A Tale of Two Choices, Part Two

December 16, 2009

Change often starts with an epiphany: the conscious recognition and acceptance that change is required—the first step for your mental health. This realization isn’t truly an awakening. It’s usually precluded by bouts of deep thought, self-doubt, uncertainty, and economic stress or need. This epiphany is liberating, because now your intellectual power has been released from its emotional jail. You’re ready for the second step.

The next step is to develop a plan, and most importantly, an agile plan. Post-epiphany, you’re now open to positive critical thinking and outside help—and new ideas. Don’t waste this newfound energy and opportunity. Reinvent and innovate! A mind is like a parachute: it only works when it’s open.

Dickens’ mind was open. He wrote many of his books using monthly or weekly installments, a method that provided a certain rhythm and allowed him the creativity to tweak and adjust his stories, creating cliffhangers and hooks to keep his readers eagerly looking forward to his next installment. This proved to be an agile and dynamic business model for works such as Oliver Twist, Pickwick Papers, and A Tale of Two Cities. This model was so successful that Dickens became wealthy and famous in his lifetime, no small feat for a writer. Here is an amazing fact: Dickens has always been in print since his first book! 

So, how do you start an agile business model? Continue reading…