Tired of your job? Ways to make money.

[Mikey]

This milliondollarshomepage idea is AMAZING!!! Good ideas always seem to be the easy ones which do not look promising at the beginning.

If we really want to start something, I think we would have to form interest/competence groups. e.g. computer graphics, computer programming, physics (electronics, mechanics, ...), business administration, law, project management, writing, public relations, networkers, translators, etc., and most importantly visionary. Maybe starting different topics for discussion would help. It would have to be done in a coordinated way with brainstorming at the beginning (lots of "stupid" but easy ideas, like the milliondollarshomepage).

Or is this already too complicated or infeasible or unwanted by SotT?

I am really just waiting for someting interesting to work on here... :) This forum and the people behind the screens can form a HUGE potential, if it is not already.

Edit: Are there other people currently jumping on the milliondollarshomepage idea? I guess we will have thousands instances of it in the near future... But it would nevertheless be a good idea with approximately ZERO effort!!!

 

[Rich]

good idea. Seeing as you mention bush you could generate a large full screen image of him with a faint double behind as a reminder. each dollar could remove a pixel that make up the image. add a catch line such as: "your one dollar will help Bush disappear. It won't solve all the worlds problems at once but it is a step in the right direction." or similar
or some other way of adding interactivity - each contribution slowly pushes Bush towards: oblivion, implosion, a cliff, etc or morphs the face to the devil/hitler.
or each dollar could find any remaining particles of Bush's concience/soul at the end of course there would be none.
interactive tie to the constantly increasing cost of the war in iraq? or disparity in wealth etc,, just some thoughts

 

[ScioAgapeOmnis]

Staring at that million dollar homepage I kept thinking "I can't believe that worked and how easy that was". In other words, whatever assumptions we hold about how something is "stupid" and can't possibly work, should be seriously questioned. Or the assumption that "oh somebody must've already tried it and failed, it's way too simple for someone not to have already thought of it" etc.

One thing that can help our brainstorming - if we can gather into this thread more sites like that million dollar homepage, that were simple and brilliant and made money in "surprising" ways. Sites that go against our conditioned assumptions about what's a good or a bad idea, assumptions that limit us and prevent us from trying new things, assumptions that are conditioned into us by the very system that wants us to get a "normal job". I think the problem we need to deal with is our undeveloped emotional center. I think this is what gives us the fuel, the engine - it is the will and the drive that pushes us forward on our chosen path. A big train and a detailed map of how to get somewhere is not enough, you need the engine to move the train.

So we need to be motivated. Most of us can't consistently get this motivation from our higher emotional center, we just haven't got the connection working well enough, we're still many "i"'s and have to struggle to fight them off just to do anything with respect to growing our essence. We need shocks, we need all the motivation we can get until we can get a permanently flowing and ultimately the most powerful source of motivation, but this comes only after having done enough Work to be able to tap into it and use it, and enough self control that comes from the Work. I'm not at that point, and I imagine many here aren't either, and I think there's nothing wrong with finding that motivation elsewhere for the time being - the lower emotional center. Get angry. Get frustrated. Get upset. Feel guilty. Whatever. If you can just proclaim that you've had enough of "wasting time", and are sick of limiting yourself, and really feel that and USE that, that would be great osit. Nike has the best slogan ever. Just Do It. Don't wait, don't put it off, don't brush it off, don't make excuses, don't rationalize. For most people, our intellectual center is more developed than our emotional, so we can probably figure out why what this group does is important, and if we can understand it, if we truly GET it intellectually, there is no excuse not to get our emotional and moving centers into gear, to put our locomotive on the track, and keep kicking it and pushing it until it grows its own engine. We know where to go and how to go, we just have difficulty actually moving due to our mechanicalness getting in the way, we're too distracted, too busy doing everything but what we know is the most important thing we can possibly do.

Like Data, I am looking for something to contribute to in this group. I signed up to help edit Cassiopedia but find myself procrastinating and putting it off, and I feel guilty and angry at myself for not having enough self-control to JUST DO IT. This group doesn't just assign you tasks, it's an open system where anybody contributes how they can, when they can, and through their own creative initiative and free will. So we might be waiting around forever. In our "normal jobs" we're used to people telling us what to do, how it should be done, giving us deadlines etc. This tends to be easier than just thinking of something to do all on our own, and creatively doing it, and pushing ourselves to be persistent and keep our eye on our self-assigned task - with nobody else to push us, just ourselves and our own motivation to get it done. This means we have to overcome our mechanicalness, we need to find motivation to keep at it, and this is not easy in the mechanical state that most of us find ourselves in.

Anyways, I am personally sick of making excuses and procrastinating. I don't know what to do, but I want to do something, and I want to do it now (or rather, as soon as possible). I noticed the worst part about working out is beginning the workout session - once it's under way it's not bad at all. But actually dropping whatever else you're doing and starting to work out, that is the hardest part, where we literally have to "overcome" a part of our mechanical selves to do it.

Right now I'm thinking something like that million dollar homepage - anybody know other similar websites on the internet that made a lot of money for a relatively little effort? If you guys wanna try selling pixels like that guy, anybody has ideas for domain names that are available and catchy? I use godaddy.com to check which domains are available. Also, any and all ideas for how it can be done, and what else we can put on that site are totally welcome. And of course, any other ideas about different sorts of projects are certainly welcome.

And if others are finding difficulty overcoming their mechanical "i"'s to really creatively contribute to the efforts of this group, please consider this a request to help one another motivate ourselves and just DO it.

A few logistics: If the money starts coming in, we gotta ensure it's not stolen by an agent, and also all the passwords/accounts need to be in safe hands. I don't know or trust everybody on this forum. I don't want to see a million dollars meant for SOTT to go into the pocket of the person that "volunteered their bank account" for this project, and then just walked off with the money never to be heard from again. So however we do this, we just gotta be sure to be smart about it and to keep sensitive data and materials safe. And we gotta ensure this is kept a creative OPEN effort - nobody is just gonna assume creative control and tell everybody else what to do or how to help. So like in the middle of this project, the holder of the passwords/money can't just change their mind and say "Nah I'll just keep the money" or "Nah I think I wanna change this website to what I want it to be, thanks for the help everyone but you're all dismissed" etc.

If it's a group project, we have to make sure it stays that way, that no deviants can corrupt or hijack it for their own purposes, etc. I think kinda like this forum or Cassiopedia etc. Somebody has to be ultimately in control, but that group/person has to be totally trustworthy. I'm thinking maybe mods or admins of this forum or something? I dunno how these logistics should be worked out, so I'm open for any and all thoughts.

 

[domi]

Right now I'm thinking something like that million dollar homepage - anybody know other similar websites on the internet that made a lot of money for a relatively little effort? If you guys wanna try selling pixels like that guy, anybody has ideas for domain names that are available and catchy? I use godaddy.com to check which domains are available. Also, any and all ideas for how it can be done, and what else we can put on that site are totally welcome. And of course, any other ideas about different sorts of projects are certainly welcome.

And if others are finding difficulty overcoming their mechanical "i"'s to really creatively contribute to the efforts of this group, please consider this a request to help one another motivate ourselves and just DO it.

How about the "1 million little I's" page: every pixel represents a litle I and with every dollar donated two little I's are fused. The end result is 1 fused I at the end.

Maybe too Gurdjieffian?

 

[vinny]

Like Data, I am looking for something to contribute to in this group. I signed up to help edit Cassiopedia but find myself procrastinating and putting it off, and I feel guilty and angry at myself for not having enough self-control to JUST DO IT. This group doesn't just assign you tasks, it's an open system where anybody contributes how they can, when they can, and through their own creative initiative and free will. So we might be waiting around forever. In our "normal jobs" we're used to people telling us what to do, how it should be done, giving us deadlines etc. This tends to be easier than just thinking of something to do all on our own, and creatively doing it, and pushing ourselves to be persistent and keep our eye on our self-assigned task - with nobody else to push us, just ourselves and our own motivation to get it done. This means we have to overcome our mechanicalness, we need to find motivation to keep at it, and this is not easy in the mechanical state that most of us find ourselves in.

and therein lies the test!

It is always exciting and motivating to start a new project. but then one hits the first 'interval', and it becomes a different matter altogether to continue. especially if what you do is not immediately visible to others, ie it doesn't get you any 'street cred'.

been round that one a few times myself ;)

I quite like what Ark said on the matter once, something along the lines of: "describe/explain yes, but first DO". (sorry Ark, if I mangled that)

 

[Rich]

If it's a group project, we have to make sure it stays that way, that no deviants can corrupt or hijack it for their own purposes, etc. I think kinda like this forum or Cassiopedia etc. Somebody has to be ultimately in control, but that group/person has to be totally trustworthy. I'm thinking maybe mods or admins of this forum or something? I dunno how these logistics should be worked out, so I'm open for any and all thoughts.

It could be a wise idea to set up a physical company that is an owned subsidiary of QFS. Initially it could be formed to work on one creative idea and follow it through using a traditional business plan model. Rather like a creative design company that may do a webcreation project for a business. What the company actually does could vary. It could be using contributors local and industry knowldege to spot forthcoming trends and produce product or service to capitalise. For instance, personal privacy is going to be an increasing issue in the future. There are already a few companies that offer private email or private webbrowsing - hushmail.com is one, you can have a free private email account that is deleted after 3 weeks if unused - or for a monthly subscription you are guranteed storage as well as other secure online products.
Simple and Successful money earners are exchanges bringing buyers and sellers together. look at estate agents for instance. Online, ebay is successful because it allows a simple platform for people to sell and people to buy. I read the next successful exchange could be music or movie exchange - the site everyone goes to download copyrighted music and movies easily and legally.
Personal safety and security are also going to be growth businesses in times of economic uncertainty. survival kits, water purification, safes will be in demand.
Ultimately the company could be like any other business, office based in a safe location employing a miriad of people sharing the same common goal.
Of course the danger is that it will detract from the work and drain energy from QFS main principals but on the plus side, by being involved in different industries it could used to spread information to great effect.

 

[Iconoclast]

We all know the Pentagon Flash. That was a brilliant idea, but what about making another flash of similar quality about a subject that would be interesting for millions (or billions) of people? Bush pops into my head right away. We could ask for a donation from those that want to help the efforts of the group responsible for that flash. This could result in more flash videos, and of course, whatever else the SOTT group has on the back burner that needs the funds to actualize.

dunno if there would be any money in it, but i have been thinking about a little documentary that explains the basic concept of psychopathy by using the scientific literature on this topic as a basis and gives examples by showing select video clips featuring the world's rulers to underscore the point. the documentary could be anywhere from 15-60 minutes long.

i don't have the video editing skills necessary, or the in-depth knowledge of the relevant literature, but i could do the on-screen graphics if needed.

spreading a well-made video like this via google video/youtube could go a long way of waking a bunch of people up.

 

[vinny]

the one thing that I detect (I may be wrong!) in some of these posts is this kind of sentiment: "well, I don't think I can manage a project on my own, but if SOTT/QFS was to do such-and-such then I could do THIS interesting/not-quite-so-impossible part of it."

ie: the kind of wishful thinking that maybe a little bit of 'leaning' on SOTT is not such a bad thing because I can at least 'help a bit'. I'm not sure that is helping. SOTT only exists because of the superhuman efforts of certain individuals to DO the impossible, and to not assume that someone ELSE could take responsibility for it. and even then, that only worked because other individuals came along, recognised the merit in this work, and added their support in personally applicable ways that they could see and could do immediately, and which did not require anything from SOTT in return.

The great thing about the 'Pentagon Strike' is that Darren just did it because he saw that it needed to be done, and he had the internal impulse and creativity to see it through to completion.

There are all kinds of efforts going on by various people round here who are just doing it - sometimes they work and sometimes they don't, and usually something is learned from the process, especially if the results are shared, but sooner or later you have to take the knowledge/awareness you currently have by the scruff of the neck, (fully understanding that it is hugely incomplete but is where you currently are, recognising one's shortcomings), and just do it.

 

[Mikey]

A big train and a detailed map of how to get somewhere is not enough, you need the engine to move the train. So we need to be motivated.

For the beginning, it is not necessary to pull a big train. That would sound really demotivating and exhaust me to no end. Could even be dangerous. I need to perceive a chance to succeed in a project in order to be motivated. And then I work through my project only it in small steps, each step a little motivating success, thereby even having fun.

Of course, there can be group efforts to pull a big train. If the group is small and has limited resources, they must intimately know each other, work together, everybody in his/her area of strength ("never do as others do"), and the effort must be coordinated and controlled by one uncorruptable instance, as you already said SAO. Only then, so do I believe, a group can be motivated and a goal can be reached.

But a group has yet to be formed, and that is certainly the most difficult task. Because efficient groups are not "allowed" by the system. A virtual group such as this forum is even more diffucult because of the distance, the misunderstandings, the language, the timezones, or the mask of the avatars, etc. But if we manage it, a far away goal can be reached.

Of course, there are already related groups existing, like the SotT group or the QFG, and they are working on their own projects, which probably cannot be shared with everyone in this forum for strategical reasons. But we as forum group could try to manage a single, small, easy project, well in line and coordinated with SotT and/or QFG, for their benefit, if they want it. It could be a rehearsal, so to speak, for bigger tasks. A first step in a potential row of many. Nothing more in the beginning.

A foundation of a company is too far away in my opinion, without doing basic exercises. And the project has likely to be in the area of computers.

If, because of the difficulties, no group can be formed, then everybody stays on his/her own, contributing to what is needed, e.g. translating, video making (like political ponerology, pentagon flash, etc.), Cassiopedia editors, 9/11 researchers, etc. And the rest is reading books, discussing on this forum and maybe discussing with relatives or friends.

Right, nobody from SotT or QFG will probably assign us tasks here. Because even assigning tasks or to think up new projects in a serious manner would consume enormous amounts of energy. It can come only from consensus of an autonomous group, well in line with the ideas presented here. And by the fruits of the effort you shall know, if it was worth it.

DOing is fine and good, but what to do??? Something...

Regarding the dollar per pixel idea: if we try it, we are probably one in a million who try it also. But it would be suitable as a training project. We have web programmers and graphic designers here from whom I read they want to do something also. I like Rich's idea of "buying away Bush", or SotT related topics.

So, what do you think? Is it too complicated?

 

[Rich]

just to add to a pixel buying idea. any purchaser could be set up to automatically receive the daily SOTT newsletter as an added incentive and promotion exercise.

 

[Tigersoap]

Just a thought on the million dollar webpage.

I think it worked out well because there wasn't any political thing in it.
It is just advertising, lot of companies bought pixels because it was cheap and as the whole thing got massive internet coverage; it was a good opportunity to participate in it.

The site features testimonials from advertisers, some of whom bought spots as a lark, only to discover that they were receiving actual valuable Web hits for a fraction of the cost of traditional Internet advertising.

Although there is a doubt that it really gave the websites who bought pixel space enough clicks, maybe a few exceptions would be the companies who coul afford to buy a lot of pixels on the page.

I doubt you can reiterate the same stunt that this young smart student did.
It is already "old news" (2005 I think) and plenty of others have tried it without the same success.

On another note, I thought this thread would help people who are struggling to make a living to give tips and tricks about money, marketing and investment (without losing your soul ;)).
I mean really give sound advice, because I am clueless in this area and it shows in my finances with unpleasant drastic results.
I suppose I am not the only one who'd need advices from people who know a lot better than I do how it really works.

If anyone has good articles, good books recommendations in this area, that would be great.

I am all for helping SOTT (I do donate every month even if it is a really small contribution) but if I am just trying to
scrape a living, my priorities will be to myself and my family.
I don't want to sound blunt or whinny but I don't know how to phrase it otherwise.
Thanks.

 

[Rich]

I think it worked out well because there wasn't any political thing in it. [..]I doubt you can reiterate the same stunt that this young smart student did.

You raise some valid points Tigersoap but it may work even better WITH a political edge. Who knows until you try>? this seems to be an unnecessary limitation maybe clouded because of your own struggle? maybe not but if it worked before then that only says to me that it will work again albeit if it is in a different format. because the overheads are so low then there is little to risk and everything to gain. if it is a flop - so what. lessons learnt and something else can be tried.

I mean really give sound advice, because I am clueless in this area and it shows in my finances with unpleasant drastic results.
I suppose I am not the only one who'd need advices from people who know a lot better than I do how it really works.

Much depends on your own personal circumstances. Different people have different 'loose' finance habits. Some useful advice is to work towards eliminating any unnecessary debt that you have. Reduce unnecessary spending by serious evaluating and accounting on where your money goes. Do you really need to go to cinema, restaurants when you can cook simple healthy meals and read or create your own entertainment? do you need a car? can you move nearer work and cycle instead? There is some advice and others on this link I saw today here: hxxp://zenhabits.net/2007/06/73-great-debt-elimination-tips/
It requires a great deal of effort and changes in evaluating what is important in your life but having a strong handle on ones personal finances certainly makes life more manageable.

 

[Tigersoap]

You raise some valid points Tigersoap but it may work even better WITH a political edge. Who knows until you try>? this seems to be an unnecessary limitation maybe clouded because of your own struggle? maybe not but if it worked before then that only says to me that it will work again albeit if it is in a different format. because the overheads are so low then there is little to risk and everything to gain. if it is a flop - so what. lessons learnt and something else can be tried.

I am not saying that it is not worth a try.
I just think it won't be as successful as the person who did it the first time, but that can be enough for most people.
Just type million + pixel in google and you'll see other people trying the same thing with more or less success.
Some company even created an application to do all the work for you.

I doubt that by being political it's going to attract more people into buying pixels but I am ready to acknowledge that I can be wrong.

And yes I do tend to limit myself.

Much depends on your own personal circumstances. Different people have different 'loose' finance habits. Some useful advice is to work towards eliminating any unnecessary debt that you have. Reduce unnecessary spending by serious evaluating and accounting on where your money goes. Do you really need to go to cinema, restaurants when you can cook simple healthy meals and read or create your own entertainment? do you need a car? can you move nearer work and cycle instead? There is some advice and others on this link I saw today here: hxxp://zenhabits.net/2007/06/73-great-debt-elimination-tips/
It requires a great deal of effort and changes in evaluating what is important in your life but having a strong handle on ones personal finances certainly makes life more manageable.

Thanks, these are sound advices.
I already skimmed much of what I don't need or found other ways to buy the same thing at lower prices (book for examples) and I am not overspending on anything.
It's just that I am always too close to not having enough for the regular/necessary spendings and it creates a lot of stress.
I understand that it's not easy to give advice without going further into specifics, which I would not feel comfortable to describe on a forum.
It's more of a matter of prospering that's hard to achieve, and I am not talking about becoming super rich, Rich :).

 

[Rich]

It's just that I am always too close to not having enough for the regular/necessary spendings and it creates a lot of stress.
I understand that it's not easy to give advice without going further into specifics, which I would not feel comfortable to describe on a forum.
It's more of a matter of prospering that's hard to achieve, and I am not talking about becoming super rich, Rich :).

If you are comfortable and feel it may help I'd be quite happy for you to email me for you to describe the problem. It maybe that i could offer an opinion or suggestion that may be of some assistance - bearing in mind of course that i'm not a financial guru or life coach by trade but generally quite pragmatic at practical problem solving -OSIT . Having said that you'd certainly gain a greater variety of suggestions if you are able to post to the forum in a way that doesn't give more away that you are comfortable with.

 

[Tigersoap]

If you are comfortable and feel it may help I'd be quite happy for you to email me for you to describe the problem. It maybe that i could offer an opinion or suggestion that may be of some assistance - bearing in mind of course that i'm not a financial guru or life coach by trade but generally quite pragmatic at practical problem solving -OSIT . Having said that you'd certainly gain a greater variety of suggestions if you are able to post to the forum in a way that doesn't give more away that you are comfortable with.

Thanks Rich.
It's not easy for me to ask for help at all.
I guess I'll give it a shot but I do realize things are much more complicated than just debts and so on.

EDIT : I think I'll start another topic altogether so this thread can stay focused on the subject.