I met Rani in my friend's office a few years ago. I immediately liked her because she was cheerful and energetic. "You are the most cheerful girl I have ever met." I told her. After a few moments of heavy silence she said in a voice tinged with sorrow, "I force myself to be cheerful and happy. That's the only way to protect my sanity."

Sudha asked me, "There are hundreds of self-employment projects. Which one shall I choose?" I told her, "In Alice in Wonderland, Alice asks the cat, 'Which way I ought to walk from here?' The cat asks, 'Where do you want to go?' Alice replies, 'I don't care where.' The cat says, 'Then it does not matter which way you walk.' That's my reply to your question. Unless you know what your goal is and what your skills are, you can start any business. Your success will be decided by your luck." Sudha is a mother of two young children. She is in her mid-thirties.

Raman asked me, "I know when someone seeks your guidance you suggest to projects related to computer and internet. I am neither computer literate nor internet savvy. I am not interested in learning these new technologies. But, I want to generate some additional income. Do you think I can have any luck?" I replied, "Computer and internet are recently developed technologies. Men have been making money long before. Do you know that 97% of world population earns money from non-computer activities?"

Most of us to take everything in life for granted and live in complacency. We open our eyes to reality only when we face extreme difficulties. Even then, most of us succumb to the difficulties as we do not know what to do next. Only a few act decisively with knowledge, overcome difficulties and prosper in life. Radha is one among the few. She studied BA (English Literature) course fifteen years ago in a famous college in Chennai. She was groomed by her mother as a housewife. 'Men work at office; women work at home' was as natural to Radha as 'Sun rises in the east and sets in the west.'

Many readers of this column have understood the principles of discovering self-employment opportunities and have already started to make money. Rajiv is one among them.

When you begin to look for easy ways to make money from self-employment and don't know what reality is, you are advertising to the world, "Hello world, my name is Sitting Duck. Shoot me, please." No one can shoot you, if you understand the truth and know the facts.

Recently I read a poem on the independence of India: The poet asks an old, bed-ridden, illiterate villager, "Do you know who the most powerful person in India is?" The old villager replies, "The Queen! She rules India." The shocked poet says, "India became an independent nation on 15th of August 1947. Don't you know that?" The villager becomes confused and replies, "Do you mean that the English don't rule us anymore and that we are free now?" The poet asks us a question, "When did this villager actually become free?

Padma, a graduate from Delhi University, married Vasan and came to live in Chennai. Though she is a graduate, she could not go for a 9 to 5 job because of her family commitments. She was looking for a self-employment opportunity that had flexible time schedule. The couple paid Rs.3,000 towards rent. But, they did not like the water problem in the area. They wanted to move into a new house. However, the rent was Rs.5,000. Only a middle class woman can understand the meaning of an additional expense of Rs.2,000 without an increase in income.

An automated income generation system is the best dream that anyone, including you, can have. Your dream can come true if you learn how to automate others' boring and inaccurate manual systems with a computer.

Want to be self-employed, but don't know what business you can do? Here is an easy solution: Look at your problems with a new attitude. Wonderful income opportunities are hiding in your pressing problems.