Denver, CO

I was reading the paper this morning, as I often do, and came across a terrific story that I’d like to repost for those who haven’t got a chance to read this yet. This story comes from Harvey Mackay’s article on page 4 of the business section, titled, ‘Businesses that work together succeed together.”
Now, I’m not a religious man and am won’t to talk about religion, heaven, hell, etc. But this story has substance outside of religion and does provide a valuable lesson for business as well, as is the aim of most Harvey Mackay’s articles: stories that inspire business practices.
Here it is, only the story part of the article and none of Mackay’s writing thereafter (you should pick up a copy of the News to view the whole article!)

Businesses that work together succeed together
A man was having a conversation with a pastor one day and said, “I would like to know what heaven and hell are like.”
The pastor led the man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly and appeared to be starving. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
“Can’t you do anything to help them?” he asked.
The pastor said, “you have seen hell.”
Then they went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of delectable stew. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well-nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The man said, “I don’t understand.”
“It is simple,” said the pastor. “It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”