It contains a very important lesson about life and leadership.
So here's the story if you're not familiar with it...and I'm retelling it in my own words:
"There are these cows grassing closely together in a secluded, fenced-in area...masses of them. They're all just doing the same thing - doing what cows do: Grassing.
But then there's this RHINO - one lone rhino among all the cows.
And this rhino doesn't like being confined, in fact he hates it, so he BURSTS through the fence and out into the open field and up the hill.
"Wo-hoo - freedom!!!"
There, he stops and looks back, down at all the cows. And you know what? You know what he sees?
He sees that they're not really cows - from where he's standing he can see clearly what he was not able to see while down there, grassing among all of them with his head down and his butt up...
They're not really cows - they are really rhinos! They are ALL rhinos that have been conned into believing they're cows!"
It's a simple little story yet it's profound, isn't it? For sure it got me thinking.
It got me thinking about the reason, the real reason why, today, I find myself in this vast field of opportunity.
Financial freedom. Time freedom. Life on my own terms. The opportunity to inspire and encourage other people. The list goes on.
It's not because I'm so "special", or so "gifted". And it's certainly not because I have been "lucky".
No.Here's why: It's because, some time back, I fully embraced the fact that I'm a rhino.
It didn't happen overnight - far from it. It happened after years of internal battles, challenges, and struggles -- followed by bursts of personal growth.
But gradually, I came to terms with who I really am. I took ownership of my rhino-ness, you could say.
I stopped listening to those who wanted to dupe me into believing I was - and always would be - a cow:
"Just stay where you are." "It's too difficult." "You can't do it." "You'll never make it." "You're not smart enough", "You're --"
HUSH!! STOP IT!!
Yeah, that's essentially what I told them...in my subconscious, I told them.
And you know what else I did? I started to question the fence.
Why was there a fence there in the first place? Who put it there? Did it really have to be there?
Why I could not go outside its perimeters? Who said so?
Well, of course, the ones who said so were the same people who wanted me to believe I was a cow!
The ones I had decided NOT to listen to anymore.
So as I finally and completely embraced my rhino-ness, I was able to muster the strength and the courage that it took to 'SMASH' through the fence, and into the open.
And that is why, today, I have opportunities. It's because I'm on this side of the fence now, with the other rhinos.
You see, in the OPEN FIELD there's opportunity everywhere that you look.
You just have to get yourself there...!
Stop listening to the naysayers and the dream stealers. The people who are trying to put you down and hold you back.
Be the rhino you were created to be. Live fearlessly. Choose freedom.
http://janehiebert.com
So here's the story if you're not familiar with it...and I'm retelling it in my own words:
"There are these cows grassing closely together in a secluded, fenced-in area...masses of them. They're all just doing the same thing - doing what cows do: Grassing.
But then there's this RHINO - one lone rhino among all the cows.
And this rhino doesn't like being confined, in fact he hates it, so he BURSTS through the fence and out into the open field and up the hill.
"Wo-hoo - freedom!!!"
There, he stops and looks back, down at all the cows. And you know what? You know what he sees?
He sees that they're not really cows - from where he's standing he can see clearly what he was not able to see while down there, grassing among all of them with his head down and his butt up...
They're not really cows - they are really rhinos! They are ALL rhinos that have been conned into believing they're cows!"
It's a simple little story yet it's profound, isn't it? For sure it got me thinking.
It got me thinking about the reason, the real reason why, today, I find myself in this vast field of opportunity.
Financial freedom. Time freedom. Life on my own terms. The opportunity to inspire and encourage other people. The list goes on.
It's not because I'm so "special", or so "gifted". And it's certainly not because I have been "lucky".
No.Here's why: It's because, some time back, I fully embraced the fact that I'm a rhino.
It didn't happen overnight - far from it. It happened after years of internal battles, challenges, and struggles -- followed by bursts of personal growth.
But gradually, I came to terms with who I really am. I took ownership of my rhino-ness, you could say.
I stopped listening to those who wanted to dupe me into believing I was - and always would be - a cow:
"Just stay where you are." "It's too difficult." "You can't do it." "You'll never make it." "You're not smart enough", "You're --"
HUSH!! STOP IT!!
Yeah, that's essentially what I told them...in my subconscious, I told them.
And you know what else I did? I started to question the fence.
Why was there a fence there in the first place? Who put it there? Did it really have to be there?
Why I could not go outside its perimeters? Who said so?
Well, of course, the ones who said so were the same people who wanted me to believe I was a cow!
The ones I had decided NOT to listen to anymore.
So as I finally and completely embraced my rhino-ness, I was able to muster the strength and the courage that it took to 'SMASH' through the fence, and into the open.
And that is why, today, I have opportunities. It's because I'm on this side of the fence now, with the other rhinos.
You see, in the OPEN FIELD there's opportunity everywhere that you look.
You just have to get yourself there...!
Stop listening to the naysayers and the dream stealers. The people who are trying to put you down and hold you back.
Be the rhino you were created to be. Live fearlessly. Choose freedom.
http://janehiebert.com
