William James describes a man who got the experience from laughing-gas; whenever he was under its influence, he knew the secret of the universe, but when he came to, he had forgotten it. At last, with immense effort, he wrote down the secret before the vision had faded. When completely recovered, he rushed to see what he had written. It was: "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.

You hear entertainers all the time saying 'If I couldn't get paid for this I'd do it for free.' When's the last time you ever heard a business person say 'If I couldn't get paid for being chairman of British Petroleum I'd do it for free'?