The Story

There were once a brother and sister who were each given a gift. The boy, fearful his gift would be lost or stolen, chose to hide his gift under a rock to keep it safe. The girl, on the other hand, took her treasure and bought some seed.

The girl planted and cared for her seeds and soon found herself with a bountiful harvest. She took her goods to a market and sold them for a very tidy profit. With her profit she bought more supplies and equipment and planted even more seeds the next season.

The boy’s gift, in the meantime, remained secure under his rock.
The girl researched and implemented innovative ways to make better use of her acreage. At harvest time, she made an even bigger profit and set out to learn about supply and demand. She discovered how some goods have greater appeal to consumers and began planting those seeds that many people desired.

Her next harvest was the biggest yet and she chose to invest some of her money in buying better farming equipment. Due to her hard work and skill, her product began to be marketed and sold throughout the country. She became a very wealthy woman.
The boy’s gift, in the meantime, remained secure under his rock.
The girl chose not to simply accumulate her money and let it sit in a bank. Instead, she put it to work by establishing programs to help others learn how they too could use their gifts in ways that made the world around them better than they found it. She then built a school that taught business and economics and formed a charitable organization that would help others far and wide benefit from her original gift.

Meanwhile, the boy, who was now a man, still had his original gift. It was safely hidden under the same rock. While his sister grew to become very successful, blessing the lives of countless others with her gift, the boy’s life seemed stagnant and small. With his gift hidden from view, he risked little and achieved less. Falling far short of ever really knowing how things may have been different if he too chose to do as his sister and use his gift to build value into his surroundings.