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The Old Man, The Boy and The Donkey Or You Can Never Please Everyone

By
Mortgage and Lending with Veritas Funding, SLC, UT NMLS #231319

From Michael Port's Book Yourself Solid the following excerpt is an old fable (author unknown) demonstrating the futility of trying to please all the people all the time....enjoy!

An old man, a boy and a donkey were going to town.  The boy rode on the donkey and the old man walked beside him.  As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking and the boy was riding.  The man and the boy thought maybe the critics were right so they changed positions. 

Later, they passed some people who remarked, "What a shame!  He makes that little boy walk."  They then decided they both would walk. 

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride.  So they both rode the donkey. 

Now they passed some people who shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey.  The boy and the man said they were probably right, so they decided to carry the donkey.  As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal and he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story?  If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.

Posted by

 

Melinda (Mel) Peterson
Grants Pass, OR - Bend, OR
The Savvy Broker - ABR, CRS

Funny Joe!  But so true - sometimes we end up killing ourselves to please others! 

Jan 05, 2010 03:42 PM
Gary Coles (International Referrals)
Venture Realty International - Las Vegas, NV
Latin America Real Estate

Joe,  I had heard this fable and had forgotten about it.  Thanks for sharing it again.  It is true that you can't please everyone.

Jan 05, 2010 03:43 PM
Joe Libin
Veritas Funding, SLC, UT - Salt Lake City, UT
Veritas Funding NMLS #843779 & #252108

Gary - It feels like we've all heard this at some point but it's worth repeating (and remembering)

Melinda - Your profile is awesome!  It looks like you're a pro at SEO and leveraging technology.  I'm hoping to get that "dialed in" over time - congrats to you!

Jan 05, 2010 03:54 PM
Rob Thomas
Prestige Homes of The Tri Cities, Inc. CALL....423-341-6954 - Bristol, TN
Bristol TN-VA & Tri Cities Agent, ABR, GRI, e-Pro

Joe...you can never be all things to all people! Have a great day!

Jan 05, 2010 11:50 PM
Randy DeLaMare
Realtypath LLC - Salt Lake City, UT
Helping friends Realize their Real Estate Dreams

Joe, It's true we can't please all of the people all of the time. I am happy to please some of the people some of the time. I think the other moral of the story may be don't listen to everything everyone says or you'll be a basket case.

Jan 06, 2010 03:49 AM