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The
Parable of the Jackrabbit
by Leslie Householder
You have a certain goal, and you know someone that
has already reached it. Maybe it is earning a certain
degree, or opening a business and making it fly.
Maybe it is a better family life, or a talent you’d
like to master. Perhaps it is a highly developed
relationship with your Father in Heaven. Before
you try to duplicate what others have done to attain
what they have, be sure of one thing. Understand
the Parable of the Rabbit:
A man was on a journey and came to a field. In
this field he observed a dog, jumping around,
darting to and fro, disappearing in the long,
long grass each time he landed. The man stayed
back, fearing that the dog had a terrible disease
that caused him to jerk wildly and bark incessantly.
Cautiously, he passed along side the field on
the well-paved path, keeping an eye on the ravenous
dog to be sure it did not harm him. Coming to
the end of the field, suddenly the dog appeared
in front of him, holding a jackrabbit in its jaws.
Placidly, the dog glanced at the man, and walked
away.
This man was hungry. Thinking about the dog, he
decided it would sure be nice if he could have
a rabbit to eat, too. So he turned around, retraced
his steps along the path for a time, and entered
the grassy field. "Well, here I go,"
he said, and he began to jump and dart, growl
and bark. Up and down, back and forth, trying
to duplicate all of the crazy movements he had
seen by the dog, believing this would somehow
produce a rabbit. All day long he did this, and
at the end of the day, he was still hungry, and
very very tired.
Disappointed, he returned to the well-paved path.
He said to himself, "This is a well-paved
path, many people have traveled this way before.
I guess I just need to stay on it, and eat whatever
I find along the way."
Isn't it interesting that not only did duplicating
the dog NOT produce a rabbit, but it probably
kept them very far away?
During all those "starving student"
days, I remember buying in to a handful of home-based
business ideas. Making beaded jewelry from home
was one of them. I also remember getting very
frustrated because my results were not amounting
to all of their advertised testimonials of big
success. Now, I understand that I was jumping
and growling, expecting a rabbit to appear. I
had no expectation or vision of living the success
they promised. I couldn't even picture what it
would be like to have abundance. All I knew was
that there was never enough money, and in reality,
that scenario was all I expected. It would have
been very different if I had a vivid picture in
my mind of living abundantly, so that when a vehicle
to get me there came along, my results would have
surely been much different. I have only seen a
significant change in my financial picture since
finding a rabbit that I could chase and capture.
There are many legitimate business oppportunities
out there that get written off when they "don't
work". What is really going on, is that the
subscribers just don't see a rabbit. The activity
becomes nothing more than jumping and barking
at empty fields.
This brings up 2 points. First, the man was right
in leaving the path in search of the rabbit. I
heard a very wise person once say, "If you
want to do the right thing, look around at the
people in the world, see what they are doing and
where they are going, and you will do well to
do just the opposite." Doing what everyone
else is doing is often the absolute WRONG thing
to do. “Broad is the way that leadeth to
destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the
way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it,” Matthew 7:13-14. Remember,
any rabbit worth catching doesn't sit around on
well paved paths, there is a price to be paid,
a seeking is required.
So if you want a rabbit, you may need to leave
the well-paved path, but before you start jumping
and barking, make sure you have your eyes FIXED
TIGHT on a rabbit. This is the second point: All
of the madness will be fruitless if you don't
see your rabbit. Going through the motions without
a clear goal in mind is energy wasted. You would
burn out before attaining the degree. You would
become impatient with the members of your family
when things get rough. You would tire of the practice
required to master a talent. Your efforts to grow
closer to the Lord would too easily be thwarted
without a burning desire to know Him. Satan has
no power over a determined seeker.
So, to duplicate the movements of the dog, without
chasing a rabbit too, will NOT get you a rabbit.
Identify your dream, visualize it, make it real
in your mind, get excited about it, and chase
it hard! Daydream about what it will feel like
to have that degree, that business, that kind
of family life, that talent, that relationship
with God. Others will look at you and the choices
you make and they might even think you are crazy.
They just don't see your rabbit. But God does,
and He will help you catch every worthy and righteous
one that you have your eyes on. He can see where
it goes when it disappears out of your vision,
and He will prompt you by the Holy Spirit, which
way you should go. Practice listening to those
quiet promptings, and practice obeying them. Your
dreams will return to your view and sooner or
later become your reality. “Trust in the
Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine
own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he shall direct thy paths,” Proverbs
3:5-6.
Be sure to look for Leslie's book, "The Jackrabbit
Factor!" About this book, Hyrum Smith, co-founder
Franklin-Covey and CEO Galileo said, "I have
seldom read a more impactful book where true principals
are taught in such a clear and simple analogy.
I have spent many years teaching people how to
gain control of their time and ultimately their
lives. The principles so uniquely taught in “The
Jackrabbit Factor” take everything I have
done a step further. How so you say? You will
have to read it to find out. This is a book that
must be experienced and not described. The person
who can comprehend and internalize the laws of
thought as they are beautifully analogized in
these pages, will realize any dream, effect any
change, achieve any goal they desire. A must read.”
Keywords: achieve goal dream dog rabbit trust
faith choices path
About the Author
Leslie Householder, California, USA
thoughtsalive@yahoo.com
Learn more about the
science of getting rich
Leslie is a wife and mother of 6 children. She
is an author and speaker. Her enthusiasm, knowledge,
and talent for connecting with her audiences has
helped many individuals make positive and powerful
life changes. Her favorite quote: "I want
to know God's thoughts, the rest are details."
- Albert Einstein
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