DougJ:
Few I deduce. To Gross $1,000,000 , one needs to make $500 per hour based on 40 hour week, so earning a mill in a year is tough, let alone netting it. Winning it would be tough too. That's an elite class that make that coin. Consider most Americans would be happy with $20/hour, it's a liveable rate. The median and/or average are lower than that.
DougJ, there are many ways to make money. To get paid for your time is probably the most disadvantageous way to earn a living. We grow old and soon enough we stop being a commodity, if we ever were one. Even in the remote case that one was able to perform in such a unique way that somebody would actually be willing to pay a nickel an hour, for how long do you think one would be able to sustain such a scheme?
I believe the key to wealth is not working for money, but having your assets work for you.
In this era of information and high-speed communication, one of the best ways to create passive income is to create product. The key to create product resides in knowledge. People want immediate satisfaction these days; if you identify a target group and can provide real time solutions for the problems they face in their daily living through research, you will have a product that can be sold in many forms, starting by e-books.
I'm barely starting to build assets myself. I too could use some advice from guys that are already beyond the pay-per-hour level.
Input appreciated, big guys.