What if all the cheerleaders for the economy are… wrong?

The authors who predicted the current “bubblequake” four years ago (America’s Bubble Economy, Wiley, October 2006) have a follow up book predicting Phase II of the popping of the bubble economy.

Aftershock: Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown
by: David Wiedemer PhD, Robert A. Wiedemer, Cindy Spitzer

In Phase I the real estate bubble, the private debt bubble, the consumer spending bubble and the stock market bubble burst. Their newest book offers a look at the next bubbles set to burst: the dollar bubble and the government debt bubble. They state that the economy won’t bounce back as in the old days and that the “United States is in the denial of the truth”.  One of their perspectives is that the United States and the rest of the world are undergoing a fundamental economic shift.  The days of fast appreciation and loose credit are over.  And, as with all fundamental shifts, there will be just as many opportunities as challenges.  It is a good read.

One year ago we saw Harry Dent speak to an alumni group of entrepreneurs we belong to. To paraphrase, he said, “Get out of the way of the economy.” In other words, move your assets into cash to be ready to profit in the future. This book, in many ways, makes the same argument.

Aftershock is a riveting book, especially if you’re into macroeconomics and you want a dramatically different viewpoint on where the economy might be headed – in spite of the growing talk about recovery.

Your turn! How are you dealing with today’s economy? How are you preparing for the next several years? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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1. How Are You Adding to Your Personal Economy & to the National Economy?

Entrepreneurs have mentors. They have coaches. They have mastermind teams.

They also read a lot.

There is no question about it, if you are not constantly working on your skills, working on your psychology and thinking of how you can be bigger, faster and smarter in your business, you are sabotaging your business and yourself.

We love to share great books for entrepreneurs with our readers.

Here are even more books from the reading lists of my mastermind group who are an incredible group of entrepreneurs!

Emotional Intelligence: 10th Anniversary Edition; Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

by Daniel Goleman

“Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman’s brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our “two minds”—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny.

Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucial skills of emotional intelligence, and shows how they determine our success in relationships, work, and even our physical well-being. What emerges is an entirely new way to talk about being smart.” (source: randomhouse.com)

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Paperback)

by Michael E. Gerber

“E-Myth founder Michael E. Gerber’s books tell the story of entrepreneurs and business owners whose common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.” (source: www.e-myth.com)

The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content.

by Timothy Ferriss

“Forget the old concept of retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan–there is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. Whether your dream is escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end world travel, earning a monthly five-figure income with zero management, or just living more and working less, The 4-Hour Workweek is the blueprint.” (source: randomhoue.com)

Related posts:

1. Books for Entrepreneurs #2
2. Books for Entrepreneurs #3

Entrepreneurs have mentors. They have coaches. They have mastermind teams.

They also read a lot.

There is no question about it, if you are not constantly working on your skills, working on your psychology and thinking of how you can be bigger, faster and smarter in your business, you are sabotaging your business and yourself.

We love to share great books for entrepreneurs with our readers.

Here are more books from the reading lists of my mastermind group who are an incredible group of entrepreneurs!

Power of Your Subconscious Mind

by Joseph Murray

“The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, one of the most beloved and bestselling inspirational guides of all time, shows how changing your thought patterns can produce dramatic improvements in your life. Using practical, easy-to-understand techniques and real-world case studies, Dr. Joseph Murphy reveals the vast influences of the subconscious mind on all aspects of existence-money, relationships, jobs, happiness-and how you can apply and direct its power to achieve your goals and dreams.” (source: Barnes & Noble)

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

by Jim Collins

“Peppered with dozens of stories and examples from the great and not so great, the book offers a well-reasoned road map to excellence that any organization would do well to consider. Like Built to Last, Good to Great is one of those books that managers and CEOs will be reading and rereading for years to come.” (source:  Harry C. Edwards, amazon.com Review)

The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties: How to Analyze Any Single-Family, Multifamily, or Commercial Property

by Steve Berges

“More and more Americans are getting out of the stock market for the relative safety and predictability of real estate. But buying real estate willy-nilly is a recipe for disaster. If you don’t do your homework, you could lose your shirt–just like you would in the stock market.

For novice investors and old hands alike, The Complete Guide to Real Estate Finance for Investment Properties focuses on the fundamentals of financial analysis and the key principles in property valuation as they apply to real estate investing. This practical guide provides all the tools and tactics investors need to accurately gauge both the present and future value of properties.” (source: Amazon.com, “From the Inside Flap”)

Related posts:

1. Books & Reviews
2. Books for Entrepreneurs #2

Entrepreneurs have mentors. They have coaches. They have mastermind teams.

They also read a lot.

There is no question about it, if you are not constantly working on your skills, working on your psychology and thinking of how you can be bigger, faster and smarter in your business, you are sabotaging your business and yourself.

We love to share great books for entrepreneurs with our readers.

These books are from the reading lists of my mastermind group who are an incredible group of entrepreneurs!

No B.S. Marketing to the Affluent: The No Holds Barred, Kick Butt, Take No Prisoners Guide to Getting Really Rich (Paperback)

by Dan S. Kennedy

“Here it is: no warm ‘n fuzzies-just hard-core strategies from real world trenches…for successfully repositioning your business, products, services and yourself to attract customers or clients for whom price is NOT a determining factor in their purchasing.

…this is the fastest and surest path to prosper in tough times (selling to those least affected by recession) and to get rich in good times!” (source: barnesandnoble.com)

Getting Everything You Can Out Of Everything You’ve Got

21 Ways You Can Out-Think, Out-Perform, and Out-Earn the Competition

by Jay Abraham

“… reveals the many secrets Jay Abraham has developed to create success and wealth for himself and his high-profile clients. Using clear examples from his own experience, Abraham explains just how easy it is to find new opportunities for wealth-creation in any existing business, enterprise, or venture.”(source: abraham.com)

Lower Your Taxes – Big Time! 2009-2010 Edition (Lower Your Taxes Big Time) (Paperback)

by Sanford C. Botkin

“This updated guide shows consultants, business owners, and independent contractors how to legally, morally, and ethically take advantage of the tax system to get a yearly subsidy back from the IRS–and bulletproof their records.” (source: borders.com)

Related posts:

1. Books & Reviews

“Everything your mind can conceive, you can achieve”
— Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich

Entrepreneurs: When was the last time you read the classic book Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill? If you have not read the book, we recommend it as the single most important book you can read as an entrepreneur.

Subscribe today and receive your own copy of Think & Grow Rich on our site, no strings attached! This is a nice, clean, unbranded copy of Napoleon Hill’s book — a 235 page e-book, free of charge! Subscribe by email on the left side of our site.

Over a 20 year period, Hill studied over 500 of America’s most successful businessmen, starting with Andrew Carnegie who gave Hill the “secret” to his stupendous fortune. This book will teach you how to think differently. How to think as an entrepreneur. Enjoy!

“TRULY, “thoughts are things,” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence, and a BURNING DESIRE for their translation into riches, or other material objects.” — Napoleon Hill, Think & Grow Rich

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1. Boilerplate miscreants

Theresa Bradley-Banta, co-creator of Big Fish Tops Dogs, is a musician, award winning graphic artist, blogger and owner of multiple businesses. You can follow her on twitter @bigfishtopdogs

Last week a friend called me. Not all professionals, apparently, have your interests at the top of their list. At least in my friend’s case, his particular realtor didn’t. Her interests were clearly at the fore or, at the very least, her competence was in question.

This is a lesson in team. How many business professionals really operate from boilerplates? And, do you know enough to deal with that? Or, does someone on your personal team?

In my friends’ case, he came to me to review a commercial contract for a land deal. We tweaked the contract. His realtor wasn’t thrilled about it (pretty typical reaction), but she grudgingly made the corrections. Items like making the contract assignable by the buyer (my friend) — details like this need your attention.

What she didn’t do is change the contract deadlines along with the new contract date. Heaven forbid the closing date gets pushed back. Now, whose interest does that serve? [Side note: spell check wants me to capitalize "realtor"... oh, really?]

Another group of ‘boilerplate miscreants’ are attorneys (sorry Hubby, sorry Mom… just trying to make a point here). If you are a deal maker, and you should be, best to know who that operating agreement favors. This means you, or a trusted advisor, better understand it. Do you know what a shot gun clause is? And, that it can favor any of the parties involved? (This might not be you.)

The lesson here… business professionals are great, and you need them on your team, but don’t compromise when it comes to who is in charge.

Recommended reading: Everything Counts: 52 Remarkable Ways to Inspire Excellence and Drive Results
By: Gary Ryan Blair

This is a book that provides the road map to business excellence. It is the kind of book that will inspire you to promote and celebrate excellence in your business, your sales, your marketing and your employee morale. If you are a business owner or self employed business person who desires to add value to your business through small details, powerful business strategies and quality customer service, you must read this book! You will begin running a great business that espouses excellence and quality results while building a legacy for yourself.

Killer deal: One half-hour free coachsulting by phone. Contact Theresa by email. Offer expires 3/1/10.

Related posts:

1. Books & Reviews

Recommended reading for entrepreneurs — these are some great books, we’ll keep them coming!

The Knack How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn How to Handle Whatever Comes Up
by Norm Brodsky and Bo Burlingham

This is a book for all start up entrepreneurs and for owners of small businesses. It covers writing the perfect business plan, running a business, retaining profitable customers, sales, marketing, start up funding, leading your employees and much, much more. This book is filled with stories of real entrepreneurs and illustrates the fundamental ideas that can make your business more successful.

Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams

This is an ambitious book on global collaboration on the web. Explains the features and functions of Web 2.0 for business collaboration, innovation and opportunity. It answers the question, “what is a wiki, a blog, social media and networking”?

Break From the Pack: How to Compete in a Copycat Economy
by Oren Harari

This is a common sense business management guide with an interesting perspective on changing your company’s place in the marketplace by differentiating it from the competition. Through illustrations from real world companies, this book will have you thinking about business and what it takes to win in the marketplace.

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.)
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Traditional economic thinking and theory as it applies to real-world issues. Through case studies, this book will encourage you to see things differently and challenge your perceptions about behavioral economics.

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

A “bolder, funnier, more surprising book” than its predecessor, which again, challenges the way you think about things.

No related posts.