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Impromptu Shorty: Little Surprises

Ages ago, there was a man in Tahiti who didn’t have a lot of money. All he had was a boat, a fishing rod, and an old beat-up shack. Every day, he would go out on his boat and fish. He wouldn’t catch anything, and he would gather up some fruits to eat for dinner. This day, however, was different. He went on his boat with the intention to get some fish. There were thoughts in his mind that he wasn’t going to catch any; this wasn’t going to be a different day. He was out on his boat for two hours, then he decided to give up. He pulled up his rod, and was greeted with a surprise–an oyster shell. He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he opened up the shell anyway. He found not one, but two Tahitian pearls. The man’s face lit up with happiness. He kept on fishing for oysters that day, and found 10, each of them having at least one pearl in them. Ever since then, when he went fishing, he would go for fishing, but didn’t mind if he found an oyster, because they may have little surprises hidden inside.

What did he do with these pearls? First he made small things with them–like rings–and sold them out of his shack. People bought them and spent thousands on these rare pieces of jewelry. When he found enough pearls, he made bracelets, then eventually necklaces. He was then able to use the money and fix up his shack and paint his boat. Why did he just do that and not buy a new boat and shack? He believed in living the simple life, no matter how much money he may have.

And since then, his business has been nothing but successful. The moral of the story? Little surprises can turn into big achievements. Determination is what matters.