We are big readers of Rand and Atlas Shrugged as well – so much that we made the chain link bracelet that Rearden gave to his wife. It’s called the Liberty Bracelet – check it out at http://www.libertybracelet.com. Donations are going to the Campaign For Liberty so we figured you might like it.
If you’d like to post a piece about it or let us write an entry on your site, we’d be happy to give you the “Friends and Family” discount for them! Please send an e-mail if you’d be down, we would be very thankful.
Anyhow… cool site – we joined your feed now so thanks again!