Make Money by Accident

It was a cold and brutal winter morning in New York on January 2, 1924 but Richard Simon had promised his grandmother that he would visit. During his visit he discovered that his grandmother loved doing crossword puzzles with her neighbor. The two ladies kept each other company in the long winter evenings while they worked on the puzzle from the Sunday edition of the New York World.

Richard discovered the two ladies had a problem however; by Tuesday the puzzle was usually solved. After thinking for a moment, Richard asked the two women if they would like to have an entire book of crossword puzzles. I’m sure you can imagine the excitement between the two friends when the idea was proposed.

A friend, nicknamed Linc, was persuaded to join Richard in creating and publishing a book consisting of nothing but crossword puzzles. The subsequent Crossword Puzzle Book later became the foundation of the publishing empire Simon & Schuster, which today has annual revenues upwards of $14 billion.

There are a few things to point out here; the first being that you do not need to have an incredibly brilliant idea in order to make money. Two boys from New York identified a problem and set out to find a resolution in order to make someone’s life better. I don’t think either of these men realized they would create an empire; they just wanted to have some fun and help a sweet grandmother.

This leads me to my second point; these guys were having fun! They did not sit around brainstorming ideas to make a quick buck. They did it for the fun of it. Crossword puzzles were all the craze in the mid-20s and they capitalized on people’s enjoyment.

What ideas do you have resonating in your mind that could not only improve another person’s life, but that could also make you money? What is preventing you from turning your ideas into income? My advice to you is don’t get stuck on the “how”. Instead, focus on the “what” and then develop a plan to make that a reality.

If you are short of ideas there is a wonderful discussion going on right now at BeyondPastDue.com. Join in and add your ideas or take one already there and turn it into income.