How to Make Lots of Money During a Recession (Blog)

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

For more on the garbage collection questions, see this 2006 article:
If Everyone Awakens Will We All Starve?

How can I justify cleaning my house, when I might spend that same time writing an article that will be just what someone needed to make a major, positive life-changing decision? In terms of overall impact, there’s no comparison. By any stretch of the imagination, I’m far better off writing than cleaning.

To a highly conscious person, trading one’s purpose for a salary is a silly compromise because money brings no joy without purpose, so that high salary is just the modern form of a slave’s shackles.

So if everyone woke up to a noble purpose tomorrow, we’d still be able to feed ourselves. A purpose-centered person will still do what needs to be done. But menial tasks that weren’t really necessary would be cut. For example, people wouldn’t work in wage slave jobs making non-essential knick-knacks that no one really cares about. People wouldn’t waste time and energy making dumb movies, TV shows, toys, and games that don’t enhance our lives. A number of corporations would see no one show up for work because it would be obvious that the corporation only existed to make a profit, not a positive social contribution. For example, it’s hard to imagine that anyone who’s conscious and aware could willingly go to work for a tobacco company.

The more we automate our menial tasks, the more time we have to make a larger contribution. Automation also gives us time for introspection, meditation, journaling, deep conversation, and lots of other awareness-raising pursuits.

If you can invent something that saves people a lot of time or trouble on a large scale, you’ve made a pretty massive contribution.

If you’re working in a job you hate just to pay the bills, you’re robbing this wonderful planet of the real contribution you could be making.

[JeromeX]

Luke, what is the point of these Steve's quotes?

To a highly conscious person, trading one’s purpose for a salary is a silly compromise because money brings no joy without purpose, so that high salary is just the modern form of a slave’s shackles.

How can I justify cleaning my house, when I might spend that same time writing an article that will be just what someone needed to make a major, positive life-changing decision? In terms of overall impact, there’s no comparison. By any stretch of the imagination, I’m far better off writing than cleaning.

Are those housekeepers that you hire to clean your house are your slaves?

There are lots of pearls in Steve's articles. There are also some ideas that are not congruent. You just need to use your own brain to discern.

[carenkh]

Originally Posted by JeromeX

Are those housekeepers that you hire to clean your house are your slaves?

Ideally, the housekeepers one would hire are housekeepers because they have an affinity for that job - they know how to organize and clean efficiently and well. A friend has a housekeeper like that - she cleans homes because she's very, very good at it, and it brings her joy to see a space go from messy and dingy to clean, organized and sparkling.

[Savage]

I take advantage of slave labor all the time. If people want to do that sort of thing, I'm not going to stop them. Most of the stuff I own and use was made by slaves or indentured servants of one kind or another.

My "job" is to help the slaves become aware that they're slaves, so they're no longer living in denial. Then they can decide if they wish to continue on as slaves or try something else for a change.

If people insist on living as slaves, I shall gratefully enjoy their generosity.

[lifetimelearner]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

I take advantage of slave labor all the time. If people want to do that sort of thing, I'm not going to stop them. Most of the stuff I own and use was made by slaves or indentured servants of one kind or another.

My "job" is to help the slaves become aware that they're slaves, so they're no longer living in denial. Then they can decide if they wish to continue on as slaves or try something else for a change.

If people insist on living as slaves, I shall gratefully enjoy their generosity.

wow
that should open some eyes

[yoopersmith]

Originally Posted by yoopersmith

I love my IPOD!!!

I get where you are coming from and I see what you are saying. I have a couple of points.

1. We don't even need food, water, and shelter...only our bodies need that...we (our timeless bits of nothing) don't even need a planet or a universe...

2. Turns outs...we came to earth...a world of form...with Stuff. The problem isn't stuff per se...it is our thinking that the stuff IS part of US...somehow the ego likes to identify with stuff (among other things)....if you can get over that then there is nothing wrong with IPODS...enjoy it while it lasts...like the earth.

3. Consumerism is CRAZY!!! meh...everyone's crazy...it's just a matter of degree.

This got me to thinking about consumerism as it relates to the recession...mostly that Congress is thinking about a "TAX HOLIDAY" to encourage people to spend money...That is pretty stupid...

...So I wrote about it:

Wealth Consciousness and Consumerism

Again...if you could lemme know my level of suckiness...that would be much appreciated.

[newmark]

I was once enslaved in a pub and paid to drink four pints of beer by a marketing company.
Now I am enlightened.

[Lupe]

Originally Posted by munish

What a Pearl!!








Is anyone considering a 30 days Challenge being Homeless?

So that we could learn more from this advice of Steve.May pls. PM me.

Thanks again for this advice.

One of the best Advice of Steve.

My Journey into Homelessness

[Andrew Gubb]

I'd like to donate to you again just for this article but that'll have to wait, Steve.

Technically though I should be paying you a 15% of everything I earn for the rest of my life if justice were to be done

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

On the other hand, if you only deliver value but don’t create it, then you’re delivering someone else’s value. This isn’t a terrible approach in the short run, but it’s a short-sighted long-term strategy if this is all you do. There’s nothing particularly special about delivering other people’s value. Anyone can do it. Anyone can sign up for affiliate programs or join an MLM program or become a reseller.

Perhaps Steve was just trying to keep the article (comparatively) short, but this ignores the fact that there's a ton of value provided in delivering someone else's value.

You may be familiar with the article Seven Keys to Shareware Success. Like the author of that article points out, ensuring that the customers are aware of and appreciate the product is just as vital a role as creating the product in the first place.

There's a real knack to delivering someone else's value, and that, in itself creates value.

The skilled store owner who applies their time, effort and hard-earnt experience to figuring out how to best meet their customer's wants and needs, and makes it such a pleasure for their customers that they want to come back is hardly a moocher.

[RT Wolf]

I just spent about an hour reading through the article carefully and journalling about it. The biggest insights I wanted to share with you:

Steve talked about the standard model being "get a job and make money". Through Steve's help, I dropped the "get a job" part but left in the make money part. In this article he suggested you focus instead on expressing yourself through creation and authenticity, and deliver what you created to people to create value for them. Through that you make money.

It felt like a huge leap of faith for me. From Steve's perspective, perhaps focusing on money is a bit like holding onto a snake that keeps biting you. The more it bites you, the tighter you hold onto it. But, the snake in my hand is less scary than the "unknown". Of course, it isn't unknown after I've changed my belief to focus on creating and delivering value. But still, I wanted to point out that this feels like a leap to me. Ok, sure, focusing on money won't work that great in the long run but it seems to be working ok, while getting out there, trying my absolute best and trying to create and deliver value, just seems like a really different strategy and it seems like there's a good chance of failure. There is also a greater chance of success, too, I suppose.

So, I guess that's what it comes down to. Do I take the leap of faith, drop the snake, ignore money and focus on creating and delivering value (as I've started to do?) and just hope that I get value in return as money or keep doing what I've been doing and stay in my comfort zone?

I think it's pretty obvious that I must take the courageous choice. There may be greater failure there and at the beginning I just won't know what I'm doing. But I trust Steve and will take that leap of faith.

Besides, if this thing doesn't work in, say, 3-6 months, I should be able to pick up the snake again.

Thanks again, Steve. You've managed to cause another paradigm shift in me. Good work!

[cylon]

Seems to me if you're worried on if you're creating value or not, that fear could show up in the actual work itself, which would make it of lesser value.

Why not give value (and money) to yourself by just allowing it? Skip the middleman of having to get someone else's approval first, in order for them to give them your money.

[Swami ZazvatAnanda]

I have a way to find a great business, but it takes the possession of a skill first. I will explain both.

The method is to read the yellow pages phone book and find what is NOT there.

What have you seen in the yellow pages in one country that is not listed in your country.

As for in times of recession, there is no difference than in times of growth. It is just that you must let go of what you are doing in times of growth if they do not work in times of recession. a change is needed.

Now, the method of success is to see what is missing, to fill that hidden gap. in a recession, many gaps have been created, which brings many more opportunities. the trick is to find that gap and have the courage to fill it.

How to find the gap is to look for what is going very bad, pick an industry that is shrinking and then find the market that served, what type of business was their client.

Next, you find an alternative way to serve that client, to make their business use a replacement. Look for the 'dirty' jobs that people do not want to do, that is usually a very good place to start a service business.

One of the reasons that a company goes down is that its products have not kept up with the times, they have not evolved. This is best presented in the case of the american auto makers. Their technology was so far behind the Japanese for example, that they have lost their market share because they kept to big vehicles with high fuel consumption.

Nothing is so easy as just a 5 minute exercise and you get rich, if it was, everyone would be rich. It takes a bit of effort and a lot of courage.

There are many companies growing in times of recession, and the world keeps on going. It is when you lose hope that your emotions and dreams fall into an emotional recession, and that is bad.

if you want to succeed in a time of economic recession, and help it end, then keep your thoughts, emotions, and hopes in a growth attitude.

Look for the death and see the life that will rise from it, the pheonix will rise out of the ashes, but you must be there before it flies away or you will miss the opportunity for the largest growth.

Pick what you like or what you know about, serve individuals and most of all, give the best possible service at the best price and you can succeed at almost anything.

[Nathalie]

I just wanted to comment about what Steve was saying: as a blogger when we write these spontaneous blog posts, we get a better response. I get that too! When I plan it out, or get the idea from a specific place, it doesn't have much of an impact. But when I get this inspiration "from nowhere" I get tons of great compliments. I guess it must be a sign... other people needed that information, you know?

Plus, taking less time to write an article & publish it is a perk.