Confusion Corner

Len had two pair: jacks and sevens. Not much, but his best hand so far.

"I'll see you," he said as he slid five pennies forward.

'What you got?" asked Rabbi Silver, turning over a pair of queens and two aces.

The old boiler picked that moment, as it did every five minutes or so, to emit a mighty clunk and wheeze. Len had got used to the boiler, but not the poker game to which the rabbi had invited him. Len and the rabbi had met for the first time the previous evening. It was a toss-up who had been more surprised. Len, finding himself in a synagogue, or the rabbi, discovering an early arrival for Shabbat service down on his knees praying!

Sensing Len's distress, the rabbi had eased himself into a nearby pew. As Len stood up to go, the rabbi said hello.

"Hello, Father," Len replied.

"Actually, it's Rabbi, except when I'm home, then sometimes it's father, but more often I'm just 'the old man, '" said the rabbi with a gentle laugh.

"Oh, sorry," said Len, looking around the dimly lit sanctuary. "I thought this was St. Mary's."

"Across the road. But don't worry. We share parking lots at Christmas and on High Holy days. You're always welcome here."

The synagogue didn't have a confession box, but within minutes Len found himself telling his troubles to the rabbi. This, in turn, had led to an invitation to the card game.

"Please come. Tomorrow night. Side door. St. Mary's, eight o'clock. I think you'll find it a help."

Rabbi Silver, Father Murphy, Pastor Edwards, and Len started with 100 pennies each. When the game ended, all 400 pennies would be gathered up and put away until the following week. How, Len wondered, could this penny-ante card game, withreturnable pennies, help his problem: money. To be specific, how to make more money-lots more money, big money.

The intersection of Elm Street and Lonsdale Avenue was known as Confusion Comer. Beth El Synagogue, St. Mary's, and the Evangelical Church of the Book occupied three comers. On the fourth stood the Lonsdale Market Inn, a sleazy hotel known for its hard-drinking bar and harder clientele.

The question was, Which of the four comers held man's best hope? That was confusing enough. just what this poker game had to do with Len's problem was even more confusing.

The night before he'd gone for a walk to think things over. He felt guilty about not being a better provider at home. Here it was June, and that evening his wife, Linda, had written the check to pay off their final Christmas bill. Worse, he knew that their vow to build a nest egg for next Christmas wasn't going to happen. Taxes, mortgage payments, dentist bills, Linda's parking spot at work, dry cleaning, gas and electric bills ... Well, it went out as fast, or faster, than it came in. It was a life he was determined to change. Len didn't just want more money. He wanted to be rich. Then he smiled and said to himself, "Filthy rich."

Not knowing where to turn for advice, Len had ended up on his knees in what he thought was St. Mary's Church. Maybe a divine intervention was his only chance for help.

One thing he was sure of, he wasn't going to get rich playing cards. The evening was young and he was already down to 65 cents.

"So you want to make money?" said Pastor Edwards unexpectedly as he expertly flicked the cards to each player.

"Lots of money. Len's interested in big bucks," said the rabbi.

"You've come tothe right place," said Father Murphy, giving Len a warm smile before scooping up his cards.

"Here's how it works. Some years ago, when the three of us started to meet, we decided that if we pooled our resources we could accomplish more for God than if we didn't. We started with the easy things like parking and pianos, but soon found the largest and best resource we had to share was our congregations."

"Which brings us to money," said Rabbi Silver. "We realized we had special people in our congregations with significant skills. We had great negotiators, mediators, motivators; people who could really help others."

"And as we looked at our congregations, we realized we had another skilled group: moneymakers," said Father Murphy. "So we approached these people individually and asked two simple questions: Is there a skill set or knowledge base that lets people make big money, and if so, are the skills and knowledge teachable?"

"The answers were clear," said Rabbi Silver. "Our moneymakers all agreed there were such skills and knowledge and also agreed they could be taught! Except that some people never learned. But they said these were exceptions."

"What surprised us," said Pastor Edwards, "was that when we talked to these moneymakers about what it took to make money, their suggestions were very similar. They put their heads together and quickly agreed on a game plan to help others who want to make big bucks."

The bestselling authors of "Raving Fans" and "Gung Ho!" return with a new parable to guide readers in gaining personal wealth and satisfaction.

With Big Bucks!bestselling authors Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles unlock the secrets of making serious money for both you and your company. Through a series of easy-to-follow steps and powerful strategies, Blanchard and Bowles show how anyone can create lasting wealth. By focusing on concepts like commitment, intensity, purpose, and even fun, the authors have crafted a totally new--and irresistible--paradigm for unlimited success.

Written in the parable style of their previous books, Raving Fansand Gung Ho!., which were Business Week, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal business bestsellers, Big Bucks!introduces Len, who doesn't just want more money--he wants to be a millionaire. Under the direction and guidance of a group of mentors, Len must overcome three challenges on his way to attaining more wealth than he ever dreamed possible. Len learns that these three tests can be undertaken by any individual or organization in the pusuit of big bucks. And he also sees that while making big money, he can accomplish even more valuable achievements by being generous with his time, talents, and prosperity.

Packed with practical advice, Big Bucks!is a must-read for any individual or business professional seeking wealth. It's destined to become one of the major money books in the twenty-first century.

Ken Blanchard is a prominent, gregarious, sought-after author, speaker, and business consultant. He is the coauthor of The One Minute Manager^®and forty other books, including the perennial bestsellers Raving Fansand Gung Ho!Ken is the Chief Spiritual Officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, a full-service global management training and development company that he and his wife, Dr. Marjorie Blanchard, founded in 1979.