Focus & Patience: Joyce Meyer relates the story of Pearl Wait who in 1897 wore several hats. He was a construction worker who dabbled in patent medicines and sold his ailment remedies door-to-door. In the midst of his tinkering he hit upon the idea of mixing fruit flavouring with granulated gelatine. His wife named it ‘Jell-O’ and Wait had one more product to peddle. Unfortunately, sales weren’t as strong as he’d hoped, so in 1899, Pearl Wait sold his Jell-O rights to Orator Woodward for $450. Woodward knew the value of marketing so within just eight brief years, Wait’s neighbour turned a $450 investment into a $1 million business. Today, not a single relative of Pearl Wait receives royalties from the 1.1 million boxes of Jell-O that are sold each day. Why? Because Pearl Wait just couldn’t wait!
Joyce Meyer, 1999, How To Succeed At Being Yourself, Missouri: Harrison House, p.87-88