“In South Africa, they dig for diamonds. Tons of earth are moved to find a pebble not as large as a little fingernail. The miners are looking for diamonds, not the dirt. They are willing to lift all the dirt in order to find the jewels. In daily life, people forget this principle and become pessimists because there is more dirt than diamonds. When trouble comes, don’t be frightened by the negatives. Look for the positives and dig them out. They are so valuable it doesn’t matter if you have to handle tons of dirt.” – David Seabury
I think this is a valuable perspective to keep when things aren’t going just as you planned.
What do you think? Leave a comment below.
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The message is an obvious one, but I like the analogy. I think I’ll use that next time business is down. Thanks for sharing!
.-= TJ | Health, Unchained´s last blog ..Go Play! =-.
This is a wonderful analogy! People (me, especially) tend to get discouraged when things don’t come as easily as they think they should. This is a great reminder that you have to sift a lot of dirt to find the jewels. Aprropriate for work and relationships too, methinks.
.-= Jay Schryer´s last blog ..I Totally Screwed My Karma =-.
Wow! I love that. It’s so true. People give up because there is so much dirt, but we have to remember that there are diamonds underneath. We have to keep working and searching and never give up. Excellent quote. Thank you for sharing it!
.-= Positively Present´s last blog ..happiness and the city =-.
Wow, this was a great comparison to what we should be thinking about or looking at. Although diamonds are very small, they are also very expensive.
Some people concentrate on the bad and negative things and sometimes it consumes them. Very few look at the good and positive things.
I’m from South Africa so thanks for referencing my country. Just as an extra point, we also mine for Gold and that also has a lot of dirt involved
.-= George Serradinho´s last blog ..Newest WordPress Plugins 30/7 =-.
Love the analogy!
It reminds me of the saying, “Don’t quit five minutes before the miracle happens.”
All the best!
deb
.-= Deb Owen´s last blog ..common blocks to creativity (and life) =-.
It’s so true! What a beautiful analogy. If we don’t keep our eyes on the prize, we will wonder why we are running! We’ve got to review our written goals and our dream board every morning. Otherwise, our focus goes to the dirt, and we will lose the diamonds to discouragement and frustration.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..How to Get a Spine….TODAY! =-.
IFf things would be easy to do, anyone would become rich, but there’s a deep path to traverse, and that’s the secret to wealth.
.-= Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..My plan to make 10,000 euros per month =-.
Stephen, this analogy is a perfect motivator for all situations we face in our day to day lives. Its so simply stated but yet has such a deep effect on the psyche. It reminds me of another thing my teachers in school always said to motivate us-”Try try until you succeed.”
.-= Zeenat-Positive Provocations´s last blog ..Inspirational Quote Of The Week.{31/7/09} =-.
The secret to enjoying yourself is to find ways to make sifting through the dirt as enjoyable as possible! That way when you find the diamond your journey will not only be worth it but you will have had some fun along the way!
Great post as well as fine chat one of the opinions.