Waste not, want not...

My book "The High Art and Subtle Science of Scrounging" is self-published and has met with what I'd call a good success rate. Especially considering the fact that I haven't done much in the way of advertising. I know I have to be more creative about getting it more widely known, but time is time and it has a way of running away from me. Sometimes I feel that I'm running from little fire to little fire with no time to look at the big picture.

I just finished reading Robert Kiyosaki's "Conspiracy of the Rich". He is the author of numerous books, the most famous of which is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" which is now available on-line for free.
He talks about the conspiracy of the richest people to keep the rest of us in servant mode working to get them richer and richer. He also made me realize how poor my financial training has been. Don't get me wrong I had financial training in classes and from my father, but it was just enough to stay a part of the conventional thoughts on money: study hard, get a degree, find a steady job, buy a home, have a diversified investment portfolio, plan for retirement, etc. Not that all of this is bad, but there are so many aspects more to the picture. He points out that owning a home isn't an asset, but almost always a liability...that mutual finds are not the best, nor the safest investment for a reliable retirement.

I've played with some of the ideas he talks about, some of them even before I read his books and the speed with which money came in was scary...scary enough so that I stopped doing them. Now I'm back to considering them again...I'm not talking about scams, but solid business plans that require me to get the big picture and develop a sound business plan. It is funny that I have so much knowledge about all kinds of things, but haven't harnessed the tools to make that knowledge pay for itself. I can write well enough for people to be interested in buying what I write...the trick doesn't end there though...in fact the writing is one of the smallest parts of the profit building formula. The idea is to turn the book(s) into assets by putting them on a kind of
autopilot- Don't get me wrong here, I love getting the cash and checks for $25 in the mail- it is a great motivator to continue to keep writing, but I have to consider other options...
getting the book out as an interactive book on the internet is the next step. I had always intended on writing a sequel or expanded version and have offered free copies of the new version to people that have good scrounging stories to add to the chapters. That offer will still stand.

Now I have to learn how to get the book on line....

The same could be done with my deep well hand pump plans and kits....my golf cart home emergency power supply system and a lot of other good ideas that should be available to people.
Bill W. gave me a copy of Guerrilla Marketing that I have let languish on my shelf for too long. Time to reeducate myself...How does that quote go? "If you keep doing the same thing over and over again and expecting things to change then you really are crazy!"

I am now reading reader comments to this blogsite. Please feel free to write a comment or suggestion or even an addition to my scrounging book. I promise to look and probably respond!