why is gold valuable?
During "economic downturns" many choose to invest in (and or hoard) gold.
Why is gold so valuable anyway? Is it just for its jewelry value or is there something more to it?
Does it matter?
Free investment advice for those with money right now: invest in SEEDS, LAND, and/or GREENHOUSES!
willing to work
a link to my LinkedIn profile and a screenshot as it appeared today
I am also very open to work that could be done remotely
I am currently seeking a full-time job in Southern Ontario. I am trained librarian with extensive Internet skillls, and would also make an excellent content manager, technical teacher, digital archivist, or a technologically savvy super secretary.
Specialties:
computer expert – proficient in most PC and Apple applications and able to assist others, Internet professional since 1995 finding information – online research and library skills organizing information – filing, paperwork, and digital information management communicating information – writing, giving presentations, and teaching administration – typing, filing, writing, and reception customer service – customer relations, retail sales, and technical assistance
there are a variety of ways to go about Incorporation
Though I am aware of many of the problems too much corporate power causes in our society, I am totally in love with Google and Apple and believe they are forces for good in the World.
Seriously.
In my work, I am currently getting to know them more intimately, and the more I see the more convinced I am.
Yay Internet!
patience
Here's a selection from Andrea Conway's Successful Self Employment newsletter that was helpful to me today.
She's the person who first introduced me to "The Law of Attraction" and I recommend her career coaching services.
Impatience comes naturally to most business owners. We like taking action, being in charge, and feeling super productive.
Those are terrific traits that bring big visions into reality. But when you add impatience to the mix, it's like cruising down the highway with your foot on the brakes.
Impatience says to the universe: I'm doing everything to make this happen, but it hasn't happened yet. It hasn't happened yet... it hasn't happened yet... oh, damn -- why isn't it happening?
You can be right on the verge of a beautiful manifestation, but your attention to "it hasn't happened yet" slows it down.
Impatience removes the possibility of a peaceful heart. Impatience stubbornly ignores all the work spirit does on your behalf. You start thinking that you and your mental willpower are the cause of your success. You work harder and harder, becoming more and more impatient, and the more you struggle, the fewer results you manifest.
Consider this. If you had faith in spirit, there would be no need for impatience. Yes, I know you have bills to pay and all kinds of pressures in your life. If I know it, you can be certain spirit -- connected to you through your soul -- knows it and knows exactly what to do about it.
If you have faith that it's working for you, spirit delivers results quickly and in amazing ways.
I'm not saying the answer to impatience is to cease all work and stop desiring results. You must take action to manifest!
What I'm saying is that as you work, remember spirit is your partner. As you work, know that you are doing your best and that spirit never fails to do its best for you.
As you work, ask your soul to take care of the results. Know that your asking is answered. Work with a peaceful heart.
Till next time, here's to your successful self employment!
try these tactics at your own risk
I picked up the book How to Negotiate Like a Child: Unleash the Little Monster Within to Get EVERYTHING You Want from the library just to check it out. I was very turned off by the concept and think it's obnoxious to be darkly manipulative in business (and it always comes back to bite YOU in the end) however I wanted to give it a chance.
It's funny and has some good advice, especially around how to deal with others that use childish tactics. I found the advice in the "Just Cry" chapter helpful also, because sometimes I do cry and can't help it (though it's not something I could turn on on purpose just to manipulate!)
Here's a quote featuring the Donald, who may be wildly successful in dollar amount terms however he's also widely hated and someone I personally would not ever emulate. I somehow doubt he's among the happiest beings on Earth...
Try a Wild and Scary Threat
A variation on the tantrum theme is to employ a wild but scary threat. Both use extremes -- tantrums involve an extreme of sound and emotion; wild threats involve a large range of consequences. You know how kids threaten to hold their breath till they drop dead. Sometimes people will give in rather than wait to see how far the kid can go. That's the tactic Donald Trump used when he wanted to build the Trump Tower higher than permitted under New York City's zoning laws. He said if he didn't get the height exception he wanted, he'd build the ugliest building that he could possibly design, and site it in a way that would overshadow the historic, low-rise Tiffany's building below. He showed the city planners a hideous design. While they may not have been sure he'd really do it, they decided not to risk it and gave in.
the business paradigm I choose
In my career, I am now in the position to choose the clients/colleagues I want to work with.
My preferences:
transparency/honesty (all stakeholders know what is going on)
positive legacy work (the ripple effect of what we are creating has a positive legacy in the world)
quality (quality artistic work by genius specialists, neither rushed nor cheap)
friendly (everyone is fun to work with, friendly, and forgiving)
While some like the intrigue/excitement of the chess game of business politics, I choose to work differently.
However, if I get dragged there I can engage it (watch out!)
organizational democracy
The link below describes companies which apply democracy in their decision making. While there are challenges around how to do it effectively, this can lead to better decisions, happier people, and higher quality results.
This is a smart idea in a time when employee loyalty is low in the corporate world (largely due to the way many companies treat employees!)
Profit sharing based on results is also a good idea ;)
WorldBlu: Designing Democratic Organizations
http://www.worldblu.com
No two democratic organizations are alike. However, our research shows that democratic organizations often exhibit the following characteristics:
* Relationships are adult-to-adult, not parent-to-child.
* Leadership happens at every level of the organization, not just at the top.
* You're paid for the value you bring to the organization, not your job title.
* Everyone knows to whom and for what they're accountable.
* Transparency isn't considered scary.
* Formality and polices are avoided in favor of informality and principles.
* Humor and having fun is actually encouraged.
* You can access real-time financial information about your organization's performance anytime you want.
* Change = life, not death.
* The employee manual can be summed up in one sentence: "Use common sense!"
* You look forward to meetings where you can collaborate and share ideas.
* There's a spirit of ownership in every project in which you're involved.
* You either helped create or strongly share in the organization's purpose and vision statements.
* Incentives aren't used to motivate employees - meaningful work is.
* You never have to ask to go to the bathroom.
* Your life outside of work is as valued as your life at work.
* You receive real-time, ongoing constructive feedback from your co-workers, and you're often publicly acknowledged for excellent work.
* Failure is seen as a right-of-passage to success.
* Thinking differently and challenging assumptions is encouraged.
* Alignment comes from a shared sense of purpose, not automatic agreement.
* Your job is one of your favorite places to be.
Sound utopian? Hardly. Organizational democracy is more than a management or leadership style. It's both a mind-set and a system of principles practiced at all levels of a company as a coherent organizational system.
We're not talking about a bunch of job perks here. We're talking about creating an environment and culture any organization must develop in order to survive in a fast-paced, decentralized, and globalized world.
We're the people who design these kinds of organizations. Welcome to our world.
women in business
Being a woman in business is not the same as being a man. Despite many gains in womens rights over the past few decades (thanks to the elders who worked for it!) there are still differences in how we're treated, judged, paid, and promoted.
The book She Wins, You Win focuses on the idea that women need to cooperate with one another at work instead of competing and the importance of older women mentoring younger ones. I found it to mostly to be about the corporate environment (which is not my focus of interest) but I really like what she says below.
It doesn't matter where you are-- corporate business, education, or law. It doesn't matter whether you work for the largest company on the Fortune 500, you're a freelance journalist, or you own your own business. We women are stuck.
It's time to stop doing it as individuals and do it together. By working on the same team we will find ways to attain our fair share of power and impact the system. Eventually we'll reach a point where we won't feel we have to work twice as hard as the guys to achieve the same reward.
Just as the right to vote and the right to own property didn't come until we demanded it, equal access to capital and the inner circles of power will not come until we are a united force.
Join the women's team. Whether you like it or not, as far as the men are concerned, if you were born with XX chromosomes, you're already on it. It doesn't matter whether you work for a large corporation or you're a one-woman shop. You might as well become an active player. You may be surprised by all the rewards you will reap.
dissenting ideas can bear fruit
In my career I've had some altercations with various bosses due to my refusal to just follow along and be a yes man. I've also had a lot of benefits come my way because of this attitude. I once criticized an idea of the CEO in a company meeting and though some people were shocked, he laughed and loved me ever after for it.
Some bosses hire geniuses who are awesome at what they do, let them do their thing, and express their ideas, even when they contradict the boss' thinking. Others want to have authority and power over others and be told that everything they say is brilliant.
Guess which method of management I feel works better in the long run?
spending with awareness
I just sent off an article for the December issue of the new magazine The Urban Hippie. I've linked to an online version below.
Buyer be Aware: Conscious Consumerism
http://www.margonaut.com/consume.htm
Everything available for sale represents people that worked to get it to you. We can make choices that affect how our money circulates in the world. Many consumers choose to buy items that are made locally (or at least inside the country) whenever possible. Others choose to support local merchants, buy used items, or do their holiday shopping directly with artists and craftspeople.
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