Chapter #2 The Secret
Reflection on the second chapter "The Secret"
Joe meets with the Chairman at his mansion. Joe looks very surprised at the quality of life the Chairman had, he said: "He's got clout". The Chairman talks to him about what is most important on the road to success.
The Secret that Chairman gives Joe is simple and is "Giving" people do not have the feeling of being able to give to others and therefore are nowhere near the success they wish to have. Despite the odd analogies that Chairman (Pindar) gave Joe, they were beginning to have some salience in Joe's understanding, all based on the fact that people think about the challenges involved in their path to success.
Mr. Pindar offered to Joe that he would teach him his Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and that he would follow them for one week, one hour a day. Joe promised in a code of honor to abide by them.
A lot of people think that getting customers to return requires making their product perfect. Sometimes this works, but it’s not possible for every business. A hotdog stand is a great illustration of this principle. You can only make your hot dogs so much better than the next guy’s, right?
Vocabulary for this section:
clout: When you speak of someone having clout, it usually means that they communicate a sense of power or influence, particularly in the political sense. "You’ll wanna talk to that big guy over there if you want me to let you in. He’s got clout."
bewildered: If a conversation about quantum mechanics leaves you feeling bewildered, or lost and befuddled, don't feel bad: physics is a baffling and confusing subject.
gaze: When someone lays eyes on you and keeps looking, it is a gaze or a stare. You can gaze back or just say, "Take a picture; it lasts longer."
betting: Preoccupied with the pursuit of pleasure and especially games of chance.
sipped: When you drink a small amount of something, you sip it. If your cocoa is extremely hot, you should probably sip it until it cools off a little bit.