Get rich or die laughing

Is it just us or is there more and more ads about 'how to get rich' on many Indonesian blogs?

Do you notice them? Some are about how to make money through internet ads, some offering multilevel marketing gimmicks, and some selling ebooks on how to get rich without even trying, which sounds like scams than anything else.

Let's get it straight:we are not criticizing those who place the ads. People sell what other people want. If the demand is there, there will be people to fulfill it. We get it.

What we don't get is, why such demand?

Sure, we all want lots of money, we all want to live comfortably. But do we really think we can achieve this by buying an ebook about how to get rich?

Did Bill Gates got rich by reading ebook on "how to become a multi-billionaire?".

Did Roger Federer became a champion by reading "2 easy steps to become a tennis superstar?"

Well, we got news for people who bought this kind of stuff: You're not going to get it.

Because if you are spending your precious time browsing "ebook on how to make easy money" site and spending your hard-earned income buying advice that you probably already knew, you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing in order to be succesful: work.

(Bill Gates started programming since he was really young, and already had a company when he was 17 [1]. Roger Federer started playing tennis when he was eight years old [2]. By the age of 14 he practiced tennis 5 to 6 hours a week and played 2 to 3 tournaments a month [3].)

Yes, it does not help that on our tv we have all this foreign quiz show franchises such as "Who wants to be a millionaire" or "Deal or no deal", which give us an illusion that we are only one quiz show away from getting tons of money.

For example of such illusion, remember the Deal or no deal show and think about the following:

Notice how the participant got disappointed when he/she picked the wrong briefcase and lost the chance of winning a large sum of money?

Disappointed. Sad. "Oh, no, we've lost the money..."

Here's the question:

How can you lose something you never have in the first place?

It's not your money. It's never been your money. In fact: it's not even money. It's just a briefcase with some numbers in it.

You got disappointed not because you lose money. You got disappointed because you lose the illusion of getting it.

We won't deny it: we like the quiz shows. We find them entertaining.

But it is probably wise to leave it at that and not bring the same illusion into our real life.

If we want something, we'd better roll-up our sleeves and work on it.

In real life there is no random briefcase to pick that can make us rich. There is no secret ebook.

Which reminds us of a joke by Bill Maher:

Do you know why the console game "Guitar Hero" [4] is so popular?

"Because everybody wants to be a rock star but nobody wants to learn the chords"...

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Source:

[1] Wikipedia - Bill Gates

[2] Wikipedia - Roger Federer

[3] Roger Federer - Ask Roger

[4]Wikipedia - Guitar Hero