A cautionary tale The boy and the starfish

Like every morning, the man woke up and went down to walk on the beach. Unlike other days the shore was littered with thousands of starfish that stretched along the entire coast.

He thought that this curious phenomenon would be a consequence of the bad weather and the wind of the last days. He felt sad for all those little creatures. Did you know that starfish only live 5 minutes out of water.

The man continued walking lost in thought. Suddenly he came across a little boy running from one side of the sand to the other. His face was sweaty and his pants were rolled up.

What are you doing? - Asked the man

I'm returning the stars to the sea, - answered the child - I gather as many as I can and I throw them beyond the breaker so that they do not return to the sand again. 

I see  - answered the man - but your effort is pointless. I have been walking from far away and there are thousands of stars anchored in the sand. Maybe millions. You can save a few but the vast majority will die and all your effort will have been for nothing. It makes no sense what you do. 

The surprised boy showed him a small star that he hid in the palm of his hand and before throwing it into the ocean he said to the man: "For this one it does make sense "

What can we learn from this story?

• You must continue to do what you believe in, regardless of the opinion of others.

• Any small act makes a difference in itself.
• Divide your big projects into small objectives to be fulfilled little by little. Don't let the magnitude of your project take away your motivation to take these small steps.