Turning obstacles into opportunity

There is an old Zen story about a king whose people had grown soft and entitled. Unhappy with the state of affairs, the king set out to teach his people a lesson. He had a simple plan: he would place a large boulder in the middle of the road, completely blocking entry into the city. He would then hide nearby and observe their reactions.

How would his people respond? Would they rally together and remove it? Or would they get discouraged, quit, and return home?

With growing disappointment the king watched as his people encountered the impediment and turned away one after the other. Or, at best, they tried half heartedly before giving up and turning away. Many openly cursed the king or bemoaned the inconvenience, but none managed to do anything about it.

After several days, a lone peasant came along on his way into town. He did not turn away. Instead he strained and strained trying to push the boulder out of the way. Then an idea came to him; he scrambled into the nearby woods to find something he could use for leverage. He returned with a large branch he had crafted into a lever. He used it to dislodge the massive rock from the road.

Upon removal of the rock, a canvas bag and a hand written note were revealed to the peasant. The bag contained a small fortune in gold coins and the note, which was from the king said:

"The obstacle in the path becomes the path. Never forget, within every obstacle is an opportunity to improve our condition."

What holds you back?

- this message was excerpted in part from the book by Ryan Holiday, "The Obstacle is the Way".