Motivational and Inspirational Short Stories

LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Read motivational stories to increase your reading skills 2. Understand the correct pronunciation of words 3. Expand your vocabulary and improve your focus, memory, and self-esteem. 4. Feel confident in your reading skills

LEARNING FROM MISTAKES

Learn to Appreciate Once upon a time, there was a man who was very helpful, kindhearted, and generous. He was a man who will help someone without asking anything to pay him back. He will help someone because he wants to and he loves to. One day while walking into a dusty road, this man saw a purse, so he picked it up and noticed that the purse was empty. Suddenly a woman with a policeman shows up and gets him arrested.

The woman kept on asking where did he hide her money but the man replied, “It was empty when I found it, Mam.” The woman yelled at him, “Please give it back, It’s for my son’s school fees.” The man noticed that the woman really felt sad, so he handed all his money. He could say that the woman was a single mother. The man said, “Take these, sorry for the inconvenience.” The woman left and a policeman held the man for further questioning.

The woman was very happy but when she counted her money, later on, it was doubled, she was shocked. One day while the woman was going to pay her son’s school fees towards the school, she noticed that some skinny man was walking behind her. She thought that he may rob her, so she approached a policeman standing nearby. He was the same policeman, who she took along to inquire about her purse. The woman told him about the man following her, but suddenly they saw that man collapsing. They ran at him and saw that he was the same man whom they arrested a few days back for stealing a purse.

He looked very weak and the woman was confused. The policeman said to the woman, “He didn’t return your money, he gave you his money that day. He wasn’t the thief but hearing about you son’s school fees, he felt sad and gave you his money.” Later, they helped the man stand up, and the man told the woman, “Please go ahead and pay your son’s school fees, I saw you and followed you to be sure that no one steals your son’s school fees.” The woman was speechless.

Moral lesson: Life gives you strange experiences, sometime it shocks you and sometimes it may surprise you. We end up making wrong judgments or mistakes in our anger, desperation and frustration. However, when you get a second chance, correct your mistakes and return the favor. Be Kind and Generous. Learn to Appreciate what you are given.

Ralph Marston once said “ make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.

The Story of the Frog: Believe In Yourself

Once upon a time, there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants…. The race began… No one in the crowd believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as… “Oh, it is WAY too difficult!!” “They will NEVER make it to the top.” “Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!” The tiny frogs began collapsing one by one, except for those, who in a fresh tempo. They were climbing higher and higher. The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up.

But ONE tiny frog continued higher and higher and higher, this one wouldn’t give up! In the end, everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog that after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! Then all the other tiny frogs wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal. The frog did not respond anything; it stayed mum with that big smile of success on his face. Later it turned out that the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is “Never listen to other people’s tendencies. Likely they will be negative or pessimistic. Because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you — the ones you have in your heart!!!”

Nail on the fence Once there was a small town; a man was living happily with small family comprising his wife and a son. They had a beautiful house having lush green garden in front and backyard. As his son was growing up, he noticed that the little boy’s behavior was getting changed. His son was developing a very bad temper. He tried to counsel him, but there was no result. The boy used to get angry very frequently and often out of anger he used bad language.

His words started hurting others. He scolded kids in school, neighbors and even his friends due to anger. His friends and neighbors started avoiding him, and his parents were getting really worried about him. One beautiful morning, he called his son in his bedroom. The father had a plan to improve the behavior of his son. He gave him a bag of nails and a hammer; and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the wooden fence of the backyard.

At first, it sounded strange to the young boy. But the boy followed his father’s instructions and on the very first day he hammered 43 nails into wooden fence at the backyard. The father asked his son to notice how frequently boy was getting annoyed and angry in a particular day. This was alarming and the little boy decided to control on his anger.

The boy gradually began to notice the anger generating moments deliberately. He tried to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The boy learnt the art of getting rid of anger. He was very happy as he could change his behavior. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the wooden fence of backyard.

The father said “Excellent; you have done very well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

VOCABULARY lush- adjective (of vegetation) growing luxuriantly Similar words : Luxuriant , rich. abundant get rid of take action so as to be free of (a troublesome or unwanted person or thing). Similar words: do away, throw away , clear out Scar- a mark left on the skin or within body tissue where a wound, burn, or sore has not healed completely and fibrous connective tissue has developed. Similar words: Mark, blemish hammering- the sound or action of hammering something. hammer- a tool that has a heavy metal head attached to a handle and that is used for hitting nails or breaking things apart .

Motivational Short Story about Time Time is Gold An old Chinese saying that stresses the value of time goes……. “An inch of time is worth an inch of gold; yet you can’t buy an inch of time at an inch of gold.”

Once, I attended a seminar where the instructor was lecturing on time. At one point, he said, “Okay, time for a quiz.” He reached under the table and pulled out a wide-mouthed gallon jar. He set it on the table next to a platter with some fist-sized rocks on it. “How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked.

After we made our guess, he said, “Okay. Let’s find out.” He set one rock in the jar . . . then another . . . then another. I don’t remember how many he got in, but he got the jar full. Then he asked, “Is this jar full?” Everyone looked at the rocks and said, “Yes.” The Trainer said , “Ahhh”. He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar and the gravel went in all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Thereafter he grinned and said once more, “Is the jar full?”

By this time the participants guessed the answer from past experience; “Probably not,” we said. “Good!” he replied. Then He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand and started dumping the sand in the Jar. It went into all of the little spaces left by the rocks and the gravel. Once more he looked and said, “Is this jar full?” “No!” we roared.

He said, “Good!” and he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in. He got something like a quart of water in that jar. Then he said, ” Well, what’s the point?” Somebody said, “Well, there are gaps, and if you work really hard you can always fit some more things into your life.” “No,” he said, “that’s not really the point.

The point is this: Put the Big Rocks in First The Trainer continued, “Now, I want you to recognize that this Jar is your life. The fist-sized rocks are the important things – your physical and mental health, your family, your life partner and children – anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, it will make a big impact on your life and you would be nearly destroyed.

The gravels are the other things in life that matter but lesser than the above ones. The gravels represent things like your career, job, house, friends, social connections or car. The sand is everything else, the other “small stuff” in life.

“If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks.” That’s why I said, the point is – “Put the Big Rocks in First”. He continued, ” I hope now you understand, the same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the lesser important small stuff and materialistic things, you will never have space for the things that are truly most important. Pay attention to the things that are Important in your life and spend time on the Important.”

VOCABULARY rock- the solid mineral material forming part of the surface of the earth and other similar planets, exposed on the surface or underlying the soil or oceans. - A relatively hard, naturally mineral material. platter- a large flat dish or plate - the rotating metal disk forming the turntable of a record player. gravel- a loose aggregation of small water-worn or pounded stones. Similar words - pebbles or stones Small stuff in life - Appreciating the little things in life means that you focus your attention on what nurtures and sustains you in life. On everything that brings you even the smallest amount of pleasure. It also means practicing gratitude by noticing these everyday things that you take for granted so easily. roared- to shout loudly

SUMMARY Reading is an excellent way to improve pronunciation and fluency. It expands your vocabulary, improves your focus, memory skills, and self-esteem. Practicing a little each day will ensure growth and confidence.