|
In 1923, nine of the wealthiest
people in the world met at
Chicago's Edge Water Beach Hotel
.
Their combined wealth, it is
estimated, exceeded the wealth
of the government of the United
States at that time. These men
certainly knew how to make a
living and accumulate wealth.
Attending the meeting were the
following men:
1. The president of the
largest steel company
2. The president of the
largest utility company
3. The president of the
largest gas company
4. The president of the
New York Stock Exchange
5. The president of the
Bank of
International Settlements
6. The greatest wheat
speculator
7. The greatest bear on
Wall Street
8. The head of the World's
greatest monopoly
9. A member of President
Harding's cabinet
That's a pretty impressive
line-up of people by anyone's
yardstick.
Yet, 25 years later, where were
those nine industrial giants?
Let’s examine what happened to
them 25 years later.
1. The President of the
then largest steel company
(Bethlehem Steel Corp), Charles
M
Schwab, lived on borrowed
capital for five years before he
died bankrupt.
2. The President of the then
largest gas company, Howard
Hubson, went insane.
3. One of the greatest commodity
traders (Wheat Speculator),
Arthur Cutten, died
insolvent.
4.The then President of the New
York Stock Exchange, Richard
Whitney, was sent to jail.
5. The member of the US
President’s Cabinet (the member
of President Harding's
cabinet), Albert Fall, was
pardoned from jail just to be
able to go home and die in
peace.
6.The greatest “bear” on Wall
Street, Jesse Livermore
committed suicide.
7. The President of the then
world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar
Krueger, committed
suicide.
8.The President of the Bank of
International Settlement, Leon
Fraser, committed Suicide.
9.The president of the largest
utility company, Samuel Insull,
died penniless.
What they forgot was how to
"make" life while they got busy
making money!
Money in itself is not an evil;
it provides food for the hungry,
medicine for the sick, clothes
for the needy.
Money is only a medium of
exchange.
Lessons learnt :
We need two kinds of education:
a) One that teaches us how to
make a living and
b) One that teaches us how to
live...........
There are many of us who are so
engrossed in our professional
life that we neglect our family,
health and social
responsibilities.
If asked why we do this, we
would reply that "We are doing
it for our family". Yet, our
kids are sleeping when we leave
home. They are sleeping when we
come back home!! Twenty years
later, we’ll turn back, and
they’ll all be gone, to pursue
their own dreams and their own
lives.
Without water, a ship cannot
move. The ship needs water, but
if the water gets into the ship,
the ship will face existential
problems. What was once a means
of living for the ship will now
become a means of destruction.
Similarly we live in a time
where earning is a necessity but
let not the earning enter our
hearts, for what was once a
means of living will surely
become a means of destruction
for us as well.
So take a moment and ask
yourself……….
Has the water entered my ship?
I hope Not!
Courtesy: Akhtar Ali Shah,
Orlando, Florida
|