My name’s Harry Shapiro and I died in 1971. But no matter, I'm going to help all you guys realize the American Dream even though lots of people are going to tell you that you can’t do it. Don’t listen to them. You see, I was a young, would-be entrepreneur once and I did it. And if I did it — even though the odds against me to start with were awesome — so can you.

You think I’m kidding? Lying? Exaggerating? OK, try this.

I was born in 1897 in a very poor Jewish town in Poland, very much like Anatevka in Fiddler on the Roof.

I left my parents in 1911 and came to this country with an aunt. I was 14. I never saw my mother or my father again.

When I arrived in New York, I had to go to work to support myself. I never did go to school, not here or in Europe. I also couldn’t speak a word of English when I got here. Yet I was a millionaire before I was 30.

Here’s how I did it.

I went into business almost immediately selling silk stockings door-to-door. My own idea — I don’t think anybody else was doing it at the time. I made money and saved it. A year later, I took a job as a delivery boy in a small grocery store just to learn the retail food business. Within twelve months, I bought the store. I was now all of 16.

I went on to open store after store. I also went into the dress manufacturing business. And as I’ve already said, I became a millionaire about 12 years after that.

Satisfied? Now let me tell you how I’m going to help you realize the American Dream. You know, as a successful entrepreneur to all the young people determined to become successful entrepreneurs. I leaned on my kid, Irving (some “kid,” he’s 83 now and the only one of my three sons to take after me) to offer a free seminar on the how-to’s of successfully going into business for yourself — what it takes, what to look out for, how to handle certain kinds of difficulties, how to make your way around the common road blocks, and so on.

I also leaned on him to include why you shouldn’t fall for all that nonsense about starting a successful business that you hear every day. You know, like you have to have a lot of capital, you’ve got to go to business school or take business courses, you have to make money on every sale even though it costs you the customer, and you have to have a lot of business contacts. Bull!

And let me tell you, my kid sure knows what he’s talking about. He opened an architectural office in LA in 1959 without knowing a soul there and without having two nickels to rub together. Yet in less than a year, his company was thriving!

But there’s more! At the time, the national average for architects’ profitability was 8% of gross fees. My kid was averaging better than 30%! And producing award-winning building after award-winning building for his clients at the same time.

And you know what, there’s still more. He even wrote a terrific book on the subject of how to succeed in business beyond your wildest dreams that he'll tell you about if you ask him.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there’s one thing you have to do if you want to attend his free seminar — you have to send him an e-mail message with your full name and telephone number in it. To do so, please click here.

You see, he has no way of knowing how many of you want to attend. Which means he has no way of knowing how big a place to get. So if you e-mail him, he’ll let you know when and where as soon as he’s made the necessary arrangements. His e-mail address is shapiro@menssana. org.

Now don’t forget, the seminar’s free. It’ll cost you zero. Nada. Zilch. You sure can’t beat that price!

Listen, I’ve got to go. Give it a shot. And every time you go to the bank to make a BIG deposit — which you’ll be doing frequently after you’ve attended the free seminar, listened to what my kid had to say, and went on to open a successful business for yourself— tell them Harry sent you.