Mindset story: What happens when you try to get ahead at the expense of others

There was once a very successful and well-known merchant. Like all the other merchants he bought goods from one place and traveled to sell them in another. On his trips, he met many people which he befriended, shared many stories with them all, and at the same time made a lot of money on them. You see the merchant was very skilled at getting people to trust him which he took advantage of to make money. He valued money above everything else. That is why he loved his job, or as he put it, his calling. With every sale or purchase, he made he had to win in the trade and was relentless if needed be to get the upper hand. He measured his success by the amount of money he made at the expense of others.

But one day after he had just begun his journey on the road, he found himself missing his pouch full of gold coins. He panicked and went back to the last spot where he was resting. At the same spot that he was resting not that much time back, he found that some other man decided to rest also. The stranger asked the merchant if he was looking for something. The merchant looking at the stranger with a mixed look of anger and surprise responded, “Yes, I’ve lost my pouch full of gold coins.” To which the stranger asked, “How much money was in it?” This sounded very suspicious to the merchant, but he still answered, “One…