Writing in the Modern Age

I think I've read over 2000 'normal books' over my life... but in the past few years I haven't read many 'normal books' from cover to cover anyway. The last time I bought a normal book was in 2008.

I really see the future of writing being in the internet more and more. The question for the modern writer is- how to make money from this? It's a difficult question, but one I'll aim to find the answer to, then write about!

Social Intelligence Pays Off

Quick post here.... just going to jam it out while listening to this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys7-6_t7OEQ&NR=1&feature=endscreen

In the UK, the kind of 'intelligence' promoted by the academic system can be summarised as analytical intelligence. You're taught how to do maths, how to read books, how to fit in and be a cog in the wheel.

Newsflash, in a lot of cases in the twenty first century this kind of intelligence is not going to pay off much! Sure, you might get some good grades in school, college or uni, but a lot of that is based on your ability to perform well in an exam.... or perhaps even cheat at coursework! (Not that high a percentage of people do that in the UK... but some do. I'd say around 10% will have performed some kind of action which could have been considered 'cheating'... very few are caught though. At uni I was told it was really bad to even ACCUSE people of cheating!)...

But that doesn't mean you're going to get fun or money in the real world. The kind of intelligence which generally pays off 'in the real world' (aka most none academic enviornments... even in academic environments it pays off pretty well) is social intelligence. If you don't know what it is, google it and learn it :)

Having a Long Term Perspective

Hi,

This year, when I've talked about my financial goals to people I've had such remarks as "You can't take it with you" and "There's no point being the richest man in the graveyard".

It's neat that these people are usually trying to make me enjoy myself more, so as a quick thank you to them (and because it's been on my mind for a while) I'm writing this post.

Most people who've achieved anything significant have had a long term persepctive. Let's go through a few examples. Chuck Palahniuk, George Orwell... MANY writers didn't have anything published until they were in their thirties. For years before that, they were practising their writing, getting good, then getting rejected many times before society at large realised they were good. Did they give up just because they got rejected? No. Writing is what their life was about, and to give up on it would have been like giving up on themselves. So through all their rejections they carried on, and still believed they would be a famous (and meaningful) writer one day. For a lot of writers, it's only after they're dead that they're appreciated, but many know that will be the case when they're writing anyway.

(Just from my perspective here... I do definitely want to write more, but it's whether society will reward me enough while I'm alive to do it... we'll see.)

Let's bring it back to money. In the UK in many of the jobs I've done, as soon as people get ANY money they just spend it. Throughout their life they will have either little or no money saved (in fact many of them will be in thousands of pounds of debt... which many will never pay off. Society thinks that's OK, but I don't. I think people should be responsible for themselves.)

Now they're just doing what makes them happy, or gives them an instant buzz, but that's not how I want to live my life. I wouldn't want to be dependent on government handouts, or worry about money. Like I've said, money is just like a score in a video game to me... but if you've got enough money you can do things, challenge your body and mind, that you couldn't do without it.

Also, if you want to get a lot of money usually you have to be patient and prudent. Read Think and Grow Rich and The Millionaire Next Door for more info on this. Getting rich generally follows what Brian Tracy calls 'The Law of Accumulation'... small efforts add up to something big.

Should you go to University?

Stevie PUA gave me a tip about using examples to illustrate my themes that I talk about... so I'm giving that a try :).

As you're already aware, a lot of people are conditioned by society to do things that fit in with the crowd. These things may be good for 'society at large' (or at least politicians and the police etc may think so!) but are they good for you?

University season is starting again soon, and maybe some of my readers are thinking about whether to go or not. Have to be honest, apart from one brief moment of doubt, I never thought about whether I would go or not, I always assumed I would. That's what my parents and the education system had told me what's best for me.

In the UK, a lot of smart young people are conditioned to think like this. They are told that "going to university is the (only?) way to get a high paying job". There is the groupthink to an extent that because LOTS of people are going to university, you should as well! My sixth form college was great, best education I've had, but I remember one time when we were sitting in a tutorial and the teacher was asking us what we were going to do next year. Practically everyone there said they were going to uni (in fairness there might have been a couple of people who 'bunked off' who might not have wanted to go!) but there was one person who didn't. Suddenly, the happy atmosphere was gone and the person was subjected to intense questioning about WHY he didn't want to go uni. After the questioning he was told it would be the best thing for him.

Anyway, I'm aware the tone of this post may be slightly 'anti uni'... so I'll try and balance it out, or at least give you some info that might be useful for you if you do decide you want to go! A lot of people believe that going to uni will get them a higher paid job... will it? All depends... a lot of figures showing graduates earning more through their life time are based on past events... the fewer people who have degrees, the more valuable they are, and more and more people are getting them now.

If you do decide to go to uni make sure you research it extensively first. Check out all the modules and the people who will be teaching those modules. Check out the whole uni by visiting it (probably on an Open Day), talk to the students there... (I was a student ambassador for over two years in uni)... but also if you want to be smart, go on a regular day too, and ask regular students about it. You could even 'crash a lecture' for free!

Another key point to consider... going to uni could well be three years of lost earnings for you. Quite shameful to say this, but I was partly in the mindset that you couldn't get a decent full time job until you'd finished uni! You can! There have been people doing the same job I've been doing just recently straight out of school. If you are at uni or want to go, I'd recommend you doing a job at the same time. I did, you'll have plenty of time to do so, and you'll learn at least as much from that as you do from the course.

Remember to be aware of all the costs in going to uni too... you have to decide for yourself whether they are worth the investment.

Quick key point before I blast out... remember that the people you meet at uni and the relationships you develop are VITAL. (This is a plus point for going to uni tbh.) If you're a money thinking kind of person, they're worth money. If you're a social kind of person, you won't even need to be told this and you'll like meeting new people anyway ;).

Knowing Your Value

It's really important to know your value. Previously I've been guilty of not knowing in regards to work... when I first came out of uni I thought ANY full time job would be good... as I'd never had one before. Most people sell themselves short.

Take a look around in your workplace. Are you smarter than most of the people there, or are they smarter than you? If you're young and looking to learn then it's a good thing if most of the people there are smarter than you, or at least have skills or attributes that you'd like to learn. If you're young and this isn't true (there should be at least a COUPLE of people you feel you could learn valuable skills from) then you're probably in the wrong job.

Another important question to ask yourself is... am I mainly in this job to learn or earn? If you're an inexperienced salesman, for example, learning should be around about as important to earning to you. Think of sales skills you learn as having a monetary value and that will inspire you to learn more.

But if you're an experienced salesman, do you really need to learn the same things over and over again? No. You should be looking to push your comfort zone and learn new things. Good news- in MOST sales jobs, there will practically always something new you can learn about the product knowledge, either that of your own product or of your competitors. Use your work mates as a resource too- if you're in good worksplace there will be much you can learn from them.

Say you're working online... your fellow employees can be anyone you know from forums or who you have on msn. There's a massive amount you can learn!

Energy Saving

Going on an appointment to save money on a client's energy bills... only charging £5 (should only take 10-15 minutes)... I reckon I'll save him around £200 per year. If you want me to perform a similar service please let me know :). I'm also available for online consultation.

Actually recieved £10 for doing it (he wanted to give me £10 plus free drinks and chocolate). Saved around £200 per year... by staying with the same provider! Enjoyable and ready to do again!

Chess Books for Sale

I've decided to sell practically all of my chess books.

Mastering the French Neil Mc Donald and Andrew Harley £5 Three Steps to Chess Mastery A Suetin £3 Batsford Chess Openings G Kasparov £5 The World's Greatest Chess Games G Burgess J Nunn J Emms £3 Master Chess N Davies D Kopec... £3 The Polgar Sisters £3 Steve Davis Plays Chess Steve Davis David Norwood £3

Winning Chess I Chernev and F Reinfield £3 Weapons of Chess B Pandolfini £3 Logical Chess Move by Move I Chernev £3 Winning Chess R Keene £3. Bulk buyers preffered for postage costs.