This post may piss you off and it’s not really about creating joint ventures, but something I had to share with you. It’s that important. This information will indirectly lead to reducing what’s not working in your life while simultaneously bringing you closer to your major objectives both in your personal life and your business life.

It’s not something that I usually write about but it’s something that I feel you can benefit from while you’re building your business as well as something to think about in your daily life to bring you closer to a state of happiness.

If you consistently ask yourself, “why am I working on this project?” or “do I really have to sacrifice my time, beliefs and my sanity just to get by in life?” or “there must be more to life then this” then it’s highly probable that you’re spending your time working on the wrong projects with the wrong people so you can just get by with paying your bills. But in essence, are you really living, or are you just existing?

I hope I’ve got your attention because I think you’ll appreciate what I’m about to share with you. I’m currently reading, The Art of Being Minimalistic by Everett Bogue. This is a profound, eye-opening, short book by a young author with a powerful message.

Bogue’s book is about decluttering your life. It’s about getting rid of material objects that are holding you prisoner, spending more time on your passions and creating the life that allows you to work on meaningful projects. All this without being tied down by societal pressure to inventory materialistic possessions that are only holding you down.

You may be asking yourself how does this pertain to building my business or doing joint venture brokering deals, or even starting my very first business. That’s an excellent question! By approaching life with a minimalistic intention, this allows you more time, money and freedom of mind to focus on what really excites you. Being excited about something or someone gives us inertia. It helps us get to the next step to the next task and propels us to take action in the direction of where our minds are telling us to go, yet we abandon the concept because we’re too busy living, feeling guilty, and focused on what we think we should be doing and not listening to our inner voices. Ironically, these inner voices that are talking to us are exactly what we should be listening to.

Imagine on working on projects that you truly feel you can contribute to, make a difference in other people’s lives, or leave a legacy behind for your family and people dear to your life. This isn’t a fictional example or somebody taking this claim of living life like a hippie or a gypsy. This is the story of one man’s journey as he quit his job, moved to a new state (with only $3000 to his name), regained clarity, peace of mind and direction once he decided to live a minimalistic life.

In business, and in life we tend to complicate matters. We tend to make things much more complicated than they really are, spend too much time on the wrong projects and work with the wrong people. I have to admit, I too have wasted years complicating my own life and I’m still in the process of streamlining and reducing projects, roadblocks, and distractions in my life that are not leading me towards my primary objectives.

This is one of the primary reasons that I decided to be a joint venture broker. It’s a very simplified lifestyle where I can work in almost any industry, in a recession or a thriving economy in any location with only my computer and a cell phone. Through reduction, I only work on the projects that excite me and work with people who are positive, ethical and pleasurable to work with.

So if you find yourself struggling, asking yourself, “why am I doing this?” or just spinning your wheels and wasting time yet never really feeling fulfilled, I recommend Everett’s book as part of your process of reducing time and money wasting projects, tasks and activities that you’re working on today but you just don’t feel right about. It’s a quick read, only 67 pages yet I’m certain that after you read it you’ll approach your next decision with a newfound clarity, vision and agenda.

I hope you enjoy the book and find relevant meaning that can guide, assist and help you lead a happier fulfilling life not only for yourself but for the people in your life who are dear to you.

If you’re interested, you can get a copy of Everett’s book by clicking on this link.

===> The Art Of Being Minimalist

Sincerely,

Christian

As a professional, you can’t just apply your expertise. You need to present solutions in a way that best suits your clients. You have to work with a wide variety of people: team members, subject matter experts, top executives, and others. Working effectively with associates–while keeping an eye on budgets, schedules, and results–requires a collaborative outlook.”Successful professionals today need more than technical skills– they need to know how to foster and nourish relationships with clients. Consultative skills are essential in this process. The tools outlined in The Consultative Approach have proved to make a difference for our professionals in dealing with their clients.”
–Jon Olson, partner, Arthur Anderson

“This book is rich, not only with specific suggestions and step-by-step instructions, but also with commentary and illustrations from [the authors'] own client organizations. It is a useful book about a very important subject.”
–William Bridges, president, William Bridges & Associates

Working consultatively enables you to:

• Know how to work effectively with all types of people
• Use a strategic and collaborative communcation process
• Apply your expertise in ways that show your value . . . and more!

The Consultative Approach is a how-to handbook that will enable you to reap the benefits of partnering. You’ll find informative case studies, easy-to-use assessment tools, enlightening exercises, and practical worksheets. Plus, you’ll get flow chart planning guides and a partnering strategy action plan that will enable you to chart your communication growth. The Consultative Approach has it all! Plot your path to consultative success with this comprehensive guidebook.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars A must read for any professional who wants to succeed
This book offers great tips and ideas for all professions who want to provide fabulous service and be more of a business partner

5 Stars Of considerable value to anyone working in an organization.
The book focuses on working with clients – any one with whom you work. Discusses partnering with others, and building trust and commitment. Covers the skills and techniques that make up the consultative approach, managing interpersonal relations with clients, and considers several types of partnering roles. Includes a glossary, resources and references. Our review finds that this is an informative book that offers considerable value to anyone working in an organization. Recommended.

5 Stars An amazingly accessible guide on being with ANY client
It’s really refreshing to read a “business” book in language that speaks in a balanced way to both the practicality of tools AND the more conceptual threads that weave the tools together. But then, this book is all about balance, and how we can begin to create balance in the workplace for our clients (and ourselves!).

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These are the checklists you should buy if you want to make a profit on your next partnering.

CPI’s Key Partnering Checklists is an organized series of checklists (with instructive comments) for the 11 most common types of partnering agreements. They are thorough enough for use by the most demanding attorneys, yet straightforward enough for easy use by busy executives without legal training.

The 7 most common primary agreements: Marketing and Distribution Agreements, License Agreements, R&D Agreements, Manufacturing/Supply Agreements, Outsourcing Agreements, and Facilities Management Agreements.

The 4 most common supplementary agreements: Guarantees, Letters of Credit, Proprietary Rights Agreements, and Non-competition Agreements.

Perhaps one of the most valuable part of the Key Partnering Lists is the CPI Legal Fee Guidelines for the checklisted agreements. For anyone who actually intends to implement a partnering, they alone are worth many times the price of this book. The guidelines are detailed and include estimated cost/time per task.

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If you want to avoid being the loser when sharing a company with other shareholders, you want “Buy/Sell Shareholder Agreements, Key Practices & Common Provisions”.

It gives a complete yet condensed explanation of what every shareholder needs to know about sharing ownership and control of a private company!

It includes descriptions and uses of all the different types of Buy/Sell provisions in common use including the “Russian Roulette” Buy/Sell, the “Texas Showdown”, the “Armenian Handshake” and more.

It has four sections (1) Buy/Sell Provisions the Five Basic Types of Shareholder Buy/Sell Provisions, (2) Managing Shared Control Key Practices, (3) The Eight Basic Ways to Handle Corporate Deadlocks, and (4) The Four Basic Types of Business Valuations.

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A “to the point” text on how to use techniques such as Michael Porter’s Five Forces Analysis, The Discretionary Dollar, The Virtual Dollar, and Value Chain Ratcheting to create a concise one-page business plan. One that every one of your employees can understand and follow.

Designed to incorporate a detailed objective standard against which all business decisions throughout your organization can be judged.

User Ratings and Reviews

1 Star Disappointing
I was expecting a solid approach to defining and implementing a strategy. What I got was a lightweight, generalized overview with no structured methodology or good case studies. The final one page strategy was no more than you would expect to see on any corporate office reception wall. Disappointing.

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This practical resource provides up-to-date coverage of how to structure and negotiate profitable corporate alliances, covering both the strategic benefits and potential risks involved in these complex arrangements.

In clear and straightforward language, this handbook explains the proprietary rights issues involved and then walks the reader through the chronology of a deal, from the definition of objectives to the decision to seek an alliance, identification of potential partners, negotiations, and closing. Corporate Partnering is full of practical forms covering all aspects of strategic alliances annotated with crisp, clear commentary that explains the real-world issues addressed by each provision and how alternative solutions may be used to accomplish different aims. These carefully crafted agreements cover the broad range of areas from supply and distribution agreements, product and technology licenses, and research and development agreements, to investment and investment-related arrangements.

Thoroughly revised and updated to reflect the latest developments the Third Edition includes a chapter on sales agency and manufacturer’s representative agreements, expanded discussions of antitrust and misuse issues, and updated form agreements, rights summaries, and checklists.

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If you want to partner with your customers – successfully and profitably – this is the guide you want.

Provides a ready-to-use methodology for partnering with your customers. Shows you a step-by-step process for vendors for building a joint business plan with your customers – reserving a special place in the plan for the you.

As a special promotion to Amazon.com customers – if you buy “Customer Partnering, An Executive Guide to Key Practices” from Amazon.com you will get a free related 1 hour audio cassette on customer partnering as well.

Includes information on: why customers & suppliers partner with each other, customer partnering vs. other types of partnering, selecting a customer partner, which customers to avoid, developing your plan, developing a joint plan, the “Top to Top” meeting, practical dos and don’ts, customer politics, employee issues, the initial launch, not resting on your laurels, pitfalls and danger areas, making sure you capture your piece of the value you create with your customer, and how to get started.

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This digital document is an article from Do-It-Yourself Retailing, published by National Retail Hardware Association on January 1, 1996. The length of the article is 339 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Stores show class by partnering with schools, students.(Brief Article)
Publication: Do-It-Yourself Retailing (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1996
Publisher: National Retail Hardware Association
Volume: v170 Issue: n1 Page: p22(1)

Article Type: Brief Article

Distributed by Thomson Gale

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User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars This One is the Real Thing
This one is the real thing.

I own several other due diligence books and checklists, but this one is the best. It’s the only one I use.

It’s thorough to a fault, but its also concise. It’s not much more than a hundred pages and it includes a lot of street savvy.

If you have a real deal you’re working on this is the one to buy.

You can even purchase a telephone consultation from the author if you run into any problems or have any questions. I ran into a tricky intellectual property problem so I thought I’d try it. I was able to call him up whip out a credit card and get some help right over the phone. Sahakian was helpful, friendly, approachable and helped me get the deal done.

It’s a nice package.

5 Stars This is the Real Thing
This one is the real thing.

I own several other due diligence books and checklists, but this one is the best. It’s the only one I use.

It’s thorough to a fault, but its also concise. It’s not much more than a hundred pages and it includes a lot of street savvy.

If you have a real deal you’re working on this is the one to buy.

You can even purchase a telephone consultation from the author if you run into any problems or have any questions. I ran into a tricky intellectual property problem so I thought I’d try it. I was able to call him up whip out a credit card and get some help right over the phone. Sahakian was helpful, friendly, approachable and helped me get the deal done.

It’s a nice package.

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