I avoid friends. I don't take telephone calls. I don't sleep even for a minute. I tell lies. I don't attend meetings..." Rakesh gave me a long list of things that were the direct outcomes of his problem - credit card debts. Sounds familiar?

I was sitting in my white Honda car and looking at the cheerful ducks swimming in the beautiful Hamilton Lake in New Zealand. It was a peaceful evening. Suddenly someone tapped at the window. It was Pratap, an Indian settled down in New Zealand. I let him inside my car.

In the winter of 1999, I met Lee in a fast food restaurant in Auckland University. He was badly in need of money to pay his hostel bills and to continue his education. "I am thousands of miles away from my country. My parents are poor. I have no one to help me," Lee said in a choked voice. "Only you can help yourself. If you aspire to solve your problems and stop expecting others to help you, you will make progress," I told him. "Please tell me what I should do now," Lee requested me. "Becoming conscious of the world around us is the first step in building our own prosperity.

Deepak pulled out a big, thick file from his shoulder bag and handed it over to me. "What is it?" I asked him. "I contacted more than ten bank managers and collected from them copies of various project reports. I have put all those reports in this file," Deepak replied. "Why do you need them?" I asked Deepak. "I want to start my own business. I don't know what to do and I don't have money. So I decided to collect as many project reports as possible, select the best one, prepare a similar project report and then apply for a bank loan. But now I am in trouble.

I read your column regularly. But, I don't know whether I have any skill that will help my in becoming self-employed. Perhaps, my fate is that I must be an employee in this XYZ travel company for an eternity," Vidya said. "If you have knowledge and will, you can always change your destiny and fate. If you look inside yourself and change things that ought to be changed, you can become the master of your life," I told Vidya and continued. "If you have ever gone for employment, you have a saleable skill. A skill, whatever its level, got you the job.

When my husband and I migrated to Australia, we thought we were entering into a beautiful dreamland. It took us just a month to realize that we had in fact entered into a land of nightmares," said Ramya.

I want to earn money working from home. Though several options are available, I believe, internet business is the best one," Kanchana told me. "There can be no question about it. However, unless you have clear goal, great business plan and sound knowledge about what you intend to do, you may find it difficult to make reasonable income. It is true for any business. Now, tell me, what is your plan?" I asked Kanchana.

A few months ago, I wrote an article with the title 'The human aspiration' in this column. It was about a young man who decided to work on a project that would help pregnant women during pregnancy. Dozens of housewives have sent me emails asking me whether they would also be able to do similar projects. Some of them asked me whether people would really pay for such products. This article answers their questions.

We are in need of an additional income stream. Without it we will soon be forced to jump into the Bay of Bengal," Krishnan said. Chitra, his wife, nodded her head and said, "Many of his friends have their own workshops and small factories. His dream has always been to own a small workshop. But, we know it is a dream impossible."

Last month I spent several days on the Internet in search of the most profitable income opportunities for entrepreneurs. I collected hundreds of pages of useful information. I analysed the information and have come up with a list of ten exciting opportunities. However, they require a huge investment of money," Vivek said to me with disappointment. "I'll tell you of an opportunity that would not cost you an arm and a leg. You can start an Online Information Research Business and make money working for yourself as information professional," I suggested to Vivek.