Just came across this as I was doing technical research for my http://www.onlineinfobiz.com/ blog - blogging My First Dollar Online.

http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html

A great resource to go to check out trends online.  Check it out.

Just came across this website/organisation while surfing.

The Institute for Independent Business

It’s a worldwide organisation providing experienced executives as mentors and consultants to start-ups and small/medium independent businesses.

There’s a useful page under the UK section which lists the typical issues independent businesses face.  I also hope to be able to address many of these issues here on this blog (time allowing).

Its interesting how many times over the last few weeks people have mentioned ‘the pace of life is speeding up’, ‘everything’s rushing by so much quicker’.  Of course it’s often said, the older we get, the faster life seems to whizz by.

I am continually wondering why this should be.  I can understand why from my own persective and experience. I’m focussing more and more on the achievement of key goals - I have a clear 10 year vision and associated goals, together with action plans to achieve them.  By creating this focus I’m putting that extra pressure on myself all the time, seeing the need to keep busy taking those focussed actions which ensure I achieve even half of what I wish to.

Further obvious answers lie in the technological advancements taking place in the last few decades. Not least the rise of the internet, coupled with satellite communications, which give us all virtually instant real-time access to anything going on anywhere on the globe.

Its this very real speeding up of the pace of life - and pace of change - which makes it vital we learn the new skills of survival.

The New Skills of Survival

So what are these skills I’m talking about?

Well, for one thing, more and more of us must move ourselves away from salaried employment and dependence on others’ companies for our livelihoods.  We must build flexibility and adaptability into our lives, so we’re ready to pounce on any opportunity that may present itself, and equally be ready to flee any threat which might suddenly arise.

This surely can only mean one thing: starting our own independent business. 

And I’m not just talking a traditional brick and mortar type which often only allows us to swap one kind of restrictiveness (working for others) for another (tied to our own business/office).

I’m referring to an independent business which can be automated, run from anywhere in the world, fully utilising that wonderful technology which has brought about this new era of speed and change.  A business with low start-up costs, meaning few barriers of entry to even those with the lowest incomes or virtually no incomes at all.

A business model which has the power to create affluence across all sectors of society, and bring freedom and independence to all.  A business model which - I will be bold and go so far as to say - could help to erradicate global poverty and empower those at the poorest levels of society in many developing countries.

Information Marketing Business

A business based on Information Marketing Products is just such a business model:

• Hardly any start-up costs

• Extremely high, if not virtually infinite, profit margins

• No inventory, so never the kinds of stock costs and cashflow worries you have in a traditional business

• Fully automated business - saving you time and giving you back your richly-deserved freedom

==> Learn more right now ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

And if you think there’s already too much information in the world - think again!

There will Always Be a Need for Information

Every single thing that every one of the 6.7 billion human beings on this planet has ever done, is doing or will ever do in their life, requires them to learn it.  Which requires someone somewhere on the planet to collate that information, structure it and present it in a useful and accessible way.

And we are always learning, because there is always something new each and every one of us is interested in, or needs to learn in order to achieve our goals, improve our careers, make our businesses more profitable, secure our futures, and so on.

==> Heard enough? Click here now! ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

LEARN - EARN - RETURN

And the wonderful thing about Information Marketing is this: YOU have a huge capacity of learning you’ve already undertaken in your lifetime.  And there will be people out there who are beginners, wishing to learn the things you already know.

So your learning and experience, when correctly crafted along with a compelling, persuasive message, can earn you money.  Money which gives you the freedom to do the things you really want to do, to live the life you really desire and deserve.  And even better than this, you’re returning that knowledge back to others, to beginners who need a mentor, a coach, an inspirer.

And what more fulfilling way for us to live our lives and earn a living than by helping others to fulfill their needs and desires?

==> Ready to start earning from your learning? ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

Guerilla Information Marketing

The best system I’ve come across by far in the last 18 months of researching information marketing techniques, is a radical - and radically simple - one called Guerilla Information Marketing.

Developed by experienced infopreneurs and internet marketers, Ben Mack and Paulli Sabol, in collaboration with the Master of Guerilla Marketing himself, Jay Conrad Levinson, in this course you will learn information marketing from the masters.

You will learn never-before presented Information Marketing Secrets including:

• The four things - and only four things - you need to focus on to achieve business success

• The simple Three Step System to creating a never-ending profit stream

• The answer to the question: “What is better than Free Marketing?”

• How to Earn More Money Than Your Boss!

==> Get access right away ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

All this and more is yours - incuding some hefty bonuses (trust me when I say you will not want to miss out on these - they are awesome in value and content) when you enrol now for the new Guerilla Information Marketing training course.

Places are limited and the price could go up at any time. Secure your seat today, and secure your future of never-ending profits, financial freedom and fun!

==> Yes, I want the super bonus bundle! ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

Here’s to your enduring success,

Deb

P.S. Ben and Paulie have warned the course price will go up in future offers.

==> Get in now before the price goes up ==>  http://www.febene.com/?rid=3044

Just came across a useful service run by a nutritional supplement company.  They’re offering anyone the chance to complete an in depth nutritional survey and receive a personal nutritional profile.  This could prove useful if you want to increase your energy levels, brainpower, or a whole host of other health goals.

What we eat definitely affects our abibility to function efficiently. Personal nutrition is an area I’m convinced will become increasing important in future.  As the pace of life hots up, so we need to have more energy to respond more quickly to changing circumstances.  Best too, to protect our health and strengthen our immune system so we’re not laid low by illness - which we all know can sap our strength, and decimate our personal productivity.  And optimising our nutrition can be shown to increase our brainpower, memory, creative thinking… all important benefits we can’t afford to miss out on.

Here’s the link to the profile:

www.nutriprofile.org

Sure, they’re going to try to sell you their nutritional supplements.  You can always opt out of their emails though.  But the basic survey/profile is run in conjunction with some pre-eminent academic groups within the UK, including the Institue of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition.

Make use of free quality services where you find them.  Take control of your health, and your future!

Here’s a link to a really interesting article written by Dr Madsen Pirie entitled How to Survive in the Age of the Free-Lunch Economy.  It’s really worth the read.

The article talks about how free giveaways are changing the business model in so many different industries, from music through movies and telecoms, to print media and beyond.  This free giveaway era may seem to have been ushered in by the rise and rise of the Internet, but it’s interesting how the principle has always been there in our economy (note the story about matches).

Of course, though, the internet is clearly accelerating the trend, and is a key driver in this push to complexity, to speed of change, to Instant Free Access NOW!

And I’m not knocking it either. That’s the whole point of this blog… to gain a better handle on what’s happening, to explore it, understand it, exploit it.

Pirie didn’t mention free information in his article, which is a shame.  As someone engaged in Internet Marketing, I know just how completely that business model is being promoted right now: give away useful, useable, value-adding information to build your reputation as an expert within your niche.  Then upsell based on higher-value big-ticket items once you’ve built that reputation.  The freebies are useful to pull qualified customers in.  Loss-leaders.  Brand builders.

But the good Doctor raises the interesting point: the more the economy as a whole gives away for free, the more people come to expect it.  If your competitor is giving something for free, how can you afford to keep selling it?  Why would customers buy from you if they can get the same for free elsewhere?

There are ways to overcome this problem though.  Brand-building, Niche marketing, Cause marketing, Maven marketing all lead the way.  More information to come on these Tools in future posts.

Until then, enjoy your lunch!

Rashoon

For those of you in or able to get to London, I’ve just learnt that there will be a publication launch for Dr Madsen Pirie’s new book Freedom 101 at the Adam Smith Insititute on Tuesday 4 March.  Jean-Paul Floru, Director of Freedom Week will speak about the publication and on the ever-growing need to educate people about freedom in our society.

The launch takes place at ASI’s offices at 23 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BL, from 6pm to 8pm.  Refreshments will be served.

Checking the ASI website, it appears this may just be for Next Generation members and for those under 33 - in which case why I got an invite is unclear as I definitely can’t pass as youthful these days! :)  If you’re interested in attending, I suggest giving ASI a ring on 020 7222 4995 and asking if you can attend.  I’ll hope to see you there!

This event is also posted on the Events page - do check that out for more upcoming events of interest.

Biographical info and links for Dr Masden Pirie and JP Floru can also be found on the Resources page.

Here is a list of freely-available articles and publications I would recommend reading:

• The Critic of Exploitation: Adam Smith by Richard Morgan (2006). Available as a pdf here.
• The People Economy by Dr Madsen Pirie (2002). Available as pdf here.
• Why The Global Economy Needs Nations by Francis Maude MP (1999). Available as pdf here.
• Facing the Future by Dr Madsen Pirie & Robert M Worcester (2000). Available as pdf here.
• Cultural Globalisation Brings Variety, Quantity and Choice by JP Floru (2007). Available to read online here.

Below is a summary list of the philosophies, ideas and theories this website will explore over coming months and years:

• Chaos/Complexity Theory
• Crowd Theory
• Neuroscience & Neurobiology
• Psychology
• Success Psychology
• Free Market Economics
• Behavioural Economics
• Globalisation
• Strategy Theories
• Marketing Theories
• Network/Matrix Theories
• Ecology, Natural Selection and Evolution
• Freedom, Libertarianism, Individual Sovereignty
• Anti-globalisation, Anti-capitalism (exploration and repudiation)

I’ll be coming back to edit this entry over time where I see the need to expand on this list.  Feel free to add comments on areas you think should also be included.

Below is a summary list of the kinds of knowledge areas and tools this website will explore over coming months and years (and their application to both Personal/Self-Development and Business/Entrepreneurial use):

• Futurology: broad overview of the spectrum of approaches which allow understanding of where we’re headed: socio-politically, culturally, economically
• Foresight: trend-watching, assessing weak signals, intuition, etc.
• Modelling: planning, forecasting, modelling, analysis, statistics, etc.
• Systems Thinking: seeing the big picture, systems thinking, network/martix approach, etc.
• Economics: future economic models
• Leadership: leadship methods and models, techniques, training
• Strategy: strategy, vision (vision/values/mission), goal-setting and action-planning tools and techniques
• Decision-making: decision models, from the simple to the advanced, including those based on chaos/complexity theory
• Application of Knowledge: overlaps with the Knowledge list (see separate post), but specifically focussing on the application of philosophical ideas, knowledge and theories to the benefit of personal success and business success (includes crowd theory, chaos theory, neuroscience, psychology, behavioural economics, etc.)
• Success Tools: additional tools (on top of Strategy and Leadership) which aid personal success and business success
• Marketing Techniques: Niche marketing, Guerilla marketing, cause marketing, Maven marketing, Application of Neuroscience and Psychology to marketing, Branding, Passion-branding
• Networking Techniques: Network/Matrix approaches
• Alternative Business Tools 1: Ecology (including Edge/Boundary Ecology), Natural Selection, Evolution/Darwinism
• Alternative Business Tools 2: Visualisation, Magick, Shamanism

I’ll be coming back to edit this entry over time where I see the need to expand on this list.  Feel free to add comments on areas you think should also be included.

Greetings fellow Harvesters…

Welcome to the Kaos Garden!

This website was inspired by a number of realisations I’ve had about business, and about life.

x

Business

Why businesses fail over time is because they try to hold on tighter and tighter in a chaotic, increasingly complex situation… Try to control harder and harder… Clamp down… On people, processes… Yes, but especially the people… They think they’ll win more if they control harder (they think too much)… They should let go… Let creativity in.

I said to one company’s new Chief Executive when he first joined them, that there was a huge wealth of creativity among the staff in the company… Untapped… Potential… The top management need only to trust… They need only to let go their urge to control… But will they? I don’t think so.

This is an idea I want to take forward in business… Creativity… Trust… Letting things flow more.

x

Politics

And you can definitely see these things in politics too. Things are crazy in the UK and Europe now…Politicians wanting to control us more and more. It’s like living in a police state. We have the thought police telling us what we can and can’t think… no room for individual freedom… individual choice. Read the rest of this entry »