Surprising Secret That Can Make Your Life A Heaven or Hell

An old story tells about a priest who asked God what Heaven & Hell were like. God showed the priest two doors. The first door lead to a room where there was a large table laden with delicious food. However, around the table were people who looked weak & starved. Each of these people had very long spoons attached to their arms. The spoons could reach the food but were too long for the people to get the food back in their mouths. These people cried in frustration as they kept trying and failing to eat the food enticingly kept at the end of the long spoons. God told the priest, “You have just seen Hell.”

Behind the second door was another large room with a table laden with food. The people around the table also had long spoons attached to their arms. However, they were all laughing and enjoying themselves. This is because each person used their spoons to scoop out a bit of food and feed the person opposite them. By feeding each other, they were able to eat as much as they wanted. God told the priest, “This is Heaven”

What is the point of this story?

The media likes to talk about solo heroes or heroines who’ve faced all challenges by themselves & made it to the top. This makes you aspire to become one of these glamorous “self-made” people. The truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as being “self-made”. All those heroic entrepreneurs & CEOs have had mentors, colleagues & friends helping them along their journey to the top.

When you were born, somebody chose to feed you, clothe you & give you a home. As you grew, you had elders & friends who taught you how to navigate the world. You probably got a lot of advice on how to land your first job. You’ve not done all this by yourself. People have supported you through your life to help you reach where you are today. So please do not have the illusion that everything you’ve achieved has been through your own efforts and you do not need anyone’s help to grow further.

Why do we hesitate to ask others for help? Do we think that it somehow diminishes us?

Think about when someone asks you for a small favour. Most of the time you feel good about doing the favour and it sometimes builds your relationship further with that person. Although that person has been helped, YOU are the one who feels good about it & very rarely does the other person diminish in your eyes. So, why not give others the opportunity to feel good about helping you?

Your success is dependent on the number of people who are invested in helping you succeed. The only way to increase this number is to reach out and ask them for help. Who do you know who could get you a connection to an investor? Who do you know who can tell you how to access a new market? Who do you know who can give you honest feedback on your product? Who can YOU help?

The potential for having Heaven or Hell in your life lies in others’ hands. Will you reach out your hands to hold theirs?