Crash Course When your business is growing so fast it's out of control, here's how to pull the entrepreneurial equivalent of steering into the skid.

You've imagined being successful since you were a littlekid. You've dreamt about it, drooled over it and desired it.But are you ready for success, especially if it drops in all atonce? If you aren't thinking beyond those initial moments ofglory, pucker up and practice saying "Has-been."

See Dick open a dot.com company. See Jane start a hamburgerchain. See the dollars flow into Dick's Internet enterprise.Invest, Dick, invest! See the customers flow into Jane'shamburger chain. Grill, Jane, grill! Watch Dick's stock optionsskyrocket. Watch Jane open restaurants in Boise and Guam in thesame week. See Dick and Jane become suddenly successful--very, veryquickly.

Sometimes, success is easy. It was for Dick and Jane. Theirbooks were an instant success for textbook publishing companyScott, Foresman & Co. (now Addison Wesley Longman Inc.) in1930. And they've enjoyed longevity. By the time the last Dickand Jane story was written, it was 1965, and their books hadreached 85 million boys and girls. The books would continue to besold until 1970 and read beyond that.