Once upon a time, a scholar approached a monk to learn
from him.

The monk said, “One must have patience.”

The scholar said, “I have learnt this lesson earlier.”

The monk said, “One must have dedication.”

The scholar said, “This lesson also, I have learnt earlier.”

Then, the monk placed an empty cup and started to pour
tea in it. The monk did not stop pouring and the tea flowed
out of the cup.

The scholar exclaimed, “It is overflowing!”

The monk stopped pouring and said, “As this cup is
overflowing, similarly, my teachings will also only overflow
from your mind.”

The scholar humbly asked the monk , “What should I
do?”

The monk replied, “If you want more tea, then either
you have to drink the tea present in the cup or throw it away,
so that the cup again becomes empty to receive more tea.”

The scholar understood. He archived in his memory the
learning that he considered to be helpful and discarded all
other useless thoughts. Thus, emptying his mind he started
to learn afresh from the monk.

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Excerpt from the book “Once Upon A Time: 100 Management Stories” by Rajen Jani