From swamp to success :
SPOTLIGHT
The other day I again stumbled across this story about good deeds and the wonderful return that might be harvested from them . The story goes like this :
Many years ago , during the latter part of the 19 th century , a humble Scottish farmer was toiling away on his farm when he suddenly heard some screams . It was a little boy in distress . The farmer immediately abandoned his tools and raced to the scene . He found the child struggling in a swamp , trapped and drowning . With no hesitation , he used a long branch to pull the child to safety .
A few days later , a visitor called at the farmer ’ s modest home . It was the father of the boy whom the farmer had rescued . The visitor was a wealthy man and offered to pay the farmer handsomely for his kindness . The farmer , however , refused to take any money saying , “ Saving someone is my duty ; humanity has no price ”.
From swamp to success :
The ripple effect of a single act of kindness
By Izak Smit , PPS Group CEO
A single act of kindness can ripple through time , shaping lives in ways we never imagined . Consider the story of a humble farmer who saved a drowning boy , setting off a chain of events that would eventually change the course of history , impacting both medicine and global leadership . Whether fact or fiction , this tale illustrates a timeless truth – when we pay it forward , the impact of our actions can echo far beyond our own lifetimes .
Just then , the farmer ’ s own son appeared around the corner . The visitor asked , “ Is this your son ?” When the farmer confirmed the boy was his , the visitor offered a deal : if the farmer refused payment for saving his son , would he allow the visitor to pay for the boy ’ s education at any institution he chose ?
The farmer , realising that here was an opportunity for his son to gain an education that he could never afford to pay himself , gratefully accepted . His son went off to good schools and eventually attended St Mary ’ s Medical School in London .
Now , what makes this story so interesting , is that the farmer ’ s boy became Sir Alexander Fleming , the inventor of penicillin . And the rich visitor ?
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