Entries from June 2011 ↓

“No man goes before his time – unless the boss leaves early.” ~Groucho Marx~

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, “Sir, I have promised my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave the office at 5:30pm.” His boss replied, “OK, You’re permitted to leave the office early today.”

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion.

The time was 8.30pm. Suddenly he remembered the promise he had made to his children. He looked for his boss but he was not there.  Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home.

Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there. His wife was alone and sitting in the hall reading magazines.

The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, “Would you like to have coffee or shall I serve dinner straight away?”

The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I will too, but what about the children?”

His wife replied, “You don’t know? Your boss came here at 5.15pm and has taken the children to the exhibition.”

What had really happened was … The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00pm. He thought to himself, he will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children then they should enjoy the visit to the exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition.

A boss does not have to do this kind of act, and not all the time, but once something of this nature is done, loyalty and appreciation is established.

“I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages.”  ~William H. Mauldin~

Overnight successes only exist in lottery draws.  And most of the winners of such chance drawings are back to broke or subsistence levels quite rapidly.  A fool and his/her money are soon parted.

But there is one wager I will make and bet you can bank on it too:  You have a million-dollar idea somewhere in the recesses of your mind.  If you are consistent and persistent enough, eventually you will get the pay off and have the character to keep your winnings and even grow them exponentially.

Napolean Hill, author of the bible of entrepreneurship and Masterminding, Think and Grow Rich, once said (and I’m paraphrasing):  “At one of my speaking engagements an elderly, decrepit man in his eighties raised his hand and asked if he could bring something on stage.  I agreed and the man approached the podium and handed me a bunch of crumpled, dog-eared papers and said:  “Mr. Hill.  I know everything you are saying and every idea is on these papers.  I wrote them down in a stream-of-consciousness over the last 60 years”.”

Mr. Hill studied the papers, returned them to the man,  and then turned to the audience:  “This man could have been me, but he isn’t.  He could have even been greater than me, but he missed the boat.  Every one of you has the same God-given ability that I or any successful person may have.  The difference is that the successful people of this planet stay with the plan and don’t forget to pull the  trigger.”

For most people trying to establish their niche business or any entrepreneurial venture, the level of tolerance is often far below what is necessary for victory.

Napolean Hill worked over twenty years for Andrew Carnegie for nothing – zilch!.  His job was to study the hundred-most successful people on the planet and write about the common threads of success in all 100.  He worked part-time selling insurance to feed his family.

But he always had his eye on the ball.  He knew that to hang around and befriend the richest people on the planet would eventually lead to wealth.  He had a vision and kept it firmly in mind, despite what reality, friends, associates and family might have been saying to discourage him from following his dream.

He knew that when his 15 minutes of fame arrived, he would be prepared to accept it and never let it fade into the cosmos.  He did that.  He was one of the richest men in America when he breathed his last breath.

And all it takes is one idea.  Look at your world and look for what people need or need more of.  Then pull the trigger, load, and pull the trigger again and again.  Eventually – and this is Napolean Hill’s and my promise – the troubles and struggles will fade away and there will be nothing but blue skies for you.

“The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to take the turn.”    ~Anon~

There are days – no, weeks! – where I long for the good old days which were not truly so good upon deeper reflection.

It was said by another anonymous voice of the past that the only difference between men and boys is the cost of their toys.  The same can be said of womenfolk.

The key to survival in the world as it is is to be open-minded and flexible.  The way people dress or the toys they choose to possess are trivial matters indeed, though they may be cause for distress as we grow older and our mind goes into a rigimortis mode.

The obsession of Japanese and other people of the world with technology and the connectiveness it affords us will not go away any more than the illegitimate baby will disappear simply because the mother of the pregnant daughter remains in a state of denial.

Embracing the technologies and subsequent paradigm shifts which are result are givens, if we plan to survive and even thrive in the coming years.

I have stated in previous writings that this is the decade where information and technology can be used to truly level the playing field in a world where half the world lives in poverty and goes to sleep with a gnawing pang of hunger as a companion.

Yet a new, growing breed of social entrepreneurs and netrepreneurs get it.  They are using their wealth, status and the technology we are blessed with not just to make another Band-Aid to cover up or over poverty, but to teach people how to take care of themselves in regions of the planet that have never experienced such euphoria.

The technology and the marketing know-how is available to make micro-businesses available in the most disease-plagued villages and hinterlands of the world.

When marketers and entrepreneurs brag about how to make tens of thousands’ of dollars a day on the Internet or elsewhere, and yet contribute not a farthing to the ending of real poverty because there is no direct profit in it…I am saddened.

The latest gadgets, gimmickry and methods of getting rich are out of touch with the real essence of wealth.  The real essence is to be flexible, learn and pay back to the world so that you can become even richer.

You can’t take it with you, no matter how many Ferraris or villas you own, but by giving or giving back, your spirit will germinate forever.