Book Review: Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age by Jeff Goins

This is the second book by Goins that I am reading and I like his approach to life and work in general; this book being no exception. We hear too much about artists not making any money and that being artist somehow excludes actually making a comfortable living. Nothing could be further from the truth. Artists an live in inspiration alone or they can, and that is what Goins suggests, approach making art like you approach a real job. You study, prepare and work hard at it to make it a success and make money in the process. While I am not an artist in real life, my family has had business based on crafts that combine artistry with making money and made a good living that way. That may be the reason why I agree with most of what Goins states in this book. As an artist you need to be good at what you do and form a little, as we call it in German, Ich-AG. A company focused on and run by you. You need to market yourself and your ideas and work.
I think this book does a good job of convincing anyone who wants to make a living in an artistic field, whether as a painter, author or even a blogger, full-time or part-time that the hours spent on the art do not mean poverty, but can be money makers if done correctly. To me as a part-time blogger they reinforced me in my goal to think of my blog and my part-time social networking activity as a creative outlet that still allows me to make money. This is a reassuring book for anyone that thinks starting a creative career means no money and poverty and instead contains good advice and some tools to get you start on making art a career by approaching it like a business.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this blog is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

#RightToKnow: DIsclose full ingredients on product labels of cleaning products

So far, you are buying cleaning products and you never know what these products actually contain. Right now, no regulation or law requires that ingredients in cleaning products are disclosure, but there is hope. Currently, three different legislative bills have been introduced to force a change to this and of course Seventh Generation has been fighting the good fight for Ingredient Disclosure for quite some time. They are leading the cleaning industry by example and want everyone to #comeclean!

Below is a summary of a few points that struck me as particularly important when it comes to ingredient disclosure in the cleaning industry:



Q: Why should consumers care what’s in their cleaning products?

A: Cleaning product exposure can cause certain health conditions, such as asthma, due to the chemicals contained in cleaning products.

Q: Who is at most risk from these adverse effects? 
A: The sad news is that everyone with regular exposure to such products, in particular janitors or maids, are at risk, but also moms, who do the most cleaning for the family. 

Q: Why put ingredient information on a label? Will consumers really know what to do with it?
A: How are you supposed to make an informed decision about which product to purchase if you do not know what is contained in the product. Why is one product more expensive than another? It could be due to more risky ingredients, known to pose a health hazard, that the bargain brand is able to be on sale permanently, while a carefully crafted product that stay within safe concentrations is more expensive. But can you really put a price on the health of your family? I do not believe so and have been switching to a lot more natural products, like Seventh Generation, to make the house clean for my family.Consumer already have gotten used to reading labels for calories and food ingredients, why not let the consumers be adult about cleaning products as well ans enable them to read these labels too?

Disclaimer: I received something for free in exchange for this post, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Product Review: Arm & Hammer Baking Soda as a great affordable cleaner in the house

Through Simple Solutions I received a kit for Arm and Hammer Baking Soda that included a handy sprinkler bottle and a booklet to show some uses for baking soda around the house. I had received a shaker bottle before from Arm and Hammer and so the latest one has been donated to mom, who is now happily shaking baking soda on rugs and upholstery to make her spring cleaning even more productive.
I have continued to use my baking soda sprinkler around the house, but the booklet gave me some new ideas. Since we are now a one dog household, even though at times it seems like a hoard of wild beasts are making their home in our house, we have plenty of chew toys. After buying a new toy every week initially, we have now settled on a squirrel called Squeeky and a duck called Ducky, both looking rather disheveled and smelling accordingly.
I do the same with the toys as with rugs, I take my sprinkler bottle, add some baking soda to the fabric and then vacuum the rug or carpet and brush out the toy. My puppy may not really be sure about what happened with the toy, but I can appreciate the fresh smell and the cleaner appearance of the toys and also the rugs.
I love that baking soda is safe to use around kids and animals and that the price is so affordable. So far, no one has had any reactions to baking soda, the fabrics are not negatively impacted and the smell is just a nice, clean smell that indicates that the house is clean.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - the nifty shaker bottle to sprinkle baking soda on rugs and toys etc.

copyright Durhamonthecheap - easy to fill and easy to use + very effective in cleaning and deodorizing

I showing the bottle in more detail in this video and also a rug that I got cheap secondhand and revived with the use of baking soda. It looks great now and the colors were revived thanks to Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. No more grayish dusty colors and musty smells, now the rug is a nice dark blue and smells just nice and clean.

Disclaimer: I received something for free in exchange for this post, but all opinions expressed in this post are my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Stockpile - a new way to invest in the stock market!

I received a giftcard to try out a new site to stock trading and general investing in the stockmarket. Stockpile tries to bring investing into stocks to the people and in my opinion they have succeeded. I got with my starter kit not only the giftcard, but a fun, easy to understand booklet that provided guidance to me about the basic principles for investing into stocks and how to buy stocks.
Now we all know that investing in stocks does not guarantee a return, but it also historically has proven to be the best way to accumulate money.

I found the page easy to navigate and they even allow you to buy a percentage of stock. So rather than invest several hundred dollars to buy one stock in a company such as Apple, you can use $100 and buy a portion of one stock and still benefit from Apple doing well with their latest gadgets, whether it is Iphone or Ipad. This to me was a serious advantage of using Stockpile. As a mother, money is tight and kids come first. But saving on everyday expenses with coupons, a little money can be saved and I loved how I could use some money to invest in Stockpile.
So if you want to try out and invest in stocks, go ahead and sign up at Stockpile. Here is a link that you can use for an additional $5 as a gift when you sign up and start trading at Stockpile.

http://bit.ly/2q3twI1

Available stocks include Amazon, Facebook, Google, Apple, Ford and a lot of other major companies that trade for well in excess of $100 a share and would be hard to get into with just some saved up coupon money. So for moms and other new investors, Stockpile is a great option to get into the stock market early, learn about how it works and make some money possibly as well. There is nothing standing in the way of you becoming an #Investor and with the ability to buy giftcard, you can #GiveStockpile and #GiveStock to your kids that are now off to college. #HappyInvesting y'all

Disclaimer : In exchange for my honest and unbiased review, I received a $25 gift card to try out Stockpile. This post contains a referral link. I am not a market professional and not responsible for gains or losses that you may experience. I am not affiliated with or own an investment in any company or brand mentioned, and have no plans to do so. Securities products are not FDIC insured. Not bank guaranteed. May lose value.

Book review: As Southern As It Gets: 1,071 Reasons to Never Leave the South by H. Jackson Brown

Having lived in the South for almost half my life and the majority of my time in the USA, this European transplant can certainly appreciate someone listing a few more reasons why I would not consider moving away from the South every again. Having lived in several states outside of the South and having traveled to the majority of the lower 48, there is a certain charm about the South that does not end with good food and the people that prepare it. There is something to be sad about having home-cooked meals at restaurants, listening to music that everyone seems to know and adhering to a lifestyle that takes things just a little bit slower than people in other places.
H Jackson Brown manages to outdo me in reasons why the South is his favorite place to stay, but many items would make my list as well. Including the multitude of food listings, including pimento. An acquired taste for many outside of the South, good pimento cheese is here cherished at every get-together and, while giblet gravy is not my favorite to make, a good gravy will elevate any cook when served over nice biscuits and with some sweet tea. Add a coonhound at your feet, Patsy Cline on the radio and there is nothing better to life.
So if you want to learn why Southerners like there lifestyle, this book will give you more than a 1000 reasons and if you happen to live in the South already, especially as a transplant, this book will give you a more things to explore.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free book in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.

Book Review: Giving It All Away…and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously by David Green

A lot of of people know Hobby Lobby as a successful business and may have heard about the Supreme Court decision a couple of years ago involving the Affordable Care Act and its mandate to cover certain contraceptive methods. But this book will tell you the whole story about the company and its founder David Green. Starting from humble beginnings with a lot of borrowed money and a "store" that was limited to a room in his house, David Green maintained his integrity throughout his career and never wavered. No matter how much other objected and how much criticism he faced. 
David Green stresses the importance of staying true to yourself, even when it may not be easy. This is emphasized throughout the book and ties in not just with David's generation, but having been passed along by prior generations, especially David's mother. And this same approach is still being maintained at Hobby Lobby.
The title also underscores that no matter how much money you may have, and most readers will have less money than Mr. Green, you can still do good and give back to your community. It may not be based on money donations, but spending time supporting local causes or helping your neighbor who may be elderly. Giving back is not just often the right thing to do, but it may also end up giving back to you in ways you do not expect and that makes your life richer for all the right reasons. Mr. Green underscores that most of the people in the US have a blessed life compared to people in many other countries and people should appreciate that fortune, but trying to give back to their community and to others. 
This book offers plenty of advice for people running their own business and feel that they are not able to mix Christian believes with commercial success. In addition, it will provide incentive for everyone to give back to the community and ensure that the world around is better because of us, no matter how small the impact may be.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are solely my own and have not been influenced by any third party.

Book review: Launch Your Dream: A 30-Day Plan for Turning Your Passion into Your Profession by Dale Partridge

If you ever dreamed about opening your own business and had no idea how to go about it, in particular getting funding, learning how to run a business - this book is for you. Written by Mr. Partridge, who has founded several successful businesses in his life, this book will provide the reader with the main points about how to living the dream of your own business. Normally taught as an extensive course by the author, the book shares his course teaching in easy to grasp sections that can be used as an how to guide by anyone with a dream.
Without saying, the focus is on building a strong online presence and as a blogger, I found these lessons helpful to people like me as well that may not want to run a business, but have a strong online presence to bring a message across. Really anyone, from an experienced MBA to a mom-blogger like me that has some ideas about products or services to commercialize will find useful hints and tips and guides in this book. Will it still take effort and time and luck, yes- but reading this book is a good first step to see what is involved in building a business today.
I particular found the lesson on branding to be important - you do want to stand out for the right reasons and not be one of a large number of would-be owners that sell a product. In addition, what really assured me about giving the online presence of a business a try and expanding form just running a blog for reviewing products was his statement that running your own business can be ore stable than working for someone else. A lot people feel that running your business is unstable and insecure, but really working for someone else, especially in at-will states without union protection will make you employed at the will of someone else and you have very little stability.

available on amazon.com

Disclaimer: I received a free sample in exchange for an honest review. The opinion expressed in this post is solely my own and has not been influenced by any third party.