There is a story about a wealthy farmer who was once offered all the land he 
could walk on in a day, provided he came back by sun-down to the point where 
he started.  To get a head start, early the next morning the farmer started 
covering ground quickly because he wanted to get as much land as he could.  
Eventhough he was tired, he kept going all afternoon because he didn't want 
to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain more wealth.
 

Late in the afternoon he realized the condition he had to fulfill to get the 
land was to get back to the starting point by sundown.  His greed has gotten 
him far enough.  He started his return journey, keeping an eye on how close 
he was to sundown.  The closer it got to sundown, the faster he ran.  He was 
exhausted, out of breath and pushed himself beyond the point of endurance.  
He collapsed upon reaching the starting point and died.  He did make it 
before sundown.  He was buried and all the land he needed was a small plot.
 

There is a lot of truth in this story and a lesson to be learned.  Whether 
the farmer was wealthy or not, any greedy person would have ended the same 
way.