News & Views by Kim Davis
" When I think of the horizon about us,
my heart becomes sick and weary.
And when I listen to the still small voice within,
I derive hope and smile
inspite of the conflagration raging around me. " .
.. Mahatma Gandhi
"The next Buddha will be a collective" ... Thich Nhat Hanh
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." ... Martin Luther King
I admit it, I'm floundering here. It's tough getting back to work after a vacation, especially with contruction going on and kids and animals and mechanical problems galore. The whole thing makes me chuckle at the irony of the way we always seem to want what we don't have. I have several close friends, women over the age of 40, who are still sailing for a living, and they'd give their eye teeth to have a home and children. Right now, I'd be very happy to trade with them - if only for a few weeks so they can sort out the mess that I found waiting on my desk!
I ran across an article that I saved for you many weeks ago, and somehow just never got back to. It's about making your dream happen. I found it inspiring, I hope you will to. You'll find it in this week's feature article slot.
The q & a this week will seem a bit off topic for many of you, since it's not about travel at all. It is, however about setting up your own business online - namely, Starting an Online Newsletter. I know that I have some subscribers who work from home, (or from their boats), and they are always looking for better ways to make money online. So all you netrepreneurs, this one's for you!
NOTE: If you go to http://www.extraordinary-jobs.com, you'll find yourself on a welcome page. To get to the current issue of the newsletter, follow the link at the top of the page.
Visit me on the web at my other sites:
Don't forget your sunscreen! And have a glorious week,
- Kim ;-)
Feature:
A Preposterous Dream - Achieved
by Charles Burke
Little Al immediately became our biggest joke.
I worked in a custom photo lab that served professional photographers, and one day this... kid... came in wanting to send us his film for processing and custom printing.
Nothing special about gaining a new customer. Except this young guy had no professional qualifications whatsoever.
The kid had traveled around Europe the summer after graduating from college, and shot about fifty rolls of amateur-looking snapshots. On returning home, he announced to his family that he planned to open a photo studio.
He started soliciting work right away, and he did get a few takers among his friends.
His work absolutely stank.
Our boss tried to reason with Al, tried to suggest that he consider another career. Or at least work in somebody else's studio for a while to gain experience.
He pointed out that Al didn't know how to place his lights, so the pictures he shot looked more like horror scenes than portraits. He had no talent for posing his subjects, and his timing was terrible, always catching eye-blinks and goofy expressions.
But Al wouldn't be deterred. He continued with his plans to open a studio.
"Hah! Just what this suburb needs," we said, "Another photo studio, and a bad one at that."
Meanwhile, we mentioned this ill-qualified upstart to one of our steadiest, longest term customers, whom we affectionately called Big Al. He was a tall, large framed guy in his early sixties who had been in the business for more than 30 years.
Big Al wasn't flashy, never shot award-winning portraits, but he was dependable as the sunrise. Every week, he'd do a certain amount of business in his 3rd floor walkup studio in the depressed end of town. And every week, he'd bring us a certain volume of business.
Dependable -- that was Big Al. A professional. Qualified to do his job. Maybe his work didn't win awards, but there was never a bad shot among them.
Before long, we started to compare the two Als' work and that's when the "Little Al" nickname began. Of course, we had to show Big Al the work his "competitor" was turning out. Everybody had great laughs.
But there was something about Little Al that none of us knew. He wasn't done growing yet.
Apparently Little Al didn't mind asking for advice. Somebody -- maybe his father, or an old school pal, or maybe his 40-something girlfriend -- showed him how to put together a business plan and how to search for an investor.
Before we knew it, he had a silent partner who (we later learned) invested $50,000 to set up a studio in the upscale end of our suburb. A very NICE studio.
Hasselblad SLR and 5x7 view cameras for portraits, top of the line strobe lighting with heavy duty stands and umbrella diffuser reflectors, heavy painted canvas backgrounds.
Everything top quality. The kind of equipment many professionals only wish for.
And with all that equipment, Little Al was still turning out his horror portraits. We laughed louder and continued showing his work to Big Al.
Gradually, over the next few months, we began to see changes in the kid's work.
He learned how to set and place his lights to "paint" his subjects instead of just illuminating them. His posing improved.
The eye-blinks disappeared over time, and subjects' expressions became more flattering. We began to see some real sensitivity and insight in the work he did.
One day we realized Little Al's work was GOOD now. No longer a joke. That's when it came to me -- we were no longer showing his stuff to Big Al.
Because while the kid's work was improving by great leaps, Big Al's work was still steady. Still dependable.
And still nothing special.
Big Al had topped out; he continued working dependably in his 3rd floor walk up shop in the wrong end of town. He hadn't tried anything new in decades, hadn't grown, hadn't learned anything.
But now, in a matter of months, this young upstart was passing him, was jumping miles ahead of the steady, dependable professional.
We had, we realized, a fine new pro in town.
Of course we were curious how he'd managed such a drastic upgrade of his work, so we asked him. Little Al didn't mind telling us about it. In fact, he realized he'd done something special, and he was proud of it.
When he first started, this inexperienced kid was very well aware of his shortcomings. But he didn't let that stop him. He just plowed on through despite all the things he didn't have.
He didn't have a plan.
So he asked the advice of studio owners in other cities (who wouldn't feel threatened by possible competition from him). From their suggestions, he crafted his plan.
He didn't have money.
So he started running small ads in the business opportunity section of the classifieds seeking investors. He also asked for referrals from everybody he met. He interviewed many possible investors to find a few successful but bored business owners looking for new horizons. Most balked at his $50,000 price tag, but one signed on.
He didn't have professional equipment.
But he had a dream shopping list from his earlier talks with photographers, and he had money from his investor, so he was able very quickly to put together an ideal studio.
He didn't have any skills.
But he listened to every word of feedback from everybody with an opinion to offer. He quickly learned what was wrong with his work, so he attended three-day seminars and training workshops for pros. Within days he learned what a good portrait looked like. Within weeks he knew what it took to turn out that quality of work. And within months he had drilled all that new knowledge deep into his mind, until he was executing at the top levels of the profession.
Little Al literally started with nothing.
Nothing, that is, except a vision of what he wanted and the determination to get it.
In his twelfth month, Little Al's accountant stopped using red ink. That same month, he received his first of many awards for excellence in portraiture. Little Al was a professional photographer now.
The truth is, he'd been one all along, even though nobody knew it but him.
Charles Burke helps struggling entrepreneurs revive their Zombie businesses. If you've studied all the marketing and promo books, but your business is still shambling along, more dead than alive, Zombie-like, you'll want to study the fr^e cover report at http://www.charlesburke.com
Press Release:
LonelyPlanet.com adds Personal Trip Websites
as select travel service
Contact:
Julie Yamato
Lonely Planet
510-893-8556 ext. 157
Julie.Yamato@LonelyPlanet.com
Oakland, CA and Vancouver, BC, (July 7, 2004) - Lonely Planet, the world's leading independent travel company, has added Personal Trip Websites as a core travel service offered to visitors to Lonely Planet's website, http://www.lonelyplanet.com. The service is provided and powered by MyTripJournal of Vancouver, Canada.
"We are pleased to add to our travel services an innovative product that allows travelers to record their adventures online. Interested friends, family and colleagues can participate in the journeys, and the traveler has a permanent interactive record of the trip," said Julie Yamato, Travel Services manager for LonelyPlanet.com. "Working with MyTripJournal to distribute Personal Trip Websites helps us serve the communication needs of our travelers and those who want to follow virtually in the footsteps of travelers."
MyTripJournal is a premium set of tools that allows travelers to easily create a personal website to document their travels and communicate with family and friends while on the road, as well as archive it for future interactive viewing and printing. In just a few clicks you can:
* plot your journey on maps you choose with the MyTripJournal IntelliMap System
* store and display your photos, stories and experiences
* control who views your Personal Trip Website
* keep a guestbook of communications from friends and family
* automatically alert your friends when your Trip Website is updated
* download a free permanent archive when your trip ends
* be assured there is no advertising on your website
"MyTripJournal is committed to providing travelers with innovative solutions that combine state-of-the-art communication tools with its customisable patent-pending IntelliMap System, all in a 'spam-free'
environment," said Dan Parlow, co-founder of MyTripJournal. "By working with a small number of key distribution partners, MyTripJournal can accommodate traveler demands and offer the complete array of MyTripJournal products."
This joint project demonstrates MyTripJournal's continued commitment to enhance the availability of its Personal Trip Websites. LonelyPlanet.com is an ideal platform for MyTripJournal's product, as LP.com provides the world's most comprehensive online source of information and communication for international travelers.
Visitors to LonelyPlanet.com can create their own 30-day Personal Trip Website for free. It takes less than five minutes, no credit card is required and there is no obligation.
Visitors to Lonely Planet.com currently have the chance to enter a virtual scavenger hunt through the Personal Trip Website of David Rich & Mary Alexon who have been circling the globe for 11 years. Winners will receive travelers' cheques, a Lonely Planet guidebook and free premium Personal Trip Websites.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Julie Yamato, Travel Services Manager
Julie.Yamato@LonelyPlanet.com or 510-893-8556 ext. 157
Dan Parlow, Co-founder, MyTripJournal.com
dparlow@MyTripJournal.com or 604-728-5500
About Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet creates and delivers the most compelling and comprehensive travel content in the world, giving travelers trustworthy information, engaging opinions, powerful images and informed perspectives on destinations around the globe. While known primarily for its 600+ travel guidebooks published in 15 languages, Lonely Planet also offers an award-winning website, photographic image library, television production and distribution and digital travel content licensing. With a global staff of over 400, Lonely Planet is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, and has regional offices in Paris, London and the San Francisco Bay Area. For more information about Lonely Planet, visit our website at http://www.lonelyplanet.com
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