“No, thanks. I have faith that God will save me.”

A severe flood trapped a man on his rooftop. As the water rose, he prayed to God for a miracle.

A man in a rowboat soon passed by and yelled, “Hop in, I can save you!”

The man on the roof waved him off, shouting back, “No, thanks. I have faith that God will save me.”

The rowboat continued on its way.

A little while later, a motorboat approached. The driver called out, “I can rescue you! Just climb in!”

Again, the stranded man refused. “No, thanks. I have faith that God will save me.” he insisted.

The motorboat sped off.

Finally, a helicopter appeared overhead. The pilot lowered a ladder and shouted, “Grab hold! I’ll pull you to safety!”

The man yelled up, “No, thanks. I have faith that God will save me.” The helicopter was forced to fly away.

The water eventually consumed the rooftop, and the man drowned. When he arrived in heaven, he found God and asked, “I had unwavering faith in you, but you didn’t save me. Why?”

God sighed and said, “I sent you two boats and a helicopter. What more did you want?”

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Pride, arrogance, ignorance, apathy, and sometimes simple lack of focus… what ever the reason, you can’t help those that don’t want help, that don’t know they need help, that can’t see what right in front of the face. As a teacher this is frustrating, BUT if we lose sleep over those we cannot reach, we will fail the vast number of lives we CAN change for the better!

But I implore ALL students of ANY age… leave ego and insecurity behind. Both destroy all, blinds us, consumes us…

AND the more you give to a moment, the more you’ll get out of it. I had many amazing teachers, a few mentors, BUT I truly believe my success is due to a handful of moments in my first 20 years where I caught someone sharing some wisdom most others ignored.

You have to listen with your eyes at all times. While 90% of the things you see and hear are a waste of your time in the long run, you never know which 10% will save your life someday, drive your success, or simply provide joyful memories.

So be curious. Observe your world. Suspend judgment. Let the garbage pass you buy. Latch onto those gems.