Hercules appeared, it is said [don't ask me who Aesop quoted], and addressed the whining Carter:
The Powers that Be will always answer your prayers. Sometimes they reply, "No!"
The lazy man never finds true pleasure in life. Phoney past-times, yes. The real thing? No. And he often doesn't realize until too late that he has embraced a life of boredom.
Some think that Bill Gates is an ultra-billionaire because he is smart. Others think he is crooked. Still others think he was just lucky or had "pull."
Bill Gates does not so much have "pull" as he has "push." Persistence. Sacrifice. (Yes, because single-minded focus on one's goal is a sacrifice, denying a person a lot of pleasure and R & R along the way.)
Folks who put their shoulders to the Cart are not lazy. They are too impatient to stand around, wringing their hands. They want to get the job DONEand enjoy the pleasure that gives.
A Carter drove his heavily laden wagon down a country lane. The team faltered on the rough byway, which was pockmarked by ruts and sinkholes after the heavy rains. Suddenly one of the wheels of the huge cart sank into a deep hole.
The rustic driver was disgusted. He remained on the driving seat, looking down at the wagon wheel, buried to the axel in oozing mud. He didn't like mud. He, in fact, remained atop the cart and did nothing but utter loud cries to Hercules, the strongest of the gods, to help him.
"Put your shoulders to the wheels, you dork. Goad the oxen! Don't ask for help until you have done your best to help yourself, or, depend on it, I won't even bother to answer."
Against all odds, soldier on!
The reward? A transcendent experience of accomplishment. No better "high" exists.
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