A Simple Story

Long ago, in the vast deserts that covered the unknown world, there lived a traveling trader. During one of his journeys, he had to move through the barren grounds to reach his next destination in order to support his humble life style.
The cloudless sky gave him no solace from the glaring orange Sun that scorched the orange sands below his feet. Yet despite this, he had to slug his way through the burning dunes and sand.
Suddenly, through his sweat-filled eyes, a wavy silhouette appeared over the horizon. It was an old guru siting and meditating. Clenching his teeth, the trader made his tiring way to the guru and tried asking for water to quench his insatiable thirst. Instead, the guru simply murmured
"Gather all you can, before you cross the river"
Puzzled, the trader glanced around. There was no river in sight. So he bid the guru farewell and continued his journey. After another gruelling 2 days of travel, the trader was laden with fatigue. Slowly... he heard it. the sound. A sound of running water. There he stood, with his shaking legs, he dizzy eyes, before the river.
He was about to launch himself into the cooling water when he remembered the words of the guru. So he scanned around and carefully filled every one of his pockets with sand, pebbles and rocks to the very brim. Bulky and clumsilly, he stumbled through the river and took his time as the running water cooled his body.
When he got out, he felt even heavier than before. But it was not because his clothes were drenched in water. All the sands and pebbles he filled in his attire became gold.
Now as you cross your river soon. Make sure you gather all you can before you cross it...

This is a simple story I heard from my Officer in Command during my time in Ninja. I suppose it means a lot in a subtle way.