Recently, as I was reading, “The Platinum Rule,” by Tony Alessandra, Ph.D. and Michael J. O’Connor, Ph.D., they reminded me of the story of the two monks and a woman. In this story, two Buddhist monks who had taken a vow of celibacy were walking in the woods when they came upon a stream that was rushing over very large boulders. A woman was on the edge of the stream, wondering how she would cross the torrenetial waters. Unfortunately, the oath extended to not being able to touch a woman. Even so, one of the monks picked up the woman and carried her safely across the stream, where she thanked him, and the two monks continued along their way. After several miles, the monk who had not carried the woman sternly reproached the helpful monk, saying, “How could you have carried that woman across the stream when you had taken a vow not to touch women?” The other monk replied, “I put her down several miles ago. Why haven’t you?” You see, he had made a reasonable, relationship-based choice, and was able to help the woman in need without abandoning his beliefs, or being hypocritical.
The caring monk displayed an incredible level of flexibilty that didn’t cause him to violate his values. On another level, by helping a person who needed assistance, he was able to more completely fulfill other important values he held.
What inflexible values about referral marketing are you still carrying around, and that you should have put down a long time ago?
I remember reading the story about the Buddhist Monks a while back and felt it was a very good analogy for life in general. Everyone seems to carry past baggage around with them. And yes, some of the baggage is very difficult to discard. We have had some past baggage in regards to referral marketing. My husband, Jim, was involved with the Referral Institute and came away with some worthwhile tools to help us grow.
Comment by Georgia Watson — April 18, 2010 @ 11:38 AM