In the old days it was thought that wherever there is a demand the supply happens on its own accord. Now, that is not the rule. The rule is, if you have something to supply, create the demand. Go on hammering certain words into people’s minds so that they completely forget that they have been listening to it on the radio, on the television, in the films, in the newspaper, and they start believing it. Continually listening to something, they start purchasing it – any soap, any toothpaste, any cigarette – you can sell anything.

I have heard about a man who was thought to be a great salesman. His company was very proud of him. The company was dealing in real estate, and there was a big plot of land that had been with them for years and they had not been able to find anybody even interested in it. Finally the owner called the great salesman and asked him. He said, “Don’t be worried,” and he sold the plot.

After just fifteen days the rains started, and the plot was at least fifteen feet under water, fifteen feet deep. That was the reason nobody was interested in purchasing it. Anybody could see from the road what would happen in the rains. All around, the land was so deep. The man who had purchased it came, really angry – he rushed into the owner’s office and said, “Is this business or robbery? Where is your salesman?”

The owner said, “What is the matter? What happened?”

He said, “What happened? He sold me a plot that is now under fifteen feet of water! It has become a big lake. What am I going to do with it? I will kill that man. Otherwise, return my money.”

The owner said, “Don’t be worried; you just sit down.”

He called his salesman, and the salesman said, “This is not a problem, you just come with me, I will solve it. You need your money? You take your money with fifteen days interest because I have better buyers ready.”

The man said, “What?”

The salesman said, “Don’t change your mind – you take your money with interest, and forget all about that land. It is such a beauty. You can make a beautiful house on it after the rains, and when the rains come again you can make arrangements so that the water does not flow out. You will have the only place of its kind in the whole city, a lake palace. And as far as the situation right now is concerned I will give you two boats, we have been saving them for this situation.”

And he sold two boats to the man!

The owner was just standing there, seeing the whole scene. Those boats were absolutely useless – they had been lying down there for years, rotten. They would drown the moment they were put into the water. He said to his dealer, “You are creating more trouble.”

The salesman said, “You don’t be worried. If I can manage that big a trouble, I can manage just two boats.”