Think Win-Win

A man died and St. Peter asked him if he would like to go to heaven or hell. The man asked if he could see both before deciding.

St. Peter took him to hell first. There the man saw big hall containing a long table, laden with many kinds of food. He also saw rows of people with pale, sad faces. Then looked starved and there was no laughter.

And he observed one more thing: Their hands were tied to four-foot forks and knives and they were trying to get the food from the center of the table to put into their mouths. But they couldn't.

Then, St. Peter took him to see heaven. There he saw a big hall with a long table, with lots of food. He noticed rows of people on both sides of table with their hands tied to four-foot forks and knives also. But here, people were laughing and were fed and healthy-looking. The people were feeding one another across the table.

The result was happiness, prosperity, enjoyment and gratification because they were not thinking of themselves alone; they were thinking win-win.

The same is true of our lives. When we serve our society, our customers, our families, our employers and employees, we automatically win.

Ancient Indian wisdom teaches us that our first responsibility is to the community, second to our family and third to ourselves. When this hierarchy is reversed, a society starts degenerating.