Payment for Intellectual rights

[bar...@iiu.edu.my]

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after
another, but none of them could figure how to fix the engine. Then they
brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He
carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately
went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two
of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know
what to do.

After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out
a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched
into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed. A week
later, the owners received a bill from the old man for S$10,000. "What?!"
the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man
a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The old man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer...... ......... . $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap......... ........$ 9,998.00

Lesson to be learned : Effort is important, but knowing where to make an
effort in your life makes all the difference.

-MADAM-