Calves and Common Sense
Ralph Waldo Emerson, the famous 19th century
poet and essayist, was out one day trying to
get a calf into the barn. "But he made the
common mistake of thinking only of what he
wanted: Emerson pushed and his son pulled..
But the calf stiffened his legs and
stubbornly refused to leave the pasture.
"The Irish housemaid saw their predicament.
She couldn't write essays and books; but on
this occasion at least, she had more horse
sense, or calf sense, than Emerson. She put
her maternal finger in the calf's mouth,
and let the calf suck her finger as she
gently led him into the barn."
The lesson is simple but profound: The best
way to influence others is by considering
their desires, not just your own.
-- Dale Carnegie