Yesterday I got a forwarded mail from one of my students that was purportedly from a top Financial Consultant in Dubai telling people how gloomy the global financial situation was and how it is likely to be worse in the next couple of years. His advice was that everyone should liquidate all their assets and keep the money as cash. They should also not dream of investing in anything. I have never heard anything sillier than that (I shall post his points with my comments tomorrow). There is an opportunity in every crisis. Entreprising people look for one and captialize on it. Read the story below,
A farmer owned an old mule. One day, the mule fell into the farmer's well. The mule brayed loudly and caught the attentionof the farmer. Upon assessing the situation, the farmer ruled out any possibility of a rescue as it was simply too much trouble to lift the mule out of the well.
Out of sympathy for the animal, he decided to enlist his neighbors' help to haul dirt into the well to put the mule out of his misery.The old mule was hysterical upon learning that his life would thus end. However, as the farmer and the neighbors shoveled the dirt into the well, a thought struck the old mule. He realized that if he could shake off every dirt that landed on his back, the dirt would hit the floor and he could step on the dirt. Shovel after shovel, he continued relentlessly to shake off the dirt and step on top of it. He fought the sense of panic and distress and just went on shaking off the dirt and climbing higher up the well. With much determination and perseverance, the old mule eventually stepped out the well, battered and exhausted, but otherwise triumphant that he had survived the ordeal. Through the way he handled the situation of adversity, the act of burying him in fact saved his life.
