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Thank You for Your Time

Are you making the best use of your time? Are you thankful for how you spend your time?

A young man learns what’s most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way.

In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.”

Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you… it’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but honestly I thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over his side of the fence, as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had returned home, Jack and his mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every stop held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was the thing I value most,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said. “I’d better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom.”

It had been about two weeks since Mr Belser died. Returning home from work one day, Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days, the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. Mr Harold Belser, it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package.

There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filled his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found engraved the words, Jack, thanks for your time! Harold Belser.

“The thing he valued most was… my time,” Jack said.

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” Janet, his assistant, asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. “Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”

Thank you for your time - how you spend your time with those around you matters most.

Think about this. You may not realize it, but it’s 100% true.



1. At least two people in this world love you so much they would die for you.


2. At least fifteen people in this world love you in some way.


3. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.


4. Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.


5. You mean the world to someone.


6. If not for you, someone may not be living.


7. You are special and unique.


8. When you think you have no chance of getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you trust God to do what’s best and wait on His time, sooner or later, you will get it or something better.


9. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good can still come from it.


10. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look — you most likely turned your back on the world.


11. Someone that you don’t even know exists loves you.


12. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget the rude remarks.


13. Always tell someone how you feel about them — you will feel much better when they know and you’ll both be happy.


14. If you have a great friend, take the time to let them know that they are great.

Pass this story along to all those you care about and you will certainly brighten someone’s day and might change their perspective for the better.

Tell everyone, “Thanks for your time.”

Ernesto Cole

Every Place Can Be a Holy Place

Mahatma Ghandi - Life in prison - learning solitude, spirituality, meditation through time alone with God.

We are behind walls in prison. For awhile, we are being punished for our actions. However, we should understand that the place where we are living right now could be made into a perfect place. We came here with all our sins and faults, but when we leave we could be free of all our faults. We could be pure.

In India, there are holy rivers and it is said that if you take a bath in them you become free of sins. In the same way your jail could also be a holy place.

You must have heard of Mahatma Ghandi — who after being militant and then fighting against injustice and for freedom, was put in prison. There he learned the teachings of peace and nonviolence, and came out of prison as a great being who freed India without using weapons.

There was another great leader called Lokmanya Tilak who was imprisoned for writing articles and “instigating” people against the government to “break” the law, and to disturb the “peace.” He was sentenced to a year and a half of rigorous imprisonment and came out a much more enlightened and greater force to be contended with.

The Great Yogi Aurobindo became enlightened practicing yoga, reading the Bhagavad Gita (one of the most sacred yoga scriptures), and meditating while being in total solitary confinement when he was in jail. The composer Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna, was an incarnation of God, and he was born in prison before having to be smuggled out and not be killed by the ruling leaders at the time.

And let us not forget the great Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela — who served over two decades in prison while refusing to be released with the condition of compromising his principles and determination.

Therefore, in order to practice spiritual pursuits, people often look for a place that appears like a prison, a place where nobody comes and where nobody will bother them. However, they don’t call themselves prisoners. They call themselves lovers of solitude. If we think very carefully, we will realize that by leading us to prison, God has given us an opportunity to think of ourselves and to remember Him.

In prison, we can lead a disciplined life. We get our food on time. We go to bed on time. We get our clothes on time. And even while living in jail, we can pursue spiritual practice. We can meditate—we can think of our inner self. Hence, let’s not belittle a jail, and make the best of it.

Everything depends on our attitude. If we change our attitude toward a place, then no matter where we are, that place could become heaven for us. If we have full faith in God, then every place, every moment, and every event of our life will begin to feel sublime.

What prison are you living in? What is the value of solitude? What is your attitude? Story on God's goodness - Wisdom from within by Ernesto Cole.
Please contemplate this next story.

Once there was a great prime minister in India who had this kind of understanding. If a parent said to him, “My son has died,” he would say, “Good. Whatever God does is for the best.”

If a woman said to him, “My husband died,” he would say, “Good. Whatever God does is for the best.”

People reacted violently against him. They thought he was crazy and were constantly hatching plots to remove him from power.

One day the king was being shaved by his barber and happened to doze off. While cutting the king’s nails, the barber accidentally cut off the tip of his finger. The prime minister’s enemies thought that this was a wonderful opportunity to teach him a lesson.

They rushed to him and said, “Prime minister, the barber has cut off the king’s finger.”

The prime minister said, “Good. Whatever God does is for the best.”

The prime minister’s enemies went to the king and told him what the prime minister had said. The king called the prime minister into his presence and said, “You fool. You have been eating my food and living on my money, and now you have the nerve to say that it’s a good thing my finger was cut off?” He ordered his men to put the prime minister in jail and give him only dry bread to eat. “Now you’ll see whether what God does is for the best,” he said.

The prime minister sat locked up in his cell and calmly remembered God’s name. He wasn’t upset, and when people would go to visit him and ask him, “How are you?” he would say, “Very good. God has put me here and it is good for me.”

A few days later, the king went off to the forest to hunt. On his way he met a gang of bandits whose leader was a worshiper of the goddess, Kali. The bandit leader needed to sacrifice an important person to the goddess, so he kidnapped the king and dragged him to the temple as a sacrificial offering.

The bandits examined the king thoroughly to see if his body was whole, because only one whose body is perfect can be sacrificed to the goddess. As they examined him, they noticed that the tip of his finger was cut and said, “His body is impure. He is not worthy of the goddess.”

So the king was released. Immediately he realized that if his finger had not been cut he would have lost his head. He remembered what the prime minister had said, “Whatever God does is for the best,” and recognized he had been right.

The king returned to his capital and had the prime minister released from his cell. When the prime minister came before him, he told him what had happened and then asked, “It was good for me that my finger was cut, but was it good for you to have been locked inside this cell, living on dry crumbs?”

The prime minister replied, “Your majesty, if you had not locked me in this cell, I would have gone hunting with you, and the bandits would have grabbed me. They released you because your finger was cut, but they would have sacrificed me because my body is whole. Whatever God does is for the best.”

God's will is best - how to trust in God - is His will truly the best for us?

If that could be our attitude in prison, then prison would be like heaven, not like hell. Our experience of the world depends on our understanding. Because of our narrow understanding, we must be experiencing a lot of pain, but we should realize that it is not only we who are experiencing this pain. We may think that only we are prisoners, but other people are also prisoners. We are in a small prison, but others are in the big prison outside. When will they be released?

All these people are bound by their own narrow understanding and by the noose of their Karma — the consequences of what they’ve done.

A wealthy person is bound by the noose of his wealth. A poor person is bound by the noose of his poverty. An office holder is bound by the pride of his office. A great leader is bound by the noose of his own leadership. And a person in authority is bound by the noose of his own authority.

Everyone who lives in this world is a prisoner.

What about the policeman and guards who are here with us? Of course, they don’t think that they are prisoners, but what do they experience?

What about the jailer who has power over us? Is he happy? We are all in the same place.

So let’s change our understanding. Think that you are a yogi and that you are pursuing your sadhana (inner peace) in this particular place and at this particular moment. Immediately you will experience great joy.

We may have made many mistakes. Because we are between these walls, we remember them. People who are outside also make mistakes, but since they don’t consider themselves prisoners, they forget them.

The difference lies in our understanding. Our entire mental condition is based on understanding that we are prisoners. And because of that understanding, painful thoughts arise and we keep burning within. If we change our understanding, we will be free in a minute. If we develop love for God, then even while living in a prison we could be like a priest.

Become absorbed in the thought of Consciousness — the thought of God, just as you are now absorbed in the thought of being a prisoner. Sit quietly with great peace. Try to know yourself and waves of joy will arise inside you. Experience Consciousness above you, below you, behind you.

Inside there is great divinity. Just as a person absorbed in deep sleep does not experience pleasures or pain—only great peace, so, one who is absorbed in meditation does not experience the pleasures or pain of the outer world. He experiences only the bliss of heaven.

It is with great respect and great love that I welcome you all with my heart. I don’t say this out of sympathy with you because you are in jail. I say this with understanding that God who is in me is also in you. If you direct your attention within, you will discover Him and be transformed.

Ernesto Cole

Throwing Starfish

The story of Throwing Starfish - making a difference in people's lives - Wisdom From Within - Ernesto Cole

Throwing Starfish

A man was walking along the beach after a storm when he came across an old woman throwing starfish that had washed up on shore back into the sea.


When he asked her what she was doing, she said she’d always wanted to make a difference and had decided that today was a good day to begin.


The man looked from her to the thousands of starfish that lay dying along the coastline and said, “For every starfish you throw back into the ocean, three more wash up onto the shore! How can you possibly be making a difference?”


The woman looked thoughtful for a moment and then she picked up another starfish and threw it back into the sea.


She smiled. “Made a difference to that one.”

Ernesto Cole

The General and the CEO

The general and the CEO - a lesson on management and work ethic, getting the job done - the chicken and the pig - fable story of wisdom - Ernesto Cole.

The General and the CEO

A four-star general was taking a tour of the company that had been hired by the military to complete a major defense contract.


Despite the CEO’s assurance that this particular project would be completed on time, the general felt that the CEO’s team was not 100 percent committed to getting the job done.


He argued that they should remain at work and do whatever it takes to succeed, even if it meant working much longer hours, taking extra time away from home and family, and putting themselves under additional personal pressure and stress.

He told the CEO that understanding personnel management was like eating bacon and eggs for breakfast — the chicken was involved and the pig was committed.


The contractor smiled and said, “Well, that’s true, General, but the pig is dead, and the chicken is still producing eggs. I want my people to stay involved.


The general backed down, and the project was completed on time.

Ernesto Cole

Love Comes First

Wealth, Success, Love - three old men story fable - Ernesto Cole - Wisdom From Within

Love Comes First

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard.

She did not recognize them.

She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home?” they asked.

“No,” she replied.

“He’s out, then we cannot come in,” they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.

“Go ahead and tell them I am home and invite them in!”

The woman went out and invited the men in.

“We do not go into a house together,” they said.

“Why is that?” she asked.

One of the old men explained. “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends. And pointing to another, “He is Success, and I am Love.”

The he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which of us you want in your home.

The woman went in and told her husband what was said.

Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house.

She jumped in with her own suggestion. “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will be filled with love!”

“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you has Love? Please come in and be our guest.”

Love got up and started walking toward the house.

The other two also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success, “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together, “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him.

Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”

Love comes first story - wealth, success fable - Wisdom From Within - Ernesto Cole

Ernesto Cole

The Lion and the Fox

Fox and the Lion Fable Story Parable - Ernesto Cole - Wisdom From Within

The Lion and the Fox

A man was walking through the woods outside his home one day when he came across a hungry fox who seemed to be at death’s door.

Because he was a kind man, he thought to bring it some food.

But, before he could go back to his home, he heard a fearsome roar and hid behind a tree.

In seconds, a mountain lion appeared, dragging the carcass of its freshly caught prey.

The lion ate its fill and then wandered off, leaving the remains for the grateful fox.

The man was overwhelmed by this example of an abundant and benevolent universe and decided that he wouldn’t return to his home or his job.

Instead working hard to provide for himself, he would follow the example of the fox and allow the universe to provide for him.

Needless to say, the fox wandered off, and as days turned into weeks, the man himself was hungry and at death’s door.

Despite his best efforts to retain his faith, he was becoming desperate.

In a rare moment of inner quiet, he heard the still, small voice of his own wisdom, “Why have you sought to emulate the fox instead of the lion?”

With that, the man returned home and ate his fill.

Lion and the Fox fable, parable - abundance, wealth, provisions - Wisdom From Within - Ernesto Cole

Ernesto Cole

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