Thursday, July 14, 2016

Peter Thiel -- Zero to One

I've begun delving into Peter Thiel's book "Zero to One".

Perhaps I will share more snippets as time goes on, but for t'day I'd just like to share one unique
chunkette from pages 23-24

"But in 2012, when the average airfare each way was 178, the airlines made only 37 cents per passenger trip. Compare them to Google, which creates less value but captures far more. Google brought in $50 billion in 2012 (versus $160 billion for the airlines), but it kept 21% of those revenues as profits---more than 100 times the airline industry's profit margin that year."


And then permit me to quote one more unique sentence from the first paragraph of page 23

"Creating value is not enough---you also need to capture some of the value you create."

This brief glimpse into some of the profound entrepreneurial truths that this book explores, will compel me to read further.

I feel, as a creative person myself, that creating is my "home base" but marketing and promoting those creative works, are still largely an unknown country....a mystical industry that will require untold years of further study and focus to master. Must an artist always figure out how to market and advertise her own work? Or can she focus 100% of her efforts on creating and outsource the "tedius" marketing aspects? If an artist outsources the marketing and advertising of her work, will she capture more value than if she tries to master the marketing and advertising herself? Or will she be spreading herself too thin and diluting her creative focus?

I think of famous artists such as Vangogh or Davinci, and how their works now fetch millions or billions of dollars per original painted canvas......now so many years after the original artist's passing.
Is it possible that now artists, or entrepreneurs will be able to reap in the same lifetime 
 some of the value that their works have created?

Is it going to become easier, in our Information Age, to be able to
"Capture Value" in a shorter time frame?

I look forward to your thoughts and comments as always,

Thinkfully yours,
Carla




Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Factual Helps for Depression

Similar to Tim Ferriss' Uber search for

empirical evidence to help him "mitigate"( to use his word) the depression he has experienced at times in his life.

I want to begin a list of what has helped me upon occasion deal with the same.....
It is in no way, a recommendation and should not be misconstrued as medical advice of any kind.
Disclaimer: This post is shared for conversational purposes and the author and publisher of this blog does not take any kind of legal liability for any reaction or understanding of the contents of this blog post.

1/drinking water
2/ putting my glasses on ...funny how that actually makes a difference.
3/ listening to my fave positive speakers via youtube video, CD's or Podcasts or other audio downloads/files.
4/ intellectual gains....such as listening to a Fay Dowker physics seminar, or strolling in my fave trendy bookstore....checking out the latest issue of Success or a gander at a book completely beyond me, but wonderfully compelling. Better yet,  jotting down the titles of the books that compel my vision so that later I can source out cheaper options to find those same titles for free or next to nothing.
5/Taking a dose of St.John's Wort ( a natural herbal supplement available in many health food stores or department store health sections)( seek Medical permission before using and during use.)
6/ sunshine....just enough to light up your eyes, but not too much as to risk sun damage to your eyes or your skin.
7/ Taking one baby step towards any of my written goals....any micro tiny step will do.
As Tony Robbins says succinctly...that "Happiness is progress."
You are alive and YOU HAVE GOALS. You are moving forward. Even the most miniscule step towards fulfilling any of your written goals will bring light to your eyes and a subtle grin to your stride.
9/ walking....five minutes....anywhere.....and my kooky habit of trying to mark my trail with something
environmentally cool, something I can tie onto a tree I pass by or a fence I jump over...without worrying that it might damage that tree. The markers remind my soul by leaving a visual reminder that I have ventured out into unknown lands.

Hoping this wee list may bring light to someone's heavy heart ..or perhaps a giggle... You are not alone, and we all have moments of sadness sometimes. I encourage you to call your licensed medical practitioner and listen to their advice in your journey back to joyous living.

Peace,
Carla





Friday, July 1, 2016

When Your Writing Sucks...Do this?

Bloggers, self publishers, DIY writers....we all have that moment once
in a while when we've reviewed our creative writings and thought
"Oh my...oh my (wringing hands).....my writing really sucks".

What you do at that moment is crucial.

You have TWO CHOICES:

1/ Run and Hide: Quit writing....pull your self pub ebooks off of the net, and close down all your blogs.
Stop paying those hosting fees and let your website get pulled down.

OR

2/ Stop and Breathe for a moment....and slowly keep writing..In fact...DON"T EVER STOP .!
Admit to yourself that you are on a learning curve and on this curve you are going to force yourself to
 KEEP your LESS THAN perfect work alive on the net....while you learn and keep growing. Keep those scrappy self published titles alive on line. Keep your blogs open....worts and all. Keep that tacky youtube channel open.
Then....after you have caught your breath and survived your own ruthless quality check.......................................................
 start writing again the very next day.

Which Choice you make is yours.....but if you choose that first option....please don't cry to me in 20 years that you wished you hadn't given up so soon. Your breakthrough moment may be just round the bend.

Not all of us will have award winning blogs, or be able to quit our day jobs to pursue a full time
youtube career....but ALL of us, can keep writing and sharing what God has given to us.
Your impressions of life, your reflection of life itself is raw and pure.

I'm going to end with a quote from the epic Tim Ferris:

"If you start out bad but are incrementally improving towards 

awesome, that’s totally fine. If you’re half-assing it and 

coasting, find something else you can whole-ass." 

http://fourhourworkweek.com/2016/04/11/tim-ferriss-podcast-business/

We treasure your honesty. Write on my brother.....we hear you sister.

Peace,
Carla.



Wednesday, June 29, 2016

What Has Happened to CNN?

Perhaps I haven't been paying attention....or perhaps there is a measurable change over the past couple years....but I want to note a few things about the state of on line news websites such as CNN.

Perhaps some questions should be asked first?

Since when is a "one-liner" followed by a series of photos....considered "full news coverage"?

Since when does a "well respected" news Icon like CNN  allow trashy ads to link from their main webpage?

Since when do those who do not have a paid subscription basically be deprived of any meaty news stories?

Is the trend moving towards the only quality news articles being offered to PAID on line subscriptions?

Well, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised......money talks and often we DO get exactly what we pay for.
So I maybe should not be shocked to find that yes, I have no choice but to suck it up and pay good money for a "real" on line news source. I can't reasonably expect quality if I am not going to pay for it.

Ok, ok, cheapskate talk aside. Why would CNN allow anything that is less than stellar inhabit their website's homepage? I would never confuse CNN on tv with a trashy TMZ tabloid style of news coverage, so why are they allowing such low quality links and ads and ONE LINERS to dominate their homepage?

So real news, with in depth WRITTEN coverage doesn't sell? Facts don't sell? Good analysis, good
synopsis, is what I look for, along with a good overall coverage of the major happenings of the day/week....both nationally and worldwide.

I feel a little lost in today's news marketplace. What is worthy of my time and money when it comes to news coverage? My default stand by is still the The Globe and Mail and it has still NEVER disappointed me.

HBU? Where do you get your news? Do you pay for it? Or do you get it second hand from blogs, colleagues, or the ruffled business section lying strewn at your fave java shop?

Do tell,
Carla.