A Story about Leadership & Accountability

A young boy was walking in the woods one day when he came across a cocoon spun around a small twig. Remembering that inside a cocoon was a caterpillar that would soon emerge as a butterfly, he carried the twig and cocoon home very carefully to show his dad. They gently placed the cocoon in a jar, poked holes in the lid and waited patiently.

Each day, the boy would wake up and run to the jar to see if the caterpillar had turned into a butterfly.

"Nothing yet today son", his dad told him. "When the caterpillar is ready, it will start breaking free."

One morning the boy ran to the jar and saw the cocoon shaking. He called for his dad and together the two of them witnessed the cocoon starting to open up. The boy could see a small wing emerge but he also saw the butterfly was shaking profusely to break through.

It seemed that although the butterfly wanted to get out of the cocoon, it was struggling.

The boy ran off and quickly returned with a small utility knife. He reached for the cocoon and sliced a hole in its side. Sure enough, this help the boy gave the butterfly allowed the small insect to break free. Strangely enough to the boy, the butterfly didn't do anything but walk around the rim of the jar.

It didn't fly. It just slowly walked around the opening of the jar and stood there looking around.

The boy was shocked and disappointed.

"Why isn't it flying, dad", the boy asked.

His dad responded, "The very strength that it would have taken for the butterfly to break out of its cocoon, is the same strength that it needed in order to spread its wings and fly."

So, the moral to the story is...

Start learning to solve your own challenges.

Don't rely on others to slice your cocoon open, because even if they do, you will not have the strength to fly on your own.

You are exactly where you are supposed to be at all times.

Even if you think you deserve more, you are getting exactly what you're skills and value dictate in the marketplace. Don't try to rush your progress or you will miss out on many of the true gifts that come with becoming successful.

Start learning to solve your own challenges.