"Give away some knowledge. People fear that if they give it away, people won't need to hire or buy from them. If everything you know about your industry can be explained in a few articles, you don't know much."
Scott Stratten, UnMarketing

I read Scott Stratten’s book UnMarketing this week and this particular quote jumped out at me in regards to sharing your expertise on a blog, social network, or even in person. Don’t just TELL people you have the answers to their problems but make them put complete trust in you and hire you to give them the answers, but GIVE them the answers. SHOW people you are an expert in your field. Like I always say, flex your expertise muscles. People will appreciate you and people won’t hesitate to hire you or buy from you in the future.

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I’m really frustrated by armchair critics. I see a lot of people ready to trash other people’s efforts, but when I dive into what they’re doing, I don’t see any body of work on their websites. I don’t see them taking to stages. I don’t see them advancing the cause. If you’re going to earn the right to complain and moan, do it by being better than the person you’re trashing.
Chris Brogan

Exactly, Chris. Do great work. Don’t worry about bad-mouthing the competition.

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If your business depends on you, you don't own a business - you have a job.
Michael E. Gerber

So I’m in the midst of reading three books right now…all of which are blowing my mind. But the one that is doing the craziest things with regard to my approach to business is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.

I’ve always approached my freelance business as an extension of me. People know me, trust me, know what I can do, and that’s what I’m selling. But how do I grow that? How do I allow my business to continue to run even if I need to take some time off? I’m hoping that this book points me in a direction to answer these questions (I’m about half-way through right now).

Oh, and the other books I’m reading are Designing with Web Standards by Jeffrey Zeldman (awesome so far) and Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. Normally reading a bunch of books at once isn’t the best approach for me, but these three books in particular in relation to what I do is totally getting me to think about the direction of my business. Rework is an especially cool format.

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As a result of the presentation, I made a decision to GO TO THE BATHROOM.
Random 8th Grader

So a few weeks ago I gave a presentation to local 8th graders for a program called “CEO’s in the Schools.” I talked about making good decisions, staying in school, working hard, etc. Today I was able to browse the survey responses from the students. Guess I had a big impact on this particular student.

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.
Will Rogers

Came across this quote in a book I’m reading called The Cheapskate Next Door by Jeff Yeager. I’m finding that if you can defeat this way of thinking, success as a freelancer will come much, much sooner. Granted, your definition of success will probably change too.

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