The Noise
A farmer once visited a town and asked a restaurant owner if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was stunned and asked the farmer where he could possibly find so many frogs! The farmer explained, "There's a pond near my house that's filled with frogs—millions of them! They croak all night long, and it's driving me crazy!" The restaurant owner and the farmer then struck a deal: the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time, over the next several weeks. However, the first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking embarrassed, carrying just two skinny little frogs. He admitted, "I was wrong. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure made a lot of noise!" Moral: The next time someone criticizes or mocks you, remember that it might just be a couple of noisy frogs. Also, remember that problems often seem larger in the dark. Have you ever laid awake at night worrying about things that felt...