> Maybe successful people who watched the show
> thought about what they'd do if they were in
> that situation, but these challenges like
> the TV show only seem to reinforce the fact
> that successful people would do pretty much
> what they did before to get success again.

I agree though there is a world of difference between a real world experience and a game show (of course)....

But it's not clear to me that they did the same thing....

For example, "Crazy" Ron sells mobile phones (cell phones). Yet to make money, he held a dance party.... He didn't go out there and sell more mobile phones.

Cameron Fisher sells Real Estate. Yet to make money, one of the things he did was to organize a celebrity luncheon....

It seems I'm the only one here who saw the show (apart from my brother Thomas), and I personally believe I benefited from watching it.... :)

Having said that, I agree the pressures are different from "real life"....

These people didn't really care deeply if they lost the $10,000 they started with -- they are all already millionaires. It would have just been a blow to their pride.... Therefore, they were all probably willing to take higher risks with their money than the average person would, if the average person needed that money for their long-term living expenses, or to support their family.....

> Would successful people even consider, worse
> case scenrio when things are going well? I'm
> not talking about if one of their products
> didn't sell, I'm saying would they consider
> the options of starting out again with
> nothing.

These guys started with $10,000 , so they weren't really starting with nothing.

I forgot to mention, by the way, in my write-up that they had to buy clothes (they only had the clothes on their back). "Crazy" Ron bought some loud shirts, while Cameron Fisher rented a suit. (We didn't see Pamela Noon buying clothes in the half hour show, it probably got edited out due to time.)

> None of the people in the TV example
> radically changed the way they'd made money
> before.

No, not too radically.... Though I still think organizing a dance party is not identical to selling mobile phones....

> Sure the TV show and the challenge in
> general are interesting as examples of how
> you got successful in the first place.

Not really, since what they did wasn't really identical....

However, I agree that their experience MUST have helped them to organize their successful ventures....

> A better show and a better premise would
> be..."How to take your skills or learn
> new skills and find success" and then
> one could look at their current skills and
> situation.

That would definitely take more than 2 1/2 days....

These people were "real life" millionaires. I think the BIGGEST problem with a show like this is getting financially successful people to participate.... What motivation could you give them?

Maybe that's why, so far, only one show has ever been made -- as far as I can tell!

> Maybe someone sitting on the couch who's
> life was in the can would maybe think about
> their options, but would they really? Maybe
> they'd just get mad at the participants just
> doing what they did before.

> Failure leads to fear, fear leads to anger,
> anger leads to.....where's Yoda when you
> need him.

> Still, maybe the show would give a few ideas
> and that may help.

I think different people would react differently to the show....

I think if a person thinks they are "cursed" to mediocrity, they'd just get jealous. "Look at those guys, they get all the luck!"

But someone with a success attitude would think, "So that's ONE way to do it! Why, I can probably do that too!"

At least that's how I thought.... :)

You probably read about my brother Thomas's beginning to organize an underage dance party -- that idea was directly stimulated by the show.

(Right now, he's doing very well with the new distribution business he just started.... I'm learning a lot from him, actually....)

> Maybe the challenge isn't totally
> pointless, I just don't think it's an ideal
> way to help unsuccessful people.

That might be true.... though I think it does depend on your mental attitude before-hand.... I think those with a "can do" attitude would benefit more than those with a defeatist attitude....

Someone I know always criticizes me for being "TOO optimistic." Yet while I've generally been successful at what I turn my efforts to (at least eventually -- I don't give up easily), she has not really been very successful herself....

While she criticizes me, she always defends her negative attitude by claiming, "I'm not pessimistic, I'm a realist."

Yet, I KNOW she can do much better than she is.... But the first thing she needs to change is her attitude.

I agree fully with Napoleon Hill, Maxwell Maltz, and the rest, the first change has to be a mental one....

> I just don't think that these challenges
> are specific enough to help people who have
> never had success, but they do provide
> viewers with a selection of ways to make
> money if you already know how.

There are clearly zillions and zillions of different ways to make money....

I believe which way is best depends on the individual!

At the moment, I tend to agree with something I read by Ross Perot.... He says the way to make money is not to have making money as your primary goal. Instead, your goal should be along the lines of doing something well, or building something better than anyone else....

Thanks for your views Richard.... I respect your views and your forthrightness, though we may not always agree on everything, it helps to keep life interesting! ;)

Cheers,

Dien