Business Model: 2002-01-05
From audio journal episode 2002-01-05-12-39.
I think this discovery, expecting myself to, …, judging myself based on what others accomplish, …, comparing myself to other people, …, there! There you go. I mean, how often have I read in the Bible and other texts that comparing yourself to someone else is such a haphazard and meaningless way of judging? It’s pointless because we are not all on the same playing field. Like it or not, we all come at this life from unique and very different backgrounds and angles. This makes is very individualized, and grants each a unique set of strengths and weaknesses, and this damn corporate machine forces anyone who wishes to participate in it, to be very similar in their behaviors. But in one’s own business, he can afford to be less of a conformist, and be more true to his true desires.Â
Until the past year or two, I always thought that the corporation embodied the absolute ideal of perfection in the work environment, and that one could not be maximally successful unless he fully embraced the corporate ideals. Well, now I understand differently. True, they might pay me a lot of money for my work, and this is in fact, money that I’m preparing myself to give up. Yes, I’m laying the groundwork right now to enable myself to part with that financial incentive to continue working in a place that so squashes individuality, and so disrespects my individual needs. It’s no good anymore for me to continue being a part of that. Instead, my dreams these days focus on starting my own small business.Â
My business shall be a very simple one logistically. I’ll write articles and publish them on the web. Then, I’ll tease people with provocative summaries to make them want to read the whole thing. Then, I’ll charge them to read it all. This is how I envision making my money in years to come.Â
I might take lessons from Dr. Mirkin. He’s got good-food books, recipe books, calorie counters, and a great many small articles that very succinctly state the points that he’s trying to get across. These appear quite credible because he wastes no words. They get to the point quickly without saying too much else besides the point. I want to write like him eventually.
Now the health-related topics that he’s reporting about require lots of reference material, whereas the subjective sort of philosophical stuff I’m writing does not. Not that my work is totally baseless. I mean, I do have some reference data to support my views, and I know a lot about what others have said, regarding relationships, and I will incorporate certain references into my stuff. So I shouldn’t have to be quite as meticulous in writing my pieces as Dr. Mirkin has to be when composing his.Â
But still, I’ve got to get a routine going where I’m reading things quickly, because the more I know, the more obvious it will be to my readers that I know very well the subject of the work. The more I read, the more credible I become, and one thing I might do to read more in a shorter time, is get speech on my computer. Plus, I need to subscribe to NLS talking books again since I can read these faster, generally speaking, than I can go through the print versions. I’m going to do that, and get these four-track recorders fired up, and I’ll begin working in earnest at my writing business this year. I will study relationships extensively. I’d like to read a hundred books about romance and love. I’ve already read around thirty to forty, and I have my list of books that I’ve read so far in this life, that I hope to put into a database. Yep, there are just so many things I can do to get this new venture rolling, and reading and getting organized are two big ones I suspect.
Tom Hesley