Business Basics 101: Beware danger of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?'

Don't watch the show. It's dangerous. It's rotting your brain and contributing to the demise of our society. If you really want to be a millionaire, don't watch the show!

I know lots of rich people. None of them got rich from a game show, the lottery, horse-racing or Las Vegas. A few of my wealthy acquaintances got rich from inheriting beaucoup du money. (Wouldn't that be fun?) The rest got rich by learning how money works, and applying the rules of money consistently and systematically. That's something you could do as well.

Now, if you are already as rich as you want to be, then, by all means plug into Regis. If you are most of a million dollars short of a million dollars, then there are better ways to spend your time.

Learn how to make a million dollars in the time you would have spent watching the show. I'm assuming you want a million dollars. Why else would you watch the show? Instead of watching, spend that time learning about money. Read these great books: "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George Clason.

Use the Internet to expand your business literacy. Visit

www.fool.com

for investing information. And check out

www.moneyhunt.com,

www.workingsolo.com and

www.kaching.com

for lots of great information about creating a business that will make you millions.

Find a mentor who will show you the ropes. Call a rich man and ask him if he'll share the formula for his success. Call a rich woman and ask her for advice with your financial strategy. You'll be delightfully surprised at how generous successful folks can be. In fact, my experience has been that the more successful a person is, the more willing he is to help.

No one gets to the top all by himself. So, seek out a mentor and you might find a person eager to help someone else as he was once helped. (If you approach a rich person and get cold shouldered, just shrug it off. Maybe your prospect is only pretending to be a millionaire. It helps to think that.)

Play Monopoly! Pull the family away from the tube. Teach kids how to wheel and deal in real estate. Monopoly is an excellent way to teach basic business and finance. So is The Game of Life.

Decide what you really want to do with your lifeand make a million dollars doing that. Does that sound too good to be true? On the contrary, your best shot at being really financially successful is to discover your life's purpose. Then, create a plan for wealth that involves doing what you love for a living.

Let me explain how to do this by way of example. Suppose you are absolutely passionate about professional wrestling. You could create a wrestling persona, like the "Springfield Mangler." You could create a marketing plan based on your finishing move, "The Moonshine" a pop on the behind with a whiskey jug. Offer video clips of you demonstrating "The Moonshine" on your unfortunate opponents from your Internet Web site. Charge $5 per download. Attract the attention of Vince McMahon, head honcho of the World Wrestling Federation. Sign on as WWF's newest wrestling superstar for a million dollars per match.

Hey, it could happen. At least with this plan you are taking responsibility for your own fortune, as opposed to crossing your fingers and hoping that the ABC execs will call.

This wrestling plan is about a million times more likely to work than the game show plan. Your wrestling plan might not come to pass just as you originally planned, but you can make adjustments and change strategies as you gain experience and keep track of income and expenses.

As you learn more about business, and professional wrestling, you might choose to start an old wrestler's home instead. There's an opportunity! Offer a safe haven to those poor guys who've been dropped on their heads once too often.

That's what so cool about learning how to make money. You can create a million dollars yourself, doing whatever you want.

To heck with Regis.

Ellen Rohr helps folks make a living doing what they love. She is a business book author and consultant. She can be contacted through the Business Journal by writing to PO Box 1365, Springfield 65801 or via e-mail at sbj@sbj.net.)