"To be, or not to be? That is the question I keep asking myself these days. I need your help in solving my problem," said Somu. "I know something about the problems of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark. But, I don't know anything about you. What is your problem?" I asked Somu.
He replied, "I am neither famous nor prosperous. That is my problem. I want to become a world famous novel writer, as famous as Shakespeare was, and earn a lot, as much as J.K. Rowling earns." "How many novels have you written so far?" I asked him. After a brief silence he replied, "All my stories are in my head. I have not yet written them on paper. As I am not good in English or in my mother tongue, I am looking for a good ghost writer."
I did not want to say anything unpleasant to him. So, I said, "The world famous British author George Orwell, at the age of twenty-four, started to teach himself how to write. He worked in a bookshop in the morning and practiced to write in the afternoon. Week after week he remained in his unheated bedroom, thawing his hands over a candle when they became too numb to write. If you work hard like Orwell, you too can learn how to write and make your dreams come true."
Somu said, "I think it will take years to learn how to write well. I am unemployed and I don't have any income at present. My father is a retired clerk. He advises me to find a job that would generate Rs.3,000 a month and then do whatever I like when I find free time." I told him, "Somu, your real problem is your inability to generate income. You can generate income either through employment or self-employment. You must decide what you'll do. Dreams and aspiration make sense only when your family doesn't starve and the bills are not overdue."
He said, "I don't want to go for a job. But, I don't know how to make money through self-employment. I have read some of your articles on earning income through online ads, affiliate programs and sponsorships. But I need a good website with content to make use of those opportunities. What type of website will be useful to me?" I replied, "It is very easy to decide on what to do if you ask yourself these two questions: will you love to do this project and will it be useful to others. You want to become a writer. Unfortunately you have not yet developed the skills that will make you a great writer. A wise man once said that 'to think is a great power; not to think is a greater power.' If you agree with it, then tell yourself that 'If I write novels, I'll become prosperous; if I don't write I'll become more prosperous.' And build a website that will help other writers."
"I don't understand," Somu said.
I explained, "There are tens of thousands of writers around the world. Many of them actively use the Internet to sharpen their saws. Develop a website that will help these writers find useful tools, specialized software programs, books, resources and websites. It will help you make money. In the process you may even develop writing skills." Somu began to feel happy. He asked me, "How do I know what resources and tools will be useful to the writers?"
I replied, "That's easy. Already there are hundreds of websites that serve the writers. Visit all the popular websites, study them and find out how the webmasters structure their websites, what type of content they provide and how they make money. I am sure you will be able to begin your work on your own website as soon as you complete studying a dozen websites."
Somu asked, "I think it will be easier to copy content from these websites and paste it into my website." I was not happy with his idea, "If you take such undesirable, illegal shortcut routes, you will not be able to make any money from this project. Hard work and prosperity have a directly proportional relationship."
Somu felt sorry and promised to do his best.
He sent me an email after five months with two pieces of good news: (1) He is working as a data entry clerk in an advocate's office for Rs. 2,500 a month. (2) He is earning Rs.3,500 a month from his websites. Even though he has not mentioned anything about the development of his writing skills, I hope his dreams will come true soon.