top of page
  • Writer's pictureAbe Cherian

The Fourth Doll

As online business owners we often make decisions that are harmful for us.


For example...


  • Hiring the wrong people,

  • buying the wrong software,

  • spending money on traffic without perfecting the funnels... you name it.


With so much information out there, it's hard to decide who to listen to and who to ignore... and we often make the wrong choices.


I want to tell you a story to show you the type of person we should become to make better choices...


Story...


A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was confused.


"Am I a little kid that you give me dolls?" he asked.


"This is a gift for a future king," the sage said. "You’ll see in a minute why I’m giving these to you.”


“Fair enough,” the prince said. “Go on.”


The sage continued, “Look carefully at these dolls. You’ll see a hole in the ear of each one."


The sage handed him a piece of string. "Pass it through each doll,” he said.


Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear. It came out through the other ear.


"This is one type of person," said the sage. “Whatever you tell him goes through one ear and out the other. He doesn't retain anything."


The prince put the string into the ear of the second doll. It emerged from its mouth.


"This is the second type of person," said the sage. “Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."


The prince picked up the third doll. The string did not emerge anywhere from this doll.


"This is the third type of person," the sage said. “Whatever you tell him stays inside and is never uttered to anyone else.”


"All right,” said the prince. “So what are you trying to tell me? What is the best type of person?"


The sage said nothing and handed him a fourth doll.


When the prince put the string into the fourth doll, it came out through the other ear.


"Do it again,” said the sage.


The prince did as he was told. This time the string emerged through its mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not emerge at all.


"This is the best type of person," said the sage. "To be a good king, he must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out.”


To be a good entrepreneur, we must remember this.


Abe Cherian

14 views0 comments
bottom of page