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So, if you win money on a game show, is it an event? Or is the result of a process? You be the judge.
A few years ago, I was a contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." After my episode aired, everyone told me how lucky I was to get on the show and win free money. They all wanted to know how to do it, because they wanted free money too. So I'd tell them:
These days, I can't even watch the show, because I get too worked up when contestants wash out without winning anything – because I know that it's not an event, but a process. And if a contestant flubs up, a lot of people will think they're losers, even though it takes a lot of winning just to get on the show in the first place.
I won 100K. It enabled us to put a down payment on a house, and remain a one-income family until our son started school. (We really wanted to avoid the daycare route.) So, it was the best process I ever spent. But no, it wasn't an event, no matter what it looks like on TV.
Food for thought.
A few years ago, I was a contestant on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." After my episode aired, everyone told me how lucky I was to get on the show and win free money. They all wanted to know how to do it, because they wanted free money too. So I'd tell them:
- Research the steps needed to become a contestant, everything from requirements, schedules, common question topics, what producers look for in a contestant, etc.
- Buy a big stack of trivia books and study during all the time you'd otherwise spend watching TV or goofing off.
- Keep an eye on the Millionaire Web site, and apply for an audition in New York the soonest a date becomes available.
- Once you've secured an audition time, travel at your own expense New York City.
- During that audition, take a multiple choice test with 100-plus other people.
- If you're "lucky" enough to pass the test (and only a handful did), try your best to charm the producers into letting you on the show. (My approach was to beg. Oh yeah, and I might've mentioned n passing that I'm a licensed fortune-teller whose husband keeps taxidermized squirrels in the fridge. Yeah, I guess I wanted to stand out.)
- If you're one of the few who's actually called to appear on the show, say "yes" to whatever date they offer, no matter what else you might have going on.
- Beg the smartest people you know to act as your lifelines. (Ironically, the most intelligent people you know are less than enthusiastic, while the um, less scholarly people volunteer their services -- repeatedly.)
- Continue to study your butt off.
- Travel to New York City a second time (again, at your own expense) to appear on the show.
- Try not to throw up or make an a$$ of yourself as you're grilled like a chicken in front of a live studio audience.
- No matter how often you're asked, don't breathe a word about how you actually did until the episode actually airs, even if it takes week or months. (You don't receive your winnings until a month after the air-date airs. Call it anti-blab insurance.)
These days, I can't even watch the show, because I get too worked up when contestants wash out without winning anything – because I know that it's not an event, but a process. And if a contestant flubs up, a lot of people will think they're losers, even though it takes a lot of winning just to get on the show in the first place.
I won 100K. It enabled us to put a down payment on a house, and remain a one-income family until our son started school. (We really wanted to avoid the daycare route.) So, it was the best process I ever spent. But no, it wasn't an event, no matter what it looks like on TV.
Food for thought.
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