I heard a story once of this man. This man would seek out the rich men that came to the market to buy food, and offer to carry their purchased items from the market, and back to their camels. 

He would do this for the sake of tips, and did quite well most days.

One particular day this man saw one of the richest men coming to the market to buy some fish and other food that was out that day. The rich man pulled up on a double-horse drawn wagon and dressed in very nice clothing.

The man that would carry the groceries of others thought to himself, “This is my big shot! I’m going to get a massive tip.”

So while the rich man was finishing his market shopping, the grocery-hauler man came up to him and said, “Sir, it would be my pleasure to take the groceries from here to there for you, so that you don’t strain yourself.” The rich man said, “Sure! That would be great.”

The grocery-hustling guy took the load of groceries from the market and began to carry them while walking next to the rich man.

The grocery-carrying man began to daydream and plan his next move from the big tip and profit he was “going” to make from carrying the rich man’s groceries.

He thought to himself, “I will take my tip and buy a chicken.” Then he thought, “That chicken will lay eggs. I can sell the eggs at this very market.”

After that he thought, “The profits from selling eggs at the market I can use to buy a cow. I can get milk from the cow, so then I can sell milk, eggs, and some chickens at the market.”

Getting closer to the rich man’s carriage, the grocery-carrying man thought even more. He thought, “From the profits of the milk, chicken, and eggs, I can buy more cattle. I can then sell them along with what they produce to buy a ranch, and have many cattle. Once I do that, I can build a home. Once I build a home, I can hire servants to look after it. Once I hire servants, I can then ask this girl that I’ve been seeking after for her hand in marriage. We can be wed, have a family, and build an empire together.”

Just as he was thinking this, he tripped and fell and dropped all of the rich man’s stuff onto the ground. He began to weep so hard, and couldn’t even stand up.

The rich man asked him, “Why in the world are you so upset, I only lost a few groceries due to damage.” The man weeping on the ground said, “You lost a few groceries, but I lost my tip, my cattle, my estate, my wife, and my entire family because I dropped your groceries.”

Don’t count your chickens before they hatch. That’s the story here. Focus on what you are working on at the moment, and stay in the present, not the future. You can create incredible things IF you stay focused on what’s in front of you. 

I believe in you and love you. – JT