Helping Companies Rethink, Recover & Refocus on the Future

The way others see us can be a mystery. The daily work you perform can inspire others without your knowledge. Consider the following story about a teacher's job:

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first-grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment to draw a picture of something they were thankful for.

Most of the class might be considered poor, but still, many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student's art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy and the teacher's true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something he was thankful for, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was a farmer's hand because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer because the police protect and care for people. Still, others thought it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went — until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas' desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was...

Finish the story and discover the lesson