THERE AIN'T NO FREE LUNCH

Many years ago a wise old king called the most intelligent men in his kingdom together and gave them an assignment. He wanted them to compile the wisdom of the ages and put it in book form to leave it for posterity.

The wise men worked for a long period of time, then finally returned with twelve volumes they proclaimed held the wisdom of the ages. The king looked at the twelve volumes and, concerned that no one would want to read such a lengthy collection, asked the wise men to condense it. The wise men again went off and worked for a long time to condense it, finally returning with one volume. The king, however, knew that it was still too long, so he told them to further condense their work.

The wise men reduced the volume to a chapter, and then to a page, then to a paragraph, and finally to a sentence. When the king saw the sentence, he was absolutely thrilled and said, “Gentlemen, this is truly the wisdom of the ages, and as soon as all men everywhere learn this truth, then most of our problems will be solved.” The sentence simply said, “There is no free lunch.”

Many times the reason we become disappointed or discouraged when trying to reach a goal is because we have unrealistic expectations. You can’t eat whatever you want and exercise only when you feel like it and expect to lose weight. You can’t skate by doing the bare minimum at work and expect a promotion. You have to work for everything that you want.

Hard work can sometimes seem like a dirty word, and there are those who avoid it like the plague, but when you get down to it good old hard work is usually the best answer for how to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

Some goals can seem dauntingly large. Breaking it down can help it seem more manageable. Create a schedule for yourself in which you work towards your goal a certain amount of time everyday. Take classes, attend seminars, read books. Do all that you can to prepare yourself for success and create the right mindset for what you want to achieve.

You as an adult know that no one is going to hand you things just because you want or ask for them, so why treat your children that way? It’s tough saying no sometimes, but you are the parent and have to think about the lessons you are teaching you kids when you give in to their demands.

You’ve probably been in this situation before: you’re in the store and your child is insisting that he must have a toy. Your instinct is to quiet your child immediately by whatever means, especially if he’s crossed over into tantrum mode.

Instead of handing over the goods, make your child work for the things he wants. For young children, create a system by which they can earn a special treat by doing chores or being extra nice to their siblings. If they are older, you can let them buy it themselves once they have earned the money through chores or a part-time job. This can teach them a great sense of responsibility. That way when they are out on their own they won’t expect the world handed to them—they’ll know there’s no free lunch.

Contributed by Solomon Brenner Author of Black Belt Parenting and Master Instructor for Action Karate