A friend of mine in Hawaii is a great artist. He makes a sizable amount of money.
我有一位夏威夷的朋友是杰出的艺术家,他也挣了很多钱。
One day his mother's attorney called to tell him that she had left him $35,000.
一天,他母亲的律师打电话告诉他,他母亲给他留下了3.5万美元的遗产。
That is what was left of her estate after the attorney and the government took their shares.
这是他母亲的房产在扣除律师费和税收后的余额。
Immediately, he saw an opportunity to increase his business by using some of this money to advertise.
不久后,他发现了一个可以发展事业的“机会”。为此,他需要用这笔钱的一部分来做广告。
Two months later, his first four-color, full-page ad appeared in an expensive magazine that targeted the very rich.
两个月后,他的第一个四色整版广告登在一份昂贵的杂志上,这份杂志的读者主要是富人。
The ad ran for three months. He received no replies from the ad, and all of his inheritance is now gone.
然而广告刊登了3个月后,却没有收到任何效果,他所继承的遗产也花光了。
He now wants to sue the magazine for misrepresentation.
现在他想以误导为由起诉那家杂志。
This is a common case of someone who can build a beautiful hamburger, but knows little about business.
这是一个有关只懂怎么做好汉堡包,却不懂如何将汉堡包卖出去的典型例子。
When I asked him what he learned, his only reply was, “Advertising salespeople are crooks.”
当我问他从这件事学到了什么时,他只是回答“广告商都是骗子”。
I then asked him if he would be willing to take a course in sales and a course in direct marketing.
于是我问他愿不愿意学习销售和一门直销课程。
His reply, “I don't have the time, and I don't want to waste my money.”
他回答:“我没时间,也不愿意浪费钱。”
The world is filled with talented poor people.
世界上到处都是有才华的穷人。
All too often, they're poor or struggle financially or earn less than they are capable of, not because of what they know, but because of what they do not know.
在很多情况下,他们贫穷、财务困难或者只能挣到低于他们应得的薪水,不是因为他们已知的东西而是因为他们未知的东西。
They focus on perfecting their skills at building a better hamburger rather than the skills of selling and delivering the hamburger.
他们只将注意力集中在提高做汉堡包的技能上,却不注意提高销售和配送汉堡包的技能。
Maybe McDonald's does not make the best hamburger, but they are the best at selling and delivering a basic average burger.
也许麦当劳不能做出最好的汉堡包,但他们能在做出一般水平的汉堡包的前提下,做到最好的销售和配送工作。