You don’t have to walk far into any bookstore today to see a myriad of books about making money and getting rich. Where some of these publications give a unique perspective, some are merely reiterating timeless advice on money and wealth. This became more evident when I read Art of Money Getting, published in 1880 by an iconic businessman.

P.T. Barnum name is recognized in the full name of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus. He was a businessman and showman whose entertainment was billed as “the greatest show on Earth” a phrase that still is popular today. He published several books in his life as a way to promote himself and his entertainment offerings. Art of Getting Money was one of them, and it is a quick read that offers very practical information about living life and earning, saving and spending money.

My biggest take-away from the book was how appropriate in 2007 Barnum’s advice is. For example, the chapter titled “Advertise Your Business” not only applies today, but today’s media, including online advertising. The name of the title speaks loudly of getting directly to your point without any fluff. For someone of Barnum’s reputation, he uses many quotes from famous people from Benjamin Franklin to Goethe to reinforce his statements and points. If this book was a Web site, it would be full of hyperlinks!

I recommend reading Art of Getting Money. It is a quick read that packs a lot of useful information is a confident tone. The book has attitude, and could be compared to The 4-Hour Workweek or any book written by Donald Trump. Now that would be a good pair to get in a room, P.T, Barnum and Donald Trump, but I digress.

Of note is how I read this book. I read the book over a series of email messages from DailyLit, a service that delivery many public-domain books in this manner. For this book, it was distributed over 26 emails. It will automatically send one email a day, or you can request the next message sent once you read the first one. Check out the site, as it is a unique and quality service.

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It is hard to think it has been 6 years since the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and what could have been of the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. I was sitting in my office in Boston’s Back Bay, in the shadows of the city’s second tallest building, where a few miles away the 2 planes that were hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center originated.

Information slowly came in what had happened and I tried to bring up news Web sites, but as everybody else was trying to do the same, every Web site for CNN and FOX News to the Boston Globe were unresponsive. I then called and emailed friends who work in Manhattan, some I heard from right away, some I did not. As the story of a small plane hitting one of the towers changed to both towers being hit by jet aircraft, we were told to go home. I called friends and family in Boston and, due to a reason I don’t recall why I drove to work that day, I gave several people a ride out of the city. As I sat and stared at the TV the rest of the day from home, I connected with friends and family near and far.

As much as we can prepare for all that life throws at us, things happen that we are not prepared for at all or happen in a way that we could have never anticipated. So we react, and hopefully learn from it and let it affect how we prepare for the future. We never forget what happened, and in turn help those who didn’t experience it themselves to understand and learn as well.

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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After reading The 4-Hour Workweek, it is even sweeter to hear stories about people who decide not just to go for the brass ring, but to take it with all the might of Atlas. This afternoon I met such a person – John Gerard, who will be famous in 31 days.

I first heard about John and his story from my cousin Nina, who used to work with John, only later to hear about it from blogging guru Darren Rowse. You can read John’s story and why he is doing this cross-country trek to get to Hollywood, California from Syracuse, New York to meet Jay Leno on The Tonight Show on day 31 of his journey.

John was in Chicago for a few days and today I met up with him. He is someone like any of us, and he utilizing the Internet and his background in television to help fulfill this goal. Tomorrow morning (Thursday, September 5) he will be on the WGN-TV Morning Show, so if you are in Chicagoland be sure to see him live.

His Web site, famousin31days.com, features videos and information on his journey. Check back for progress on his trip and where he may be, which possibly could be near you.

Good luck John, and safe travels!

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This past weekend the Boston Red Sox came to Chicago to play 4 games against the White Sox. As much as there were 2 teams of players, the games were a little slanted towards the 2004 World Champions, as the BoSox beat the Pale Hose 11-3, 10-1, 14-2 and 11-1. That is a combined score of 46-7! Normally this would be the place to place an analogy referencing rain, but with the storms and flooding throughout the Midwest, I will leave that one alone.

As a native New Englander and a Red Sox fan since my youth, it was nice to see the Red Sox sweep, and nice to see people in the team’s colors getting confused on the streets of Chicago with all of the closures due to construction and filming of Batman.

Go Red Sox, and good luck against the Yankees this week!

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If you haven’t heard, we have had some rain here in the US Midwest. As well as some flooding, downed power lines and everything that goes with it. And as wet as the last few weeks have been, there is more to come.

Woven into just about news account of the storms are interviews with people who are almost always surprised at the high water levels and damage, many saying they have never seen anything like it in their life. Fortunately these people and everybody else has lived through this as the loss of life has been minimal to none. Going forward, hopefully these experiences will help us prepare for similar future events.

In addition to reviewing my disaster recovery plan, a couple of new thoughts came to mind as a result of the storm that I hadn’t considered before:

Infrastructure – Part of I-94 north of Chicago (known locally as the Edens Expressway) was closed due to flooding caused by a power outage at a pumping station alongside the highway. Outdoor highways have pumping stations?

Transportation – Commuter trains were stopped due to debris and power lines on the train tracks. Other trains had to go extremely slow due to crossing gates being blown off by high winds. Whenever storms come, I have always thought trains were the safest and most reliable way to go.

Communications – Last night I was to attend the monthly meeting of Chicago networking group Circle of Progress. I did not go due to the weather, and I was going to help the organizer as he was dealing with weather issues at home. Ideally canceling the meeting would be the way to go, but the meeting is managed using Meetup.com, and nowhere in a Meetup user’s account is a field to store a phone number or emergency/last minute contact method.

Much of the things in our lives are defined as a reaction to something, whether they are laws or designs. Now I have a few more things to think about and plan for.

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