Business Lesson: Investment Sophomore Business English Majors Mr. Lee

Parable of the 3 Advisors Do you know what “parable” means? A Story with a message “The moral of the story is…” The Parable of the 3 Advisors is a famous story in Western Culture I think the moral of this story is very helpful for thinking about learning English

Could I have a few volunteers read this story?

Financial Axiom Risk = Reward When trading on the stock market, the companies that are stable typically yield lower dividends, but are less likely to fail The companies that are risky usually have higher dividends, but are more likely to fail Risk averse investors generally don’t experience as much success as risk prone investors It’s better to be a little on the risky side

A Story about Investment A rich man left for an extended business trip. He called his financial advisors together and delegated responsibilities to them, according to their abilities. To one advisor he gave five million dollars, to another advisor, he gave two million dollars, and to a third advisor, he gave one million dollars. Then he left. Right away, the first advisor went to work and doubled the rich man’s investment. The second advisor did the same. But the advisor with one million dollars dug a hole in the ground and carefully buried the rich man’s money.

A Story about Investment After a long absence, the rich man came back and settled up with his advisors. The advisor who had been given five million dollars showed the rich man how he had doubled his investment. The rich man praised him, saying, “Good work! You did your job well. From now on, you will be my partner.” Next, the advisor with the two million showed how he also had doubled the rich man’s investment. The rich man praised him, saying, “Good work! You did your job well. From now on, you will also be my partner.”

A Story about Investment The advisor who had been given one million said, “Sir, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound, all one million, down to the last dollar.”

A Story about Investment The rich man was furious. “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the money with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. Take that one million dollars and give it to the advisor who risked the most. You’re fired! Get out of my sight!”

What do you think this story means? Who is the rich man? Who are the financial advisors? What does the money represent?

What do you think this story means? This story is from the Bible. The rich man represents God (or the creator of human beings). The advisors represent all people. The money represents everything we have been given by the creator Real money Talents or abilities

What do you think this story means? What did the first two advisors do? Invest the money (used their abilities) What did the third advisor do? Hid the money (wasted his ability) Why did he hide? He was afraid of making a mistake

What do you think this story means? The general moral of the story is You shouldn’t hide your talents/abilities/money, even if you are afraid If you don’t use what you have been given, you won’t gain anything else (If you don’t use it, you will lose it)

What do you think this story means? In groups, discuss these questions. How do you think this story relates to learning English? In your own life, do you feel most like you are the first advisor (who was given 5 million), the second advisor (who was given 2 million), or the third advisor (who was given 1 million)? Explain why.

What do you think this story means? Let’s discuss the story Some students are like the first advisor Have been given a lot and have done a lot with it Sorry, but we can’t all be first servants Some students are like the second advisor Have been given a little and have done what they can We can all be second advisors It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish Some students are like the third advisor Have been given little (not that much less than others, though) and have wasted it We can all be 3 rd advisors, if we’re not careful

What this story means to me Sometimes, like the 3 rd investor, I feel like I didn’t start fairly For example, I never started learning Chinese until 2 years ago, and now I only study in my free time People assume I’m Chinese or have grown up speaking Chinese People used to say very discouraging things to me So, I made the most of the situation I turned each discouragement into an encouragement I risked practicing my Chinese A LOT Eventually, I improved my situation I passed the HSK at a level that takes most people 3+ years of fully time studying to achieve I get many more encouragements (real ones!)

What this story means to me Why do I give you quizzes? To torture you? To prepare you for the final exam? To help me know what you learned and what you didn’t learn? Why do I take participation points? To make you suffer? To help you learn more effectively? Take these challenges and make them opportunities

What this story means to me Sometimes I see this in my students Disappointment: Didn’t make it into the university/major they wanted Don’t put forth too much effort because “it’s not my choice to be here.” Afraid of failing again “Life is 10% what you make it and 90% how you take it.” –Irving Berlin My Chinese friend, “Joe” Very intelligent and was accepted into the material science department at Tianjin University He didn’t want to do that, but stuck through it Later on, he taught Chinese to foreigners, and now works at a bank

Journal Take out an A4 sized piece of paper and write a couple of paragraphs answering these questions: Write about a time that you failed. What happened? Why did you fail? What did you do about your failure? If you are not satisfied with what you did, then how can you fix it? Write down a plan for recovering from your failure.