What Can We Learn from a Hot Dog Vendor?

"Everyone loves good hot dogs, so I know that there is a market out there but I have never acted on my dream because, truth be told, I don't think that I have the skills needed to manage a real big business. With you on my side, it would be a different ballgame, so what do you say?"

"You must be out of your mind, dad!" said the youngster. "Don't you know that there is a recession going on? People are losing their jobs, businesses are closing down everywhere and everyone who has a chance to leave the country does so. And in this climate do you want to expand?"

Fred was shocked to the core. He had spent his time selling hot dogs and business had been brisk as usual. He was so busy that he hadn't even noticed that there was a recession brewing. But he reasoned that as his son had gone to university, was watching television, reading newspapers and listening to the radio, he must know what's going on in the world.

This realization depressed Fred. He no longer bothered to put up his banner, and he stopped greeting people and inviting them to buy a hot dog. "What's the use?" he reasoned, "There is a recession, so people won't buy anyway!" And quite soon, people stopped buying. The pile of sausages and bread rolls left over at the end of each day grew bigger; at first, Fred would give the leftovers away for free, but he soon started to keep them for the next day.

Eventually, Fred decided that it was no longer worth his while to run the hot dog stand. "My son was absolutely right" he said to himself, "There really is a recession; I might as well cut my losses and pack up before I lose everything!"