THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT

[Pravin Kumar]

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
by Tom Peters

Fred Karl, designer of the Viking Range and owner of the company said, "I was a weird kid. I began designing towns when I was 12." We all know that "weird" can be good, if we don't judge others through our lens. Being weird increases creativity if we allow it to flourish. Fred Karl let his weirdness flourish abundantly.

Karl's headquarters for Viking is located in his home town of Greenwood, Mississippi. Karl has restored old buildings to house his operations, so not only does his product, the Viking Range, generate income for the small Mississippi town, Karl is revitalizing the town through his restoration work. He remembered a bustling place in the '60s that had "gone way downhill" by the time he returned there after a tour of duty in Vietnam. The little town of Greenwood, previously sustained by the cotton industry, wasn't ever going to be the same. But Fred Karl saw the possibilities and brought all his talents to bear to create a new Greenwood.


Success can definitely be learned.

And with so many books out there on the subject, there really isn't any reason why people aren't getting more out of life.

.. Except it takes too long to find out the secrets!

I'm sure you're familiar with how long it takes to read a book. About 5 to 8 hours… less if you speed read. That's just one book, for one topic!

What's worse is we forget 80% of what we learn within 24 hours if we don't constantly review what we've read or watched or listened to. And with our busy schedules and deadlines due yesterday, we simply don't have the luxury of patiently learning and relearning.

You need to get the secrets down pat and fast!


Fred Karl designed the first Viking Range for his wife and hoped that he would sell 1,000 a year; now he sells that many in a week. Just like most startups today, he had little money. Fred Karl bartered his building design skills to obtain office space to work in. The local people called the new range Fred was designing his "Stove Project." What kept his spirit going was the encouragement from the town—support he knew he wouldn't get if he moved to a big city. That little "Stove Project" eventually became the big business of Viking Range.

Feeling a little weird lately? Take time to see where your passion and entrepreneurial spirit is calling you. Even in corporate America, the entrepreneurial spirit must remain alive. That spirit can solve the toughest of corporate problems, if only we let it.


What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.

- Yiddish proverb


Angels not only worship, they direct our gaze to an awesome God.

- Timothy Jones,


Daily Health Quote  

My head feels like an old depot, worn by time and tears, No more locomotives passing through, café filled with tales and baggage, The old depot's barren now, there has been a great brain robbery.

- Joanne Koenig Coste


What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Experiences with angels often involve a threatening situation which is suddenly resolved by a figure appearing from nowhere.

- H.C. Moolenburgh,
"Meetings With Angels"

Read more angel quotes >>


Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.

[cherokeelady]

Sleep learning is the best if you want to retain more of what you are learning.  When you use tapes to learn during sleep your subconscious mind is taking in al the information.