There's no such thing as failure, only feedback

What's in a name? Well, after a recent personal coaching course attended as another attempt to find my way out the maze, I decided to take on one of the tenets of the coaching world and rename BFA slightly.

So BFA is no longer Business Failures Anonymous but Business Feedback Anonymous.

The techniques and theory of coaching, NLP, Time Lines etc say much to my logical brain and it is the challenge of matching this to the failure, oops, feedback of emotions and finances. I have my reservations about some of the over-positive "attitude is altitude" (see The Secret Secrets of the Secret) but sticks and stones may break bones but names will never hurt... so Business Feedback Anonymous it is.

And in line with the new name, please leave your thoughts and feedback below!

The Secret Secrets of The Secret

Having just attended a personal coaching course, I was enjoying the material presented until the mention of The Secret and The Law of Attraction.

If you have not come across these techniques, belief systems, the basic premises (from The Secret Official website - no, it's not an affiliate link!) are as follows

1. "The Secret reveals the most powerful law in the universe. The knowledge of this law has run like a golden thread through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages and saviors in the world's history, and through the lives of all truly great men and women. All that they have ever accomplished or attained has been done in full accordance with this most powerful law."

2. "The Secret teaches us that we create our lives, with every thought every minute of every day. Living The Secret offers tools and ideas to help you live The Secret and create the life of your dreams.

Now, whilst I do not in principle have a problem with positive thinking (but see Smile or Die: How Positive Thinking Fooled America and the World), I consider that it has some unspoken and unmentioned principles which I list below in no particular order and which I will expand upon in future posts:

1. It adapts the (generally non-western) teachings of prophets, seers and sages to give credence to (generally western capitalist) goals.
2. When advocates of The Secret quote the sages, for example Ghandi's "Be the change you want to see in the world", in encouraging people to "think big", how many would be prepared to take the stance that Ghandi and his ilk have taken for social causes etc
3. Its principles generally only apply to individual "dreams" based on western capitalism
4. It relies on people being oblivious/unconscious/uncaring to the global consequences of their goals/visualisions - if I have an Apple iPad on my "visionboard", I do not have take into consideration the responsibility I have to the well-documented exploitation of Chinese labour.
5. In general, The Secret pays little attention to ethical, moral or social considerations, being all about the individual's dream, no matter what its global impact may be.
6. Another quote is that "People get the life they deserve and desire". So do advocates of The Secret consider that people living in favelas, ghettos, townships etc have the life they deserve?
7. A major principle is that people have to take responsibility for their actions, past, present and future. But where does this responsility stop - see reference to iPad above.
8. It considers that we live in an abundant universe. Abundant for who? It claims that what you focus on is manifested in reality so who is manifesting global inequalities?
9. In general, it seems to work within this system of inequalities, if not actively promoting them.
10. It is generally focussed on financial wealth, basing much of the ideology on Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich"

Whether I agree or disagree with global inequalities, the focus on financial wealth etc is irrelevant. However, I do consider that the principles of The Secret are at best paradoxical and at worst hypocritical.

Comments, as always, are welcome.

(See wikipedia's Law of Attraction entry for more information and critique)

How to Deal With Depression After Losing a Job (or Business)

It could happen as soon as you hear the words from your boss that you are losing your job. It could happen days or weeks later. But the truth is that sooner or later you might feel the heavy grip of depression upon becoming unemployed-and in this economy, many people are feeling it. It is perfectly normal to feel this way in such a situation. Luckily, there are ways you can cope with the blues-here are some.

Click here to read more

Big Society, Big Schmociety or Big Scam?

I would love to get people's views on whether the UK government's latest initiative is truly going to benefit "society" - once again, terminology which, consciously or unconsciously, takes the individual out of the equation.

Here are a couple of relevant links from the BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10680062
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t1896 (you will need to be able to access BBC iPlayer)

To start the ball rolling, personally I think it's obscene to ask one section of society to work for nothing, replacing many skilled and qualified people whilst there are still spotty 19 year olds earning squillions, pressing a button to move virtual cash around. We're all in it together, David...NOT!

BFA is now on Spruz

Due to Ning's revised pricing structure, BFA's main network site is at bfanon.spruz.com. Don't forget to pay us a visit there and join.

Resource Based Economy - a way to avoid financial failure?

"A Resource Based Economy is a paradigm shattering concept. The idea changes the focus of how society works on a fundamental level, causing a ripple of profound implications to permeate all of society. For many, removing the corruption of the monetary system is a logical step, which will manifest our innermost hopes and dreams, revealing a beautiful ideal world. Yet, much of the vision of a Resource Based Economy is in the future."

Read more...

Free Financial Management Resources

I've just seen this article on Mashable/Business which may be of use to anyone interested in finding ways back from financial problems.

"Web technology has revolutionized finance by making it easier than ever to monitor cash flow and track trends in your spending. Mint.com has been a leader in this realm for personal finance: its technology helps you track multiple accounts, analyze spending trends, and manage financial goals.

There isn’t a clear counterpart to Mint for businesses, though. That’s where inDinero, a Y-Combinator-funded startup, comes in.

inDinero is a web-based financial dashboard for small businesses. Like Mint, it aggregates financial data from bank accounts, investments, and other sources and places them in a simple, easy-to-navigate interface where you can quickly see your income, spending, recent activity, and your financial runway."

Read more...