POINTS TO PONDER:



“You must not cease from exploration. And the end of all your exploring will be to arrive where you began and know the place for the first time.” - T.S.Eliott.



Lead-in to the story line: Benchmarking itself is healthy. Adopting best practices is good as well. The challenge is the prudent use of the findings in your environment. If people do not have discipline to know the value and use what they already have, what makes you think they will have discipline to carry through on new programs?





STORYLINE: All Good Things Are Possible, Right Where You Are, and Now* .



Conwell’s famous lecture, "Acres of Diamonds," made him America's foremost platform orator. By the end of his life, in 1925, he had delivered the lecture more than 6,000 times in town after town throughout America (Constancy of Purpose). It was heard by millions from pulpits and public platforms, and by radio, and today others are still reading his practical, optimistic essay and hearing it on cassettes. He founded Temple University, a worthy cause, from over $8 million dollars (in 1920s) that he earned from telling Acres of Diamonds Stories.



In 1870 when making a circuit of the earth as the correspondent of the New York Tribune, Conwell visited Baghdad (under different circumstances than now) and hired a guide to show him down the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers. On the first day down the river, the guide told him their tradition concerning acres of diamonds, which Russell Conwell used in his lectures six thousand times.



There once lived, in, near the river Indus an ancient farmer (business man) who owned a large farm (corporation), that he had orchards (for technology, products) and grain fields (Mfg facilities) and gardens (systems and tools)—money at interest (cash)—and was counted as a wealthy (Leading Corporation) and a happy man (well balanced). One day there visited him one of the ancient Buddhist priests (exteranl consultants)—a wise man of the East who told him about the discovery of diamonds (new systems/tools/programs) in Europe (other corporations). He said that the diamonds are so very valuable that if the farmer had a handful he could purchase the whole country (own the entire market share), and with a mine of diamonds, he could place his children upon thrones, through the influence of their great wealth. The farmer heard all about diamonds, and was determined to find them.



He sold his farm the next day, and with the money departed - traveling up and down the whole of Europe. He sought them in every place where he had heard of any indication of such gems ... but finding none, he spent all his money and became very poor, in rags, in poverty, and in hunger. And at last, in despair, he flung himself into the sea—on the shore of the Thames—and sank from sight, never to rise in this life again.



Now the man who bought his farm started exploring his newly acquired land. He noticed a curious flash of light from the white sands of the stream, and reaching in, he pulled out a black stone having an eye of light which reflected all the hues of the rainbow. “And, thus,” said the guide to Conwell, “was discovered the great diamond mines of Galconda, the most magnificent diamond mine in all the history of the world. The Kohinoor of England, and the Orlov of Russia, the greatest crown jewels on earth came from Galconda’s diamond mines.”



"Had the farmer, at least, explored the possibilities in his own land (understood his own capabilities and strengths), dug in his own cellar (taken deep dive into his own operations), or underneath his own wheat fields (listened to his people), or in his own garden (and acted upon more of his core strengths), instead of wretchedness, starvation, poverty, and suicide in a strange land (adopting other's programs w/o success indicators), he would have had acres of diamonds!"

Reflection: The answer to your (organization, person's) problems lie within you. All that you have to do is look, listen and learn. Russell Conwell, inspired by this farmer’s story, found many similar stories in America and shared them in his lectures. I am sure we all have our Acres of Diamonds.





http://www.temple.edu/about/temples_founder/acres_text.html





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* From the book Acres of Diamonds: by Russell Conwell. Source Temple University website on the subject. Comments in parenthesis are not in the orginal text.