The document contains 4 short motivational stories about peace of mind, a butterfly struggling in its cocoon, a clever dog, and a lesson about appreciating what you have. After each story is a reflection section and space for a journal entry. The purpose of the document is to empower the reader through stories and self-reflection exercises.

2. Contents
Story 1: Peace of Mind
1.1 Reflection 1
1.2 Journal Entry 1
Story 2: The story of the Butterfly
2.1 Reflection 2
2.2 Journal Entry 2
Story 3: A Clever Dog
3.1 Reflection 3
3.2 Journal Entry 3
Story 4: How Rich are We?
4.1 Reflection 4
4.2 Journal Entry 4

3. Introduction
Motivation is an important tool to success in our life.
In this book, we will be introducing short motivational stories
to you. After each story, you are required to fill up the
reflection page and a journal entry. The purpose of this book is
to empower you through your toughest days at work, making
every working day a fruitful one.
“You’re not alone, and you’ll never be”
Brought to you by:

4. 10 Rules For A Better Way To Live
1. Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much
you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the
music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God
intended for you... with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.
2. Today, and every day, delivers more than you are getting paid to do. The
victory of success will be half won when you learn the secret of putting out
more than is expected in all that you do. Make yourself so valuable in your
work that eventually you will become indispensable. Exercise your privilege to
go the extra mile, and enjoy all the rewards you receive. You deserve them!
3. Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back
at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for
occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No
one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your
growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an
occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come.
4. Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any
imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as
often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to
achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide
that you can. Never consider yourself defeat again. Let the vision in your heart
be in your life's blueprint. Smile!
5. Each day is a special gift from God, and while life may not always be fair,
you must never allow the pains, hurdles, and handicaps of the moment to
poison your attitude and plans for yourself and your future. You can never win
when you wear the ugly cloak of self-pity, and the sour sound of whining will
certainly frighten away any opportunity for success. Never again. There is a
better way
6.Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and
unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it
comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no
cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours
when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in
your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time,
leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!

5. 7.Never neglect the little things. Never skimp on that extra effort, that
additional few minutes, that soft word of praise or thanks, that delivery of the
very best that you can do. It does not matter what others think, it is of prime
importance, however, what you think about you. You can never do your best,
which should always be your trademark, if you are cutting corners and
shirking responsibilities. You are special. Act it. Never neglect the little things.
8.Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another
special gift from your Creator, another golden opportunity to complete what
you were unable to finish yesterday. Be a self- starter. Let your first hour set
the theme of success and positive action that is certain to echo through your
entire day. Today will never happen again. Don't waste it with a false start or
no start at all. You were not born to fail.
9.Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort
searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember
that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out.
Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without
getting a few drops on yourself.
10.Search for the seed of good in every adversity. Master that principle and
you will own a precious shield that will guard you well through all the darkest
valley you must traverse. Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well,
when they cannot be discerned from the mountaintop. So will you learn
things in adversity that you would never have discovered without trouble.
There is always a seed of good. Find it and prosper.

6. Reflection
1. What did you learn from the story?
2. How can you apply it to your working days in order to make each day
a fruitful one?
Journal
What happened today?
Did you feel good?
What changes can be made in order to ensure that this does not occur
again, or maintain this good feeling ?

8. Peace of Mind
Once, there was a Buddha walking from one town to another town with a few
of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were travelling, they
happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his
disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”
The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some
people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock
cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very
muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to
Buddha to drink!” So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is
very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”
After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to
the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back
to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it.
The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he
collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.
Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said,
“See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud
settled down on its own – and you got clear water... Your mind is also like that.
When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its
own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is
effortless.”
What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, “It is effortless.” Having 'peace of
mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace
inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in
the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.

9. Reflection
1. What did you learn from the story?
2. How can you apply it to your working days in order to make each day
a fruitful one?
Journal
What happened today?
Did you feel good?
What changes can be made in order to ensure that this does not occur
again, or maintain this good feeling ?

10. The Story of the Butterfly
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly.
One day a small opening appeared.
He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours
as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.
Then it stopped, as if it couldn’t go further.
So the man decided to help the butterfly.
He took a pair of scissors and
snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon.
The butterfly emerged easily but
it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.
The man continued to watch it,
expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body,
Neither happened!
In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life
crawling around.
It was never able to fly.
What the man in his kindness
and haste did not understand:
The restricting cocoon and the struggle
required by the butterfly to get through the opening
was a way of forcing the fluid from the body
into the wings so that it would be ready
for flight once that was achieved.
Sometimes struggles are exactly
what we need in our lives.
Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us.
We will not be as strong as we could have been
and we would never fly.

11. Reflection
1. What did you learn from the story?
2. How can you apply it to your working days in order to make each day
a fruitful one?
Journal
What happened today?
Did you feel good?
What changes can be made in order to ensure that this does not occur
again, or maintain this good feeling ?

13. A Clever Dog
A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he saw a dog
coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back again.
So, he goes over to the dog and notices he has a note in his mouth. He takes
the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of lamb, please. The
dog has money in his mouth, as well."
The butcher looks inside and, lo and behold, there is a ten dollar Note there.
So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag, placing it in
the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since it's about closing time,
he decides to shut up shop and follow the dog.
So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street when he comes To a level
crossing.
The dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the button. Then he waits
patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn. They do, and he walks across
the road, with the butcher following him all the way.
The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.
The butcher is in awe at this stage. The dog checks out the times, and then sits
on one of the seats provided. Along comes a bus. The dog walks around to the
front, looks at the number, and goes back to his seat.
Another bus comes. Again the dog goes and looks at the number, notices it's
the right bus, and climbs on. The butcher, by now, open-mouthed, follows him
onto the bus.
The bus travels through the town and out into the suburbs, the dog Looking at
the scenery. Eventually he gets up, and moves to the front of the bus. He
stands on 2 back paws and pushes the button to stop the bus. Then he gets off,
his groceries still in his mouth.
Well, dog and butcher are walking along the road, and then the dog turns into
a house. He walks up the path, and drops the groceries on the step.
Then he walks back down the path, takes a big run, and throws himself against
the door. He goes back down the path, runs up to the door and again, it
throws himself against it. There's no answer at the house, so the dog goes
back down the path, jumps up on a narrow wall, and walks along the

14. perimeter of the garden. He gets to the window, and beats his head against it
several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door.
The butcher watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog,
kicking him and punching him, and swearing at him.
The butcher runs up, and stops the guy. "What in heaven's name are You
doing? The dog is a genius. He could be on TV, for the life of me!" to which the
guy responds: "You call this clever? This is the second time this week that this
stupid dog's forgotten his key."

15. Reflection
1. What did you learn from the story?
2. How can you apply it to your working days in order to make each day
a fruitful one?
Journal
What happened today?
Did you feel good?
What changes can be made in order to ensure that this does not occur
again, or maintain this good feeling ?

17. How Rich are We?
One day a father and his rich family took his son on a trip to the country with
the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and
a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip,
the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “Very good Dad!” “Did you see
how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Yeah!” “And what did you learn?”
The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek
that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars.
Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon.” When the
little boy was finished, his father was speechless. His son added, “Thanks, Dad,
for showing me how ‘poor’ we are!”
Isn’t it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love,
friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life —
you’ve got everything! You can’t buy any of these things. You may have all the
material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc.; but if
you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

18. Reflection
1. What did you learn from the story?
2. How can you apply it to your working days in order to make each day
a fruitful one?
Journal
What happened today?
Did you feel good?
What changes can be made in order to ensure that this does not occur
again, or maintain this good feeling ?

19. Biblography
Mandino, O. 17 Rules For a Better Way To Live. Available from:
http://www.heartnsouls.com/stories/m/s1230.shtml [online] Last accessed: 29
July 2012
Peace of Mind, Thoughtful and Inspirational stories. Available from:
http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/stories.html#Story46 [online] Last
accessed: 29 July 2012
The Story of a Butterfly, The Best Motivational Stories | Inspirational Stories.
Available from: http://www.motivationalwellbeing.com/motivational-stories.html
[online] Last accessed: 29 July 2012
Heart 'n Souls: Collection of inspirational and motivational stories - A Clever Dog.
Available from: http://www.heartnsouls.com/stories/c/s291.shtml [online]
Last acessed: 29 July 2012