Bob and the magic beans (a parable on business opportunities)

There once was merchant named Bob, who promises people that if they bought these magic beans, they would magically plant themselves in the ground, tend and care for themselves, and all of a sudden sprout up a bunch gold beans that would magically deposit themselves in the bank for peasants who bought them. Bob said that the magic beans worked amazing well, and all people had to do was buy the beans and they would become rich.

Bob sent out messages to people speaking about how amazing the magic beans were, and you would fill your bank account, guaranteed. Bob spoke of a trip to anywhere in Parableland, to anyone to show them how wonderful the beans worked.

Bob stated that you didn't have to do anything, just buy the magic beans and you would get rich.

Of course, a bunch of people bought these beans, expecting that they would work wonders. They even told others about how amazing the beans were, so that they would end up having people cover how much they paid. Stories were popping up all over about Bob's Magic Beans. The beans were magic. They didn't even need people to do anything. Oh, it wasn't mentioned you had to keep giving Bob's bean supplier money to make the beans work properly.

A flier was produced, advertising the beans. On it were show how much gold the beans produced for people. You had a Gail who made a ton of gold in less than a week. There was a Jim who also racked in a bunch of cash to. The beans did look like they worked wonders and made everyone rich.

Bob would sometimes get nasty in what he said though. He would say a competing set of beans weren't as magical. He also was proud to announce he didn't even have to tell anyone else about the beans, because the beans would tell others. He said this telling cost nothing to. He put out announcements, and hired people to send the message around to, telling them how he didn't even have to get money to advertise the beans.

Of course, Bob went on to live happily ever after in his castle he managed to get selling his magic beans. No one knows what happened to the rest of the people who bought the beans. There are rumors some also retired, and others who wondered exactly whether or not the beans actually worked. Of course there were those who bought the beans, like they had bought 20 other sets of magical beans in the past, and they didn't work for them this time either. Maybe these people are cursed, but they never seem to have magical beans work wonder. But, these people keep buying the next set of beans that come along. They have been accused of being bean jumpers, but they keep saying it is always the beans fault. They say the next set of beans will work for them, or at least they beans won't lose their magicalness.

Anyhow, a simple question here is: Have you bought any magic beans recently? If you have, are they next to the shelf of other magic beans you bought in the past? How many times have you done this, and have any of them worked?