I have recently recommended “The Count of Monte Cristo” to my wife, and as a result I am myself once more encountering characters that I loved like the Abbe Faria who trained Dante in prison. This extraordinary man, in the limited confines of Prison, had demonstrated the human potential for making the most of what was at hand and had created various devices for tasks like writing out of the most mundane objects.

Image Credit: absoluteSteven

Developing the Human Potential for Excellence

The Abbe had a most comprehensive grasp of Physics, Astronomy, Chemistry, Geometry and languages, and I cannot help but wonder at the ingenuity of a man who had defied all physical restrictions and was, I feel, able to live a much fuller life than the one I am myself leading now.

It humbles me. We humans use technology as a crutch, and as a result, our faculties are dimmed. Instead of evolving, we are devolving. My contacts are all in Gmail now, when in the olden days, I would have to remember them. But in the process of not using my memory, it has become weak. “Use it or lose it” is the principle that the body functions on with regard to it’s faculties, and I’m afraid that compared to the giants of days gone by, my abilities are hopelessly atrophied.

I can’t help comparing myself to men like the Abbe Faria and realizing that even if I wanted to, I can’t reach their potential. They had the unfair advantage of necessity. Were I to embark on a course of development of my full potential, what use would it serve me? My training would break down because my common sense would reassert itself and tell me that there is no need!

It makes me almost hate my technological life that is stopping me from exercising my human potential for Excellence. Necessity brings out the best in men, and that is severely lacking in today’s world. The olden days were more conducive to the production of great men who had a grasp and understanding of the world around them in fields as diverse as politics and physics.

We have so much potential, but we never get a chance to realize it. It’s a tragic situation, and from what I can see, it’s only going to get worse. Is there no escape from a future doomed to mediocrity and atrophy of our abilities, as technology renders them useless?

Speaking of inventions, my recent article explains why you might not want to patent your latest invention. It’s rather devious though, so you’re warned in advance!

Image Credit: philipstorry

But suppose I’m on a death sentence, and I figure it’ll be at least a week before my turn comes. I’m woken up at 5 am by a gentle tap and told that I am to be executed at 10 am. When we’re asleep, or just woken up, is when our defenses are fully laid low, and there is no pretense or armor. I can’t imagine how I would feel.

If, as a prisoner, I have accepted my fate and resigned myself to die in a week, how will I react to the news that I am to die forthwith? This combined with my having just woken up would, I imagine, throw me into a panic. Not because I wasn’t expecting it. But because it’s come up so suddenly, as if my life doesn’t mean anything to whoever decided I was to die.

I would feel anger, helplessness. I don’t want to die like that. I want to die having accepted the fact, without fighting against it. The Samurai had it right when they would kill themselves without a thought. But that is perhaps because they never viewed themselves as individuals with a will of their own, but rather as slaves of their master, and of destiny.

Why am I here? What is the use of doing all this if I’m just going to die one day? Where is the meaning?

I know the answer to all this. Life has no meaning but what you give it. And when I’m calm, I will remember it. But every now and then, I can still be shocked.

Freelancers, contrary to public opinion, have got to be one of the most hardworking of all professionals. Taking a vacation for example is much more pricey for a freelancer than it is for normal employees.

Image Credit: Kenzoka

Regular employees get a fixed pay and leave is usually included in it. When a regular employee applies for leave to go on a vacation, the only financial consideration is whether or not they can afford the vacation itself. Due to the nature of their work, freelancers have to content with many more costs.

A freelancer gets paid only for work done. Therefore, taking a vacation means less money coming in for that period. A regular employee on the other hand gets the same pay regardless of whether they take a break or not. In some cases, leave can be encashed. This means that an employee can actually get paid for not taking leave!

So if a freelancer has to take a vacation, the cost of that vacation is not only the actual money spent, but also the money that will not be earned for that period – in other words, the opportunity cost of being on leave. This turns out to be much more expensive, and acts as a deterrent against excessive leave taking.

Part of the purpose of this category of posts is to educate people and make them aware that freelancing isn’t as easy as it looks. It has it’s perks, sure, but if you can’t handle the downside, then it’s not something you want to take up.

Earlier this week, I examined the issue of software piracy and why Microsoft needs Piracy to survive. It’s interesting how such a counter intuitive concept can actually make sense. Take a look at it, and leave your comments on what you think about it.

With no one to guide us, and no one to push us, we have to rely on our own radar, and then one is reminded of Shakespeare’s words – “To thine own self be true, for thou canst not then be false to any other man”.

It’s amazing how many things can come between us and our work. An interesting piece of news, that mail from a forgotten friend, an article which cannot be missed. And before you know it, half the day (or more) has gone and we’ve barely begun our work.

Image Credit: tracer.ca

Procrastination kills freelance work

I’ve come to realize that freelancing makes you confront yourself and your motivations. It is the ultimate in self discipline precisely because it is not forced on you. You work for yourself alone, and you are accountable to yourself alone. No one to blame, and nowhere to run.

Of course I enjoy my work. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to stick to it for so long. But we have to watch out and keep focused. It’s constant self improvement. And that makes me a better person in the end.

My latest article on my economics column on outsourcing has garnered quite a lot of response. Funny thing. I never expected it to. I felt that it was overly simplistic and would get blasted out of the water! But that always happens with me. Articles which I feel are not great always catch me off guard with the response they get whereas the articles I feel are great……well, y’know.

I’ve rarely faced this problem, thank God, but it’s something that every freelance writer has had to think about – “What if my buyer doesn’t pay me if he doesn’t like what I wrote for him?”

Some buyers feel that they have an obligation to pay a writer only if they like the output. At first glance, this kind of makes sense. After all, I didn’t get what I asked for, so why should I pay? Let’s leave aside for the moment, unscrupulous buyers who use this as an excuse not to pay.

Image Credit: Esther_G

First of all, when a buyer hires a freelancer, they’re hiring his effort and his time. The fact that they hired him in the first place means that they are willing to put their money on their judgmental capability. Not paying a freelancer after they have written a piece of work is like refusing to pay a restaurant because they didn’t like their beef steak. The restaurant wouldn’t let them go would they? But it happens to freelancers all the time because there is almost no one to enforce payment.

Second, all writing has an opportunity cost. If freelancers spend time writing for a buyer, it means that they can’t do anything else for that period of time. They could spend that time writing for job that will give them a sure shot payment. By spending that time working on an assignment, they’re trusting the buyer to pay up. Otherwise, it’s a very real loss for the freelancer, as time is money.

Fortunately, most buyers understand this and do the decent thing by paying up even if they don’t like the work. After all, it is frequently due to miscommunication about the requirements that this happens.

Well, I’ve arrived, and let me say, it’s bloody difficult! I thought that being a Freelancer, I could just whip out my laptop and work away whenever I wanted to right?

Image Credit: veo

Wrong! More than anything, I realize that a good freelancer has to have a schedule. I know that lots of people feel that freelancing is cushy and that you have all the free time and flexibility in the world. To a large extent there is some truth in that, but what most people don’t realize is that unless you have a schedule that you stick to day in and day out, you’re not going to make it.

Reliability plays a big role in being a freelancer, and for me, I find that I can only be reliable when my affairs are settled. Finding an apartment, getting furniture, food, a phone connection and an Internet connection completely threw me off my work and it’s only now when I have a semblance of sanity, am I able to get back to a good schedule.

My net connection hasn’t been set up at home yet, so I have to work from a wifi hotspot. I had to find a relatively quite place before I could settle down. It’s tough adjusting to a new schedule, but things seem to be on track finally. My buyers have been very patient and understanding about my move. Hopefully I will be able to justify their confidence in me!

Just waiting for my Internet Connection to be set up at home now before I resume my lazy little life. Here’s hoping that all turns out well.

It seems to be finalized. We’re probably going to be flying to Chicago tomorrow night. I say ‘probably’ because we haven’t got the tickets yet. Anything can go wrong!

It’s about bloody time I say. We were supposed to be flying a week ago, and everything is packed and all. All my buyers on eLance and oDesk have been notified that I would continue my work from Chicago, and they’re probably wondering “Not yet? When is this guy gonna leave?”!

Image Credit: Gerard Girbes

But that’s the way it is in large corporations. My wife works for the largest IT company in India, and like all other large organizations, they have bureaucracy. Mail from this fellow, permission from that guy, clearance from these people, approval from another bloke, howls of “I sent you the mail, but you haven’t……”. Thank God I don’t have to deal with all this!

One of my latest articles is how Robots will destroy our Economy. I think it’s very interesting to see how we’re going to be affected by artificial intelligence.

The thing I’m looking forward to most in the States is the purchase of a new Laptop. I still can’t understand how they’re three times more expensive in India than in the US. I mean I can get a great laptop from “Best Buy” for between $500-$700. The equivalent in India would be $1500 – $1800. So that’s my first action. I want something with an international warranty, and from what I’ve been told, only Dell and Apple offer that. Since Apple is out of my budget, I’m going for Dell. I’m going to buy a Dell Inspiron Laptop.

It’s at least twice as powerful as my desktop computer at home. And I’m a power user with Add ons and all. I try not to use the mouse and rely on keyboard shortcuts. I have some other pretty cool tricks and work practices too.

Anyway, let’s hope that the next post will be from my new Laptop in Chicago . I need to get an Internet Connection as soon as I reach. I’ll be staying in Schaumburg. Suggestions from anyone?

Now that my wife’s company requires her to be on site in Chicago, I’ll have to continue my work there. Actually, it’s not in Chicago. It’s in a little village called Schaumburg.

Things haven’t been easy. We were supposed to leave this week, but the medicals haven’t been scheduled yet. Also, my Internet connection was screwed for the first two days of the week. Something with the DNS servers. And I don’t like doing half a week’s work. I’m funny that way. Either I do everything, or nothing.

Image Credit: mfajardo

So I’ve lost a week’s revenue. To make matters worse, I’ll need to buy a laptop as soon as possible so that further time isn’t lost. I’m trying to do some work in advance so that in case I leave in the middle of the week, my buyers wont’ suffer.

The journey will take 36 hrs! I’m dreading the thought of spending all that time doing nothing but sit in the plane. At least I won’t be alone. My wife and I can spend some quality time together without interruptions and phones. I can make progress on Burne’s “What do you say after you say hello?”. A great book with some fantastic insights into the motivation for human behavior.

I’ve just finished an article about Autos in Chennai, and how they manage to beat the laws of Economics by forming giant cartels. It’s the only piece of work on the planet that addresses an issue that should have been analyzed to death by now.

Now that I’ll be in the US, I need to earn at least $15 an hour to cover my costs. Of course, my wife will be earning big time, but hey, a guy has his pride. I want to be self sufficient.

Feeling rather sad about leaving my room in which I’ve worked every single day of the working week for over three months now without a break even once. I’ll miss my routine, and I hope it doesn’t make me careless.

Let’s see. We should be flying in a matter of days now. Perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday morning.

Many years later, for some reason, I thought of this picture once more, and tried to find it on the Internet. I knew neither the name of the Painter, nor the name of the picture. I telephoned my mother, and asked her to look it up in the Encyclopedia, and give me the painter’s name. The name was Pascal Dagnan Bouveret.

Even armed with this information, I could find no picture on the net, of this image. There were plenty of other paintings by him, but no record of this one. I could only imagine that no one thought it was good enough to put forward as an example of his work.

I’m not an artist, and have really no clue as to what separates good art from bad. All I know, is that this image haunted me. It was only recently that I finally took the step of taking the Encyclopedia, and getting the relevant page scanned. I corrected the contrast in Picasa, and the result is as you see. The picture has been uploaded to flickr under the caption “Justice is Calm, Justice is Fair”.

I’ve now set it as my desktop background. I’ve never seen any picture of Justice like it. Most of the pictures feature the traditional blindfolded woman with the scales over her eyes. No personality at all. This picture touches me because I can imagine facing her in a dispute, and feeling secure that she will listen to what I have to say fairly and patiently. No misunderstanding can take place under her eyes.

At the same time, I would not want to be under the scrutiny of that gaze if I had something to hide. I am only too aware of the sword that leans against her, so ready to be picked up and used against the guilty.

One cannot miss the unmistakable majesty of the figure. Only after a while do you realize she’s wearing a cloak, and then understand that it becomes her even more. No better caption can be had than, “Justice is calm. Justice is fair”