Money is more than a transfer of value. It’s a statement of belief.

“How much life insurance do you have?”

Zig Ziglar liked to say that with that one question, you could tell if someone was a successful life insurance agent. If they’re not willing to buy it with their own money, how can they honestly persuade someone else to do so?

If you’re in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you’re selling to?

My favorite: if you work for a non-profit and you don’t give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I’ve met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but… [read: Seth Godin]

Kindle Outsells Every Other Product On Amazon (And What This Really Means)

According to a breathless press release, the Kindle ereader is the “#1 bestselling product across all product categories on Amazon.” That means it sold more than the iPod Touch. More than the Wii. More than Going Rogue. How? It’s easy!

Step 1: Market a device for two whole years
Step 2: Issue a price drop a few months before the holiday season
Step 3: Remain the exclusive retailer for said device
Step 4: Profit! (To an extent that is completely and intentionally unclear to everyone!)

When Amazon tells you that the Kindle is the highest-selling product on Amazon, you’re supposed to think of it as you’d think of anything else: as a strong, reliable metric in gauging how well a product is doing in general. The thing is, there is no “in general” for the Kindle. There is only Amazon. Anyone who wants a Kindle and doesn’t normally shop at Amazon has to make an exception. Anyone who wants a Kindle and doesn’t normally shop online has to make an exception. The Kindle didn’t outsell the iPod Touch—not even close. [read]

Hi-Def DSLRs May Be Cheap, But Talent Is Priceless

When Vincent Laforet released Reverie last year, the digital revolution seemed poised to sweep across the world of moviemaking. Shot entirely on a prototype of Canon’s then yet-to-be-released EOS 5D Mark II, the short film revealed the camera’s extraordinary low-light sensitivity and HD video capabilities, all with the photographer’s choice of lenses. It appeared to be an all-in-one movie studio replacement.

The fact that HD video and cinematic quality was being offered at consumer rates thrilled the online video community. “Laforet’s, in particular, showed off the real upside of working with the 5DII’s light-sensitive sensor: When you can work with smaller lights, your production budget goes much farther,” said photographer and End User writer Ryan Brenizer in an e-mail.

It seemed that a few big Hollywood studios would no longer dominate our viewing agenda, that an indie revolution was imminent and that the dam on a reservoir of creativity had been destroyed. But that has not been the case. So why are we not awash in studio-quality, low-budget flicks? The answer is complex, and it zeros in on an ever more important relationship between the tools of production and the actual talent of filmmaking — the two of which people often confuse. [read]

Sample EOS 5D Mark II Video: Reverie

Boundary makers

sethgodin.typepad.com — Some artists continually seek to tear down boundaries, to find new powder, new territory, new worlds to explore. They’re the ones that hop the fence to get to places no one has ever been. Other artists understand that they need… [read]

What Are You Putting Off? How to Get On With It in 3 Steps

Most of us put things off. Sometimes, we put off getting started or making progress on big projects… and other times, we put off small tasks that sound simple on paper but seem like a big effort to do.

The problem is, the more we put something off, the harder it is to get going on it. Our resistance to doing it gets greater and greater … and often, the task becomes more difficult or more unpleasant the longer we put it off.

Maybe we’re putting off a trip to the dentist because we’d rather not have to pay for any treatment (but the longer we leave it, the more it’s likely to cost). Maybe we’re putting off phoning that disgruntled customer (but the longer we leave it, the more likely they are to get even more annoyed … and get in touch with our boss).

Whatever you’re putting off today, here’s a three-step process to getting on with it. [read]

Creating Happy Employees

‘Tis the season for gratitude and, as a business owner, you have a special group of people in your life who deserve your gratitude: your employees. There are many ways you can show your appreciation and say “thank you” for their hard work. This is the perfect time of year to step back and think about how your business gives back to its employees, how you makes them feel acknowledged and appreciated for their contributions. Sometimes it’s necessary to simply pull someone aside and literally say, “thank you!” for a job well done. At the same time, creating happy employees should be an integral part of your overall business vision and strategy. [read]

The best of times, the worst of times

Historically, American happiness nose-dives in tandem with economic downturns. But despite the recession, current indicators paradoxically show that Americans are, right now, quite happy indeed. Although happiness spiked downward with last fall’s market drop, by this summer, it was at an all-time high. Americans are more optimistic about their health, well-being, and finances than a year ago, and plan to have a merrier Christmas this year, though they will spend less money. Why?

According to this Time.com essay, as the American Dream became more and more exaggerated — big cars, huge homes, gigantic TVs and ever-evolving tech — “Expectation Inflation” set in. But our ballooning concept of the middle-class lifestyle has become unsustainable, to the relief of many Americans, who are learning the highest return on happiness comes from the causes they believe in and making others happy. To explore happiness further, check out Barry Schwartz’s talk on the paradox of choice, Dan Gilbert’s talks on our mistaken expectations and why we are happy, and Benjamin Wallace’s talk on the price of happiness.

SOURCE: Ted.com

How to Survive Black Friday

It may be the biggest shopping day of the year, but it’s also the most dangerous. Black Friday shopping isn’t just the start of the Holiday Shopping season—it’s also the start of the most stressful, anxiety producing, budget draining, injurious time of the season.

But take heart—surviving and emerging successful from a Black Friday shopping excursion isn’t as hard as it looks if you are prepared, you don’t panic, and you have a plan. It’s like heading into any hostile environment—with the right tools and attitude, you will survive. [read]

Top 10 Popular DSLRS

The question I’m being asked on a daily basis at the moment is – ‘what camera should I buy?’ Obviously cameras are on many people’s wishlists this Christmas!

I’m planning to update our Popular Digital Cameras and Gear page here on DPS in the coming week to help answer the question but thought I’d do a quick post looking specifically at what’s hot at the moment when it comes to DSLRs (as this is what many of those asking questions are focusing upon).

Amazon – Digital SLRs

Read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/top-10-popular-dslrs?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+DigitalPhotographySchool+%28Digital+Photography+School%29&utm_content=Google+Reader#ixzz0XzPJxTyb

A Step-By-Step Look At Mastering Your Own Recordings

I’m not a fan of ‘home’ mastering.  It is THE final step before your music reaches the masses and it should be professionally done.  That being said – if you have to do it yourself (before you end up taking it to someone else) here’s an article for you.

“Mastering is the final creative step in making an album for release on CD or a digital file. In this process you sequence the songs (put them in the desired order), trim the beginning and end of each song, put a few seconds of silence between them, adjust their levels so they sound equally loud, and apply EQ, compression and limiting as needed.

You might prefer to send your CD of mixes to a good mastering engineer. This person can listen to your program with fresh ears, then suggest processing for your album that will make it sound more commercial.

Mastering engineers often have a better monitor system and better equipment than you, and typically, they have heard hundreds of recording projects done by others and can help make your CD sonically competitive.

If you plan to have your program mastered outside, do not apply any signal processing to your finished mixes such as editing, level changes, compression, normalization, fades, or EQ. Let the mastering house do it with their better equipment and software. Also, leave some headroom by recording the finished mixes at about -3 dBFS maximum in peak meter mode.” [read]

Mastering Services: Jephtha Studios