Greatness and success

There once was a boy who loved eating sweets. He always asked for sweets from
his father. His father was a poor man. He could not always afford 
sweets for his son. But the little boy did not understand this, and 
demanded sweets all the time.

The boy's father thought hard about
how to stop the child asking for so many sweets. There was a very holy 
man living nearby at that time. The boy's father had an idea. He decided
to take the boy to the great man who might be able to persuade the 
child to stop asking for sweets all the time.

The boy and his 
father went along to the great man. The father said to him, "O great 
saint, could you ask my son to stop asking for sweets which I cannot 
afford?" The great man was in difficulty, because he liked sweets 
himself. How could he ask the boy to give up asking for sweets? The holy
man told the father to bring his son back after one month.

During that month, the holy man gave up eating sweets, and when the boy and 
his father returned after a month, the holy man said to the boy "My dear
child, will you stop asking for sweets which your father cannot afford 
to give you?"

From then on, the boy stopped asking for sweets.

The boy's father asked the saint, 

"Why did you not ask my son to give up asking for sweets when we came to you a month ago?" 

The saint replied, "How could I ask a boy to give up sweets when I loved 
sweets myself. In the last month I gave up eating sweets."

A  person's example is much more powerful than just his words. When we ask 
someone to do something, we must do it ourselves also. We should not ask
others to do what we do not do ourselves.

Greatness and success  lies in doing and being what we talk. Actions and words should not be in conflict. All the great masters from all religions were in this state 
only.