Grim Reading, Crucial Choices on Energy

By Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson,
Authors of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

You know you're in for a bout of grim reading when the international agency charged with worrying about how we power the planet starts off its fact sheet with a question like this: "Why is our current energy pathway unsustainable?"

That's the message from the International Energy Agency, which issued its World Energy Outlook report earlier this month, the organizations' annual examination of the big picture. That picture itself hasn't changed all that much. The fundamental challenge is still to meet surging worldwide demand for energy, while at the same time coming up with ways to avoid global warming and keep energy relatively affordable.

Basically, the IEA says everything depends on whether or not world leaders get serious about climate change, very soon.

Chances are you've never heard of the IEA which was founded during the 1973-74 oil crisis to "coordinate measures in times of oil supply emergencies." Now IEA serves as an energy analyst, advisor, and think tank for 28 member countries -- the United States and European countries mainly, but also including countries like Japan, South Korea, and Turkey. While the agency has enormous influence among policymakers, it barely registers with the public. And despite the IEA's wonky tone and elite audience, the report has one great strength when it comes to getting the public involved: it focuses on choices and alternatives.

Here what IEA lays out in its 2009 report card:

• If we do nothing, then worldwide energy demand is projected to soar by 40 percent by 2030. The vast majority of that increase is going to come in the developing world, as people in China, India and throughout Asia see their standard of living rise. Even keeping up with that demand would require investing another $26 trillion. And unless things change, most of that energy is going to come from fossil fuels, which means "dire consequences for climate change" and air pollution, the IEA said.

• On the other hand, if world leaders committed to fighting climate change increased energy efficiency, greater use of renewable energy, and policies like cap-and-trade or carbon taxes designed to discourage use of carbon-emitting fuels, that would cost another $10.5 trillion (on top of the $26 trillion). But energy demand growth could be cut in half, and greenhouse gases would decline.

The world has decisions to make about energy, and of course, so does the United States. Everything we've learned about how people get engaged in policy decisions shows that laying out choices and being honest and clear about the pros and cons is essential -- not to mention being the right thing to do in a democratic society.

In the energy and environment arena, the choices are far from perfect, but then that's pretty typical with major public policy issues. As we've been pointing out lately, this country's choices on energy and the environment are a lot better than our choices on, for example, Afghanistan.

Changing the way we use energy will cost money and force adaptations that many of us would not choose, given our druthers. But we also have to face that sticking with the status quo will also cost money, and we could well have change forced on us by tight energy supplies and growing environmental destruction. Continuing to rely on the world's default setting on energy -- fossil fuels -- is just not going to work.

World leaders, deadlocked on many of the details, are increasingly trying to lower expectations for the big climate conference in Copenhagen next month. But delay is only valuable if it helps break the deadlock later on. The choices are ours to make, and time is running short to make them.

©2009 Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson, authors of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

Author Bios
Scott Bittle, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is executive editor of PublicAgenda.org, where he has prepared citizen guides on more than twenty major issues including the federal budget deficit, Social Security, and the economy. He is also the website director for Planet Forward, an innovative PBS program designed to bring citizen voices to the energy debate.

Jean Johnson, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is co-founder of PublicAgenda.org, and has written articles and op-eds for USA Today, Education Week, School Board News, Educational Leadership, and the Huffington Post Website.

For additional energy resources and supplemental material, please visit www.whoturnedoutthelights.org

Whisperings

By J.R. Parrish,
Author of You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making it in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates

Some people can see at a glance what others cannot see with microscope and telescope. This article is for parents and it is a whispering. Whisperings are subtle, quiet and hardly noticeable, but they are very important. Some people notice when the breeze picks up or a few raindrops fall, while others don't pay attention until they are hit by a hurricane or flood.

The reason I wrote You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way was to help young adults who wanted to get ahead in life by teaching them four of life's most important lessons for success that are still not taught in school. As time has passed I have realized that the real audience for the book should be their parents. Since parents were not taught these things in school they cannot teach it to their children and that is where the learning process begins.

As a parent you may be thinking, "What is it that I was not taught?" You were not taught the power of your thoughts and that your entire future would depend on how you think. You were not taught what to think and why. You were not taught that your thoughts are your preview of your life's coming attractions and never to think anything about yourself that you don't want to be true. That how you think is a habit. That good habits are the key to all success and bad habits are the unlocked door to failure. That most habits are formed without your realizing it. The habits that would lead to your success and the ones that would cause you to fail and how to acquire the right ones and eliminate the bad ones. That 80% of your success would depend on your human relations skills. What makes up those skills and how to acquire them. The greatest need of every man, woman, and child on the face of the earth after they have food, clothing and shelter. (If you knew the greatest need of everyone think how easy it would become to win with them). That you have an abundance of what other people want and yet share very little of it and why. That the "Golden Rule" is not the best rule. People do not want to be treated the way you want to be treated, they want to be treated the way THEY want to be treated. One of the worst mistakes we make is thinking others want to be treated the same as us. The six step process that will allow you to make your dreams come true. That people who feel sorry for themselves should. The root of anger and how to eliminate it from your life. The "Better World Theory". How to choose the drivers seat rather than the passenger seat in life. That it is not your circumstances that determine your future.

I could go on, but by now I hope you can hear the whispering and want to learn these things so you can teach them to your children and those you love and want to help. This will be one of the best gifts you can give yourself and your child or loved one. It will help you and them succeed in every aspect of life and achieve more than you ever thought possible. If learning these things could take me from milkman to top salesman for a Fortune 500 company, to founder of one of the most successful commercial real estate firms in Silicon Valley, to retirement in Hawaii at age 55, imagine what it can do for you.

©2009 J.R. Parrish, author of You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making it in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates

Author Bio
J.R. Parrish, author of You Don't Have to Learn the Hard Way: Making it in the Real World: A Guide for Graduates, went from being a milkman to a multimillionaire. In 1974, he founded J. R. Parrish Inc., a commercial real estate company in Silicon Valley. He ran the company based on the premise that to succeed in life, you must treat people with fairness and respect, a premise that not only won him friends, but made him a fortune. J.R. spent the next 25 years studying and teaching his employees and brokers about human relations. The company grew to be a huge success and one of the premier real estate brokerage firms in Silicon Valley. J.R. retired in 1999. Today, he and his wife Lisa live in one of the most idyllic spots in the Hawaiian Islands, on their own coffee plantation. He continues to support the ideals he believes in through his foundation.

For more information please visit www.parrishonline.com

Why I Love A Bad Economy

Why I Love a Bad Economy
By Jay Abraham,
Author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

I love a bad economy.

Not because of the pain it causes. Far from it. A lot of people and industries are suffering as never before, and there's nothing positive about that. Instead, I see the silver lining to an economic slowdown like the one we're experiencing today.

When you move beyond worry and fear, you'll discover that areas of growth are actually more plentiful than they are during boom times.

In a bad economy, you can walk all over your competition, lap the field, run circles -- you pick the metaphor. The main thing is that you can win easily . . . if you know how to benefit from bad times. Everyone else is dropping out of the race, and you're seeing the checkered flag. You're looking forward, and everyone else is looking backwards. They're terrified, and you're making a fortune. You're seeing opportunities and overlooked markets, transactions, and areas of thinking that no one else saw in good times, so they certainly won't see them in times of financial struggle.

Anyone can show you how to succeed when all the indicators are up. But I'm going to show you how to succeed as never before . . . when the nation's and the world's financial picture looks bleak. In this article, I'll give you three ways to think about increasing your success right now.

1. Wave Goodbye To Former Competitors

As a business owner or professional, you should be anything but fearful in a bad economy or a recessionary period. In a good market, almost all anybody has to do is suit up and wait for business to arrive at the doorstep. In spite of all your competitors' ineptitudes and flaws, they will still grow along with the climbing economic trend.

But in a bad economy, these people become paralyzed. The music stops, and they don't know what to do. They retreat. They stagnate. Such businesses are like hang gliders or hot air balloons. Once they get moving, they can go for hours. But when they find themselves buffeted by changes in air pressure beyond their control, their crash landings are scary to watch.

2. While Your Competitors Are Struggling To Survive, You're Planning To Grow

A handful of businesses actually become strategic during hard times. By taking on a growth-minded strategy, these businesses capture the vast majority of new clients in the market -- people who weren't already buyers or who weren't ready to move forward, or perhaps those who didn't have the need for a given product or service before. But even more important, strategically minded companies will capture -- "steal" in an ethical manner, if you will -- 15-20% of the best buyers from all of their competitors.

So if you're attracting all the new buyers in your market and you're appropriating, say, 15-20% of the best, most profitable, and most repetitive buyers from half a dozen of your competitors, you're doubling what you might have done even in an up market.

3. Find Your Business's (eX) Factors

In addition, every business has at its disposal 20 to 50 or more highly "upside-leveragable" impact points -- or (eX) factors. These (eX) factors can create exponential income if you recognize them and harness them. They make people more likely to call you or go to your website. They make it easier for you to close sales and deals. They turn one-time buyers into clients who buy every quarter, and they turn non-buyers into people who buy something. These are the surprisingly, even embarrassingly, simple things you can do to bring in more prospects, more sales, more profit, more conversions, more markets, and more ways to start and sustain a relationship.

If your business has 50 such (eX) factors in it and you increase your effectiveness in, say, just 10 of those leverage areas, you will be poised not just for survival in challenging economic times but in fact to thrive as never before.

These are three reasons why you can learn to love recessions. You can have your best years while those around you are facing disaster. You'll come out of this downturn stronger, more prosperous, and poised to grow faster than you ever hoped, or even imagined, if you hold the mindset that you actually have less competition than you think and more clients waiting to be served.

©2009 Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

Author Bio
Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times, is founder and CEO of Abraham Group, Inc., in Los Angeles, California and has spent the last twenty-five years solving problems and significantly increasing the bottom lines for over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries worldwide. Jay has won high praise as a marketing genius in USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, OTC Stock Journal, National Underwriter, Entrepreneur, Success, Inc., and many other publications. Jay's clients range from business royalty to small business owners, many of whom acknowledge that his efforts and ideas have led to an increase in profits ranging into the millions of dollars. He lives in Los Angeles.

Learn more about Jay Abraham at www.abraham.com

Why Aren't They Buying From You?

Why Aren't They Buying From You? 

By Jay Abraham,
Author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

Every business faces the vexing problem of why clients aren’t buying from them . . . as much, as quickly, or at all. The question of why they aren't buying is even more critical in a down economy like this. Face the question and thrive; ignore it and your business's future is bleak. So how do you go about finding out why they aren't buying?

The answer is simpler than you might think.

You ask them.

And then you use the information they give you to craft your responses to their concerns.

Stop being afraid of your customers and prospects. Recognize the power inherent in asking them questions. Your M.D. isn't afraid to ask you questions about your health, and can't diagnose you properly without the full picture. So shift your mindset from supplicant to physician and ask -- respectfully and thoughtfully -- every question you need in order to understand your client's situation. Your client will respect you for it!

When you know why they won't buy, you can craft your presentations to achieve one of the most important goals for any business: preemption. Preemption means that you demonstrate, by word, attitude and deed, that there is no one else in your field who can possibly serve clients as well, as thoroughly, and as confidently, as you. If your current selling strategy is not rooted in preemption, now's the time to make that critical shift.

Let me share with you the strategy of preemption in action.

My friend Bradley enjoys a successful career training investors in making money in real estate. His marketplace is flooded with competitors, even today, when the real estate market is in the doldrums. When prospects ask him how he differs from a well-known competitor in his niche, Bradley's reply is rooted in the strategy of preemption -- and based on his research as to why some prospects weren't choosing him in the past. Today he tells prospects the following:

"My competitor is very good at what he does. But I approach your fate and financial path with a much greater commitment to getting you there quickly, easily, safely, enjoyably, and more predictably than any of my competitors do. I protect your downside better, multiply your upside more, and show you more ethical short-cuts, quick fixes and fast-track strategies that you can use."

By describing himself in this way, Bradley is preempting everyone else.

One of the best preemptive methods is to work candidly with your prospect to compile a pros-and-cons list. Have your prospective client draw up a list with the name of your product or service placed alongside two alternative options that he or she is considering. The rest is easy: Show how you're the optimal choice. After following the steps to preeminence we just considered, you can handle this task with confidence and clarity, because you know you're the best option. Business is a science and, as such, works much like the biomechanics of athletic performance: If somethings not working, it's usually due to a functional problem that can be corrected. But you'll never even get a shot at correcting it if you allow your competitors to preempt you.

So, how do you preempt your competition? You can accomplish this by taking the following steps:

1. First, preempt any concern that's holding back your client by acknowledging that concern and overcoming it. Think about Bradley, the real-estate trainer I just mentioned. He starts by acknowledging the distinctions between him and his main competitor. Then he explains exactly what he can do that she can't.

2. Second, preempt your client's lack of confidence in the outcome by clearly stating your certainty in the plan and describing what the steps and results will be like and how you will deliver a better desired outcome for your client. In much the same way, Bradley puts an emphasis on the predictability of his approach and describes for his clients his process for protecting their downside.

3. Third, if your client does not perceive the advantages inherent in working with you, preempt this tendency by helping him establish specific buying criteria, including value-added follow-up or transactional additions such as products or services. This is the clincher, as Bradley has demonstrated. After eliminating risk for his client, he goes on to describe the benefits he provides. What he offers is not a simple transaction but a value-added transaction.

There's serious money to be made, even in a down market like this one. If you know how to preempt the field, the sales, the income, and the pleasure of serving others will be yours, all yours.

©2009 Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

Author Bio
Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times, is founder and CEO of Abraham Group, Inc., in Los Angeles, California and has spent the last twenty-five years solving problems and significantly increasing the bottom lines for over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries worldwide. Jay has won high praise as a marketing genius in USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, OTC Stock Journal, National Underwriter, Entrepreneur, Success, Inc., and many other publications. Jay's clients range from business royalty to small business owners, many of whom acknowledge that his efforts and ideas have led to an increase in profits ranging into the millions of dollars. He lives in Los Angeles.

Learn more about Jay Abraham at www.abraham.com

Are You Truly Maximizing?

Are You Truly Maximizing?
By Jay Abraham,
Author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

Are you making the best possible use of everything you've got?

Are you getting the best return on everything you're investing in your business -- your money, your effort, and above all, your time?

Everybody knows at least one highly productive person, someone for whom there seems to be more than 24 hours in a day. This person is 10 times more productive than her competitor because she understands the concept of highest and best use. It's a rather simple -- yet inarguable -- concept. Use your time, and everything else you invest, to produce the greatest strategic, long-term pay-off.

Most businesspeople fail to view time expenditure the same way they view all other expenditures in their lives -- even though time, opportunity cost, and effort are the 3 most precious, intangible assets you possess. Instead, most people waste time on unimportant things when they could be investing it in their strategy. As a result, they miss out on valuable opportunities to grow and expand their business. Most people just don't make the highest and best use of what they've got. Fortunately, you no longer have to count yourself among their ranks.

If you're not practicing the concept of highest and best use, you're sacrificing your potential, your profits, and your future -- and most businesspeople are. So let's talk about how to optimize the highest and best use, not just of your time, but of your relationships, opportunities, activities, and the money your business spends.

The Secret of the Highest and Best Use of Your Time and Talents

The concept of highest and best use is deceptively easy. Just use your time and your talents to the maximum potential -- simple, right?

And yet, most of the world fails to do it. For starters, most people don't have a clue which items on their to-do list actually qualify as "highest" and "best." If you're thinking to yourself, "Hmmm. I'm not sure I do, either," you might be working at as little as a third or less of your capacity, because you're spending time on tasks that are far less important or result in much smaller payoff. That's a lot of efficiency you can't stand to lose!

Let's try an exercise right now that will help you identify your "highest and best." Start by writing down the 3 most critical tasks you're paid by your business to do. Then break down those 3 tasks into sub-tasks, for which there are usually as many as 7. Then give each of those sub-tasks 3 different values based on their relevancy, your competency, and your true passion for doing them.

Now it's time to review what you've come up with. If the task is not relevant but you're competent at it, it's a waste of your time. If your competency in a particular task is less than average, then you're not the most efficient person for the job, which means it's a huge expenditure of energy and, again, a waste of your time. For example, why should you review every employee's time card, if doing so eats up half your day? I'm not saying the time cards shouldn't be reviewed, but you shouldn't be the one reviewing them first. Get someone else to do the heavy lifting, then spot-check review or audit their work. (We'll solve the problem of just who should be doing the heavy lifting in a minute.)

What this exercise will help you do is determine which tasks you should permanently remove from your to-do list, so that you can put yourself into the geometric power position that brings the greatest yield. Whatever your tasks and subtasks may be, it's imperative that you're working on the most important tasks for you. Here's the bottom line:

Anything that isn't relevant, that you're not competent in, or that you're not completely passionate about should be delegated to somebody else.

This is true even if it means you need 10 people doing the same job 80% as well as you. That's still 8 times greater efficiency and results, rather than doing 100% of the job yourself. It frees you up to focus your most precious assets -- your time, energy, and opportunity costs -- on the things that matter most and that deliver the most meaningful, ongoing results.

If you'll quit trying to raise your weaknesses up to the level of mediocrity and instead do only the things that you do best while delegating everything else, you'll get the best possible return on your investment of time in your business. You'll make more money, and you'll have a lot more fun.

©2009 Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times

Author Bio
Jay Abraham, author of The Sticking Point Solution: 9 Ways to Move Your Business From Stagnation to Stunning Growth In Tough Economic Times, is founder and CEO of Abraham Group, Inc., in Los Angeles, California and has spent the last twenty-five years solving problems and significantly increasing the bottom lines for over 10,000 clients in more than 400 industries worldwide. Jay has won high praise as a marketing genius in USA Today, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, OTC Stock Journal, National Underwriter, Entrepreneur, Success, Inc., and many other publications. Jay's clients range from business royalty to small business owners, many of whom acknowledge that his efforts and ideas have led to an increase in profits ranging into the millions of dollars. He lives in Los Angeles.

Learn more about Jay Abraham at www.abraham.com

Writing with Four Hands

Writing with Four Hands
By Logan and Noah Miller,
Authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

When shooting a movie, every faculty is humming at its highest frequency. You don't sleep. It's intoxicating. You're operating on the edge of delirium and grandiose promises of immortality. You think that if you do everything right the gift of the gods is attainable. And then it ends. And there you are each morning. Alone again.
We were left with an emotional hangover after we finished directing "Touching Home," a movie about us and our father. Less than a year earlier our father had passed away in jail. On that day, we had made a vow to him that we would make our movie -- and we had just realized that commitment. We were supposed to be happy now. But we were miserable. For the last 350 days all our thoughts had been on the mission, the team of people we were working with. Now our thoughts were focused inward and it was a tough place to be.

But the torment wasn't enough . . .
So we decided to dive into another long-shot mission: Write a book about our movie making hell-ride.
Where would we find the time? After all, we were still making the movie -- post-production, editing. We searched for days. And then found it in the sleeping patterns of our editor, Academy Award nominee Robert Dalva.
You see, Robert is a night man. Not a party man, just a guy that goes to bed late. We are morning men -- we go to bed early and rise early, like man before electricity. Robert showed up at our house each day at 11am, where we were cutting picture downstairs. This gave us several hours to write each morning before he showed up.
And we write with four hands, which sometimes takes twice as long.

One man types while the other writes freehand. Then we blend it. We only have one computer so space and time are limited. Logan is the typer and Noah is the hand writer. And it's never pretty. One bro furiously smashing plastic squares, the other furiously carving ink onto paper. Later, the two are brought together in a clash of abusive language, each brother claiming the other is bipolar, illegitimate, the bastard son of an entire city. That their mother sang lullabies to one and terrible songs to the other. That his diaper was rarely changed and it ruined his brain. That he has written absolute tripe. That it belongs in the trash heap of failed street poets. We yell and scream. We throw chairs and hot cups of coffee. Punch holes in the sheet rock . . . And somehow, before Robert arrived, we had embedded words into the memory of our computer.

Writing the book brought back the excitement, allowed us to relive the boom and noise, the chaos and uncertainty. It unleashed the dopamine gush, washed the drug over the brain, gave us another goal.
We started writing in mid-April 2007 and had an ugly draft by October. We cut through it with a chainsaw and by February 2008 it was prettier and ready to product test. We gave the draft to a few trusted friends, one of them being National Bestselling author, Tess Uriza Holthe. Tess and the crew liked the manuscript -- and they are a very tough bunch. Tess gave the manuscript to her agent, Mary Ann Naples. It was an unpleasant week, the mental sauna -- the self-inflicted victimization that all writers suffer when waiting to hear what an agent thinks of their work. It gives you the stomach jungle; hot rivers, chimps, and hairy insects howling in your gut. Then Mary Ann called and said that she really liked our manuscript and our temperature left the tropics. She gave us some notes, we went back into the manuscript, smoothed out some things, and then it was ready to send to publishers.

Matthew Benjamin, an editor at Collins Publishing Group, read our manuscript the morning it was sent out and then tossed it up the ladder to the President of Collins, Steven Ross, who took it home that night. The following day they made us an offer -- and we took it. They were extremely enthusiastic about our book and we were equally enthusiastic about being paid. It had taken us nearly ten years of writing diligently, working one mindless job after another, to finally get a paycheck for mental work. It was time to move on from Top Ramen. Of course, we'll revisit the noodle delicacy, but out of choice, rather than necessity.

So we signed the contract with Collins and began working with Matthew on turning the book into something the entire world would appreciate -- another delusion. And now we're done. We wrote the Acknowledgments last week.
It was our intention to make a movie, not write a book. By accident, we did both.

And now we're here. Wherever that is. Somewhere between obscurity and the rocket ride.
©2009 Logan and Noah Miller, authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

Author Bio
Logan and Noah Miller, identical twins, and authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father, were raised as roofers in northern California, dreamt of being baseball stars. When that dream failed, they found professional success as bingo callers. Always staying together, the brothers were briefly suckered into the world of modeling, somehow avoided the circus, and finally, with 17 credit cards, pursued a career in filmmaking. In 2006, the brothers were awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and their screenwriting, directorial, and acting debut Touching Home premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April of 2008. They live in northern California and hold no degrees.
For more information on Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father please visit http://www.inorintheway.com/

Seven Thoughts on Our First Hell-Ride Through Filmmaking

Seven Thoughts on Our First Hell-Ride Through Filmmaking
By Logan and Noah Miller,
Authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father

What follows was written from the IGNORANCE of having only produced and directed one film, and the ARROGANCE of having only produced and directed one film.
1. Every day is the Cuban Missile Crisis: Your world could blow up.
Shooting an independent film is a radioactive adventure more volatile than a drunken dictator scratching his back with the nuclear joystick. At any moment the entire project could get really TOASTY. Why? Because making a movie is an interdependent relationship in which everyone and everything depends on the other thing. If an actor has a nervous breakdown, the grip truck gets a blow out, the cops stumble upon your guerrilla flamethrower scene in downtown Los Angeles, the caterer leaves the mayonnaise sandwiches in the sun all afternoon, or your financier drops out a week from shooting because his wife catches him in the clubhouse sauna with Reggie the golf pro -- if any of these realistic scenarios occur -- you’ll be forced to reestablish peace in an apocalyptic wasteland. And, as every Sunday school student knows, an apocalypse is always bad.
2. Surround yourself with gray hair and listen.
Making movies is team art. So why not assemble the most experienced team possible? And those with gray hair tend to have more experience than those without. Sure, some people color their hair. And sure, not everybody goes gray. And sure, some rookies have gray hair. But the odds are that if they have gray hair and were working in the movie business prior to the Just For Men craze, then they have much wisdom to impart. You'll do yourself and your audience a tremendous service if you're open to gray-haired advice as you tackle the greatest headache of your life. If you choose not to listen to the sages, then by all means, reinvent the wheel and see if it rolls.
3. Never wait for a phone call.
Phones never ring when you stare at them. We're not sure why, but we think it violates the second or third law of communication. In order to make your movie you're going to have to make thousands of phone calls. And if you leave a message and wait for that person to call you back -- you're better off waiting for the cow to jump over the moon. At first, nobody is going to care about your dream but you. Nobody. Of course, you want to give people a reasonable amount of time to call you back, say, a half hour or so. Make the phone your friend and dial your future.
4. Stay relentless. Rely on no one.
Have you ever seen a sled dog mush? They run and run with no idea where they're going or why their tongue is hanging out their mouth -- just a destination somewhere on the other side of the blizzard. If you're not relentless, you'll never leave the blizzard and your movie will never get made. So be the sled dog -- and MUSH ON!
5. There are only solutions.
This could easily be titled "there are only problems." But where would that get us? Frustrated, hopeless, and drunk. So we need to find a way. No matter what. We've postponed our lives, our wives and husbands and children, our friends and family, ruined our credit and exhausted our savings in pursuit of our dream. So we must find the solution in every problem, and they are constant. If you focus on the difficulty instead of a way out, then you'll fail to make your movie. There's always a solution.  
6. Spend the financier's money as if it were your own: Don't be a scumbag.
Karma comes to mind on this one. But let's say you don't believe in that spiritual quackery. Fine. You'll still want to conserve your budget and spend it on the important stuff -- what's on screen, rather than sushi dinners and a drop-top with twenty inch rims. You've starved for years so the temptation to spend a little on yourself and your friends will be there. But don't rationalize the wasting of some rich person's money. This money is for you to make the best movie possible. Your movie will last forever; the sushi will last a couple hours, and the car, depending on your driving skills, will either be crashed, stolen, or repossessed. You want to establish trust with your financier. You may need to go back to them for more financing along the way. You also want to make another movie. And if you scrupulously spend your budget you'll not only make a better movie but you'll also show future investors your extraordinary ability to make a lot from a little. More importantly, you won't be a scumbag. And if you're lucky, you might get some good karma.
7. Either you're in or you're in the way.
Don't waste time trying to convert everyone. You're a filmmaker, not Jesus Christ. You don't need to walk across water to get people on your team. There is no need to enter a lengthy debate with those who don't believe in your objective. Thank them for their opinion and move on. Find the believers and spend your time with them. Your time is all you have and you'll need all of it to make your movie.
©2009 Logan and Noah Miller, authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father
Author Bio
Logan and Noah Miller, identical twins, and authors of Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father, were raised as roofers in northern California, dreamt of being baseball stars. When that dream failed, they found professional success as bingo callers. Always staying together, the brothers were briefly suckered into the world of modeling, somehow avoided the circus, and finally, with 17 credit cards, pursued a career in filmmaking. In 2006, the brothers were awarded the Panavision New Filmmaker Grant, and their screenwriting, directorial, and acting debut Touching Home premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April of 2008. They live in northern California and hold no degrees.
For more information on Either You're in or You're in the Way: Two Brothers, Twelve Months, and One Filmmaking Hell-Ride to Keep a Promise to Their Father please visit http://www.inorintheway.com/

A New Brain Training Method

A New Brain Training Method
By Dr. Ryuta Kawashima,
Author of Train Your Brain More: 60 Days to a Better Brain: Better Brainpower, Better Memory, Better Creativity

I have found a training method for not decreasing the function of brain, by using "Brain function imaging device", such as functional MRI using magnetism and optical topography using near- infrared without giving harm to human body.

The method I have found is to repeat "Simple calculation" and "Oral reading".

I have realized through my research that various areas of both the right brain and left brain work much actively when people solve easy calculation problems that are smoothly solved, or when people read books or newspapers aloud, rather than when they  solve complicated, difficult problems.

In a word, it became evident from various data that these two methods are effective to activate our brain function.

I think you’ve been realizing that, as we become older, our brain becomes weaker just like our body function does in our daily lives.
Certainly, our brain function gradually weakens just as bodies do, after passing youth age of twenties.

However, just as same as rapid decrease in physical strength and muscular power can be prevented by walking and physical training, we can prevent rapid decrease of our brain functions by actively using them every day.

This book is organized based on my research. It is not aimed to guide readers to certain high levels, but aims to have anyone repeat easy calculations which can be solved smoothly.

You are requested to solve the easy calculations as fast as you can, while measuring time. The faster you would be able to, the better brain functions would work.

However, the most important thing is to keep the practice. Obtaining a habit to keep on  using your brain is what I advocate as "The method for keeping your brain healthy".

It is not necessary to work long per time, but please keep working every day.


Copyright © 2009 Dr. Ryuta Kawashima author of Train Your Brain More: 60 Days to a Better Brain: Better Brainpower, Better Memory, Better Creativity

Author Bio
Dr. Ryuta Kawashima, author of Train Your Brain More: 60 Days to a Better Brain: Better Brainpower, Better Memory, Better Creativity, is Professor of Neuroscience and head of the Functional Brain Imaging Center at Tohuku University. His successful research, especially with Alzheimer's patients, is revolutionizing health care around the world. His first book, Train Your Brain sold 1.2 million copies in Japan and he is the hero of Nintendo's hugely successful game BRAIN AGE.