The Profit Prophet

Here is a listing of some pretty bright people who made some incredibly poor predictions of things that should have never happened...but did...  "Man will never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances." -- Dr. Lee DeForest, "Father of Radio & Grandfather of Television." "The bomb will never go off. I speak as an expert in explosives." - - Admiral William Leahy, US Atomic Bomb Project "There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom." -- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923 "Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year....

A wise philosopher was once asked, "What is it like to thirst?" by a man in his village... He looked at the man, grinned... Then grabbed him swiftly by the back of his coat, and drug him over violently to a nearby fountain... the man fought, but it was to no avail...he was the thrust, headfirst into the fountain... The philosopher forced the man's head down without any signs of mercy... The man fought with all of his life, but he was growing weaker by the moment, as the air was being used up in his lungs. He started to go limp...and at that very moment, the philosopher pulled him out of the water... The man gasped for air, grateful to be alive...exhausted...he laid on the ground... The philosopher said to him, "That's what it's like to thirst." So...what makes you passionate in life...what would you die for, what takes your breathe away? Unless you know what that is, and pursue that knowledge you are just wandering. Without this drive, th...

This is a tale of what people throw away...sometimes in business we miss the really important things, like making our customers happy, or selling what you believe, not just for profits. Enjoy this tale of caution.... A Jewish woman says to her mother, "I'm divorcing Jeff! All he wants is sex, and my vagina is now the size of a 50 cent piece when it used to be about the size of a 5 cent piece." Her mother says, "You're married to a multimillionaire businessman, you live in an 8 bedroom mansion, you drive a Ferrari, you get $2,000 a week allowance, you take 6 vacations a year and you want to throw all that away over 45 cents?"

(This is marvelous!! Scroll thru slowly and read carefully to receive and enjoy full effect) The following is the philosophy of Charles Schulz, the creator of the 'Peanuts' comic strip. You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them. Just read the e-mail straight through, and you'll get the point. 1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world. 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant. 4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize. 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress. 6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners. How did you do? The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies.. Awards tarnish.. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificat...

In these very uncertain times, when the stresses of work, family, the stock market, job security, marital bliss, and friends seems to be all out of order, I am reminded by what is really important from this story a friend of mine sent me a few years ago. I title it, "My life is a Mayonnaise Jar." I hope it brings as much wisdom to you as it did me. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar... Of cour...