Posts Tagged ‘future’
Sowing the Seeds of Opportunity: How to Multiply Your Freelance (Writing) Work
You can turn your $200 fee to write a press release into $2,000 to carry out an entire PR campaign simply by convincing clients to invest in campaigns, instead of individual assignments. Campaigns achieve better results and cost less in the long-term for clients, compared to individual assignments. And, of course, as the freelancer, you get paid much more for turning out a succession of assignments that assimilate a successful campaign.
Here’s how to multiply your writing sales by convincing clients to invest in long-term campaigns, instead of short-term individual assignments.
? Know the short-term and long-term view results. A client approaches you to write a brochure. He may or may not know that his product can also benefit from other types of promotional pieces, such as ads, direct mail, news releases, websites, and so on, to sell his product or service. Your job is to educate the client. The brochure may be the first promotional piece in a consortium of promotional pieces. Here, you must know the short-term and long-term view results of the brochure.
The short-term view results are the results the brochure will achieve for the client; and the long-term results are the results the brochure will achieve/contribute for the entire campaign. It answers the questions, “How do the results of this brochure fit into the entire campaign?” and “How can these results be strengthened with other forms of promotional materials?”
Show the client how a campaign that’s comprised of a succession of assignments can achieve – and exceed – his expectations and outsell and outdo the performance of a single assignment.
? Use “tie-in” services. Whenever a client approaches you with a single assignment, ask yourself what tie-in services can supplement the single assignment. A news release achieves better results when it’s accompanied with a photo. And a press kit – complete with press releases, photos, brochures, and company information – can achieve better results than a single press release. All of these extra tie-in services can turn writing a single press release into multiple writing sales.
? Offer the “concept to completion” benefit. Instead of pitching yourself as a freelancer who can write newsletter copy, pitch yourself as a freelancer who produces newsletters, from copy to completion. You multiply your income by outsourcing parts of the job and delivering a finished product, not a piece of the product. You also can extend your “concept to completion” services by pitching yourself as a marketing consultant, in which you make recommendations to the client as to the best way to market the newsletter.
? Develop strong consultative skills. Besides selling your freelance services, also offer consulting services. Clients pay you to explain ideas, concepts, recommendations and turnkey solutions as to the best way to achieve the results they desire. Consulting with clients can lead to securing freelance work, since clients realize you have the skills and expertise to undertake the task.
? Know the future needs of clients. Clients come with present needs – and future needs. A client may hire you to write a newsletter now, but they’ll also consider you for future work if you know what their future needs are and how to fulfill them. The company may be ushering in a new product line, creating a new division within the company, sponsoring a charity event, or creating a website. All of these future events need a freelancer to do promotional writing and freelance work. That’s you. Your job is to show clients how you’ll address their future needs with solutions that’ll increase their profitability and/or productivity. This is usually accomplished with a proposal through which you pitch yourself as the freelancer who has the solutions to undertake the future tasks.
? Use proposals to secure work. Proposals are an inclusive persuasion tool to convince prospects that you can increase their profitability and/or productivity with your freelance services. Proposals specifically show the client how you intend to achieve the desired results, the time and costs involved, and why you and your solutions are the best choices to boost the company’s profits.
? Adaptations. Any of your freelance writing services can be adapted for websites, turning a single assignment into two assignments. Get paid to write a press release or brochure, and then get paid again to adapt the copy digitally.
? Add-on services, such as desktop publishing services, marketing consulting, compiling and selling media lists, and project coordinating can help multiply your work and your income.
About The Author
Brian Konradt is a former freelance copywriter and graphic designer, and founder of FreelanceWriting.Com (http://www.freelancewriting.com), a free web site dedicated to help writers master the business and creative sides of freelance writing.
Envisioneering
It never ceases to amaze me. Almost everyone peers into the future through a rear-view mirror. The future is imagined as a continuation of the past. I suppose there is a certain security in that; much like a padded cell. Hardly anyone practices creative envisioneering.
To be an envisioneer, you must: first have the courage to look into the future with the recognition that there is nothing there yet, except that which you imagine; and then, the force of will to imagine a personal ideal; and then, the impertinence to believe in that imagined ideal as being more real than all that has come before or exists in this present moment. In short, you must be an idealist.
Each of us is educated to be a realist, to deal with things as they are, to see the world as it is and to ‘realistically’ go about making our way within what already exists, to be a creature of event and circumstance. Those who decide to shape events and circumstances to match what they envision are the idealists. They end up as the movers and shakers, the leaders, the ones who create innovation, the future and ultimately, history. The employee is a realist. The entrepreneur is an idealist.
We may aspire, in our hearts, to be prosperous, to be fulfilled, to live a life of purpose and passion. To exist, in our minds, as a realist makes it almost impossible to succeed in achieving these ideals. We must learn to become idealists, to practice the art of creative envisioneering, if we are to have any hope of making real our ideals.
The main contrast between the realist and the idealist is that the realist sees with his eyes open and the idealist sees with his eyes closed.
Realists rely upon the definite. Idealists rely upon the infinite. Realists live in a world of cause and effects. Idealists live in a world of causal and effectual. Realists say, ‘I’ll believe it is real when I see it.’ Idealists say, ‘I’ll see it as real when I believe it.’ Realists rely upon the evidence of their senses. Idealists rely upon the evidence of their imagination. Realists are reactors. Idealists are creators.
It is often said that idealists are out of touch with (physical) reality. But, it is the realists who are the ones who are out of touch with the greater (metaphysical) reality; and idealists are the ones who mold and shape our future reality. They are envisioneers; creating the future they imagine; living their dreams; enacting their inner vision; using the metaphysical principles to form the physical actualities. Realists say… impossible. Idealists say…I’m possible.
Idealists (envisioneers) create the future that the realists end up (by default) living in, having no choice but to cope with the existing reality, while the envisioneer is still busily creating a new dream. If you want to live the life of your dreams, you must become an envisioneer and learn to ignore the comfortable constraints of reality.
Wisdom is the understanding that what you know is nothing at all and what you imagine is everything else. Reality is a crutch for the unimaginative. The envisioneer has taught himself to believe in what is imagined more than in what is existent.
Do you want more out of life? Envision more. Become a dreamweaver.
© Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.
Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra’s DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.
Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.
Why Does God Allow Suffering?
Justin was a typical ten year old boy. He liked Leggos, trains, and watching TV. He had red hair, freckles, and a huge smile. Justin was a great kid and everybody loved him. Because of cancer, he didn’t live to see his eleventh birthday. His mom Mary, who had watched him suffer for months, held her son in her arms when he died. Every day, for the last two years, she has lived with the grief of her loss and the memories of Justin’s suffering.
This issue of suffering is the most common argument against religion. People often ask, “If there is a loving God, why does He make people suffer?”
I firmly believe that God does not cause sickness or pain. He doesn’t make people hurt, and He doesn’t want them to suffer. The life of Jesus proved this. He cured people; He did not make them sick. Why, then, are so many in pain?
There is no easy answer. To try and understand, I step back and look at the big picture. God made everything perfect. Then man sinned and that perfection was spoiled. Now we live in a world where evil abounds. We are subject to the evil actions of sinful people and to the natural consequences of those actions. This is not at all what God intended for the world He created.
God can and does intervene in some events, but why not others? Only He knows that answer, but the Bible teaches that there will be a time when He will put an end to ALL death, sadness, pain, sickness, and suffering.
Below are some possible reasons that people suffer.
1) We do things ourselves that cause us pain. We don’t eat right, so we have heart attacks. We drive fast, so we have accidents. We smoke, so we get cancer. We start wars, we break laws, we don’t show love to our fellow man. Much of the sorrow in this world, we bring upon ourselves by our own actions.
2) But what about innocent children who are not responsible for their suffering? Why do they get sick? This is a tough question. What I know for sure is that when God created this world, He intended for us to have strong, healthy bodies and freedom from pain and suffering. When evil entered the picture, it brought with it suffering. That is not to say people suffer because of their own personal sins, necessarily, but the world is changed, due to sin being part of the world. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation.”
Just as in the case with Job, I believe that evil forces attack us and cause much suffering in an attempt to get people to blame God and turn away from Him. (Job 2:3-9)
3) God gives us rights as individuals. Because He allows us to choose for ourselves how we’ll live, He had to also allow us the freedom to sin. This means He had to allow the consequences of our behaviors, too. Some of those consequences are diseases caused by toxins, accidents caused by risky behaviors, and natural disasters caused by things like changes in the ozone layer, which we have brought about.
4) Though some people think God punishes us by making us suffer, Jesus said that a blind man He healed was born blind, not because of his sin or his parents’ sin, but “that the works of God should be revealed in him.” (John 9:3) God didn’t cause the blindness, but He used it to show His power to all who saw Jesus heal the man.
5) Another possible reason God allows suffering is so that our faith in Him will grow, our compassion for others will increase, and we’ll be better able to encourage other hurting people (2 Corinthians 1:3-5).
6) Romans 1:22 says that God gives rebellious people over to their own foolishness. He lets us go, hoping that we will return to Him after we hit bottom and see the error of our ways. Giving His permission is not the same as causing the problem. God doesn’t cause people to stubbornly refuse to follow His way. He doesn’t want us to go ever deeper into degradation, but He does permit us to have our way when we are determined to choose our own path.
BUT WE ARE NOT WITHOUT HOPE:
Though this world is no longer perfect, God will create a perfect world some day in heaven. He will get rid of everything that is not HIS. Suffering, sin, pain, tears and death are not HIS. “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’” (1 Corinthians 15:54)
We have HOPE that all suffering will be relieved when we go to spend eternity with God. But this promise of eternal bliss is only for those who know, serve, and love Him.
God doesn’t cause suffering; Satan does. When we get angry at God, it’s exactly what Satan wants. By blaming God for evil, we’re actually following the one who IS responsible.
“Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” (1 Peter 5:8-11)
Our souls are of greater importance to God than our bodies are. Though He cares about our physical suffering, healing our soul is more urgent because it is the soul that lives forever. Our relationship with God is what determines where that soul spends eternity. If only those who suffer here on earth would seek God and the true healing (of the soul) that He offers!
In this world, bad things happen to good people. Those who have a personal relationship with God are better able to cope. We can live without fear, even though we do not know what the future holds, if we know the one who holds the future in His hands. When we discover the great love God has for us, we can let go of fear.
Psalm 27:1 says “The Lord is my salvation. Whom shall I fear?” Jesus triumphed over death, and He alone can save us from eternal death. He can also see us through all the trials of life and bring us safely to heaven.
I don’t have all the answers. I just hope that, in sharing what I’ve learned through my own experience, I’ve helped you to feel more at peace knowing God has ultimate control in every circumstance. He is GOOD, no matter what evil befalls us. We can trust in the one who is full of compassion and loves us more than we can imagine. Without that knowledge, I don’t know how anyone could cope with the trials of life.
No one can comfort the depths of our sorrows except God. I’m convinced that if you read His promises in the Bible, your heart will be encouraged.
Author Marsha Jordan is founder of a nonprofit charity called Hugs and Hope for Sick Children (http://www.hugsandhope.org). More of her articles on depression are in her book, Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter, a compilation of thought-provoking essays illustrated with drawings by critically ill children.
In this book, the author combines hope with humor, drawing upon her own experience of living with chronic pain and depression for thirty years. She opens her life and her heart to share everyday experiences and the lessons God has taught her from them.
A wonderful mix of the serious and the humorous, this book warms the heart and lifts the spirit. PROCEEDS BENEFIT SICK KIDS! This book was written to encourage anyone who faces disappointment — which is EVERYone! Some essays in the book include “What Did I Do To Deserve This?” “What Was God Thinking?” “More Than I Can Handle,” and “Ten Tips For Beating Depression” Order the book or learn more at http://www.hugsandhope.org/book.htm
Ask For That Raise!
For nine years Jeff worked for company G as an engineer. Flying airplanes was his first love. His job came in a close second place. That changed when Jeff met Judy. Their relationship quickly turned serious and they married.
When Jeff and Judy sat down to do financial planning as a couple, Judy learned Jeff’s salary was surprisingly low. With a human resource background, Judy knew the salary range for Jeff’s type of work, and what his credentials were worth. Jeff was seriously underpaid.
Jeff was shocked and somewhat crestfallen. His attitude was, “I’m lucky to do what I love AND GET PAID for having fun!”
As Jeff began to understand his market value he felt betrayed. Had he been duped? Had he been a fool for years? Was his company taking advantage of him? He wanted to keep his job. Asking for a raise was painful. The idea of asking for a 30% raise was excruciating!
With a wife and future family it was time for Jeff to pay attention to his compensation.
Jeff had read The Ripple Effect, Speak Your Mind Constructively, and sat down to write his request. He was flooded with anger, frustration, fear of hearing “no raise for you”, and possibly the prospect of looking for another job. He felt disloyal yet asking to be paid a fair marketplace value was good business, not disloyalty. With a tug of war going on in his head, Jeff stayed focused on the conversation that would impact his future.
When he sat down with his boss Jeff got to the point. “I have worked here for nine years. My reviews have consistently been good to great. I’ve worked in several departments and handled every task assigned to me, competently. I love my job and have been very happy working here. I feel I’m underpaid and I am requesting a raise of $13,000. I know you need time to talk with upper management. When can I expect an answer?”
Jeff’s boss was dumbfounded. Jeff was asking for five times what their typical raise amount was, yet he sensed Jeff had a fresh understanding of his value and was dead serious. Jeff did not cloud his request with emotion, accusations, or justifications. Jeff did not threaten to leave if he did not get the raise. He stated his position and was specific about his needs.
Caught off guard, his boss simply said, “I hear you. Give me 48 hours to get you an answer.”
The next 48 hours were agonizing for Jeff and Judy. Finally, Jeff was called into his boss’ office. “After careful consideration we are prepared to offer you $12,000. Will that work?”
Now Jeff was dumbfounded. He was thrilled he had made the request. “Yes. That works fine. When will it start?” was Jeff’s response.
Jeff had newfound respect for himself and his credentials. He did what was right in his mind for his future. He followed the four steps in the Ripple Effect on how to create an effective message. He spoke in words that were comfortable for him. Emotions could have derailed his request but Jeff was careful to check his statements against the one principle and edit out any ineffective comments. Negative messages can trigger resistance, or resentment. Jeff disliked conflict and was happy with his behavior.
We all live complicated lives. Using proven communication tools is easy when we simply get to know them. When we communicate effectively, we are able to omit ineffective tactics, knowing they are likely to foil our efforts.
The Ripple Effect gives you an advantage. You can create outcomes that move your life forward and get your needs met consistently.
This is a true story. The Ripple Effect, Speak Your Mind Constructively, demonstrates how everyone can address sensitive issues effectively. With one, easy to remember principle and ten communication skills, you can express your truth in your unique way, and know you said the right thing.
Visit us at: http://www.wisewaybooks.com
Starting with a BS in Economics, I climbed the corporate ladder in multinational companies. I’ve been involved in entrepreneurial ventures from inception to sale and completed a business turnaround. For seven years I was an Executive Recruiter. The single most important asset one can posess in business and relationships is the ability to communicate effectively. We all need to be able to get things done and work together. No matter how smart, educated, or rich someone is, they will be happier and more successful at everything they do if they are able to communicate in a positve, effective manner.
The Merging of Humans and Computers
Soon the human brain will be completely interfaced with the computer. The benefit to mankind will be truly significant. The truth is that Arthur C Clark in his short stories talked about groups of people being connected in real time by neuron transmitting devises below the skin. You might even have all the world’s knowledge and latest research all in a chip connected to your brain. Today we see the beginnings of this with teens with cell phones and PDA devices used in Flash Mobs. Such a computer, communication, brain interface would be the next logical step as SciFi meets Moore’s Law and MIT completes their latest Media Lab exploit of Nano tech gone wild.
The communication device would be in real time, the “Internet in your head” so you can only imagine the opportunities, business and communication at the Speed of Thought. Instead of trading MP3 Player music on the Internet, you would be trading experiences in 4D, and thought using Nano-Tech computer, which interfaces with the enhanced brain. You could do real-time research with members of certain groups across the ocean and when someone made a discovery, the time to write the white paper or peer review would be instantaneous.
Thus cutting down the research time to next to zero. If you read certain books such as Prescription to the Future; and The 500 year Delta, Futurists book reviews and others working on these issues you can see where we are headed. Some are worried about this but I am rather intrigued on the possibilities for the betterment of mankind. Will computers be smarter than humans? Computers and humans will be one in this case, so we will be equal. Instead of the preverbal file swapping or file sharing, you will be thought swapping. The future is closer than you think, have you considered this?
“Lance Winslow” – If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
The Bible Code II: The Countdown, by Michael Drosnin
Sir Isaac Newton knew about the Bible code 300 hundred years ago when he described it as “a cryptogram set by the Almighty?.The riddle of the God-head, the riddle of past and future events divinely fore-ordained.”
Newton was captivated with the idea that the Torah could contain a code that could foretell future events, but until the invention of the computer the task of deciphering this code was almost impossible. But “The Bible code had a time-lock. It could not be opened until the computer was invented?The Bible code is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and we have only a handful of the pieces.”
Journalist and reporter formerly for the Washington Post, Michael Drosnin, and Dr. Eliyahu Rips, a famous Israeli mathematician, explain their search for the Code Key that will decipher the Bible code. Like the Rosetta stone found at the mouth of the Nile 200 years ago, perhaps the code key would unlock the language of all mankind. Rips describes the structure of the Torah as a three-dimensional cylinder that “you just lay flat like a map” to read it, and “by eliminating “…all the spaces between the words, and [restoring] the Bible to the original form…the way Moses received the Bible from God – contiguous, without break of words” he is able to decipher the code using a computer program that he wrote.
In a gripping personal testimony of his search for the truth, Drosnin awakes us to the possibility that our future is already written. But if it is already prophesied, can we change our future? Drosnin’s mission is to warn us that the End of Days is upon us, and that the Bible code tells us that it will be in 2006. Only if we find the key to unlock the message that was hidden from us can we hope to change our destiny.
Two important concepts are presented in the book, first that world events we are witnessing are actually The End of Days as prophesied in the Bible; and second, that man’s capacity for language was a gift to mankind from (God) the Lord of the code, and that our language gene came from an advanced race not of this Earth.
“The secret of the genetic code is revealed in Genesis, where God tells Abraham, ‘I will bless thee greatly, and I will greatly multiply thy seed as the stars of Heaven, and as the sand that is upon the seashore; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed.”
That our DNA contains a gene that was sent to Earth in a vehicle from the cosmos, from an advanced race of men, is revealed in the code of the Torah and this theory is not new. About 25 years ago, Nobel laureate biologist Francis Crick published a theory called the Directed Panspermia.
This was a breath-taking read, and I highly recommend this book. Drosnin is objective and honest, and I like that.
Cindy DeJager is a writer and book reviewer for Rosetta Stone Press, publisher of The Many Waters, by Lauretta Lueck. http://www.RosettaStonePress.com
