About to land at JFK

The Egohulkster:

The ultimate in delusions of grandeur is found in the
Egohulkster, the guy who spends most of his time, energy and
money trying to convince himself and others that he’s the
reincarnation of Howard Hughes.

A classic tip-off to the Egohulkster is lavish offices with
all the trappings. Little does he know that this kind of flash
serves as a red flag to experienced, successful people,
particularly if the growth of his business has been unusually
rapid.

A number of years ago I had dinner with an Egohulkster in
his early thirties. The purpose of our get together was to
discuss a business deal we were in the process of negotiating.

We never did get around to talking business, because he yapped
non-stop about who he knew, how much he made and how clever he
was. At one point, apparently sensing (erroneously) that his
prey’s fascination had reached a fever pitch, he bellowed:
“There are three things I can do around the clock – drink,
gamble and have sex.” I’m telling you, I nearly yawned.

Then with trumpets blaring inside his arthritic brain cavity, he
went on to describe his awesome deal making exploits, taking
care to emphasize he regularly flitted from coast to coast on
his own Learjet.

Of course, he was many years too late to impress me. About
fifteen years earlier, prior to my brain transplant, I too owned
a Learjet. The truth, however was that I had been barely able
to keep up with the payments on my ten speed bicycle let alone
my those on my plane.

As I noted the foam dripping from the corners of the young
Egohulkster’s mouth, I was pretty certain that when the end
arrived for him he would lose both his Learjet and his bicycle.

Real-World Rule #52: Distrust anyone under 40 with a Learjet!