Oppotunity Not Last Forever

Oppotunity not last forever
What is the best piece of advice you could give someone about life?
My friend is a teacher who once told me about a time when he decided to do an experiment with his class.

An experiment about life. One day, he came in with several envelopes and sat down right in front of the class.

He then placed an envelope in front of himself and said, “Class, today we’re going to be doing something different. As you can see, there is an envelope in front of me. Whoever wants it can come up and take it, and whatever is inside is yours.”

The classroom then became tense. No one was willing to go up and take the envelope.

Everyone was thinking, “What if it’s a trick” or “I don’t want to stand out and & get ridiculed myself. Let someone do it.” After a few minutes, he again asked the class, “Is no one going to take it?”

Then, a girl from the back bench stood up and came forward to take the envelope as everyone with bated breath watched, and when she opened it, she pulled out a five rupee note. She then looked at the professor and said, “Can I really keep this?” And he said, “Yes, of course. It’s just as I promised. Whatever is inside the envelope is yours.”

After she returned to her desk, he then placed another envelope in front of himself and said, “Again. If you take it, then you get to keep what’s inside.” But again, the room was tense, for people were still doubtful.

Then, a boy came up to take the envelope and found that it contained a ten rupee note.
Upon returning to his desk, the teacher placed another envelope in front of himself and simply said, “Who’s next?”

At this point, many of the students began to get an idea of what was going on. Several people rushed up to take the envelope, but many others still remained in their seats.The student who acquired the envelope found that it contained a twenty rupee note.

The teacher then silently placed another envelope in front of himself. At this point, no explanation was needed. More people came forward, and the student who acquired the envelope found that it contained a 50 rupee note.

Again, the teacher silently placed another envelope in front of himself, and now, roughly half of the class stood up began pushing each other as they made a dash for the envelope.

And this time, there was a 100 rupee note inside. The teacher then placed another envelope in front of himself, but this time he said, “This is the last one.” Now, the room was filled with tension.

But this time, it was a different kind of tension. More than 3/4th of the class jostled up for the envelope. Boys & girls of the class were pushing, tripping, and yelling as they tried to grab it.

And when one student did finally manage to acquire it, he opened it to find that it was empty.
The students then became aghast, confused and upset. They looked at the professor and said, “You tricked us! There was supposed to be 500 rupee note in the envelope.”

To which he replied with, “And why is that? I never tricked anyone. I simply stated that whoever wanted the envelope gets to keep what’s inside, but I never said what it would contain.”

The students from the back of the classroom then said, “But this wasn’t fair! The people who are at the front of the classroom have the advantage.”

To which he replied with, “That may be true, but no one has said anything about it until now. Also, that didn’t stop the first student from taking the first envelope.” As the students returned to their seats in regret and frustration, the teacher said, “Let this be a lesson to all of you. The opportunity was there, but many of you didn’t take it out of fear and uncertainty. By the time you cast your doubts aside, it was already too late”.

The future may be uncertain, but opportunities don’t last forever, and neither do we.
Courtesy: Quora

 

@hrastro
Thanks and glad that you decided to try this in a class after pandemic is lifted.
Instead of currency in an envelope, one can think of other attractive substitutes too.

I am sure you would notice that I had just edited it again a while ago.

Regards.

 

@iyerviji thanks sister for your nice comments.
It appears chosen this beautiful shiny hour to browse IL andin a spree to catch up with backlogof Reading . You had awarded this morning several likes to FELLOW IL’tes & I am one of those beneficiaries.
Thanks and Regards.

 

It was goose bumps all over - your calling me finally “ Dear brother Thyagu”. Trust you would give the pleasure of hearing you maintain addressing me this way.
Thanks also due to your observations of me keeping fellow IL’ites enthused whether they are followers of my messages regularly or once in a blue moon.

Thanks and Regards.