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 [...]
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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