Tomatoes or Technology?
 

I got the following message as a forwarded email. Its more fun to read in an email (you will see why) - but had to share it with you guys...

----

An unemployed man is desperate to support his
family. His wife watches TV all day and his three
teenage kids have dropped out of high school to
hang around with the local toughs. He applies for
a janitor's job at a large firm and easily passes
an aptitude test.

The human resources manager tells him, "You will
be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour. Let me
have your e-mail address so that we can get you in
the loop. Our system will automatically e-mail you
all the forms and advise you when to start and
where to report on your first day."

Taken back, the man protests that he is poor and
has neither a computer nor an e-mail address.

To this the manager replies, "You must understand
that to a company like ours that means that you
virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail address
you can hardly expect to be employed by a
high-tech firm. Good day."

Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn
and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past a
farmers' market and sees a stand selling 25lb
crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a crate,
carries it to a busy corner and displays the
tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all the
tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating the
process several times more that day, he ends up
with almost $100 and arrives home that night with
several bags of groceries for his family.

During the night he decides to repeat the tomato
business the next day. By the end of the week he
is getting up early every day and working into the
night. He multiplies his profits quickly. Early in
the second week he acquires a cart to transport
several boxes of tomatoes at a time, but before a
month is up he sells the cart to buy a broken-down
pickup truck.

At the end of a year he owns three old trucks. His
two sons have left their neighbourhood gangs to
help him with the tomato business, his wife is
buying the tomatoes, and his daughter is taking
night courses at the community college so she can
keep books for him. By the end of the second year
he has a dozen very nice used trucks and employs
fifteen previously unemployed people, all selling
tomatoes. He continues to work hard. Time passes
and at the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet
of nice trucks and a warehouse which his wife
supervises, plus two tomato farms that the boys
manage.

The tomato company's payroll has put hundreds of
homeless and jobless people to work. His daughter
reports that the business grossed a million
dollars.

Planning for the future, he decides to buy some
life insurance. Consulting with an insurance
adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit his new
circumstances. Then the adviser asks him for his
e-mail address in order to send the final
documents electronically.

When the man replies that he doesn't have time to
mess with a computer and has no e-mail address,
the insurance man is stunned, "What, you don't
have e-mail? No computer? No Internet? Just think
where you would be today if you'd had all of that
five years ago!"

"Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd had e-mail five
years ago I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft
and making $5.15 an hour."

Which brings us to the moral:

Since you got this story by email, you're
probably closer to being a janitor than a
millionaire.

Sadly, I received it also




Read more inspirational stories

Thanks Ankesh! I enjoyed the story!
 

...However, I think I'll keep my email account! ;)

By the way, that tomato story - that's really how many businesses grow. They start small, and grow step by step....

- Dien Rice

Re: Tomatoes or Technology?
 

> I got the following message as a forwarded
> email. Its more fun to read in an email (you
> will see why) - but had to share it with you
> guys...

> ----

> An unemployed man is desperate to support
> his
> family. His wife watches TV all day and his
> three
> teenage kids have dropped out of high school
> to
> hang around with the local toughs. He
> applies for
> a janitor's job at a large firm and easily
> passes
> an aptitude test.

> The human resources manager tells him,
> "You will
> be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.
> Let me
> have your e-mail address so that we can get
> you in
> the loop. Our system will automatically
> e-mail you
> all the forms and advise you when to start
> and
> where to report on your first day."

> Taken back, the man protests that he is poor
> and
> has neither a computer nor an e-mail
> address.

> To this the manager replies, "You must
> understand
> that to a company like ours that means that
> you
> virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail
> address
> you can hardly expect to be employed by a
> high-tech firm. Good day."

> Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where
> to turn
> and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past
> a
> farmers' market and sees a stand selling
> 25lb
> crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a
> crate,
> carries it to a busy corner and displays the
> tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all
> the
> tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating
> the
> process several times more that day, he ends
> up
> with almost $100 and arrives home that night
> with
> several bags of groceries for his family.

> During the night he decides to repeat the
> tomato
> business the next day. By the end of the
> week he
> is getting up early every day and working
> into the
> night. He multiplies his profits quickly.
> Early in
> the second week he acquires a cart to
> transport
> several boxes of tomatoes at a time, but
> before a
> month is up he sells the cart to buy a
> broken-down
> pickup truck.

> At the end of a year he owns three old
> trucks. His
> two sons have left their neighbourhood gangs
> to
> help him with the tomato business, his wife
> is
> buying the tomatoes, and his daughter is
> taking
> night courses at the community college so
> she can
> keep books for him. By the end of the second
> year
> he has a dozen very nice used trucks and
> employs
> fifteen previously unemployed people, all
> selling
> tomatoes. He continues to work hard. Time
> passes
> and at the end of the fifth year he owns a
> fleet
> of nice trucks and a warehouse which his
> wife
> supervises, plus two tomato farms that the
> boys
> manage.

> The tomato company's payroll has put
> hundreds of
> homeless and jobless people to work. His
> daughter
> reports that the business grossed a million
> dollars.

> Planning for the future, he decides to buy
> some
> life insurance. Consulting with an insurance
> adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit
> his new
> circumstances. Then the adviser asks him for
> his
> e-mail address in order to send the final
> documents electronically.

> When the man replies that he doesn't have
> time to
> mess with a computer and has no e-mail
> address,
> the insurance man is stunned, "What,
> you don't
> have e-mail? No computer? No Internet? Just
> think
> where you would be today if you'd had all of
> that
> five years ago!"

> "Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd
> had e-mail five
> years ago I would be sweeping floors at
> Microsoft
> and making $5.15 an hour."

> Which brings us to the moral:

> Since you got this story by email, you're
> probably closer to being a janitor than a
> millionaire.

> Sadly, I received it also

Ankesh,

Awesome story. I printed that one out! Morality booster....Reality downer.

Re: Tomatoes or Technology?
 

Hi everyone. This is my first time around :)the wis forum.

I would just like to comment on the moral for this story. I would say that this poor man had an entrepreneurial spirit to start with and secondly he had INITIATIVE, and in a short time he had the SELF-CONFIDENCE to become his own BOSS. Never mind the no email address.

Good day to all!

Ralph

Re: Tomatoes or Technology?
 

WOW!! :o
Really an eye opener!!
Thanks for sharing!!!

> I got the following message as a forwarded
> email. Its more fun to read in an email (you
> will see why) - but had to share it with you
> guys...

> ----

> An unemployed man is desperate to support
> his
> family. His wife watches TV all day and his
> three
> teenage kids have dropped out of high school
> to
> hang around with the local toughs. He
> applies for
> a janitor's job at a large firm and easily
> passes
> an aptitude test.

> The human resources manager tells him,
> "You will
> be hired at minimum wage of $5.15 an hour.
> Let me
> have your e-mail address so that we can get
> you in
> the loop. Our system will automatically
> e-mail you
> all the forms and advise you when to start
> and
> where to report on your first day."

> Taken back, the man protests that he is poor
> and
> has neither a computer nor an e-mail
> address.

> To this the manager replies, "You must
> understand
> that to a company like ours that means that
> you
> virtually do not exist. Without an e-mail
> address
> you can hardly expect to be employed by a
> high-tech firm. Good day."

> Stunned, the man leaves. Not knowing where
> to turn
> and having $10 in his wallet, he walks past
> a
> farmers' market and sees a stand selling
> 25lb
> crates of beautiful red tomatoes. He buys a
> crate,
> carries it to a busy corner and displays the
> tomatoes. In less than 2 hours he sells all
> the
> tomatoes and makes 100% profit. Repeating
> the
> process several times more that day, he ends
> up
> with almost $100 and arrives home that night
> with
> several bags of groceries for his family.

> During the night he decides to repeat the
> tomato
> business the next day. By the end of the
> week he
> is getting up early every day and working
> into the
> night. He multiplies his profits quickly.
> Early in
> the second week he acquires a cart to
> transport
> several boxes of tomatoes at a time, but
> before a
> month is up he sells the cart to buy a
> broken-down
> pickup truck.

> At the end of a year he owns three old
> trucks. His
> two sons have left their neighbourhood gangs
> to
> help him with the tomato business, his wife
> is
> buying the tomatoes, and his daughter is
> taking
> night courses at the community college so
> she can
> keep books for him. By the end of the second
> year
> he has a dozen very nice used trucks and
> employs
> fifteen previously unemployed people, all
> selling
> tomatoes. He continues to work hard. Time
> passes
> and at the end of the fifth year he owns a
> fleet
> of nice trucks and a warehouse which his
> wife
> supervises, plus two tomato farms that the
> boys
> manage.

> The tomato company's payroll has put
> hundreds of
> homeless and jobless people to work. His
> daughter
> reports that the business grossed a million
> dollars.

> Planning for the future, he decides to buy
> some
> life insurance. Consulting with an insurance
> adviser, he picks an insurance plan to fit
> his new
> circumstances. Then the adviser asks him for
> his
> e-mail address in order to send the final
> documents electronically.

> When the man replies that he doesn't have
> time to
> mess with a computer and has no e-mail
> address,
> the insurance man is stunned, "What,
> you don't
> have e-mail? No computer? No Internet? Just
> think
> where you would be today if you'd had all of
> that
> five years ago!"

> "Ha!" snorts the man. "If I'd
> had e-mail five
> years ago I would be sweeping floors at
> Microsoft
> and making $5.15 an hour."

> Which brings us to the moral:

> Since you got this story by email, you're
> probably closer to being a janitor than a
> millionaire.

> Sadly, I received it also




Why not learn from the millionaires instead!