a lesson in confidence: john rockefeller's check

Once an entrepreneur was in debt, owing money to creditors and suppliers.  Stressed as he was, he went for a walk in a park.
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As he was sitting on a bench with his head down, thinking of a solution that could save him bankruptcy, an old man with a strange hat approached him. “Is something bothering you, my friend?” the old man asked. The business man told the old man about his financial problems.

After listening to him, the old man said: “I think I can help you.” He asked the entrepreneur what his name was, then took out a pen and wrote him a check which he gave to the man, saying: “This money will help you. Let’s meet again exactly in one year, right here in this park. At that time, I hope that you will be able to return the money to me.”

After that, the old man walked away. The entrepreneur took a better look at the check in his hands and was shocked. The check was for an amount of 500 thousand dollars, signed by John Rockefeller. “Rockefeller?

One of the richest people in the world!” he exclaimed. “This check can solve all of my problems in no time!” he thought. But he decided to put the check into his safe and use it only if all his other efforts failed.

Just the thought that he could access these resources any time, was enough to give him strength to focus on finding smart solutions to save his business. The return of his optimism was a great thing because it helped him close some very profitable deals.

A couple of months later he had earned enough profit to get out of his debt. Then his business started making money again. One year later, he put the check in his pocket and returned to the park.

Around noon, the old man appeared again. The business man took out the check and as he was about to hand it to the old man, a nurse appeared suddenly and grabbed the old man. “Here you are! Haven’t I told you not to bother people you don’t know?” She exclaimed. “I hope he wasn’t bothering you, Sir.

He always runs away from the house and tells people he is John Rockefeller.” Surprised, the entrepreneur was standing there, speechless.
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During the whole year he was building his business, buying and selling, confident that he had half a million dollars in his safe.
Suddenly he realized that it’s not the money, real or imaginary, that put him out of trouble. It was his new confidence that gave him strength and motivation to achieve everything that he had now.

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