Acres of Diamonds

Introduction

Acres of Diamonds was the title of a speech given by Russell Conwell, founder of Temple University who was going down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers with a party of English travellers. There, they hired an old Arab guide at Baghdad, who was giving them directions and also told them stories. Acres of Diamonds story is one such story. It teaches people that all or any of the opportunities that a person could possibly want can be found wherever that person is at that point in time. You can find them in your present community, family, job, and other circumstances. He mentions that we need to dig in our own backyard to find opportunities in our present circumstances wherever we are now.

Acres of Diamonds Story

Russell Conwell says that the old Arab guide told him the Acres of Diamonds Story: The Story of Ali. Once upon a time, there lived an Ancient Persian man namely Ali Hafed, not far from the River Indus. He owned a very large farm with gardens, grain fields, and orchards. He also had money at interest and thus, was a wealthy and contented man. One fine day, an ancient Priest visited that old Persian farmer who sat down by the fire and told him about how our old world was made. He also told Ali Hafed that he could purchase the whole country if he had one diamond the size of his thumb and through the influence of his wealth, he could place his children up thrones if he had a mine of diamonds.
After hearing all that, Ali Hafed felt he was poor. But he did not lose anything, rather he felt poor only because he was discontented, and discontented because he feared that he was poor. He asked the priest that where can he find diamonds? The priest told him that he can find diamonds in the white sands if a river runs through those white sands and between high mountains. Ali Hafed sold his farm, collected all his money, and went away in search of diamonds leaving his family in charge of his neighbour. He searched everywhere including Palestine, Europe, etc., and at last, when all his money was spent, he was in rags and wretchedness. He ultimately suicided at the bay in Barcelona. 

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Ali Hafed’s successor who bought his farm, one day took his camel to the garden to drink and when the camel put his nose into the shallow water, he noticed a flash of light from the white sands of stream. He pulled out a black stone that had an eye of light that reflected all the colours of a rainbow and brought it to his house. He then forgot about it until one day the same old priest came into his house to visit Ali Hafed’s successor. The moment he opened the door of the drawing-room, he saw that flash of light on the mantel. He rushed up to it and started shouting that it‘s a Diamond. He also asked if Ali Hafed has returned. The farmer denied saying that it wasn’t a diamond. But the Priest said it was and hence, they rushed out into the old garden together and stirred up the white sands with their fingers due to which there came up other even more beautiful and valuable gems than the first. Thus, the most magnificent Diamond-Mine of Golconda was discovered and the largest diamonds, that is, The Kohinoor, and the Orloff of the crown jewels of England and Russia came from that mine. The successor of Ali Hafed found acres of diamonds by staying at his place and searching diamonds there, once he got to know about it.

Summary

The moral of the story is that if Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own farm or underneath his own wheat fields or in his own garden, he would have had ‘Acres of Diamonds’ instead of wretchedness, starvation, and death by suicide. To recognize a diamond in its rough state, we need the skills and ability. Thus, Acres of Diamonds, in conclusion, refers to taking Responsibility to Act on Opportunity. We all are living in this one world, in the era of globalisation, the internet, connectivity, and communication. It’s a golden opportunity for all to recognise the opportunities that they have in hand, wherever they are, and take responsibility to act upon them.