Simple Truths

This is an extract from Michael J. Fox's new book, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future - Twists and Turns and Lessons Learned".

It's a really small little book and it caught my eye in the bookshop as a little holiday read!

Here it is:

A Professor stands before his class with a cardboard box. From inside he produces a large, clear, empty pickle jar, and then a series of golf ball-sized rocks, which he then drops one by one into the jar until they reach the brim.

"So?' the teacher asks. "Who thinks the jar is full?"

Hands shoot up, and a qucik scan of the room confirms unanimity - yes, it's full.

Next our of the box, a bag of sand, which the professor pours in amongst the rocks. Tiny grains cascade over, around, and in between the larger stones until there is no space left.

"Is it full now?" A show of hands and a chorus of voices responds - yes it's full.

Now the professor smiles. "But wait." Both hands dissappear into the box and re-emerge simultaneously, each holding a can of beer. The crack and his of the pop tops are drowned out by laughter in the classroom as the amber nectar popurs into the jar with the rocks and sand. Once the din of the students subsides to a collective chuckle, the professor confiently declares, "Now it's full."

"This jar represents your life," he continues. "Make sure the first ingredients are the big stuff . . . the rocks - your family, your work, your career, your passions. The rest is just sand, minutiae. It's in there. It may even be important. But it's not your first priority."

"What about the beer?" a kid in the back yells out.

"Well," comes the answer. "After everything else, you always have room for a couple of beers with friends."


Extracted from:
Fox, Michael, J. (2010) A funny thing happened on the way to the Future: Twists and turns and lessons learned, Hachette Australia 2010