One of the most inspiring stories ever told, is the Acres of Diamonds. In the early 20th century, a Baptist preacher named Russell Conwell told this story over 6,000 times in speeches all over the world. Acres of diamond is an inspirational and amazing story about a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, “If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then he went away.

That night the farmer couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy. The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is Hafiz back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one.” The man said, no, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many more.” They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.

Lesson of Acres of Diamonds
The lesson of this story is simple: You don’t need not look elsewhere for opportunity, achievement or fortune. All of the opportunities you could possibly want can be found where you are now – in your present community, job, family and other circumstances. For best results, we need to dig in our own backyard, to find opportunities where we are now.