Sell Without Selling Podcast

Episode #13

What Success Really Looks Like

On this Episode, Stacey uses a Chinese proverb to unpack the truth about success.

A farmer and his son had a beloved stallion who helped the family earn a living. One day, the horse ran away and their neighbors exclaimed, “Your horse ran away, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few days later, the horse returned home, leading a few wild mares back to the farm as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned, and brought several horses home with him. What great luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

Later that week, the farmer’s son was trying to break one of the mares and she threw him to the ground, breaking his leg. The villagers cried, “Your son broke his leg, what terrible luck!” The farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

A few weeks later, soldiers from the national army marched through town, recruiting all the able-bodied boys for the army. They did not take the farmer’s son, still recovering from his injury. Friends shouted, “Your boy is spared, what tremendous luck!” To which the farmer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

3 Key Takeaways:

  1. There is only what happens and how we choose to respond.
  2. Nothing is truly ever black & white.
  3. Bad cannot exist without good, and vice versa.

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(First ~2 mins)

[Intro]

Okay let’s get onto today’s topic. I love metaphors. Look, bear with me, okay? Because today’s topic’s a little different than what the previous topics have been. And I want to share with you this metaphor that I like. There’s actually 2 that I really like. One of them we’ll go over today, and then another one we’ll go over in the near future.

Reality is this. I love metaphors. They really help me look at scenarios through different perspectives. And like I said, bear with me a little bit today, because I promise you I’ll tie it all in at the end, and help you really understand the message and the power behind today’s episode.

See, as I’ve said a couple times already, I love metaphors. They help me look at scenarios through different perspectives. There are 2 that come to mind right now that are very relevant in what’s going on in today’s climate. One, we’re going to go over right now, and then another one in the near future. You see, there’s this Chinese proverb that goes something like this. There was a Chinese farmer who worked his farm together with his son and their horse, barely making ends meet, working day in and day out. Farming can be very hard work, and the farmer’s horse bared a large portion of the labor by pulling the plow to plow the field, and by pulling the heavy, full carts. “You’re so lucky,” his neighbors told him, “to have a horse to pull the cart for you.” “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see”, the farmer would reply back to them.

One day, the farmer forgot to latch the gate properly, and the horse ran off. “Oh no. This is terrible news,” his neighbors cried. “Such a terrible misfortune. Such terrible luck,” they told him. “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see,” the farmer would reply back.

A few days later, the horse returned home leading a few wild horses back to the farm, as well. The neighbors shouted out, “Your horse has returned and brought several horses home with him. Now you’re rich! What great luck! What great fortune,” his neighbors would say. The famer replied, “Maybe so, maybe not. We’ll see.”

To listen to the rest of this podcast, please click the link below.