“A strong will can even pierce stone”

Good day!

I'm a big fan of samurai warrior. I find that Samurai warrior is the role model for success. ‘Bushido‘ AKA the way of the samurai is the code where samurai lives by and today I'm going to share with you an interesting story. This is an old inspiring story often told by Mr. Otake Raisuke (master of the Tenshin Shoden Katori Shinto Ryu, the oldest verified school of Japanese martial arts). This story accompanies me during the days when I face financial hardship. The road to financial independence is not easy, but I keep reminding myself that I will piece a stone with my strong will!

So the story begins…

It was a sunny afternoon , a samurai and his lover went into the jungle for a walk. While the both of them enjoy the walk , a hungry man-eating tiger jump out and attack his lover. The samurai draws his weapon and fight the tiger forcefully! Eventually the tiger left after a few heavy strikes,  leaving the girl seriously wounded and her blood dripped all around the grass. The samurai covers her wound with his clothes and try very hard to stop the bleeding. But no matter how hard the samurai tries to save her, he can't heal her because the wound is too deep and she eventually dies in his arm while he run his way back to the village.

photo credit: Tambako the Jaguar via photopin cc

No words can describe the pain he has to go through, the pain of losing his love one was too great.  Therefore, from the depths of his sorrow he determined to seek revenge on this tiger for killing his beloved. He trains hard, every single day he devotes himself to perfect his skill in order to avenge his lover's death.  Once he felt that he's ready, he took his bow and arrow and went into the jungle day after day searching for the tiger.

The search continues for several months, his will to avenge his beloved was so strong that he didn't lose enthusiasm. One day, while he continues his search for the tiger, he spotted a sleeping tiger in a distance and he thought that this was the tiger which had killed his beloved! The scene of the tiger attacking his beloved reappear on his mind, his blood boil, and he knew that he will not forgive himself if he didn't kill this tiger! He drew his bow, look carefully, aim and released the arrow which pierced the tiger's body very deeply! He then approached slowly to confirm the kill, the result was stunning! He didn't kill the tiger, it was a striped stone which happened to resemble the form of a sleeping tiger. The arrow pierces deeply into the stone and he was unable to remove the arrow.

photo credit: Sushicam via photopin cc

After this event, everybody in the village began talking about how he was so strong that he could pierce a stone with an arrow. People were determined to test him. But though he tried again and again the arrows just bounced off. This was because he now realized it was a stone. Before, his wish for revenge was so strong that he was able to pierce even a stone with his arrow. This story is the basis of the saying ” A strong will can pierce a stone.”

The key lesson I learnt from this story is….

Your mind is powerful, beware of what thought you feed into your brain

-When you keep feeding your mind positive thought like the samurai did, you will eventually harness your willpower to accomplish great goals.

Pain is a great motivator

-The samurai's will is so strong because of the pain he bears with him. You can use the pain you bear to associate with your willpower, it will give you strength to overcome any obstacle that comes along your way.

Will alone is not enough, you must take action

-Just like the samurai, his will is strong. But will alone can't help him kill the tiger to avenge his beloved. He continues his search for the tiger in the jungle daily. Therefore we have to take action, many people have the will to succeed, but only a few take action to makes their dreams come true.

I hope you enjoy the story my friend , Let me know what do you think about this story at the comment box below ya..

Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. ~Mahatma Gandhi.