I was selling books today and one of the buyers said “of course books or any physical objects have no inherent value – a thing is only worth what someone will pay”. One of the other buyers chimes in with “that’s right” (it’s slightly to the right of Strom Thurmond, to be sure), and that [...]
I’ve been fairly critical of coffee snobs, but I think I get what their saying – the ones that aren’t snobs in general. Life’s too short to drink bad coffee. Nothing makes the waking up part of life that should be relaxing a chore more than coffee that screws up your face. I’ve decided I’m [...]
We’ve become used to the idea that a fancy front desk, nice corporate stationary, and a bunch of stock photos – with smiling receptionists who are as wooden as those photos, is where you find stability. We’ve come to confuse polish with reality, and the evangelists of polish are always telling us the clothes make [...]
This morning I woke to a cloud-based service I use for business being down. It was a rush for me to check them on social media, get the fix, and get up and running. And then I got mad. I won’t say who the company is. They’re holding up admirably under an unbearable strain and [...]
Managing even our personal finances is actually different when we’re self-employed vs. living as a traditional employee. This is a critical realization and can often make the difference in whether, if we’re starting or operating with modest capital, we actually remain self-employed. When I first went out on my own, I made a handful of [...]
A storm may be brewing for the very kind of work that could save America. For one thing, rising attention to “undocumented workers” (immigration) could be the precursor to increased indignation about “undocumented work” (any work off the books by small time freelancers, contractors, and solopreneurs). Remember, we live in a “who do you think [...]
Venkat Rao has been a significant (and ongoing) read. Cloudworker economics documents the shift in the meaning of the word “employed” by acknowledging the shift to corporate life preceding the War Between the States (though without discussing that historic conflict of cultures that overlays his observations) and then away again at the turn of the [...]
The Occupy Wall Street movement, whether we agree or disagree with all of its concerns, aims, social dynamics, or courses of action, is a catalyst. It would be a mistake to learn nothing, to have no response, and to ignore the opportunity for enhancing our own plan of action and manner of thinking. Whenever a [...]
It’s a time of unprecedented change. Our houses and careers aren’t sources of security anymore. The traditional job, for a lot of us, and for a lot of people in the future, is a dinosaur. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in starting, growing, or saving your business, or one of several, and [...]
The Occupy (Wall Street) movement is as much about the destruction of the job market as anything and, as such, has the earmarks of a workers movement – perhaps less obvious because so much of the US is out of work. In essence, the Occupy movement is a strike called against the culture as it [...]
If you’re not aware of coworking, makerspaces, hackerspaces, etc. – these are collaborative coops that provide you space to work in an environment where other people are also working in a creative and independent way. The coop part of it gets you a chair, deskspace or table space, wifi internet, lights, electricity, a bathroom, and [...]
Watching the latest revision of Robin Hood, one is invited to disgust with the way Americans keep consuming stories that alleviate the responsibility to innovate, to create, to contribute – to be extraordinary. Latent in it one finds work without significance, for the vast majority of people – just contented drudgery relieved by dancing, screwing, [...]
One of the pseudo issues that we’re instructed to be talking about now is whether to tax capital gains – and now everyone is quoting Warren Buffet. Partly, this relies on the average person not understanding how corporate taxes work vs. personal taxes – something Buffet understands very well. But when you and I are [...]
“All work is an act of philosophy.” – Ayn Rand
I’m not going to say that I’m in favor of not giving kids any money, or shelling out a measely allowance, but I think fewer kids than ever are learning to work for money at an early age – that too many kids are getting 100% of their needs met by asking parents for cash. [...]
I had a garage sale recently, designed to reduce possessions to only those things we need and are using. It was wildly effective, and what I didn’t sell, I donated. The result is an empty garage and a home that finally echoes again, and feels big. When I sell things, I interact a lot – [...]
I really like it when someone correctly identifies the nexus between work and schooling. We spend all this effort talking about how the world of work has become unacceptable, as we’ve conceived it, but very little on the fact that traditional schooling is the mechanism for creating precisely this world of work, and for conditioning [...]
“I don’t intend to build in order to have clients. I intend to have clients in order to build… Those who want me will come to me.” – Howard Roark It’s so easy to look at a business and think it’s primary purpose is to gather clientelle. And there are plenty of businesses like that [...]
Daniel writes prolifically about subjects ranging from work to social justice, does literary writing, and is Marketing Director of Free Agent Source. Daniel founded JobHacker (formerly the Rules of Work) blog when the bottom fell out of the mortgage market, and the US economy started its death rattle.
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