Google, Sergey & Larry & Elvis Presley

Recently, the founders of Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, sat down with another billionaire to discuss many things; among them the amount of hours people should work.

Larry goes on to say that companies should hire two part-time workers instead of one full time worker. He follows that assertion by saying that many of his friends agree with him. Of course, all of his friends are also billionaires. Larry's statement is the epitome of what happens to people when they achieve an extraordinary level of success.

Let's use Elvis Presley as the lens through which we will analyze Larry's comment. Many of us have heard of Elvis Presley. I grew up after Elvis's demise. Nevertheless, I was such a huge fan of his, that my mom did not want to tell me that he had passed. So, there I went, dancing to his songs and singing along. I really liked his music and thought he was the coolest dude around. I even had a leather jacket, more like Fonzie's than Elvis's, but I attributed my coolness to being a fan of Elvis.

Elvis was and continues to be one of the most successful musicians ever to have lived. Rumor has it that Elvis has sold nearly 1 billion records, but there is no hard evidence to corroborate this number. He was a prolific artist - to say the least - both on and off screen. He appeared in movies and was the center of attention at countless concerts around the world. Needless to say, he was a very successful musician. To top it off the ladies loved him. He probably almost had as many women as record sales. (Insert sarcasm)

Now, as successful as Elvis continues to be, would we hold our breath at his opinion of social issues? I will answer with a resounding NO! No, we would not care to know what Elvis thought about social issues. Sure, we would listen. After all, it is Elvis. At the same time, we would not enact social policies based on his opinion. Yes, he was famous. Yes, he could fill stadiums around the world a few times over. Yes, men and women love him. But, and it is worth repeating, But his fame does not mean that he had the answers to the world's problems!

What does Elvis have to do with Google, Sergey Brin, and Larry page you ask? I will tell you. Larry and Sergey suffer from the delusion of omniscience. They believe that since they are very successful businessmen, then that automatically means that they have the answers to the world's problems. No!!! No!!! No!!! No, Larry! You do not have the answer to the world's problems. You are not a 99 percenter. The opinion you and your fellow billionaires have about how many hours the rest of us should work don't matter. Here is why. You got lucky. Whether the Gods, whoever they might be, favored you, or whether you are an evolutionary anomaly; as are most geniuses, you are not like the rest of us. You live in another dimension, the dimension of billionaires. Therefore, you have no right to state what is good for the rest of us. (I can already hear the pigs talking in animal farm.) And yes, I know that Animal Farm is about communism. But the idea of a few thinking they are above the rest resonates in Larry's statements. No, you cannot have the best fruit of the bunch and propose that two people should split a banana instead of one person having it to himself. Come on! Especially, when you have baskets of bananas stashed away in your pantry or wherever you keep your bananas.

Where do successful people get off thinking that they have all of the answers? I am a HUGE fan of the band U2. I happen to think that Bono is a very talented singer in addition to being a very talented individual. BUT...... Bono, please... Please be quiet already. Stick to singing. No, I didn't think it was cute when you flipped your glasses at the TED talk. No, I do not want to listen to the "nerd" Bono. I want to listen to your songs. That's it! Sure and yes. Continue with your philanthropic endeavors. Just be quiet about them. You are a very lucky man. The Gods gave you an awesome voice. Use it to sing. Do not use it to spew your opinion about social issues. Boy, this hurts. U2 is one of my all time favorite bands. But I can't help but cringe when you guys open your mouth about anything that does not have to do with singing.

Back to Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. You guys got lucky!! The right time and the right place and the internet and technology. Had you been born during the industrial revolution you might have ended up as professors, who teach rather than do. Had you been born in Medieval times, I doubt that you would have been knights. Maybe you would have owned cattle at best. Who knows. The point is...... just be quiet.

You create arguably good products. Stop there. Stop thinking you know everything and just stick to your business endeavors, and please, do not think for a second that you are aware of the plight of the everyday man and woman, because you are not. Sure, Google is big right now. So was IBM and so was Microsoft and so was Borders and Blockbuster and Arthur Andersen. (Larry Googles "Arthur Andersen")

Google is not omnipotent. Larry and Sergey are not omniscient. So, S.T.F.U.

MM