SCHEHERAZADE SUCCESS

THE GREATEST LOVE/HATE STORYThe most wonderful love story is the story of Scheherazade. The king had been betrayed by his first wife and he proceeded to take his anger out on a new bride who after the first night would always be beheaded. Some 1,000 women suffered the same fate until a feisty young lady came along, despite protests by her father, and thought she could avoid this grizzly fate.

PERFECT PLANNINGHer plan, to tell the king a new story every night but never finish it so that the king had to spare her and wait for the next night for the end of the tale. After one thousand stories, one thousand and one nights and three sons later, Scheherazade said she was out of yarns. By then the king was besotted and spared her life. They lived happily every after.

TEN LESSONS
1. THE COURAGE OF CONVICTION
Scheherazade believed she could do better than 1,000 women before her, namely that she would not suffer the same fate as the earlier queens. She had great confidence and courage in her beliefs that she could persuade a mighty king to spare her life.

2. OVERCOMING GREAT CHALLENGES REQUIRES GREAT WORKImagine if you were told if you marry the king, it is highly likely you will suffer the same fate as 1,000 women before you. Certainly, to change the mind of a man when he is in a killing mood is a great challenge and she hatched a plan to tell a story each night and never finish it.

HELL-BENT AND HELL-DRIVENCould a hell-bent king be moved? Scheherazade met this challenge by the use of nail-biting cliffhangers. She really worked at her stories each night, making them as riveting as possible.

3. TIME IS A HEALERWe often talk about a woman scorned taking her revenge. But here it is a man who was hurt more than we will ever know. One thousand women is at least 1,000 nights, plus the 1,001 nights Scheherazade told her stories, amounts to over 2,000 nights since finding out about the betrayal. It took him some 7 years to totally heal. But eventually he did heal. So always remember time can be a healer. Perhaps it needs the right friend or lover to help the healing process, but it can be done.

4. PERSISTENCE AND PATIENCE WINSScheherazade was patient, persistently telling stories with a steely determination that this man will fall in love with her and his hurts will heal. In all the major religions, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, patience is extolled as an important quality and virtue. Patience wins. This is a lesson we learn from Scheherazade.

5. RESEARCH, STUDY AND PREPARATION PAYS DIVIDENDS
Before Scheherazade started this epic journey of telling wondrous stories in the bedchamber of a king, she researched and researched and collected a thousand books with so many different stories. She memorized the stories and embellished them with her own storytelling talents. Preparatory work is always one of the pillars of success. This is definitely true in the case of Scheherazade.

6. EVERYONE HAS REDEEMING QUALITIESScheherazade got involved with a mass murderer. She could have been 1,001 on the list of lives cut short. After 1,000 stories she had peeled away all the layers of hate the king had and by then he had become a kinder, wiser man. She recognized his redeeming qualities. Often people have redeeming qualities if you look hard enough.

7. ENERGY AND EFFORT CAN BE WORTH IT
Collecting thousands of books , reading and memorizing 1,000 stories took energy and effort. Then executing the stories took more energy and effort. We know the outcome of her story so we know it was worth it. Energy and effort in the right direction is usually worth it. At the very least you enrich yourself with greater knowledge and wisdom , but it may result in a successful endeavor too.

8. TRUE LOVE CAN OVERCOME ALLLove is the greatest power in the universe. She loved first and she believed in her power that she could melt the heart of a king. Love builds from little acts over a period of time. In this case, 1,001 nights and 1,000 stories.

9. CONFIDENCE IN A JOB WELL DONEScheherazade must have been one confident lady. If we were to interview her today, she might say: I knew I could do it. I kept saying to myself every night: I can do this. I can do this.

10. NEVER SAY DIE
Never say die is an expression that means never give up. Scheherazade certainly believed in a number of adages: Who Dares Wins and Never Say Die. A real tale of inspiration .

Scheherazade must have been one confident lady. If we were to interview her today, she might say: I knew I could do it. I kept saying to myself every night: I can do this. I can do this