2008 was a very good year thus far for me. I’ve lost weight, I got (inasmuch as anyone is able to) clear of the IRS. I resumed writing again on a daily basis, I learned a little bit of PHP, and I discovered the Hold Steady. But the real thing about it was changing my attitude about money. I think, permanently.
I used to see money as finite, and something that ended at a specific time. The money from this ($closing) goes to pay that ($bill). So if I had a windfall, my mind would ‘prespend’ it in my mind. And consequently, I had my bills paid, but I never had the reserves that you want. I saw money as something that was abundant, but finite, or linear. Money was a drug. No flow. And in the mortgage business, I’d know that I was going to have significant money, and for all my life, I’d manufacture (unnecessary) purchases or services that had to be bought[1].
And that’s no way to get wealthy, because the real secret is stuff is clutter, and almost all of it is unnecessary, and almost all of it leads to dissipation. Even magazines telling you to ‘simplify’ like ‘Real Simple,’ suggest that you buy more stuff to do so. Diminishing returns.
Having the IRS’s boot on your neck makes you adapt in ways that you wouldn’t otherwise. You learn to do without, and you can still have peak experiences…without quality cashflow. I learned to manufacture income without the help of vendors or expensive systems.
This is a long way to say that money doesn’t lead. It’s a cliche, but you have to create something beyond money. In Built To Last, Jim Collins says that money isn’t the purpose of any viable business. It’s necessary as oxygen, but men don’t live simply to breathe, we live to create and to extend our horizons. Money doesn’t lead. It follows.
The Owens 2008 campaign was started with the premise that “once we get money, things will rock” (things ARE rocking by the way without near enough money). The real premise shoulda been ‘things are rocking.’ We wanted to raise money to get the message out, when we shoulda thought “How can we kick ass without raising much money.” [honk and wave, baby] The candidate (small ‘l’ libertarian constitutionalist) is killer. I’m proud to be able to work with him if even in the limited role. But we all made a mistake and thought of money as a solution to the problem. Money is part of what’s necessary, but waiting on it to come is insane. And this campaign taught me that lesson again. [[note: there is still time to turn it around if I will]].
Deepak Chopra says [paraphrasing] that when you chase money, it runs away, but when you chase wisdom, money gets jealous and chases you. Some men can chase money successfully. These are the same douchebags that only exist for it, and are slaves to it. The people that rocked the subprime crisis, and the floor traders in New York. The folks that want to get over on anyone that they can. It’s not that I’m more moral, it’s that I can’t exist with that kind of stress and tension. Money is generally nothing to yell about.
Create The Vision First
What I am creating is different–I’ll be tracking numbers, because numbers tell a story (and as Drucker says, what’s tracked gets better). I’m bringing people together: Salespeople, Freelancers, Project Managers, Companies. I’m creating an ultralight, ultra fast way of getting things accomplished. There will be little to nothing ‘new’ from what I’m making, except for the eye that I have on further automating this project.
Salespeople always want something novel and ‘best of breed’ to sell. I am interested in selling ultra-talented freelancers to great companies. I don’t want to be a ‘placement service,’ though I’ll need a release valve for that sort of idea. I want to be a service provider with iterated small accounts.
Project Managers: Need work and need to be able to find meaningful jobs that eventually end. The incentive to ‘always extend the scope,’ in order to preserve an income or job. We want to eliminate that by having short, fulfilling projects.
Freelancers: are the core; honoring the people that are saying ‘screw you’ to being kept citizens is what made me create LOST and is as close to a raison d’ete as I have. The people that are adding value need to be treated like it, and the work and value added, not the ‘time spent,’ are the key metrics of this. The ‘time spent’ ethos that Odesk (and sadly, increasingly edesk) has is another control and obedience test. Insidious, whatever force creates obedience tests all over.
Companies: I love me some capitalism, and getting a channel for Companies to access the elite geniuses that are already in existence
Creating something that automates that, that isn’t ‘elance’ or ‘odesk’ but honors quality people, companies, salespeople & PMs is/can be my ‘contribution to the body.’
[ [1] a side note: how many things did I buy that would pay for themselves with just a closing…I should post on the Arrogance of Vendors because Greg Swann is right: nonpractitioners have the most snidely condescending attitude towards practitioners…i.e. you’re stupid if you reject our service]]
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