The Forked Path

An elderly Cherokee chief took his granddaughter for a walk to teach her about life.  “There has been a fight happening inside me for many years,” he tells the young girl, “a fight between two wolves.  One wolf is evil.  It’s full of malice and anger.  The other is good.  It’s full of peace and love.  This same fight(..)

The History of Geography

Once, a wise man goes to a Zen master – “I want to master the art of living; please teach me.”  The master asks the man to join him for a cup of tea first. His disciple brings a tray of empty cups with a tea kettle.  Most of the cups are a random mix of ordinary cups, however, a few look exquisite.  The man picks one of the exquisite ones.(..)

Best Kept Secret

Once a young professional approached a successful man to seek guidance on the secret of excellence. The man asked, “But why do you wish to pursue excellence?” The youngster replied, “So that my seniors notice my work, and I am rewarded accordingly.” The man smiled and beckoned the young man to accompany him on a short road trip.  They drove down(..)

Hide & Steal

A math teacher took a bag of cookies out of her purse and asked a little boy, “If I give you two cookies, and then another two cookies, how many cookies will you have?”  “Five cookies,” he replied. She was surprised by his reply.  So, she used her fingers to help him count.  “Look, if I give you one, two—TWO cookies—and another one,(..)

Road Less Cycled

Once a man was riding a cycle and noticed another rider about half a mile ahead of him.  The man realized that the rider was traveling at a speed slightly lower than him, and decided to overtake the latter.  The man had about a mile to go on the road before taking his intended turn.  So, he started cycling faster and with every block inched closer to the(..)

Innocent Maturity

A little boy went into a grocery store and reached for a soda carton.  He, then, pulled it towards a payphone.  Back in the day cell phones had not invaded our lives as much as it has today—few places still had payphones.  The boy climbed onto the carton to reach the phone buttons and punched in the digits.  The store owner quietly observed and(..)

Empty Problem!

Once a toothpaste factory faced a packaging problem.  Many empty boxes were shipped without the tubes inside.  Therefore, the company hired a consultancy firm to solve the issue. After spending a lot of time and money, the problem was solved.  A high-tech precision scale was installed at the end of the production line.  The scale would trigger a bell(..)

String Beneath My Wings

A young boy was learning to fly a kite. A parrot got entangled in the unsteady string of the kite and fell to the ground. The boy watched in distress as the injured bird lay an egg before taking her last breath. Heartbroken, he made a little nest on the branch of a tree and nurtured the egg. The egg hatched and out emerged the most beautiful bird he had(..)

Perfect Mismatch

Two camels (a mother and a baby) were lazing around, when suddenly the baby camel said: “Mother, mother, can I ask you a question? The mother camel replied, “Sure! Why son, is something bothering you?” Baby: “Why do camels have humps?” Mother: “Well son, we are desert animals, we need the humps to store water, and we are known to survive(..)

The Unsung Melody

Back in 1940s, there was a black pianist who played at a club in Southern California.  He was an amazing pianist, and many regulars frequented the club just to hear him play.  One day, a drunken patron put up a strange request “Sing for me.”  The pianist was reluctant—the only time he had sung in public was during his choir days at his father’s(..)

The Exciting Monotony

A heart surgeon took his car to his local garage for a regular service, and ends up striking a conversation with a very skilled but grumpy mechanic. "So tell me," says the mechanic, "I've been wondering about what we both do for a living, and how much more you get paid than me...” "Yes?" says the surgeon. "Well look at this," says the mechanic,(..)

Hop, Skip, and a Dump!

A hunter in Alaska sighted a majestic mountain lion. Since the wild cat was dangerously close, he fired quickly and aimlessly. He missed. The lion leaped towards the hunter. Fortunately, the lion hopped too high and skipped over the hunter. The relieved hunter returned to the camp and was concerned about his poor aim. So the next morning he went behind(..)

The Derailed Express

In 1850 it took the average piece of mail five weeks to travel from Missouri to California. This was frustrating, since in 1848 somebody had discovered gold in the California hills and the wild rush was on. America was moving west and needed a much more efficient, streamlined way to communicate with its West Coast. The Pony Express was the answer. Four(..)

The Blunt Edge

Once there was a group of men—a young, hot-blooded guy and a bunch of old folks. Their job was to chop down trees in the jungle.  The young chap was very hard working. He always continued to work through his break time and often complained that the older folk were wasting time, taking breaks throughout the day to drink and chat. As time went by, this(..)

The Bull’s Third Eye

A young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull’s eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. “There,” he said to the old man, “see if you can match that!” Undisturbed, the(..)

Skills - Arun Nathani Blog