In the book Love is the Killer App – How to win business and influence friends by Tim Sanders talks about about what it takes to be a lovecat. A lovecat is someone who isn’t afraid to be a nice person a.k.a a great human being and still be successful.
Being a lovecat isn’t just about being nice. A lovecat consists of knowledge, network and compassion.
Offer your wisdom freely. Give away your address book to everyone who wants it. And always be human.
The 10 must read books for aspiring lovecats are:
- The Experience Economy
- Corporate Religion
- The Inventor’s Dilemma
- What the CEO wants you to know
- The Tipping Point
- The Circle of Innovation
- The Art of Happiness
- Love
- Simplicity
- Leading the Revolution
Being a lovecat isn’t easy but what is the alternative?
I recently attended a showing of Hugh MacLeod’s work at a bar in New York. I had never heard of Hugh until I started using Twitter six months ago. But every since I have been a big fan of his work. If you’ve visited my site at all you’ve seen that I’ve installed his gapingvoid.com widget.
I finished reading Hugh’s book a few days ago. It’s been in my pile of “to-read” books for awhile now but I got through it in two hours. It was a great read and I highly recommend it to any one with a new idea or a creative person who doubts their abilities.
The following quote is one of many that are interspersed through Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity
Great ideas alter the power balance in relationships. That’s why good ideas are always initially resisted.
According to Hugh the book condenses as follows
Work hard
Keep at it
Live Simply and Quietly
Remain humble
Stay positive
Create your own luck
Be nice
Be polite
His advice as he mentions “isn’t rocket science” so why not give it a whirl. I got a chance to chat briefly with Hugh at the event in New York and he was nice, very gracious and even asked how the widget was working on my site. Fame doesn’t seem to have gotten to his head and over a million downloads of the manifesto that lead to his book deal don’t seem to have made him a prima donna. We should all be so lucky when we achieve success.
Follow him on Twitter @gapingvoid
I recently read My So-Called Freelance Life: How to Survive and Thrive as a Creative Professional for Hire by Michelle Goodman based upon the recommendation of a friend. I have to say I thought that after read a bunch of other books about freelancing and doing it for over 5 years I didn’t think I was going to learn a lot. Not the best attitude to have, but I read on average 5 books at once so I don’t like to start a book unless I’m going to finish it.
The guide covers everything from creating a business plan, developing a marketing strategy and dealing with clients. Most people skip creating the business plan because they think it needs to be complicated and long. Well that need not be the case. The author discusses why having a business plan is important i.e. for clarifying what you are doing, why you are doing it and also can you make a living at it.
The section on pricing in the book is worth the cost of the book. Figuring out how much to charge is one of THE biggest challenges most people face. I know I still struggle with it. I want to be fair to the client but I also need to charge what my services are worth. Someone will always want the cheapest price they can get for a job but usually I know that person is someone I am not meant to serve.
If you are new to freelancing or just need a kick in the butt to straighten out your business this book is a must read. The section about contracts is great too. If you know any good contract attorneys send them my way!
Michelle blogs at anti9to5guide.com or follow her tweets @anti9to5guide
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