The answer to every trap is found in stories.

Because self-help is a fairly new concept — every valuable answer has to be embedded into a story that delivers some golden nugget in the end.

So, we (Thoughts & Productivity) set out on a journey to :

• Find them

• Curate them

• Filter them

• Adapt them

And present them in a way that’s actionable for you today.

Wednesday Stories — a short 2 min story that aims to spark some interesting ideas in your brain. Every Wednesday, we send a new one to our paid subscribers only.

Hello readers!

We think you’re going to love this story because of how enlightening it is.

We’re going back to the old days of feudal Japan  —  the days of the famous samurai.

The Samurai Story

About an hour away from what is modern-day Tokyo, there was once a warrior whose fame has spread throughout the land.

They say this particular samurai had never lost a battle in his entire life and there had been many. Not even when he was young or learning about the way of the sword.

“A genius “ —  they called him. 

In time, this samurai had built up quite a reputation as a master as well as a following of young people trying to learn from him. 

Years go by, and now our samurai master is quite old but his fame persists.

At the other end of the land, a new samurai is making a name for himself as never losing a battle either. 

Upon hearing about the old master, the young samurai travels the land to fight the old samurai and establish himself as “the ultimate warrior”. 

After days of traveling, he finally arrives at the master’s dojo and challenges him to a fight. The young samurai is ambitious, strong, and terribly fast. He even has a secret that helped him to win every single battle he’s ever fought.

His secret is he never makes the first move. He always allows his opponent to attack and in the process is able to quickly determine their weaknesses and finish them off in a split second. 

He knows if he is going to win against the old master, he must force him to attack first as the master is likely to share the very same secret technique as him.

After days of challenging him, the old master finally agreed to fight the young samurai. All of his pupils ask the master to not give in to the demands of the young warrior for he had nothing to prove, but a true warrior faces every challenge. 

So, he agreed!

The two came together and meet when the sun is highest in the sky. The young warrior carefully chooses his stance and waits for the old master to make his move. 

The pupils and the crowd are holding their breaths, but nothing happens. 

Seeing that the old master isn’t moving, the young warrior tries to rattle him up  —  he curses, swears, starts calling the master names, and shaming him for being less of a warrior than he is. He throws dirt, yells, and even spits toward the old master. 

The pupils are furious but the master doesn’t move an inch. 

Time goes by and the sun is beginning to set.

For the past few hours, the young samurai has thrown every insult known to man at this old master, and yet, he hasn’t moved to one bit. 

Tired and furious, but scared to ruin his perfect streak, the young samurai retreats and leave embarrassed by his failure to make a name for himself. 

Upon his departure, the pupils approached the old master asking him — 

“Why he allowed this nobody to throw insult after insult at everything the samurai stand for?”

The old master kindly looked at them and said — ...