How to Grow a Vine

A wine grower named Giorgio called for his two sons Anton and Vitto and told them he would have to test each of them in order to decide who was best qualified to take charge of the property when he retired.

The two young men were very different: Anton was daring and mischievous, always smiling and friendly, while his brother was taciturn and hard-working, but entirely devoid of emotion.

The father gave them each a vine seedling and said: "I want you to choose the place that you think has the best conditions for your vine to grow. The one who harvests the best grapes a few years from now will take control of the property."

Anton was in no hurry to get started. "I have a lot of time before I have to start looking around. A vine grows slowly, and only yields grapes after four years anyway."

Vitto knew that too, but he decided to find the best place to plant his vine right away.

He planted his seedling on a parcel of land facing south, on top of a rocky hill. Anton made fun of him, saying: "You idiot, you chose the worst possible location! A hilltop facing south make the leaves shrivel and burn, and soil full of rocks won't allow the roots to grow. You won't get any grapes from that vine at all!"

Four years later the father once again summoned his two sons so he could taste their fruit.

Anton's basket was filled with beautiful, juicy grapes, while Vitto's basket held only a few small grapes.

Giorgio picked two grapes from each basket and tasted them in silence. The ones from Anton's basket were filled with seeds and their size was due to all the water they contained.

"Tasteless," his father said. But when Giorgio tasted Vitto's grapes his face lit up with pleasure. "These grapes are small but they're bursting with flavor," he exclaimed. "Their juice will produce excellent wine. This is very good work. How did you do it, my son?"

"I followed a simple principle," Vitto replied. "Like people, vines only yield good fruit when challenged with adversity."

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You may sometimes wonder why you have to put up with so many obstacles in life. But now you can understand that problems - the things that make you work harder - are really there to teach you. They are the events that form your character and make you the person you are today. So be prepared to confront whatever Destiny places on your path, and use it to become stronger!

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"You learn more from a good enemy than from a good friend!"
-M. de Cornouardt

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