How to Survive the Recession ( and any other life crisis )

I spent last night reading the new book by Maple Ridge author, Jason Gallant.  By morning ( I"m a slow reader) I realized that I had just read something that millions around the world could use to alleviate the pain of financial failure during the next couple decades.*  The title of the book is Awakening with Arathi Ma , which is a strange title to have featured and reviewed in a blog dedicated to personal finance and income opportunities.  But it actually gave me the answers to some of the hardest questions you have sent to me.

What do you do when there simply are no income opportunities available?


Money is the foundation of who we are in our society.  Or is it?  Well, call me cynical, but the last person who told me that money wasn't everything was trying to sell me a $250 dollar course.

Money gives us comfort.  Security. Prestige.  Freedom.

Money helps the breadwinner bring home the bacon.  It helps the homemaker put food on the table.  It fills the night with vitality and laughter.  Days with hope and purpose.

Common questions such as "So what do you do?" are really code for "How much money do you make" and "How important are you?".  Money rules your life.  If you move, you need money.

So what happens when you don't have any money?


What happens when every feel good easy answer cliche that western culture dishes up, just falls flat?


You still need answers.  You still have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror with some self respect.  You need more than hollow hope.

Jason deals with all of this in an autobiographical tale which is an easy interesting read.  And despite the exotic title, it is written from a modern western cultural perspective.  There are explorations into other cultures and spiritual paths, but everything is done through the eyes of a kid from suburbia.

I've known Jason for twenty years and have always been impressed with his maverick nature.  He is a modern day embodiment of a mythological Greek hero.  Born with a charismatic personality which should have made him a natural for the stage or podium, he was also cursed with a mind which questioned everything.

Most of us accommodate a truce with truth at some point.  We make deals with the devil.  Accept reality in return for security.  Turn a blind eye when needed.  Shrug our shoulders and get on with our day.
 I think Jason is incapable of doing so.

Jason's searing perspective has kept him from adopting a persona which we see so often in the self help arena.  There are too many big toothy sun tanned faces promising us joy for only 3 easy payments of $199.  Jason's approach is more like " Buy this cheap book and read what I've been through.  I hope you will see  you are not alone and there are answers which can work for you. ( my paraphrase)".

There are answers to the financial devastation felt by many people during these times.


The painful truth is that you might be broke for some time.  It is not your fault.
How are you planning to deal with that?  How are you planning on keeping all those you love together and safe?


I'm doing some research and will be sharing some ideas in future blog posts.
In the meantime, I think that taking a few hours and reading Jason Gallant's
Awakening with Arathi Ma  will help you to work through those deep secret questions and feelings you think are yours alone.

If you are curious about Jason Gallant, you can see a bit more about him on his website:
http://jasongallant.ca/

* I've explained my view on the upcoming years in other posts.

Earn Money with your Digital Camera

There is a trend happening in the Internet Website Building industry which you can use to earn extra income.

Webmasters are adding more pictures to web pages and blog posts.  Part of this is to add interest, and another is to optimize their sites for the search engines.  The search engines want web pages to be user friendly, so webmasters are scurrying around looking for suitable images.

This is where you can earn extra income with your digital camera.  Not a professional photographer?  That is not a problem (or an excuse).

........

Update Feb 2013: You will see that there are two posts on my blog about making money with digital cameras.  This post is my first look at the issue.  What you DON"T see are the other programs I was evaluating.  I erased them because, after careful scrutiny,  they just didn't make the cut.
..........

Can you take your camera and shoot a pic of a doorknob?  Can you save that pic to your computer?  Can you open a website in your browser and create an account?  Find that pic in a folder on your computer? Click "upload now" on the website?  Well, congrats.  You have the necessary technical skills to be a professional digital image photographer.  I'm talking about "professional" as in Getting Paid Money for your pictures.  The guy with the super computer and Adobe Photoshop may have the toys, but in the end it's the money that counts.

It turns out that webmasters are looking for all sorts of photographic images.  And they are staring right at you all day.  Webmasters want generic images they can use to match content.

Your doorknob could be used in an offer such as "Open the door to this opportunity now!!!!"  Get the picture?

You can start getting ordinary pictures up and earning money in 30 days quaranteed through
The 30 Day Stock Program  which is run by Bonnie.

You can also take advantage of your vacations and turn them into cash.
The American Writer's and Artists Society has some great information on how you can do this.
Here is a link to their website that specifically deals with digital photography with a greater focus on travel pictures:  Turn Your Pictures Into Cash
 (click on that link for more info)

If you clicked on that link up above, you will have been introduced to Lori.  And yes she is a real person, fully involved in helping ordinary people earn extra income through photography.  I've been following her for a while now and have been amazed at the information I have been given.  WAY OVER and ABOVE what I expected.

(confession time:  I took a course through a local university a while ago, and came away so discouraged that I gave up on even trying anything related to travel writing or photography.  It wasn't until months later I realized the instructor had NO INTEREST in helping us succeed.  He saw us as competition. He was full of scarcity thinking and made everything seem over complicated.  Lori is the complete opposite. )

THERE ARE OVER 127 MILLION ACTIVE WEBSITES ON THE INTERNET AS OF THIS WRITING.

Webmasters are looking for every kind of image you can imagine.

If you took a look at that link, you probably noticed that they started off by telling you about the opportunities in Travel Photography.  I guess that is to appeal to the romantic fantasies people have about selling pictures.  BUT, did you scroll down a bit and see how you can use your back yard as a GOLD MINE?

Start looking very closely at the websites you visit and you will see what I mean.  You just haven't noticed it before.  As a webmaster, I can do more with a picture of a coffee cup than one of the Taj Mahal.

OK.....you have a digital camera ( no, not that thing on your cell phone...)

SO what do you do now?

How do you use that doorknob pic and actually make money with it?  And how much can you make?

Honestly?  That pic will probably net you under 50 cents.  But so what?  How many images can your camera's memory card hold?  I have an old camera and it holds 200.  Does $100 interest you?  And that is just if someone buys each picture once.

When you put your digital images on the marketplace they can be bought over and over....forever.

Yes it takes work and it takes some strategy, and it takes knowledge of what to sell where.

This is where Lori's information comes in:
Turn Your Pictures into Cash

If you use that link you will find out about ordinary people making money using their cameras. And yes there is a course offered ( as in instantly downloadable to get started RIGHT NOW) and a newsletter.
It costs as much as a family lunch at McDonalds.

Take a good look at that page and think a bit.  Really think.

Things change fast on the Internet.

This way you get information that is right up to date and notice of anything that changes in the market place.

I like the concept and am passing this on to you.
It takes me hours to write a good article.  It takes a few seconds to a capture a photo if you are ready and know what to look for.

Who knows, I may be buying one of your digital stock photos soon.

Good luck out there!
Colin