Confessions of a Reluctant Saleswoman

Written by Joyce M. Coleman


Continued from page 1

I have learned that no matter what we do, we must sell something - our ideas, our capability to produce a product or service, or someone else's ideas, goods and services. Evenrepparttar heroes of my childhood - teachers and preachers - must sell their customers onrepparttar 106714 notion that they bring value torepparttar 106715 table.

In effect, all of us sell each day of our lives. Those who excel at it deliver on their promise; their products and services bring added value to their users. Those who purchase them tell their friends, who tell their friends, and so on.

For me, it has been a long road to realizing that one has little control over one's destiny and wealth as long as there is dependency on a corporation or some entity (other than oneself) for employment. Atrepparttar 106716 end ofrepparttar 106717 day, we must look to our personal capabilities to support our family and ourselves. Just ask any ofrepparttar 106718 hundreds of thousands who were recently laid off through no fault of their own, or read lessons learned by millionaires.

It has been an equally long road for me to become sufficiently confident to develop some of those creations my brother and I attempted back in Locust Hill. I've known for some time that people who need my expertise, and who will be happy to trade money for its value, will not find out about it through osmosis. I must let them know about it, just as I happily toutedrepparttar 106719 goods and services of my corporation all those years. Expertise, brainpower, or product, no matter how wonderful, must be successfully marketed, or "sold."

As I more closely examine my evolving notion of selling, I realize that it isn't "selling" that makes me such a reluctant participant in an arena that creates wealth faster than any other. (Byrepparttar 106720 way, it is alsorepparttar 106721 fastest way to get ahead inrepparttar 106722 corporate world). It is my link to a childhood misunderstanding ofrepparttar 106723 wonderful act of providing people with something that actually fulfills a dream, makes lives easier, and provides financial freedom for so many. Each time I receive a thank you for sharing my opportunity, book, time, or words of wisdom, I am so thankful that I've learned to appreciaterepparttar 106724 marvel of selling.

My reluctance has turned into eagerness and gratefulness as I continue to discover ways to put my own brainpower and skills to good use, on what I consider to be relatively close to my own terms. Each day I seek out new opportunities that I share with my new and lifelong friends. Together, we are embracingrepparttar 106725 wealth-building wonders made possible to each of us through modern technology.

Copyright 2001 Joyce M. Coleman. All rights reserved, except as noted above.

http://www.locusthillpublishing.com. Joyce Coleman is author of acclaimed book, Soul Stirrings - How looking back gives each of usrepparttar 106726 freedom to move forward. Subscribe to her newsletter, The Business of Life at http://www.locusthillpublishing.com/newsletter/newsletter_subscribe.html for practical tools that enhance living. Includes self improvement, wealth- building, family issues, recipes.

Joyce Coleman is an acclaimed author, online publisher, speaker, and consultant. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Her articles are widely published, and some of her other works can be found at the Mississippi Museum of History and Archives.


Hawala, or the Bank that Never Was - Part II

Written by Sam Vaknin


Continued from page 1

The problem is that banks and financial institutions - and not only in dodgy offshore havens ("black holes" inrepparttar lingo) - clam up and refuse to divulge information about their clients. Banking is largely a matter of fragile trust between bank and customer and tight secrecy. Bankers are reluctant to undermine either. Banks use mainframe computers which can rarely be hacked through cyberspace and can be compromised only physically in close co-operation with insiders. The shadierrepparttar 106713 bank -repparttar 106714 more formidable its digital defenses. The use of numbered accounts (outlawed in Austria, for instance, only recently) and pseudonyms (still possible in Lichtenstein) complicates matters. Bin Laden's accounts are unlikely to bear his name. He has collaborators.

Hawala networks are often used to launder money, or to evade taxes. Even when employed for legitimate purposes, to diversifyrepparttar 106715 risk involved inrepparttar 106716 transfer of large sums, Hawaladars apply techniques borrowed from money laundering. Deposits are fragmented and wired to hundreds of banksrepparttar 106717 world over ("starburst"). Sometimes,repparttar 106718 money ends up inrepparttar 106719 account of origin ("boomerang").

Hencerepparttar 106720 focus on payment clearing and settlement systems. Most countries have only one such system,repparttar 106721 repository of data regarding all banking (and most non-banking) transactions inrepparttar 106722 country. Yet, even this is a partial solution. Most national systems maintain records for 6-12 months, private settlement and clearing systems for even less.

Yet,repparttar 106723 crux ofrepparttar 106724 problem is notrepparttar 106725 Hawala orrepparttar 106726 Hawaladars. The corrupt and inept governments of Asia are to blame for not regulating their banking systems, for over-regulating everything else, for not fostering competition, for throwing public money at bad debts and at worse borrowers, for over-taxing, for robbing people of their life savings through capital controls, for tearing atrepparttar 106727 delicate fabric of trust between customer and bank (Pakistan, for instance, froze all foreign exchange accounts two years ago). Perhaps if Asia had reasonably expedient, reasonably priced, reasonably regulated, user-friendly banks - Osama bin Laden would have found it impossible to finance his mischief so invisibly.



Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, United Press International (UPI) and eBookWeb and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

Web site:

http://samvak.tripod.com/


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