Your Field of Diamonds

Ali Haffed was a prosperous man in his small African community. He owned a large farm with cattle, goats, and camels. He had a nice home, a happy family, and was the trusted village banker.

One day a sojourner from the East knocked on his door and asked for a cup of water as he passed through the area. Ali, being a hospitable man, invited him inside. The man was a diamond prospector. Ali was intrigued by the man's passionate fascination with diamonds. The man told said that if Ali were to discover diamonds that he would live like a king and that his children, like princes and princesses, would sit upon golden thrones.

Ali caught diamond fever! He was 100% committed to his pursuit of those elusive gems. He quickly sold his properties and put his wife and children with family so that he could venture out in search of diamonds. He set off on his quest. He poured himself thoroughly into his dream of becoming a wealthy diamond prospector. Sadly, though, Ali committed suicide many years later in Barcelona, Spain. He died defeated, poor, and never found those diamonds he felt destined to discover.

Meanwhile, the same man from the East stopped by the home that Ali had sold to another farmer and asked for a cup of water. The man kindly invited the man into his home. Tipping his cup back, the man from the East noticed out of the corner of his eye a peculiar rock sitting on the fireplace mantle. He asked if he could look at it closer and the new homeowner agreed. Upon a closer look the man from the East asked excitedly, "Sir, where did you get this diamond?"

The homeowner said, "This is not a diamond. It is just a rock from my stream out back."

The man from the East exclaimed emphatically, "Sir, I know diamonds! Please take me to the place where you found this rock."

The homeowner walked him out to the stream in his backyard where his livestock quench their thirst every single, normal day. The farmer grabbed a shovel, stuck it into the shallows of the water, and lifted up a pile of glittering rocks. "See, these could not be diamonds. With every shovelful I can dig them up. They are too common to be diamonds."

As it turned out, it was the richest diamond strike in the history of the world. The crowns of England and Czars possess the giant gems from the stream that was once Ali's.

Moral of the story? When pursuing our dreams it is important that we start where we are at and take good inventory of the resources already at your disposal before we search elsewhere. After years of looking outside their "own backyard", the most successful people often discover that everything needed to achieve their most fantastic dreams was right there all the time.

God has a way of disguising the secret to our riches in such a way that others may not accidently stumble upon your inheritance. Often the shovel of humility must be employed to dig where the highminded would never consider looking. However, when we are humble enough and sufficiently willing to make the most of what we already possess we are most likely to find our BIG break.

I think how Microsoft and Apple were founded in garages, Dell in a college dorm room, and countless other titans of industry in places not so visibly loaded with promise. I think how Col. Sanders founded Kentucky Fried Chicken from his kitchen after decades of failing as an entrepreneur. I think of countless stories of how the world's greatest leaders were "discovered" when they made the most of what they had at the time. I think of two newlyweds who could not find a room at an in and had their baby in the only place available in their emergency situation -- a stable. And I think of how that baby grew to become the man whose life would most change the world.

No matter where you are at in your pursuit of success, take some time to consider the resources and people already available to you. This may seem to contradict the message of PPC and attraction mareting, but it doesn't, just don't forget there may be treasure right at home.