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The Most Valuable Industry – No. 47. The Farmer and His Sons – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.

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A Farmer was nearing the end of his life, so he called his Sons for a meeting. He counseled them, “There is a great treasure buried in the land. Search for it as you till the land.”

Soon, the Farmer died, and the Sons searched and tilled the land diligently in search of the treasure.

In fact, they tilled and searched with such diligence, that their production caused them to become rich. It was then they realized that they had found the treasure, which was in their work.

Moral of the Story: We work to become, not to acquire. Industry is its own treasure.

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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue

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Why We Loved It: Aesop reminds us that it is our production and not our consumption that defines us. Sometimes commonly confused, we are what we produce—what we create—and what we become in producing it. Not what we consume. The moral of this fable cannot be explained more succinctly than as said by Elbert Hubbard, quoted below. A perfect annual remembrance for every New Year’s Day, when we re-focus on our resoluteness to begin again.

We work to become, not to acquire.” ~Elbert Hubbard

There is no reason why pride in advertising your abilities should lure you into publicity, so that you should desire to recite or harangue before the general public. Of course I should be willing for you to do so if you had a stock-in-trade that suited such a mob; as it is, there is not a man of them who can understand you. One or two individuals will perhaps come in your way, but even these will have to be moulded and trained by you so that they will understand you. You may say: ‘For what purpose did I learn all these things?’ But you need not fear that you have wasted your efforts; it was for yourself that you learned them.” ~Francis Bacon, The Essays

To progress again, man must remake himself. And he cannot remake himself without suffering. For he is both the marble and the sculptor. In order to uncover his true visage he must shatter his own substance with heavy blows of his hammer.” ~Alexis Carrel

The sum of wisdom is that time is never lost that is devoted to work.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

The harder I work, the luckier I get.” ~Samuel Goldwyn

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.” ~Vince Lombardi

Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” ~Thomas Edison

The work will teach you how to do it.” ~Estonian Proverb

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.” ~Pablo Picasso

By their fruits you will know them. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. A good person—out of the treasure of goodness in his heart—produces good things, but an evil person—out of a store of evil—produces evil things. And, from the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaks… Wisdom is vindicated by her works.” ~ONE®: The Unified Gospel of Jesus: 631; 1022

Work is love made visible.” ~Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

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© 2013 Arnold Zegarelli and Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.

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