THE SEED

by **dickies_force** Fri Oct 24, 2008 6:45 pm

A successful business man was growing old and knew it
was time to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his directors or his
children, he decided to do something different. He called
all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose
the next CEO. I have decided to choose one
of you." The young executives were shocked, but the
boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a
SEED today - one very special SEED. I want
you to plant the seed, water it,and come back here
one year from today with what you have grown from the seed
I have given you. I will then judge the plants
that you bring, and the one I choose will be
the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like
the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the
story. She helped him get a pot,soil and compost and he planted the seed.

Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had
grown. After about three weeks, some of the
other executives began to talk about their seeds
and the plants that were
beginning to grow. Jim kept
checking his seed,but nothing ever grew. Three
weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still
nothing. By now, others were talking about their
plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt
like a failure.

Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot.He
just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and
tall plants, but he had nothing.Jim
didn't say anything to his colleagues,
however. He just kept watering and
fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the
seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of
the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told
his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she
asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach,
it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew
his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim
arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other
executives. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Jim put
his empty pot on the floor and many of his
colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted
his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back.
"My,what great plants,trees, and flowers you have grown," said the
CEO."Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!" All of a
sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back
of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the
financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was
terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows
I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had
happened to his Seed,Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He
looked at Jim, and then announced to the young
executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive! His
name is Jim!"

Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his
seed. How could he be the new CEO the others said?
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave
everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take
the seed, plant it, water it,and bring it back to
me today.

But, I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it
was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Jim, have brought me
trees and plants and flowers.

When you found that the seed would not grow,
you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty
to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!"

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment.
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.