CHAPTER 3

THE ROLE MODEL

… In which we learn how a burglar can teach us a thing or two.

THE VALUE OF GURUS

People often ask me to model the perfect self-employed person. The Buddhists say, “He teaches that which he needs to know most of all.” All our image and profile stuff, our value and our ability, are worth nothing if we cannot find enough work. Enough work, paradoxically, means finding too much. This means being able to increase prices to the juiciest of levels and being able to turn away jobs you don’t fancy. Even I would like to learn that one!

I am a very busy and well-paid ‘guru’, but there are people in my line of work who can earn $100,000 an hour and are booked for five years in advance. I wish! Therefore they are doing, or have ...

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