Were you born on the wrong continent by Thomas Geoghegan

It's interesting to read about another economic system and how it ties into a philosophy of government. I wrote some take away thoughts below.

People in America feel forced to spend more time at work in order not to be downsized. These longer work hours which causes them to consume, spend, discard more because they don't have time to cook, clean, fix or repair. In Europe there is a balance of power between financial people versus people who produce so that helps prevent financial people from cutting costs so that they look good in the short term market.

Globalization does take jobs away from people at the bottom so it is necessary to educate people up so they can work in a more specialized industrial base that can compete globally. He believes that without an industrial base of middle class workers that a social democracy dies. He points to the low voting rate in the US and ties it to our dwindling middle class. He also notes that our newspapers are dying due to a lack of readership. He believes it's due to our workers not being interested in the news because they believe they have no power to act collectively to protect their skills. He thinks that our manufacturing sector is gone and people like to look at pictures rather than reading. In Germany adults continue their education by reading the paper.

He believes that socialism is the reason that Germany is competitive because German workers are at the table when decisions are made and elect people who watch and check on businessmen. Therefore Germany has held onto a profitable, highly skilled tool-making culture. This process apparently was set up after WWII by the US army, the British Labor Party and Jesuits. It consists of the works council, the co-determined board and wage-setting institutions. Workers are elected to the works council which helps run the company. The co-determined board is like our board of directors except half of the board is made up of workers elected by workers. It appears that unions are part of the wage-setting institutions.

Germany is green due to its efficient social democracy with high taxes which holds down consumer spending. Even though Germany fits inside the state of Montana it has large green spaces and people are more likely to save money.

German Basic Law makes clear that the purpose of the state is to protect people from the excesses of capitalism.

The rich also tend to save and not spend much instead they may travel more. Also expenses for education to first rate schools is more reasonable. There is a culture of not flaunting your wealth and spending more family time.

The educational system is divided into 3 tracks; gymnasium then free university; high school apprenticeship with pay; high school without skills.

It appears that our US model can support more people with a lower standard of living while the European model can produce better jobs that supports fewer people. We have less security but more opportunity and choice. They have less security but less opportunity and choice. Germans like doing personal chores and being private while Americans don't mind having a maid or having others bag their groceries.

Benefits for the old are better so they can retire easier. Germans are aware that people can be used up mentally and physically so people should work about the same but just pace themselves with longer leaves and more time off.

Germans pay taxes to keep the welfare state going and keep up churches that so few attend.

SPD (Social Democratic Party?) is concerned about giving people outside the industrial worker base some sense of power by letting people at every level exercise direct political power. One thing they tried was picking names out of a phone book to let people sit on councils that would decide what neighborhood-level projects the government should fund.

He thinks we should teach our kids how to cut themselves a better deal by using politics. This is as or more important than going to college or learning practical skills.

Germany has banks that are run by the government and invest in little companies rather than credit swaps and derivatives.

He likes the idea of health insurance but is concerned that we are pushing this cost onto the cost of our manufactured good and making private insurers even richer.

isbn: 978-1-59558-403-8

Conquer the Chaos by Clate Mask and Scott Martineau

This book discusses how people start down the entrepreneurial path to have freedom, but then chaos enters and they have to grow or die. It discusses mindset strategies to achieve balance via emotional capital, disciplined optimism and entrepreneurial independence. It shows system strategies that can control your speed via centralizing, followup (very important marketing principle) and automating. You need to keep yourself from backsliding to keep your freedom.

I love this saying re-written in his book from Ghandi which I've had posted on my wall for years.
"Thoughts become words,
Words become beliefs,
Beliefs become actions,
Actions become habits,
Habits become your character,
Character becomes your destiny."

He recommends cultivating the right thoughts by asking yourself these questions:
Why do I want to be an entrepreneur, be successful?
Is my succes worth the hard work I put into it?
What successes have I seen?
How can I get more of that success so that my business can become what I always envisioned?

He recommends books either by speed reading or listening.

Disciplined optimism is the undying belief that your small business will achieve success while confronting current reality and confronting the facts because you want to.

Business systems must be built to share, help you do what you should, have personal communications, prevent mistakes and be centralized which will give you more time, less stress and greater confidence. You need to identify how information is coming in and have consistent follow-up. Follow-up should incorporate segmentation, education, repetition, variety, and automation. Also the sales cycle, follow-up, sales information, responding to communications, maintaining inventory, managing employees, fulfilling orders, billing, collection and creating marketing pieces should be automated. Automation will save you time, money, and manual labor.

ISBN: 978-0-470-59932-7

The Wealthy Freelancer by Setve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage, and Ed Gandia

You need to determine and write down your own particular freelance dream by breaking it down into 4 key areas: projects, clients, income and lifestyle that you want. This book has a lot of ideas which you can use to create your own action plan.

One way is to envision your ideal day, compare it to your current day, then prioritize and execute what you need to do to reach your goal.

You also need to master your mindset by investing in your success, developing an unshakable belief in yourself, expect that your belief in yourself will be tested and absorb the feelings of success when they come. Also regularly assess your own stress and productivity levels. You want to move to a state of high performance and low stress.

They discuss simplifying the process of getting clients, creating your own buzz piece. They talk about the Marketing Effectiveness Matrix: effective & efficient; effective but time intensive; choose wisely; wasteful. Using social media and direct mail. Repeat and referral business; who and when you should ask. Fee schedule. Unique selling position.

Here's a low tech way of organizing your projects: Same project name with file folder, computer file and index card. Write key dates on index card and post on bulletin board next to your desk. He also uses index cards to keep track of tasks. He uses the 50 minute focus with timer to work without interruption. Then take a 20 minute break and do something else. Then if needed go back to 50 minute focus. Go with your muse, let things incubate, push your motivation buttons.

Virtual assistants can help you do things that you aren't good at. IVAA.org , CVAC.ca and SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk .

Discusses stress reduction techniques and staying healthy. Train clients to respect your time.

Some ways to earn money: Selling information products from your website such as ebooks and audio recordings; affiliate programs; teaching;

The wealthy triangle of income and time. Make a living and design a meaningful and fulfilling life. Savings, insurance, living a more exciting life, following your passions.

ISBN: 978-1-59257-967-9

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam

The premise of the book is that we all have the same amount of time (24 hours/day x 7 days/week) - (7hours to sleep/night x 7days/week) = 168 hours so we need to choose on to use our time wisely. There is a separate chapter for work and home.

She recommends keeping a time chart to see how you spend your time. Some categories, Personal care & Sleeping; eating, household activities; purchasing goods & services; caregiving, working & commuting; educational activities; organizational, civic and religous activities; leisure and sports; communication via phone, email & mail; and other.

All minutes of time are important and you are in charge of yourself. Figure out what are your priorities and what you do best, then concentrate on those things.

Also take time to recharge. Schedule in leisure, fun and family time. Watch only the shows you really enjoy as TV can be a big time waster. Make a list of 100 dreams and figure out what actions you can do to achieve your priorities in the next 10, 5 & 1 year. Figure out how much time is needed, when you want it done then schedule in the blocks of time to accomplish your goals/dreams.

Some of her thoughts on work: If you love what you do you'll have more energy for the rest of your life. What are your time wasters? How can you be more productive? What's your system for processing all the information coming at you. Control your schedule. Identify what is real work. get rid of/minimize non-work and get better at what you do.

She has a blog too that is very interesting. http://www.my168hours.com/blog/

ISBN: 978-1-59184-331-3

Creative Girl by Kathernine Sise

The first part of the book is getting to know yourself, what you want, don't want and how your coping mechanism. Then she discusses working creatively in a job along with interview techniques versus starting your own business.

She discusses organizing, managing, financing and running your business. She mentions business and exit plans. See http://bizplanit.com/ you need to have big picture goals, one month, 3 month and one year plans.

She references several books and websites that can explored for further information.

She mentions http://www.keepyourcopyrights.org/ , www.copyright.gov and www.uspto.gov to learn about copyrights, trademarks and patents.

There is also http://myhours.com/ and http://www.toggle.com/ to find time management and tracking solutions.

See http://freelanceswitch.com/ for information about freelancing and pricing.

ISBN: 978-0-7624-3869-3

How to Get Started Selling Your Art by Carole Katchen

This book first encourages you to become an artist by doing exercises which help you dream, then set goals and make the commitment. Next you create a support structure consisting of people, space, time and money.

There's a section on preparing to selling your art by pricing to sell, pricing consistently and presenting your art along with taking care of business with inventory, book keeping and sales tax. Also it's very important to keep track of dates and where your art is.

She discusses tools for selling your art such as a mailing list, newsletters, business cards, stationary, photos of your pictures, career summary, artist's statement, resumes, brochures and portfolio. Also Publicity via local papers, press releases, art reviews, local & national art magazines, paid advertising, prints and posters.

She discusses various selling venues, your own show at your home or studio, group show (co-op, membership, juried and art contests), art fairs & festivals and galleries.

(c) 1996
ISBN 0-89134-685-6

Living by your Brush Alone by Edna Wagner Piersol

She strongly believes that creating pictures must be the focal point of an artist's life, not a part-time job. She believes that you bring on demand by producing and displaying your work.

When first starting out you must build your credentials by establishing and meeting goals. You need to define your market, determine your worth, build a selling personality, record accomplishments, build sales, create your own publicity and promotion pieces.

You need to figure out how many paintings sold at your highest price will meet your living expenses. You must be disciplined in both production and selling. It helps to organize your work hours with a weekly schedule, scheduled solitude, and home studio space. Keep a running record of ideas that will produce income.

She warms up with blind squiggles and discusses knowing when your painting is finished by using four quarter method, warm/cool dominance, three values (light, medium, dark), and where does the lightest light meet the darkest dark.

She discusses creating a successful image with a resume and other techniques.

She describes various selling venues; outdoor sales & local shows, juried art exhibitions, galleries & museums, alternative spaces.

As an artist you are a business person so need to be aware of copyright laws, pricing (never lower, stay consistent), book-keeping, pay yourself (cash flow savings account, paintings sold on no interest time payments), benefits (health, retirement), taxes (accountant), banking, barter

(c) 1989
ISBN: 0-89134-294-X