Famous
Inspirational Stories
The Big Rocks
-
By
unknown Author
One day, an expert was speaking to a
group of business students. To drive
home a point, he used an
illustration those students will
never forget. As this man stood in
front of the group of high-powered
over-achievers he said, "Okay, time
for a quiz." Then he pulled out a
one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar
and set it on a table in front of
him. Next he produced about a dozen
fist-sized rocks and carefully
placed them, one at a time, into the
jar. When the jar was filled to the
top, and no more rocks would fit
inside, he asked, "Is this jar
full?" Everyone in the class said,
"Yes."
He replied, "Really?" and reached
under the table to pull out a bucket
of gravel. He dumped some gravel in
and shook the jar causing pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into
the spaces between the big rocks.
Then he asked the group once more,
"Is the jar full?" By this time the
class was onto him. "Probably not,"
one of them answered. "Good," he
replied. He reached under the table
and brought out a bucket of sand. He
started dumping the sand in, and it
went into all the spaces left
between the rocks and the gravel.
Once more he asked the question, "Is
this jar full?" "No," the class
shouted. Once again he said, "Good."
Then he grabbed a pitcher of water
and began to pour it in until the
jar was filled to the brim.
He looked up at the class and asked,
"What is the point of this
illustration?" One eager beaver
raised his hand and said, "The point
is, no matter how full your schedule
is, if you try really hard, you can
always fit some more things into
it."
"No," the speaker replied, "that's
not the point. The truth this
illustration teaches us is, if you
don't put the big rocks in first,
you'll never get them in at all."
What are the "big rocks" in your
life? A project that YOU want to
accomplish? Time with your loved
ones? Your faith, your education,
your finances? A cause? Teaching or
mentoring others? Remember to put
these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll
never get them in at all. Tonight or
in the morning when you are
reflecting on this story, ask
yourself this question: what are the
"big rocks" in my life or business?
Then put those in your jar first.
