So, how do we make our own luck? Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is through personal experience: In mid-1997 I had been a self-employed journalist and PR consultant for five years but I needed a break. Thankfully, I’d made enough money to take a year out and I...
Napoleon Bonaparte is widely recognised as a military genius but in recent years, he has become a role model for people who are intent on getting rich and building corporate empires. To authors of business self-help books, Napoleon offers plenty of material: he was a...
The previous blog entry listed nine basic principles and general rules of effective writing. If you can master punctuation, and erase text talk and the inappropriate use of capital letters, you will be taken much more seriously by your readers. And, if you...
The letters on your computer keyboard can be used in an almost infinite number of permutations and combinations to create just about anything. From the works of Shakespeare to a dense scientific tome; from a heart-warming love song to the instruction manual of a...
Creative people have every reason to object if anyone tries to impose restrictions on what they can and cannot say, write, read, sing or play. Freedom of expression is a fundamental pillar of a creative person’s life, but whatever your specialism, there are...
There was a time when virtually everyone believed the earth was flat. But this unanimity did not mean that it was. The same principle applies to the idea that marketing yourself through social media and other on-line means somehow replaces ‘old school’ methods. Many...
The last couple of decades have seen a succession of new technologies that have helped creative professionals market their services. First, there were email and websites. Then came Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and as sure as night follows day, there will be another...
Whether you are a musician, actor, writer or journalist, work tends to arrive in fits and starts: such is the chaotic nature of freelancing. Only rarely will you enjoy a steady, predictable flow of jobs, and the variability of freelance work will inevitably have an...
