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Acres of Diamonds

TJ Hoisington
Feb 11, 2017
3 min read

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–Transcript–

A gentleman received his inheritance when his father passed away. His father had left him land, a barn, and a home. He went out and worked on that land for many years, trying to make the best of it. He worked many years and put his personal dreams aside. His dream was to one day search the four corners of the world for diamonds.

After trying to make something out of the barren land that his father left him, he decided to sell the property and go after his dreams and his goals in search for diamonds. Unfortunately, he came back penniless and empty-handed. Discouraged he thought, "I don't have a lot of skills, but maybe I should go back to the house I sold and see if the new owner could use a little hand."

Upon returning to his once owned property, he noticed that the barn was double the size. The house had had a big makeover. The grass was green and beautiful with thoroughbreds running throughout. He to the door and just before he knocked, the new owner opened the door and said, "I'm so glad you came back. I wanted to thank you for selling me your property and the land."

The gentleman said, "I'm confused. How are you able to take this land and make something so great out of it?"

The new owner responded: "You wouldn't believe it. The first year I struggled with the land. Nothing would grow. It was difficult. I got frustrated, but I hung in there. The second year, I started to lose my savings so, I went to the bank and tried to get some capital, but they wouldn't loan the money." He continued, "I went to the neighbors and asked for help, but they were in the same financial situation that I was in. Then, one day I was plowing the fields when suddenly the plow broke, and the horse went lame. I was frustrated. I was angry. I was angry with God. I dropped to my knees, and I started to pound the ground. As I pounded the ground, I took a handful of dirt and shook them at the sky, "How could you? How could you? I've tried. I've done my best."

Then, in all his frustration and with hands full of what he thought was dirt, he was surprised when he looked down, he realized his hands were actually filled with diamonds. The man when on to say, "You wouldn't believe it, sir. You sold me acres of diamonds."

Maybe you heard the story "Acres of Diamonds." Your success in life is not determined by your past. We know through the science of the brain that with plasticity, we can create new neural pathways. We can grow. We can do things differently. We can create new habits to replace old habits. We can become more.

TJ Hoisington continues speaking to the audience:

"How many of you in the room can run a marathon?" All right, good. A few of you. "How many of you can play the piano?" Nice. "How many of you can speak two or more languages?"

Now here's an interesting thing. I didn't ask if you currently had the skill level. I didn't ask if you were interested. I asked how many of you CAN. If I were going to a school and speaking to a class of kindergarten kids, and let's say we had 30 kids in the classroom. If I were to stand up say in all my gusto, "How many of you can run a marathon?" Out of 30 kids, how many hands do you think would go up? I say, "60." "I can do it... I can do it... I can do it." Right?

The challenge is that we are conditioned. What happens by the fourth grade? In fact, by the fourth grade the average child has heard the phrase, "No, you can't do it" over 70,000 times (*phycologists indicated). From childhood to adulthood we become conditioned.

Remember this my friends, "limitations are mental and self-imposed."

<End>

About TJ Hoisington:

TJ Hoisington is the bestselling author of “If You Think You Can!” and “The Secret of the Slight Edge.” He has authored other books and training programs on peak performance, personal development, and leadership. As a motivation speaker and organizational performance expert, TJ Hoisington has been invited speak to audiences of 10 executives or 15,000 people. TJ's mission is to provide inspiration and tools that empower people and organizations achieve their goals by unleashing the greatness within. TJ Hoisington is the co-founder of Dunn Hoisington Leadership International.