Lauri Elliott

I love how the self-publishing industry has evolved over the last ten years, so that people can take more control over their dreams to be authors.  I just spent time helping my mom publish her first book, all for under $10.00.  The process was straightforward and streamlined.  I think it’s a great channel for many who have been waiting to write and publish a book – even those who have already published.

I am not an expert on publishing, but I am good at research and exploration.  After all the time my mom spent writing over the years but never getting to the publishing step, I pushed her to pull together a book on something.  She did an excellent job.  She came up with her first title, “King Commemorations:  A Collection of Activities,” which will be available in a few weeks.

There are several self-publishing houses like CreateSpace.com and Lulu.com, which allow you to publish for no cost. Books are ordered on demand, so you do not have to put much money upfront.  As your book sells, the book is printed.  The buyer pays for the printing, so you do not have to pull money out of your own pocket upfront.

In addition to printing, the services ship, or distribute, the books as they are ordered. The shipping time is reasonable.  CreateSpace.com, which is an affiliate of Amazon, says shipping normally occurs within five days.

They even assign an ISBN number to your book.  And best of all, you keep all rights to your work.   On the downside, the services do not market for you much and they get a royalty on each book sold.  However, the services like Lulu.com have packages you can purchase, which provide more support for editing, marketing, pricing, retail store distribution, etc.  And in general, the more you invest upfront the less royalty the services claim.

If you are like me, I don’t mind doing the work myself.  Plus, in my case, I have a background in technical writing, so I am very use to writing, editing, layout, proofing and printing.

So, how did we do it?  Let me share the steps. 

Step 1: Write and Edit

• My mother wrote, or pulled together, her “book.”
• She and I edited the document several times for grammar and writing style.
• We worked on the layout.  Then, we edited the document again.
• When you have looked over a document several times, you can begin to make errors.  So, my mom had several of her friends, who write well and pay attention to detail, proof the book.

Step 2:  Prepare for Publishing

• We decided to try CreateSpace.com to publish the first book.  We set up her account and the detailed profile for the book.
• For submission, we had to develop a cover for the book, using a template provided by CreateSpace.com.  We also had to submit the cover and content as pdf files that were print ready.  CreateSpace.com provided detailed submission guidelines.
• Once we checked everything against the submission guidelines, we uploaded the files so CreateSpace.com could review and prepare a proof of the book.
• We were notified within one business day about a few, minor errors, so we corrected and re-submitted.  We were happy that we had successfully submitted in alignment with the guidelines.
• The only money spent was to order the proof.  That was just $9.00, including shipping.  The proof was shipped in one day and arrived within three days. I love their efficiency!!
• The proof was good quality.  It brought a lot of excitement, having your writings finally in print!
• We found a few errors in the printed proof, so we made changes and re-submitted.  Each time you re-submit the book you are required to order another printed book proof.  So, this is where you might spend more money, depending on how often you have to re-submit the book with changes.

Step 3:  Publish

• Once we were satisfied with the proof, we approved the proof online.
• The book is now in queue to be published, which takes a few weeks.  People can purchase from Amazon.com or the online store that CreateSpace.com provided.

Just a few additional points.  This process is totally online except for reviewing the book proof, so the more comfortable and efficient you are with the online environment the easier the process will be for you.  But, it’s still a great opportunity for learning because you have a strong incentive to succeed.

Some of the basic tools you will need are a computer, internet, word processor, graphics program, and pdf creator.  Highly useful skills include writing, editing, drawing and/or taking pictures, and graphic design.  But you can always find people to help you with any aspect of the process.

If you have been waiting to write that book, you now have even more control over getting it published.

I’ll let you know how we do on the marketing.

We constantly hear about how the universe is one and that we are all connected.  In fact, our universe is actually one system with many complex sub-systems and parts.  Our Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, has a grand plan for this universe – us included – to be wholly one. 

I want to share what I understand of this purpose of God, as well as what I understand of the Church’s role and our individual roles in it.

Download the audio here.

As we have seen the world economic, financial, capital and money systems implode over the last year and as it continues to disintegrate (however, much money keeps being pumped into them), I have been pondering what does the “new” or different economic system look like in God’s eyes.  God has given me different revelations, but I want to share one in particular now.  The original purpose for money has been perverted.  Money is thought of in ways and used in ways outside its original purpose.  Therefore, it becomes a tool for oppression and destruction.

 What is Money?

 Practically speaking, money is a “…a medium of exchange, a measure of value, or a means for payment.” (www.m-w.com)  Our world uses money to represent wealth and as key to creating wealth and prosperity, but is money used today for its original purpose?  We can understand if something is working outside of its purpose for which it was designed, it can be misused and lead to problems.  God says the root of all evil is the love of money, or unrighteous mammon.

 God Promises Wealth not Money

First, God does not promise us money, He promises us wealth.  Deuteronomy 8:18 says “But you shall [earnestly] remember the Lord your God, for it is He Who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (AMP)  The Hebrew word for “wealth” in this passage is “chayil.”  Chayil means force as in an army.  It is noted that this “force” can come in many forms, e.g., strength, power, riches, means, resources.

Force as defined in a modern dictionary means strength or energy, as well as a cause of motion or change. (www.m-w.com) It would seem to me that the wealth we have the power to receive, in whatever form God chooses, is used to make a difference.  Not something hoarded or stored.  This would align with the Abrahamic covenant of being blessed to be a blessing.

 Second, through God’s wisdom, we inherit this wealth.  Proverbs 8:20-21 (AMP) says:

    ²⁰ I [Wisdom] walk in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation), in the midst of the paths of justice,

    ²¹That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries. (AMP)

The requirement is that we love God’s Wisdom, which is one in the same with Him.  So, if we love God’s Wisdom, we love Him.  This translates to continual fellowship with Him – a personal, intimate relationship.  When we remain “connected” to Jesus as He says in John 15, we can ask what we will and it will be given to us.  So, we will receive wisdom, if we ask as it also states in James 1.

So, if wealth is what we are promised why do we pray for money?  Even in our churches, we frequently ask God for money.  Our environment and culture has conditioned us to do this as a matter of habit not spiritual insight.  It’s not that God will not give money when it is called for.  However, we should focus our prayers on wealth not money unless led for a specific reason to pray for money in these days.  If we take on this mind set and act on it, I believe we will see what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 (AMP):

      ⁸And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].

    ⁹As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!

    ¹⁰And [God] Who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your [resources for] sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness [which manifests itself in active goodness, kindness, and charity].

    ¹¹Thus you will be enriched in all things and in every way, so that you can be generous, and [your generosity as it is] administered by us will bring forth thanksgiving to God.

Problems with World’s Money System – Another Reason to Pray for Wealth not Money

Speaking practically, there is something wrong with our world’s economic, financial, capital and money systems.  We can see how they are imploding with no sign of slow down at the moment.  I believe God is allowing this to happen because they are not aligned with God’s system of freedom for people.  They, in fact, oppress the majority of the people and nations worldwide and place them in bondage.

Part of the problem is how the current world system perverts the purpose of money, remembering that money is a medium of exchange (currency).  Lawrence Reed of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) says:

The “money is wealth” error is the affliction of the currency crank. From John Law to John Maynard Keynes, great populations have hyperinflated themselves to ruin in pursuit of this illusion. Even today we hear cries of “we need more money” as the government’s monetary authorities crank it out at double digit rates.

The good economist will recognize that money creation is no short-cut to wealth. Only the production of valued goods and services in a market which reflects the consumer’s wishes can relieve poverty and promote prosperity.

You can read a full article on the subject here.

As eluded to before, an object’s form is to follow its function.  If the understanding of the function of an object is not correct, it stands to reason that the design, or form, will also be off.  We can see endless patterns of this at an accelerating pace in the world economic system, particularly in the last 40 years or so. I cannot explain the complexities of all of this, but I would like to share a few things concerning the money system to illustrate my point.

Up until the 1970s, the world’s money system operated on the gold standard, meaning when paper money or financial instruments were exchanged, they were backed with actual amounts of gold reserve.  In essence, there was an absolute measure for what something was worth in terms of gold.

Unfortunately, the world moved from the gold standard to floating currency, meaning that capital markets (supply/demand) for our money would determine the value of our currency.  The United States Dollar replaced the gold standard as the prime standard at the time, however, now there is a basket of currency, including the Euro.  So, one day the U.S. Dollar might be worth .75 cents for every Euro or $1.25, depending on the global environment.  This means the value of the money we use for exchange varies from day to day.  This does not represent a system in balance.  God wants an honest scale.  In fact, He says that unjust weights are an abomination to Him.  (Proverbs 11:1)

We don’t think about it, but this is an oppressive system of bondage, in particular for those who have limited or just sufficient means.  For example, if a developing country gets a loan from the World Bank in foreign currency (typically the U.S. Dollar, instead of its local currency) and the foreign currency strengthens against the country’s currency during the period of the loan, the country will be put further into debt.  For example, if South Africa gets a loan in U.S. Dollars at the time the exchange rate between the Rand and U.S. Dollar is 7 to 1 but then the Dollar strengthens and the exchange goes to 10 Rands to 1 U.S. Dollar, South Africa owes more money than the amount of the loan because it is converting Rands to Dollars to make payments.  This creates an oppressive environment for weaker economies and currency when placed against stronger economies and currencies.

Foundations for a New Economic and Monetary System

We can no longer spend time on reflecting what went wrong other than to make sure we do not make the same mistakes going forward. Our full energy should be directed in developing a new economic system that benefits all.  I have a few suggestions to start a dialogue.

First, I think the economic system should be framed from a human ecological perspective.  Simply, people are the foci.  The system and institutions should be built to support and benefit the people.

Second, I think the economic system should be designed on the principle of a commonwealth, meaning that all people benefit from it.  This includes economic equity.  This means all people have the opportunity to tap into various economic opportunities in the system.  It is designed with openness in mind.

Third, as discussed here, we need to think of how to generate wealth not money.  However, we need to define money correctly and use it correctly.  John Tomlinson wrote a book called “Honest Money,” which you can download for free from here.  It will help you think about what money’s place might be in the new economy.

Fourth, we need to expand, or adapt, our understanding of currency.  Remember, currency is a medium of exchange.  Money is a form of currency, not the only one.  Many propose that there are alternative forms of currency like influence and intelligence (information). One alternative economy idea is peer-to-peer (P2P) economies.  In this economy, influence is a primary currency it seems.  Check out the news report on this concept.

I hope that you join the dialogue on this topic.

The world economic system continued to create greater degrees of economic inequity, particularly in developing countries.  As we see today, that system is imploding and requires full structural transformation.  So, what is the way forward?

The African continent is rife with economic inequity and injustice, yet it will serve as a means to set right economic injustice in our lifetime.  This revelation came five years prior to the global economic crisis and set me on a path in Africa to prepare for this time.  You can hear the spiritual insight I gained that prepared me by downloading an audio file.

One of the streams in my life’s work is a family of businesses under the name “Shujaa.”  Shujaa is the Swahili word for champion.  We see champions as those that stand in the gap for others.  In fact, our tag line is “Standing in the Gap for Others …for the Benefit of All.”

One of the things you will discover is that my work derives from my spiritual connection with Jesus Christ as my Savior.  It is through this relationship that I have come to understand who I am and my unique purpose on this earth.  Through this foundation working in my spirit every day, comes the insights and capabilities to make a difference in this world.   So, what you see as business was conceived in my spirit – planted there by the Spirit of God. 

Download a slide outlining Shujaa’s key framework from here.

Download a file explaining how spiritual insight started Shujaa from here.

The Personality Orientation Profile (POP) is an instrument designed to measure an individual’s perception of his or her own personality orientation.  Personality orientation is characterized by attitudes an individual holds, as well as behaviors an individual does consistently. 

There are four primary personality orientations based on distinct driving forces.  The distinct driving forces are power, people, perfection and peace.

Download the file from here.

This guide provides an overview of all the core activities involved in project management.  It is a great piece to use with people new or needing a refresher in the basics.

Download the file here.

The African Country High-Level Economic Landscape table provides economic overviews, list of some industries, and GDP expectations for 2008 and 2009 for all African countries.   While the expected GDP growth in Africa is positive, the forecast for 2009 has been modified to a lower level by the International Monetary fund.  The GDP forecasts in the table were released late last year before the modified forecast, so expect that these numbers are lower.  However, keep in mind that the degree of impact that the global economic downturn will vary from country to country.  Expect that those countries ,who heavily relied on oil and mineral commodity exports and did not have adequate diversification in their economies, to see significant hits to their economic growth this year.

Download the file here.

Originally posted at www.afribiz.info.

Free Collection of Information and Intelligence on Doing Business in Africa

In this edition, you will find:

• Tapping into the Under-Tapped Consumer Markets in Africa
• AfriBiz™ Resource Collection

Tapping into the Under-Tapped Consumer Markets in Africa

When people speak of Africa in terms of business opportunities, the conversation often focuses on resources, infrastructure and energy.  However, there is another vast market/business segment that continues to be pushed to the side – the people of Africa.  An expert on consumers in developing/emerging economies, Dr. Vijay Mahajan, shares insights into one of the best “low-hanging fruit” business opportunities even during this time of global economic crisis.  In “Africa Rising:  How the 900 Million African Consumers Offer More Than You Think,” Dr. Mahajan outlines the potential business opportunities in serving the consumer markets of Africa.

We can even look ourselves at the success of the cell phone industry on a continent that still is not well connected via landlines.  You find cell phone infrastructure widely in Africa and being used regularly, even by people who supposedly cannot afford them.

You can learn more about this business opportunity paradigm by:

1. Viewing a three-minute video of Dr. Mahajan, highlighting the potential of the African consumer markets here.
2. Requesting a free, 4-page summary of the book, “Africa Rising,” from AfriBiz at info@afribiz.info.
3. Purchasing the book, “Africa Rising,” from Amazon.com.

AfriBiz™ Resource Collection – January 2009

AfriBiz™ Resource Collection is a free and frequent compilation of socio-political, economic and development resources and information, which contributes to more intelligent business and investment in Africa.  These resources are freely accessed and downloaded from web sites on the Internet.  We compiled them into this collection to make it easier for you to navigate your research on doing business in Africa.

Africa Economic Outlook 2008 Country Notes – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Country Risks Synthesizing Chart December 2008 – ONDD

Doing Business 2008: South African Development Community – World Bank

Doing Business 2008: Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa – World Bank

Doing Business 2008: Economic Community of West African States

Doing Business 2008: Economic Community of Central African States – World Bank

Doing Business 2008: Middle East and North Africa – World Bank

Economic Development on Africa 2008 – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

Economic Report on Africa 2008 – United Nations Economic Commission on Africa

Global Competitiveness Report 2008-2009 – World Economic Forum

Global Economic Prospects 2009 – World Bank

Global Financial Stability Report – International Monetary Fund

Global Risks 2008 – World Economic Forum

Index of Economic Freedom – The Heritage Foundation

International Trade Statistics – World Trade Organization

Political and Economic Risk Map 2008 – Aon

World Economic Outlook 2008 – International Monetary Fund

World Economic and Social Survey 2008 – United Nations

World Trade Report 2008 – World Trade Organization

World Investment Directory X:  Africa – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

While living solely in the United States, Ms. Elliott wrote several articles for an IT online community called TechRepublic.  The topics included project management tools, stakeholder analysis and virtual team productivity.

Check out the articles at Lauri Elliott’s page on TechRepublic.