Sam Wharton is a webmaster in his late forties. I met him in a café, when I attended a webmasters conference. I requested him to tell me his success story so that I could share it with ‘Money Spinners’ column readers.

“I have been doing an online business for the past six years but I don’t think I am so successful that my story will inspire your readers,” he said, “But perhaps my twelve year old son’s success story may be appropriate.”

“I am all ears to hear your son’s story,” I moved a little closer to him so that I did not miss even a single word from Sam.

“My son Tom is in second grade (7th standard). He started to play computer video games when he was ten. In the beginning I was proud of my son because he was always a winner and his friends worshipped him for his gaming skills. But soon he became an addict of games and his school grades took a southern plunge. I tried both carrots and sticks. The more I tried to stop him from gaming, the more he became addicted to it,” said Sam. “It is not just an isolated problem of yours. It is becoming a serious problem in many parts of the world,” I said.

“Last year iPod changed his life,” said Sam and I asked, “Do you mean to say that he changed his addiction from games to music?” Sam shook his head and said, “No. The iPod made him give up all unproductive activities and become an entrepreneur.”

Sam said, “Last year Tom’s friends bought the latest iPods for Christmas. He did not want to be left out. So, he requested me to buy one for him. When I refused to buy it, he was upset. Then I had a long discussion and explained to him how he was wasting his energy and time and why I was not ready to buy another piece of gadget that would take away a few more hours a day from his life. I told him many inspiring real life success stories and finally said that I had no objection in his spending hours in front of computer monitor. My only objection was the purpose for which he was using it. He got my point when I told that a fire lighter can be used to light a cigar, cook food or burn down a house. He told me that he would think about the issue and get back to me.”

“That was a wonderful response from a 12 year old boy,” I commented.

“The following day he installed a firewall software program in his computer, blocked all game websites with a complex password that was difficult to memorize and then threw the piece of paper that contained the password. Even though he was actively using the computer for the whole day, he did not play any game even for a minute. He continued to do so day after day. After a month, as I was pleased with his change of habits I asked him to go with me to a super market so that I could buy him a iPod of his choice,” Sam said.

“What was his response?” I could not contain my curiosity.

Sam said, “He thanked me for my offer and told me that he would buy one soon for himself and another one for me from his own earnings. When I demanded a detailed response from him, he explained to me what he had been doing for the past one month,” said Sam and continued, “As he knew every rivet of the online gaming websites, he created a website for online games. Then he announced that the ten most active players on his website would get a free iPod from Tom. His campaign was so successful that within a fortnight he had 3000 players in his website. He used my name and joined a few online ad programs and started to earn $400 a month!”

“It’s a wonderful story,” I said, “On the day he received his first cheque, my son bought me a iPod worth $250! In the following months he honored his promise to his visitors. I earn thousands of dollars a month. The joy of receiving a nice gift worth $250 from my son was many times greater than the joy I get from making truckloads of money,” said Sam with a big smile.

And I hope all the future builders of our country who are addicted to computer games, will use their computer skills and knowledge in building their personal and national prosperity.