My Million $ Idea

I have been working in Corporate America long enough to know that everyone thinks they could retire if they had just one million dollar idea. Like the guy who invented the post-it notes, I bet he ain't still working. Or the guy back in the 80's who invented the Sticky Wall Walkers. The only thing that guy is doing now is getting interviewed by VH1 for 'I love the 80's' episodes. And there are a lot of days that the idea of retiring sounds like a good one.

Peter Gibbons: What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Lawrence: I'll tell you what I'd do, man, two chicks at the same time, man.
Peter Gibbons: That's it? If you had a million dollars, you'd do two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Damn straight. I always wanted to do that, man. And I think if I had a million dollars I could hook that up, cause chicks dig a dude with money.
Peter Gibbons: Well, not all chicks.
Lawrence: Well the kind of chicks that'd double up on a dude like me do.
Peter Gibbons: Good point.
Lawrence: Well what about you now? what would you do?
Peter Gibbons: Besides two chicks at the same time?
Lawrence: Well yeah.
Peter Gibbons: Nothing.
Lawrence: Nothing, huh?
Peter Gibbons: I'd relax, I would sit on my ass all day, I would do nothing.
Lawrence: Well you don't need a million dollars to do nothing, man. Just take a look at my cousin, he's broke, don't do shit.

Although I love "Office Space" (mostly because it is exactly what my office is like) and although this is one of my favorite exchanges in the movie, I don't think I would do two chicks at the same time or do absolutely nothing if I had a million dollars. I have always thought that if I were rich enough to not work, that I would be rich enough to start a foundation to give money away. I dream of being a philanthropist. So, what is my million dollar idea that will allow me to be a philanthropist?

An idea came to me several months back as I was drinking a glass of water late at night right before I went to bed (that is my nightly ritual). As I finished the glass, I said to Morgan, as I do often "God knew what he was doing when he created water." I say it so often that Morgan just kind of ignored me as she does often when I say things over and over (like she does when I tell her my joke about the town of Roswell being renamed-Ask me later and I will tell you). It hit me that moment that we Americans spend an awful lot of money on bottled water when we have perfectly safe water coming out of our taps. We are 'Water Snobs'! We buy water for an average of $1.19 a 24 oz bottle at the QwikEMart and lots of time we don't even finish the bottle. I think of that scene from the "Three Amigos" when the amigos are riding on camels across the desert and Lucky Day and Ned are dying of thirst. Ned even has sand coming out of his water bottle instead of water, all the while Dusty has so much water that he gurgles his throat and spits it out and then throws an almost full canteen of water onto the ground. We Americans are like Dusty with Bottled Water while the rest of the under-developed world is like Ned and Lucky Day just hoping someone will give them a drop.

I thought a little more about it and realized that maybe there was a way to let us Americans be 'Water Snobs' while at the same time helping the people of the world. So here is my million dollar idea. A bottled water company named 'Living Water' that sells water at the same price as Aquafina and Dasani, however ALL PROFITS from the company go to the Living Water Foundation which is a non-profit that spends all of its money helping to get clean water to people who need it. The Living Water Corporation would be a profitable company whose only mission would be to give all profits to the Living Water Foundation. No 7 figure salary CEO and no stockholders to make money for. Just a corporation who uses Capitalism to make a difference in the world.

So, what do you think?