Many years ago there was a village called Potential. The village was located between the Land of Abundance to the West and the Land of Limits to the East. Only those that were married and had given birth to a child were allowed to live in either the Land of Abundance or the Land of Limits. Once this happened the family would be invited to one of the 2 lands.

There were two young men that were born in the village and had lived there all of their life. One came from the North, they called him “Preparation.” The other came from the South, he was known as “Procrastination.” Both young men were named by their parents choosing. They always had the legal right to change their names as they grew older, but they chose to keep the family’s traditional names as they had been passed down from generation to generation.

Preparation owned his own company called “MyLife.” He worked for himself and set his own schedule each day. Preparation made sure to wake up each morning with a cup of coffee, a book, and watched the sunrise every day. After his morning routine he then went to work on his business which consisted of specific projects he has working on. After work he would go home to rest and enjoy his evening spending some time in his hobbies. To end the night he would take a walk downtown right before bedtime.

Procrastination owned his own company as well called “MyLuck.” He worked for himself and set his own schedule each day. Procrastination woke up whenever he felt like getting out of bed which varied day by day. He then went to work on his business which consisted of other people’s agendas. After work he went home and fell asleep on his couch watching the television.

One day two twin sisters came to visit the town of Potential. The two girls shared the same name “Opportunity.” Their parents named them the same name because they were exactly alike in every possible way. There was not one single difference between the two. The young twins were visiting their grandmother Optimist for a short stay.

On the night of their first visit one of the girls went out to talk a walk downtown for the stars were beautifully sparkling and the moon was lit like a cosmic lamp. It just so happened that Preparation had taken his walk downtown at the exact same time as he did every night. As he walked around a corner he bumped right into Opportunity almost knocking her over. When they locked eyes on each other they were marveled at what they saw. Preparation had never seen such a beautiful woman in all his life. And Opportunity felt as if she had just found her other half. In that moment they knew they were meant for each other, it was love at first sight. They were married within weeks and their first child was conceived soon after. Their new born daughter would be called, “Success.” The mayor of the Land of Abundance contacted Preparation and Opportunity to congratulate them on their new journey and invited them to live in his Kingdom. And so they did and lived happily ever after building great friendships.

Opportunitie’s other sister moved in with her Grandmother Optimists and lived in Potential after her sisters wedding. Wanting so badly to be married she would take a walk each night just as her sister did when she met Preparation. One night as she was walking she saw Procrastination looking for food for he had forgotten to eat dinner. When Procrastination noticed her he couldn’t decide what he felt but assumed it must be love. When Opportunity saw Procrastination she felt drawn to help him in some way. After a few years of dating, Procrastination felt obligated to ask her to marry him. They were married a few years later and conceived a child soon after. The child would be named, “Distress.” Procrastination and opportunity struggled to make ends meet and eventually were invited to the Land of Limits in order to surround themselves with other like-minded people. And so they lived unhappily ever after.

The Basic Lessons From The Story…

1. We all start living in the land of potential…every person has it.

2. You will either be Preparation & Procrastination…it is your choice. Though your upbringing and family may have influenced you it is your choice who you will be now.

3. Preparation & Procrastination both owned their own companies…you own your own company…it called YOUR LIFE…you get to choose how you will conduct it.

4. Both Preparation & Procrastination met Opportunities…Everyone meets opportunity at some point in their life…but only those who recognize it and act on it truly receive it’s rewards.

5. When Preparation met Opportunity they had a child called Success. This is the byproduct of the 2 when they meet. However, when Procrastination met Opportunity they had a child called Distress. This is the byproduct of the 2 when they meet.

6. When you are Prepared when Opportunity comes you will have Success as a result and live in the land of Abundance. But if you Procrastinate then Opportunity will only give you Distress and you will live in the land of Limits unhappily ever after.