The Mass Consciousness Media is promoting Mass Delusional Hystrionics!

Here’s my new definition of the “study” of Economics - and yes, I have a degree in economics so I’m qualified to redefine it:

Economics is the study of self-fulfilling prophesy in action. ~ Robert Geiger

As an internet marketer and publisher, I’m trying to resist the temptation to “cash in” on the “recession” as the recession is as state of mind within a worldwide macroeconomic structural resettling of things into a new equilibrium.

And given that we’re all about finding a spiritual and physical equilibrium in our worlds, how about we just acknowledge that we’re shaking out some past based excesses and in transition to a new, higher state of world economy? Doesn’t that sound better than “recession” I mean, are we really going backwards, ceding back, withdrawing?

Economists define Recession as a period in which economic activity measured in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declines for at least 2 quarters. Like any household, for a country, that could be tough if we’ve lived well beyond our means and borrowed heavily. And if that’s the case, some restructuring is in order, only, today, that’s a worldwide event.

So what! It’s been happening all along, and it continues to happen. Things change, technology moves along creating unprecedented abundance, people have “enough” and consume less in mature economies (see “Demand Curve” and “Diminishing Marginal Returns” — how many computers and big screen TV’s do we need?).

What remains is a point of clarification, but not just of dollars and accounts. What remains is an accounting of the worth of human beings. Our world can sustain so many people at varying levels from poverty to prosperity and everywhere in between. There are only so many factory jobs, so many government created jobs.

And if you listen to the media, you get all this doom and gloom… for those in prosperity. Fear that we might go from prosperity to … relative prosperity? …slightly less prosperity?

The parable of the Island….

Once, there was a tribe on an island ruled by a king with people doing what they needed to do so they all could survive and have a good life (to their standards). There were 10 fishermen who provided fish each day for the tribe. They fished with spears and caught what was needed each day.

One day, one of the fishermen had an idea to create a net out of coarsely woven fibrous strands. The net was very successful and now it only took 2 people to catch enough food for the tribe.

Now, here’s the rub. Do they now have 8 unemployed bums who don’t deserve to eat even though there is enough food?

The plot thickens.

A boat lands on the beach with a group of financiers from the mainland. They tell the chief to put the 8 workers to work fishing and they will buy the extra fish for consumption on the mainland. The tell the chief they will pay them with “money” from the mainland. They offer to put the money in “banks” on the mainland and pay the chief additional “interest” on the money for it’s “use” by the bank. The bank will put the money to “work” for the tribe on the mainland. The tribe will become very wealthy.

So, the bank takes the tribes money and invests it in roads, buildings, bridges, local businesses, mortgages for new homes on the mainland, etc.

Everyone is employed on the Island, and the tribe has lots of “money” on the mainland.

What if there wasn’t a mainland? What if the Island was Planet Earth as a whole? This game doesn’t play out very well in the very long run.

We all can see that Technology Creates Abundance. That’s axiomatic. It also creates Unemployment. But isn’t it interesting that unemployment doesn’t create scarcity! All those newly unemployed people and, yet, the production system is still in place and it CAN still produce enough food, water, housing, TV’s, computers, cell phones, mp3 players, …. Isn’t that what Obama said? He’s reminded us of as much on several occasions.

Taken to it’s logical extreme, there’s a problem here. Scarcity goes away. Now, that’s bad for Economics as currently defined - the study of the allocation of scarce resources.

Yes, there is enough for everyone. No exceptions. Think about the Star Trek idea of a “replicator” and unlimited energy. If they existed, why would we exist at all? What would we do then? Why would we work? Does struggle and scarcity have to define who we are? When will we be ready for the worth of a life to be defined by something other than the Protestant Work Ethic?

As we go in and out of recession and prosperity with an ever expanding interdependent world economy, with ever expanding abundance, how we deal with these questions - with our “structurally unemployed” fishermen and our technology driven surpluses - will define a new human consciousness and a world wide human awareness based in possibility, compassion, creativity and generosity.

Now that’s a possibility worth living into. Let’s see some reporting on instances of that vision moving forward on the news. Look for it in your daily life. If you stop looking at the world through fear colored mass media glasses, you can see a whole new realm of possibility - if you allow yourself.

This may not be my most “Practical” post to date, but I can’t help thinking about a bright future of possibilities.

Here’s looking ahead to an Abundant future for us all!

There’s something about being an author and wanting to share your message with the world that drives ordinary people to be extraordinary.

Authors are people, with a rich life history and experience.  In a way, they share a similarity with people who graduate from college with an Arts degree, or a degree in History.  They go out in the world and are faced with “doing business” or “getting a job.”  People ask them, “what color is your parachute?”  And they look up and say, “what parachute?”

Higher Education?

So, most people get an MBA - Master of Business Administration - degree.  What’s that?  Well, for a couple of years, you study some very general courses in accounting, business law, finance, and other related general business subjects.  Then, you know what your doing?  Right?

NOT.  Then, you go try to get a job and people see you’ve now got some some new tools in your toolbox with which to begin to apply to their business - maybe, if you get the job!  Now you’ll get an interview, and if you are lucky, you’ll get into an entry level job where you can now learn “the business.”

That’s right, an MBA is just a tool set. In the 80’s, there was a brief flirtation with the idea that an MBA from a prestigious school, say, Harvard or Duke, could be handed the reins of a business as CEO and they would save the day.  This turned out to be a disaster and boards or directors and business owners realized that knowing business was one thing, but knowing “their business,” was essential.

So, how does this impact our inspired and passionate Author?  Well, “the business” of “Best Selling Author” is quite different from the business of “writing.”  People can write all day long and not achieve success as an author.  It often mystifies writers that after their book is in print, people are not lining up to buy it.  They put their books on Lulu or some other self-publishing printer, they pay money, their book is “available” and can be purchased.  They sit back and … wait.  And wait….

The statistics on this phenomenon are staggering.  That first run of 3000 books that is now sitting against your dining room wall is still there?  What’s going on?

What’s going on is that the writer has not created a business designed to create an “Best Selling Author.”  Why not?  Because they don’t know “the business.”

Getting Down to Business

Now, this may sound very plain and simple.  But it’s a very practical problem.  Being a successful author is a business unto itself.  Being published is NOT enough.  Your publisher will want you to go sell your book.  How will you do that?  And it’s the same problem with any business.

There’s a kind of person called an Entrepreneur who has a certain skill set and personality type.  They have gone through the process, or would like to, of creating a business.  The usually start with a business plan.  That’s another thing they don’t always teach MBA students - it’s too often left as a exercise for those interested in doing that sort of thing.  Otherwise, it’s assumed your going to send your resume around and get a job.

Entrepreneurs create jobs and paychecks for themselves and others.  They have an idea and they create a plan (validating the idea in the process), and then figure out how to execute the plan.   Writers who want to be Authors face the same challenge: Idea(book), Plan, Implementation.  Writers have the first essential part of the business - inspiration and an idea resulting in a book.

We have the second and third part of the process.  We teach you and work with you on your plan, which you can then implement yourself, or we can discuss implementing the plan for you.

Do you want to be a Best Selling Author?  Are you ready to learn how to succed as a business?  Contact us here at (919)  371-7132 x 21 and ask for Dr. Practical.

Robert Geiger (a.k.a. Dr. Practical)
Publisher, Entrepreneur, Business Coach

It’s been several months since starting this venture with our first Author, Nanette Geiger. Nanette is also co-founder of Create & Attract Publishing! It all started when Nanette wrote her first book, “Create the Love of Your Dreams.” (Once upon a time…)

We looked at the standard approach to publishing and something seemed amiss with the business model.  It goes something like this:  You get an agent (if you can get one) and they introduce your book to a publisher they have some contacts with (if they can) and if the publisher accepts the manuscript or proposal, it can be a year or two before you ever see a book.  PLUS, they get all the rights to the book and you get a teeny-tiny percentage of the sales (if there are sales).   Then your Publisher wants YOU - the Author - to go sell the book.  The Agent doesn’t sell the book, but get’s 15% in perpetuity for the introduction - now that’s a finders fee if I ever heard of one!.  You are an Author, not a book selling marketeer!

Say…what does that publisher do anyway?!

I put my entrepreneurial hat on and started examining the publishing business a little closer.  I coach entrepreneurs starting all kinds of businesses and the model I know about is:  You build a company, you create a product (a book in this case) you package it up and create a sales plan (marketing), you arrange for production and channels of distribution, you get some sales people working on it and you run your business by generating sales.

And what does the Publisher do with YOUR BOOK?  They have the product.  They get the Lion’s share of the sales revenue… but they DON’T invest in or pay the cost of marketing and selling the book!  YOU DO!

Now that just smacked of exploitation to me!  In any other business model, when someone licenses a product, THEY go SELL it in the marketplace.  In the classical publishing model, things are just UPSIDE DOWN and sitting squarely on the shoulders of the Author.

So, after doing a whole lot of research to see if I hadn’t misread the situation, we decided that we could create a publishing company and attract Author/Entrepreneur/Partners that would want to create a working, successful business and get a fair piece of the pie!

And that’s exactly what we’re doing!

If you want to find out more, go to the web site and contact us! We’ll be happy to talk to you about what’s really possible!