Is it hard to win a trip?

You know the joke about the old man who kept praying to God that he would win the lottery. He kept asking why he didn’t win. Over and over he prayed. Finally one day the man heard a giant clap of thunder and then the words

If you don’t buy a ticket, you can’t win.

In 2002, a book was published by the name of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio:  How my Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less.  It was about a woman who entered contests and sweepstakes to help make ends meet.

Honest moment – I have not read the book yet. (Yet, you say? It came out 11 years ago!) There was even a movie made out of the book.  (No, I haven’t seen that either.)

I read about the book when it came out and was fascinated the concept of winning things. The only thing that I ever won was when I was in high school. I won a black plastic salad bowl set from a radio station.

A few years ago, our local paper had an article about a woman who entered contests and sweepstakes for hours EVERY DAY. She had won lots of things including trips. She had some system and just would spend a few hours (!) each day working on entry forms.

I was fascinated all over again.

I guess I never really believed I could win. But there is still this attraction. What if I entered and won something wonderful?

In the Maeve Binchy book that came out this year, A Week in Winter, two of the characters were bitter about winning second place and going to Stone House. They ended up giving tips to the other guest about how to win contests. (I read this book.)

So this is buzzing around in my head.

I decided to do a bit of research. Mostly because it is a good way to delay writing and I can look like I am very busy. I also learn lots of interesting things when I am researching. (For example, did you know that flamingos are only pink when they eat shrimp?)

First off, you need to know the terminology. A contest requires skill and is judged. A sweepstakes awards winners at random – pure chance. This could be important when  deciding what you want to do. More people enter sweepstakes (harder to win) and less people enter contests (easier to win but it takes more effort).

There is more to this than you can imagine. There are books, YouTube videos, web sites, apps, and more. There are conventions for people to meet and share information.

Are you wondering if people ever win? Why, yes, they do.

Here is a YouTube video that I found about one winner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgjGCoSmLQM

So, I have decided that it is time for me to check out this world of winning and see how I can do. I am going to recruit a few others to try it also. Want to be part of this experiment?  Please join me.

My plan is to write about it once a month. I will tell you how I started, all the mistakes I make, and IF I win anything.

Let’s see what happens.

Oh and just because this does seem to have the sound of the crazy lady with 9 cats sitting in her house, please be assured that I have a dog – no cats.

You can certainly start by just searching the internet for sweepstakes.  You will be amazed by the amount of information that will be found.  If you would like to take a look at the book I read last night, you can find it here http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BM7RY3Q/ref=oh_d__o00_details_o00__i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. It is a Kindle download that costs $2.99. (I wonder if you can win it?)

Stay tuned.

I CAN win!