Top 8 Inspirational Stories at Work to Motivate You

An elderly fruit vendor, unable to stand for long hours due to his age, posted an ad seeking a sales assistant. A few days later, a young man came to inquire about the job. He asked how much the vendor would pay him per month. The vendor replied with a smile, "My shop is small, so I'll pay you 10% of what you sell, and you'll get paid daily." The young man frowned after looking around at the old shop and said, "I can't accept this, there's no guarantee." With that, he walked away. A few days later, another young man came and asked the same question. The vendor gave the same response, but the man also refused. Then, a boy came in asking about the salary, and the vendor told him the same terms. The boy smiled and said, "On holidays and weekends, could you increase my pay to 20%? And if I sell over 30 million in fruit, could I get 30%?" The vendor chuckled, patted the boy on the head, and agreed.

Every day, the boy cleaned the fruits and rearranged them. On holidays and weekends, he would create flyers offering a promotion for anyone who bought 3 million worth of fruit. Within a month, the boy earned 30 million, making over 3 million a day. A few years later, he had saved enough money to buy the vendor's shop, and using his quick thinking and energy, he opened more fruit stores. Eventually, he became wealthy.

In this world, no boss will give you wealth and glory. What they offer is "opportunity," and success and advancement are things you must earn for yourself.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who had a short temper. His father decided to give him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the wall. On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into the wall. Over the next few weeks, the boy gradually started to control his anger, and the number of nails hammered into the wall decreased each day. The boy soon realized that controlling his anger was easier than hammering nails into the wall.

Eventually, the day came when the boy had completely mastered his emotions. He told his father, who suggested that he now remove one nail each day if he managed to control his temper. After many days, the boy finally told his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son's hand and led him to the wall. "You’ve done well, son, but look at the holes left in the wall. It will never be the same again. When you speak in anger, you leave scars like these. If you stab someone with a knife and then pull it out, no matter how many times you apologize, the wound will remain."

Control your anger and never speak in the heat of the moment, because later, you might regret it. Some things in life, once lost, can never be regained.

There was a blind girl who despised herself simply because she couldn’t see. The only person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, who was always by her side. She promised that if she could see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated their eyes to her, and now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. He asked, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" The girl was shocked to find out that her boyfriend was also blind, and she refused to marry him. The boy walked away in tears, later writing her a note: "Take care of my eyes, my love."

When circumstances change, our thinking often changes as well. Some people can no longer see things the way they once did and fail to appreciate them. This story teaches us a lot and is one of those short, inspiring tales that leaves us speechless.

A visitor walked past the elephant area and suddenly stopped. He was puzzled as to why such a large animal was only tied with a thin rope around its front leg, without chains or metal cages. Naturally, these elephants could easily snap the rope whenever they wanted. Yet, for some reason, they didn’t try to escape.

The visitor asked the elephant keeper nearby. "Why do these animals stay here and not even attempt to break free?" "It's simple," the keeper replied, "When they were young, we tied them with this rope, and it was enough to keep them still. As they grew up, they still believed the rope was strong enough to hold them, so they never tried to break it. These elephants could easily snap the rope whenever they wanted, but because they believed they couldn't, they simply stand still. Like these elephants, many of us waste opportunities in life just because we think we can’t do something because we tried and failed before."

Failure is the mother of success, the key is to never stop trying.

There was a donkey that slipped off a cliff and fell into a deep pit. Its owner tried every possible way to rescue it but failed. Eventually, he decided to bury it alive. Dirt was shoveled onto the donkey from the top of the pit. At first, the donkey stood still and let the dirt fall on it.

Then it started shaking the dirt off its body. It stomped on the pile of dirt beneath it, standing taller. More dirt was poured down, but the donkey continued to rise above it. With each new layer of dirt, the donkey stood taller. By noon, the donkey had climbed out of the pit and was grazing peacefully on fresh grass.

If you don’t let difficulties and challenges break your spirit and keep pushing through, those very obstacles will elevate you and help you reach success.

Ava DuVernay is a household name today, recognized for iconic films like Selma and the documentary 13th. She's not only an outstanding Hollywood director but also the first woman of color to helm a major blockbuster with a $100 million budget, 'A Wrinkle in Time.' However, few know that DuVernay began her career in journalism, moved into PR, and transitioned into filmmaking later. She first picked up a camera at 32, with nearly a decade of PR experience behind her, which greatly aided her filmmaking journey.

Don't limit yourself to your first career choice, no matter how far you've come. If you feel unfulfilled and discover a new passion, don’t hesitate to make a change. You can shift careers and find success, regardless of language, gender, or age barriers. As long as you're committed to progress every day, your efforts will be rewarded.

Andy Weir has known his passion for science fiction since his teenage years. As a young boy, he dreamt of becoming a writer. In a 2017 interview with Newsweek, Weir revealed, 'I always knew what I loved, but I didn’t think being a writer would provide a stable and prosperous life, so I chose the path of becoming a computer programmer.'

Studying software engineering wasn’t a backup plan for Weir. He was genuinely drawn to programming and technology. At the age of 20, Weir spent most of his time writing, but he didn't find success early on. He returned to programming, seeing writing as a hobby instead.

Years later, after being rejected by several publishers, Weir self-published his novel 'The Martian,' which became a global sensation and one of the best-selling books. This marked the beginning of his literary career. Six years later, he published another successful novel, 'Artemis,' which was also adapted into a movie. Despite never attending writing school or being part of a literary network, Weir's dedication to his passion and consistent effort helped him turn his childhood dream into a successful reality.

Once a nuclear policy analyst at the White House, Ina Garten transformed into a celebrated chef, cookbook author, and TV personality. She’s made two significant career changes. The first was leaving her stable government job to buy a food store called 'Barefoot Contessa' and run the business herself. The second came when she sold the store after nearly two decades and became a chef, publishing a cookbook named after her store. She also became a well-known host on the Food Network and has continued to release several cookbooks.

Ina followed her heart to become a chef, author, and TV host focused on food. By pursuing her passion, she became one of the wealthiest chefs in the world. You might have a stable job, but at some point, you may want to create something unique for yourself or live your passions. Don’t settle for a monotonous life. Even small changes can lead to big transformations. With the courage to push your limits, you can make a significant difference in your life.