The
speaker proceeded to crumple up the $20 bill
using both his hands until it
became a bundle of wrinkled paper.
He then unfolded it again and making an unsuccessful attempt to keep
it straight he asked, "Would you
still be able to negotiate it for it's
quoted value?"
"
Yes !!" was the echoing reply from the participants.
"Well,"
he said, "Looks like I haven't done enough! What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started
to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, which was now all
crumpled, dirty, defaced and not easy to
recognize from a distance. "Now
will some one like to trade it for its quoted value?" Many hands went in the air.
"I
think that piece of currency is still holding its quoted value"
replied a participant in an
unsure voice. "This bill can
still fetch goods worth 20 Dollars"
said the other participants. Every one agreed.
"My
friends, there is a very valuable lesson in this exercise that we are just
through with. It may have appeared to some of you, that I was able to deshape, deface, mutilate & alter the $20
bill during the process as the effects were quite visible".
"However,
No matter what I did to this piece of paper, you still upheld its negotiability
because you were sure in your mind that my actions did not actually decrease its value. It was still
a currency note worth $20".
"Many
times in our lives, we feel as though we
are dropped, crumpled, and ground into
the dirt by the decisions we make and/or the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. It may also appear to onlookers as if it has really happened to
a certain extent. But no matter what has
happened or what will happen, please remember you never lose your "Value".