Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think

Okay this is a hoot. Or well it would be if the author wasn't so successful. This student has obvioulsy learned how to "Think and Grow Rich."

Last week I came across an interesting article in Yahoo! about a student in the UK who managed to raise $1 million in four months for his tuition--selling pixels. 1 million pixels to be exact. You can find a copy of this article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051229/ts_nm/homepage_dc

His idea was to create a page called the Million Dollar Home page http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com and sell a million pixels for $1 each (in blocks of 100 pixels).

He started by selling a few blocks to some of his friends. When he had earned $1,000 (that's only 10 blocks), he issued a press release. What audacity! What brilliance! His press release was picked up by the media and spread around the internet. Soon, the blocks started selling like crazy. Four months later, Alex Tew is sitting on a cool million for his "crazy" idea.

I visited his web site and what I found was very interesting and telling. Some of his comments in his FAQ section and blog are worth noting for those who study success.

1. He had a specific goal--a burning desire. It was to be able to pay for his education without taking on debt.

2. The beginning of his success was an idea. He sat down and did some brainstorming for about an hour (in writing--that's very important) about ways he could raise money for school. Here is what he said about the process:

"...after an hour or two of jotting random things on paper, the idea seemingly popped out of nowhere. Almost like my subconscious mind had been ticking over in the background, working it all out. So it just kind of happened. That's about it. I scribbled it down and within about 10 minutes a picture of what needed to be done had emerged."

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think

His idea was to create a page called the Million Dollar Home page http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com and sell a million pixels for $1 each (in blocks of 100 pixels).

He started by selling a few blocks to some of his friends. When he had earned $1,000 (that's only 10 blocks), he issued a press release. What audacity! What brilliance! His press release was picked up by the media and spread around the internet. Soon, the blocks started selling like crazy. Four months later, Alex Tew is sitting on a cool million for his "crazy" idea.

I visited his web site and what I found was very interesting and telling. Some of his comments in his FAQ section and blog are worth noting for those who study success.

1. He had a specific goal--a burning desire. It was to be able to pay for his education without taking on debt.

2. The beginning of his success was an idea. He sat down and did some brainstorming for about an hour (in writing--that's very important) about ways he could raise money for school. Here is what he said about the process:

"...after an hour or two of jotting random things on paper, the idea seemingly popped out of nowhere. Almost like my subconscious mind had been ticking over in the background, working it all out. So it just kind of happened. That's about it. I scribbled it down and within about 10 minutes a picture of what needed to be done had emerged."

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think

I visited his web site and what I found was very interesting and telling. Some of his comments in his FAQ section and blog are worth noting for those who study success.

1. He had a specific goal--a burning desire. It was to be able to pay for his education without taking on debt.

2. The beginning of his success was an idea. He sat down and did some brainstorming for about an hour (in writing--that's very important) about ways he could raise money for school. Here is what he said about the process:

"...after an hour or two of jotting random things on paper, the idea seemingly popped out of nowhere. Almost like my subconscious mind had been ticking over in the background, working it all out. So it just kind of happened. That's about it. I scribbled it down and within about 10 minutes a picture of what needed to be done had emerged."

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think

1. He had a specific goal--a burning desire. It was to be able to pay for his education without taking on debt.

2. The beginning of his success was an idea. He sat down and did some brainstorming for about an hour (in writing--that's very important) about ways he could raise money for school. Here is what he said about the process:

"...after an hour or two of jotting random things on paper, the idea seemingly popped out of nowhere. Almost like my subconscious mind had been ticking over in the background, working it all out. So it just kind of happened. That's about it. I scribbled it down and within about 10 minutes a picture of what needed to be done had emerged."

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think

Notice the section that I marked in bold type above. This is often how ideas come to us. The problem is that most of us don't think with a Definite Major Purpose in mind, we don't write them down, and we don't follow through with definite action.

In many ways, the goal was achieved in that 10 minute time frame. Everything else was just implementing the details of his plan.

3. He noted his ideas in writing. Putting your ideas in writing is the first step to moving it from an intangible idea to a physical reality. There is something about putting your ideas in writing that gives clarity and focus to your thoughts.

4. The idea--literally a million dollar idea--came to him quickly. But he had to make that idea tangible through bold, confident, intelligent action. He made it a big idea. He was audacious and confident enough to call it the Million Dollar home page. Not the 10,000 Home Page. Or the 100,000 home page. He gave people a bold idea to capture their imagination.

5. He issued a press release. He wasn't shy about letting people know about his idea. Towards the end of the project, he even did interviews on CNN and Fox (and probably other networks).

6. He added real value for his customers. His customers are getting hits from their tiny ads for a fraction of the cost of most other ads. And the page is guaranteed to be up for 5 years. He is getting a ton of traffic to his website that his advertisers are benefiting from. His current "Alexa" rank is 1,302. No matter how novel your idea, you still have to add real value to your customers if you are going to succeed.

7. This is a simple, yet profound demonstration of the power of the internet and viral marketing--"word of mouse." What million dollar idea can you come up with that will capture people's imagination?

How Does Alex Measure Up