Law And More

Career Paths Not Requiring College or Law School: Being a Psychic

At psychic boutique in Salem, Massachusetts - Angelica of the Angels rebranded as Salem Love Angels - Barbara Szarfranski bills at $40 for 15 minutes or $70 for 30. Her assistants bill at $30 for 15 minutes.

In the field of clairvoyance, age, rather than a liability, can be a plus. Szarfranski becomes more prominent in her niche of clairvoyance with age. My own former psychic - the late Mary Ann Kremer, based in the Jersey Shore - was in high demand until her death at 82.

Another plus embedded in parapsychology as a career path is that no special education is required. That means there is accessible a well-paying mode of making a living without college. And without law school.

Sure, the gifted intuitives at Angelica of the Angels and other similar enterprises don't bill at almost $2,000 an hour like brandname lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies.

But they can live a comfortable lifestyle, without putting in extreme hours. The exception, of course, is around Halloween. The shops in Salem have waiting lines winding around the blocks. 

Also, there is broad flexibility in the tools psychics use. Those available through website Psychic Interactive rely on all kinds. Andre picks up on voice. Saint James switches between tarot and intuition. 

The Daily Mail reports that revenues in the field of parapsychology have grown 52% since 2005. Last year they reached $2.2 billion.

Backing off from formal traditional religions, Americans are more open to embracing other forms of inspiration, guidance, and being transported into another dimension.

Some psychics are born into the trade. Their grandmothers "gave readings" in the villages of Poland. One day they realized they also had the gift. That freed them from the confines of that town. As with musicians, chefs, or those who teach English as a second language, they could make a living traveling the world.

Some recognize a bit of ability, then hone their skills. Actually, top psychics such as Laurie Cabot, also from New England roots, believe that gift is available to everyone, especially women. Cabot had published the book "The Witch in Every Woman." 

How to develop the gift?

There are diverse kinds of workshops to enhance powers of concentration so that there can be a reaching beyond the normal. Some are offered at the Montclair, New Jersey Psychic School. I attended those at the Church of Tamara in Tucson, Arizona. In fact, at one of them in AZ, faith healers banished my joint pain.

However, simple training in meditation can do the trick. Buddhist monk Jack Kornfield offers that in the U.S.

More convenient is clicking online to take in the n0-cost YouTube teaching of masters such as Pema Chodron. By listening we can be lifted from the boundaries of conventional mindsets - and intuit what's blocking those of others. 

So, when ready, how to start out giving readings for revenue?

The easiest way is to hang out a shingle. There are literally plenty of those up and down the Jersey Shore. The field has no barriers to entry. And, it is unregulated. Most psychics post a disclaimer that the service is for entertainment only. It's good business to create a website and promote yourself via social media and in-person word of mouth.

Another route is to audition for an established psychic service. Just key in online "Psychic Services - employment." Up will pop "MeetYourPsychic" and "PsychicOz."

The trick, as in most lines of work, is to catapult into the big time. You want to be hired by one of the top shops which pay well and at which you will be sought after for your guidance. When your abilities are awesome, then you can apply. Or, if you play your cards right, so to speak, you can become a top shop.

Twice I have offered freelance assignments as a paid psychic. However, my own current clairvoyant recommended that I first immerse myself more comprehensively in a paranormal environment. In August I will be relocating to the southern tip of AZ, near the border of Mexico. There I hope to complete the next phase of my training.

That began in the mid 1990s with workshops throughout New England. I have a hunch what is blocking me is over-education.

This blog will continue with the series of career paths not requiring college.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Manhattan Real Estate - The World Watches the Game

Manhattan real estate is a wild game.

When property is sold, renters fill with terror. How much will the rent go up? Will they be forced out?

Law firms understand totally the importance of maintaining a prestige address, at just about any price, in order to reinforce the brandname. Cravath lawyers can't be operating out of WeWork space on a nowhere avenue. 

Real estate is voodoo. The right address casts spells.

Professional services are still locked in that branding game. And, all the investments that requires.

Meanwhile, as NYU marketing professor Scott Galloway hammered in his book "The Four," branding in consumer products could be killed off by search engines and Alexa. Here it can be ordered from Amazon.

As MarketWatch reports, the Chrysler Building has sold for relative peanuts - $150 million.

At first glance that should reduce renters' angst. Among them are probably lots of lawyers.

But the article goes on to explain that the property beneath the building is owned by Cooper Union. The rent paid to Cooper Union by the current owners is steep. In 2018, it was $32.5 million, up from the previous $7.7 million. By 2028, the new owners will have to pony up $41 million per year.

So, some of us in another kind of professional service - public relations - wonder how much The Dilenschneider Group's rent could go up. That bunch used to be housed in the MetLife building over Grand Central. Then they packed up their conference room and moved across the street. Lawyers probably ride the elevators with those influencrs.

Founded by former personal public relations representative for Roger Ailes - Bob Dilenschneider - the agency tends to represent old-line establishment kinds of accounts. Those are usually deep pockets which can pay Manhattan-like fees.

But, still, Dilenschneider and his long-time administrative assistant Joan Avagliano might be reviewing the client list and checking it twice to speculate who will be nice enough to continue with the revenue stream and who could bolt if there is any uptick in fee structure. Also, despite what Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said on "60 Minutes," a recession could be coming. There has been an increase in assignments I do for career transition enterprises. Whole industries, such as law, could be decimated. 

Meanwhile, the rank and file in public relations such as myself wonder how secure the jobs are of junior level employees at The Dilenschneider Group. The way that particular public relations agency tilts is toward hiring and retaining older talent. Here is the list. You bet, youth can be vulnerable. 

On Glassdoor, the employee rating for The Dilenschneider Group is "1" out of "5." Here are the employee evaluations.

Why is this story of interest to communications players?

Dilenschneider has been around forever. At some point in that saga, many of us worked for him at his previous job at Hill & Knowlton or the firm he founded. He's an interesting presence to watch. So is his seeming number-two Avagliano.

Not only in the public relations industry and not only in America, we have hardened into a worldwide phenomenon of steely-eyed watchers. Increasingly that is being conducted onscreen.

As more opt into a FIRE (financial independence, retire early) this has become a source of extreme pleasure. The resentments developed over a career that played out in dog years blossom into euphoria at bad news.

Also, though, there is heart-attack-producing envy. The law firm which forced out Partner X relocates to a more prestigious address. Days, weeks, months could be spent in an emotional cauldron of Hate Remembered.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Why Lordstown, Ohio Has Become Scene of "Tragedy" - Beyond the GM Corporate Decision-Making Factor

Representatives of the people, such as U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, lobbied GM et al. hard to keep the Lordstown, Ohio plant operating. Here is the AP coverage.

But, today, the last auto - a white Chevrolet Cruze - rolled off the lines.

Then, 1,700 hourly workers went on "idle." This summer the United Auto Workers will discuss with GM the ultimate fate of that production facility. Can it be retrofitted for another vehicle?

Cruze, like all sedans, has become unpopular in the lineup of vehicles in this era of SVUs and pickups. Meanwhile, the global auto industry could be entering a slowdown. 

Lordstown is part of the Youngstown Metro area. The region is stuck in Steel Past. So far it has failed to diversify as the other steel city - Pittsburgh - has. Pittsburgh, which has becoming a major gentrification town, is now known for healthcare and tech. Regarding the latter, Uber has been researching its driverless car in that city. 

Folks in the OH Valley still recount, as if it were yesterday, how it was before the steel mills closed. Everyone who wanted a job had one - and those jobs usually paid enough to provide a middle-class lifestyle. Meanwhile, the skies were darkened by the emissions from the mills. 

Currently there have been tech startups launched by those at Youngstown State University. But, that activity has not been enough to bring hope to the Valley. No wonder the region has been a sitting duck for the opioid epidemic. 

Deep family roots prevent residents, including the young, from exiting the area and trying their luck in other parts of the US or the world.

The blue collar ethos includes creating a comprehensive support system through family. For example, in this residential rental complex in Austintown, OH, millennials and iGen rely on family members to fix their car and walk their dogs in an emergency. And family always comes through.

In contrast, in developments dominated by the white collar, those services are contracted through vendors and fees paid. 

Such a helpful, reliable network contributes to the immobility of the kinds of workers idled at Lordstown. If offered employment at another GM plant in another state, they may be unlikely to accept the offer. 

Of course, small businesses in the OH Valley are being negatively impacted. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Johnson & Johnson's Spravato Approved by FDA - Could Be Breakthrough Treatment for Major Depression

Lawyers, like we writers, frequently battle clinical depression. A new form of treatment may be effective, where others have failed. Or we gave up on them because of nasty side effects.

The FDA has approved Johnson & Johnson's Esketamine, which will be marketed under the brandname Spravato. Here are more details from the media.

Likely, despite the suffering associated with clinical depression, this will be material of television comics. That's because it is closely related to party drug ketamine or Special K. And, you bet, it can be abused.

How it differs from what's already on the market is that it kicks in within hours. Traditional antidepressants require weeks to be effective. By that time there could be a suicide or a series of other kinds of bad decisions such as quitting a job. Depression can be so severe as to trigger psychosis. 

In 2003, when I lost my business, nest egg, and mind - recounted in this e-book - Zoloft didn't begin to lift me out of the darkness for about three weeks. An immediate side effect was insomnia. Longer term I gained 50 pounds.

Meanwhile, of course, I was unemployable. A cognitive therapist eventually guided me into a applying for and holding a survival job. But it would be about a year before I could put together a career transition to replace my industry which had collapsed. Had my depression been treated faster and more effectively I might not have lost so much time - and earning power. 

Spravato is administered as a nasal spray, along with an oral antidepressant. Side effects range from out of the body experiences to sedation. To prevent those and the abuse of the medication it will only be administered in healthcare facilities. Patients cannot take it home.  

For busy professionals, those too depressed to show up, or those who sense they should keep their clinical depression under wraps, the need to go to a healthcare facility could be a deterrent. 

Chronic depressives like myself may be skeptical about the potential touted about this treatment. We recall when Prozac was supposed to be a miracle drug. Maybe it had been for some. But not us. 

Meanwhile there are confidential ways to reach out for a lifeline.

One is contacting Samaritans at 212-673-3000. It's free. It operates 24 hours. And those who pick up the phone listen. 

Another is just opening up about one's loss of hope to a trusted friend. Many who are honest in the helping professions will admit that can be as much a mood-lifter as formal psychotherapy. Or, even more effective because the interaction is totally horizontal. In therapy there could be the reality or the perception of a vertical or top-down relationship.

Hope, I have found, operates like a type of voodoo. It can cast spells. Yes, unleashed can be unique white magic. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

How an almost 60-something, in 6-figure debt pulled off a FIRE (financial independence, semi-retire early)

In 2003, as I chronicle in this e-book, I was lugging around 6-figure debt.

My industry had collapsed. So, obviously, I had to do a career change.

I was over-50 and feared age bias.

Meanwhile, genius cognitive therapist Amy Karnilowitz, LMFT, based in West Hartford, Connecticut, mandated I get a survival job, any job. That's where humor kicked in. Five-foot me somehow wound up doing security in inner city retail. 

For about 6 months now, I have been doing a FIRE (financial independence, [semi] retirement). That is, my customized version of it. I continue to work about 45 hours a week. But it's totally on my terms. I only agree to accept work I decide is stimulating, with clients who are simpatico, and where the fee structure is fair. 

How did I go from being a pawn in the system of capitalism to one of its masters? Here is how I interpret the key steps in the journey:

Took a vow of poverty - now called "radical saving" - and stuck with it. Even for professional attire, I shop (carefully) at Goodwill and higher end consignment stores. Although I can afford to buy a house again I don't take on the financial uncertainty associated with the American Dream.

Picked up fast that I had aged out of doing business in New York Metro area. Actually, it took 3 trips into Manhattan from CT to pitch for accounts for my two startups to get it: The "they" perceived me as old. Therefore, paying that high rent wasn't paying off. I retrofitted my businesses to being totally telecommuting and relocated to the lower cost of living in Arizona. 

Picked up even faster on what else was changing. Where I residing in AZ was becoming gentrified by those relocating from California. Of course, the cost of living was no longer low. I researched other locations and, again, moved.

Another shift I sensed and acted on was that I had to purge my network of people who were not good fits - probably never had been. Here is how that process played out. And, here is my more recent insight on the need for an ongoing Network Cleanse. 

Invested. That was scary. There are no sure things. Those safe investments might not track with inflation. The ones in equities could be total losses. But, now I have enough of a locked-in reserve not to have to worry. 

Navigated emotional lows in cost-efficient ways. It doesn't take a trip back to Manhattan to shake off whatever. I can't explain the dynamics but a day trip to a large lake in the worst of winter can unleash the same mood-lifting magic.

Learned extreme self-forgiveness. Damn it, I got played two weeks ago by a brandname in my industry. I invested lots of work at the front end. The expectation was getting a piece of action in a big project. Humans plan, the gods laugh. Had I not been able to forgive my gullibility, I wouldn't have been able to reach out for help. The best advice I received was: Pray he gets what he deserves. I pray that every day. 

What specific advice would I give to other over-50 who feel they will never be able to row to the Promised Land of being whole again, emotionally and financially? 

Answer: Take that leap into self-love. It's never too late. And, all too often, it takes the worst of times to see and accept the best in ourselves.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Females & The Law - "Good Girls" Will Continue to Explore How Traditionally Socialized Mothers Go Rogue

The previews for the kick-off of the second season of "Good Girls" are juicy. The second season starts Sunday, March 3rd, on NBC, at 10 P.M. New York time. 

In the previews, one of the former traditional housewives gone rogue - Beth Boland - has crossed yet another line.

It appears she and Gangbanger Rio have had an encounter of a sexual kind. Fellow former good girl gone bandit and more Ruby Hill simply asks: How was it? Beth's husband is on the wimpy side.

This series has caught fire because it mirrors the shift in socialization of women as their problems and opportunities change. The three mothers in a Detroit suburb had encountered financial disaster.

Beth couldn't pay the mortgage. The family would lose the house.

Ruby's daughter needed a pricey transplant, not covered by the family's medical insurance.

Annie Marks, Beth's sister, has to fight for custody for her child who is on the way to transgender. Her former husband wants therapy to address the gender issue. Legal expenses are way beyond her income as a clerk in a grocery store.

Their first walk on the wild side is to rob that grocery story. Then they move on to more complex kinds of crime.

As they do, their confidence surges. Each comes into her own. Yet, despite their new sense of self, their relationships with each other deepen. When there is a setback in their life of crime or in their personal lives, they are one for all and all for one.

This series could be the kind of model of what is going on in the culture that "All in the Family" and "Law & Order SVU" had been. Ph.D. students in Media or American Culture could be doing their dissertations on how "Good Girls" gave permission to mothers to bypass socializing their daughters for traditional female values.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

The Occult and A Convoluted Plot/Subplot Don't Fit - Lousy Episode of "NCIS New Orleans"

The hardnosed detectives in "NCIS New Orleans" operate in the environment of the occult. That's the offbeat charm of the series.

But, last night that was undermined by complexity. Both the main plot and the subplot were so convoluted that I almost gave up following.

The lead story focused on an eccentric journalist who faked his own death to force an investigation of a series of murders. Law enforcement contends they are solved. The journalist doesn't agree.

Algorithms are introduced. At first the dots are connected based on the assumption that there has been a conspiracy mirroring that of "Strangers on a Train." Then that's ditched. Instead of being drawn into the mystery we quickly get worn down.

Woven around that is the former CIA agent who relapses into alcoholism. He is haunted by what he perceives as a coverup of the murder of an entire family. The details are many. Actually, so many that we really don't give a damn. 

Hopefully, this series will contract with writers who value simplicity.

The one series in which writers are getting away with complexity is "A Million Little Things." The audience is buying into the layers and layers of mystery surrounding Jon's suicide.

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That ranges from blog posts and e-books to planning/scripting podcasts and creating traditional speeches. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence and sell without paying high rates, janegenova374@gmail.com. 

Legal Marketers - Yes, You Can Get Fired Hiring X or Y Public Relations Agency

The media can't catch up to how technology, consumer preferences, and politics keep changing its business. 

Consequently, to survive, in 2018, it cut 15,474 jobs (source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas). Those reductions in force (RIFs) hit mediums ranging from television to print to movies. Here are more details from the New York Post.

The major problem is figuring out a business model which will sustain and scale revenues.

Advertising is not the answer since Facebook and Google "own" 58% of that market.

In addition, more consumers are deciding on what to buy based on messaging from influencers in social media. For example, the college kid discussing fashion on Instagram constitutes a type of Direct-to-Consumer messaging. It can have more reach than an ad in Conde Nast's Vogue.

Also, as New York University marketing professor Scott Galloway hammers, more and more purchasing is done without the middleman via search engines and devices like Alexa. Brands? The concept is being reconfigured. Read his thinking in his book "The Four."

Paywalls are iffy. Here is my recent article on that wild card which I published in Odwyerpr.com. Right now, thanks to the volatility in politics, media outlets such as The New York Times are experiencing surges in digital subscriptions. But, if local, national, and international politics settles down or becomes of less interest there could be fewer willing to pony up the "toll" to get by the paywall. Yes, it's possible that politics can return to be background noise.

Another challenge has been the Trump Administration's criticism of the objectivity and accuracy of media. That has undermined dependence on media for everything from news to insight about world affairs.

It could be that what we traditionally know as "media" will evolve into an entity that is very new. And, of course, disruptive.

Meanwhile, not only are jobs being lost.

So is power. How much reach do once-influential voices such as Gabriel Sherman's and Graydon Carter's have in February 2019? 

In addition, the growing popularity of podcasting is sucking advertising from traditional media to the hosting businesses. Podcasting is growing at a rate of about 30% annually. The public can also tune in podcasts rather than turning to traditional sources of media to retrieve news and commentary.

The implications for public relations are eye-popping.

Obviously, there are no longer trusted formulas for getting, keeping, modifying, and scaling the right kinds of attention for clients.

In itself, that can force out old-time players in the industry.

A new college graduate, savvy in technology and grassroots influence, can hang out a shingle, compete on price, and take on public relations agencies which are below the top elite tier. More help-wanted ads specify only individuals, not formal communications agencies, should respond. 

It could remain the business reality that legal marketers don't get fired hiring Edelman but they can get fired paying "too much" to a midsized firm whose kinds of work can be done by an upstart shop. 

Legal marketing has to become open to emerging models for messaging. And, fast. 

Need affordable help strategically planning and putting together content? That includes podcast scripting and talking points. Complimentary consultation on how to generate influence without paying high rates, janegenova374 Need @gmail.com. 

Woody Allen v. Amazon - Long Reach of #MeToo, Ronan Farrow

Is Woody Allen finished?

He is if no entity will distribute his films.

And, things could be shaping up that way.

Amazon has backed out of its legal agreement with Allen to distribute the movie "A Rainy Day in New York" and another four movies. Here is a copy of that agreement.

In response, Allen has filed a $68 million lawsuit against Amazon. Here is the coverage in The Wall Street Journal.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York, contends breach of contract without cause. Here is a copy of the complaint.

Sure, there's the #MeToo movement.

And, sure, the now powerful investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, Allen's biological son, continually has been alluding in the media to the alleged molestation of adopted sister Dylan.

In addition, Dylan also had been a busy bee. Her communication with the most reach had been her letter to The New York Times about the alleged sexual misconduct when she was a child.

Of course, all that had to be a factor in the cancellation.

But Allen's argument - a solid one - is that the Amazon powers that be were aware of those allegations when they entered into the contract.

Allen could win the litigation or receive a hefty settlement. But going the lawsuit route to restore his reputation and get going again distribution of his films is a slow one. By its nature, litigation filed in the U.S. legal system can take years - even to settle. Defendants are advised by the their lawyers to leverage delay as at least one legal strategy.

In addition, what has to be factored in is that it's the mission of those in the defense loop to discredit the plaintiff and the case in the courts of public opinion. Allen could again go through the reputational wringer. Old-time actor Fatty Arbuckle won in court but his career never recovered.

By the time the lawsuit is won or settled, Allen's career could have proceeded beyond the point of repair. A dark spell seems to have been cast on him.

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.

 

Kelsey Berreth - Nurse Krystal Lee Expected to Take Plea Deal for One Count

Hope for finding Kelsey Berreth alive essentially no longer exists.

Although no body has been discovered as yet, law enforcement has moved close to presenting evidence that the mother of a young child had been murdered.

The most recent development on that front is, reports AOL, that the nurse in the loop - Krystal Lee - will be taking a plea, accepting guilt for one count. That is to happen this week.

The assumption is that she helped Patrick Frazee with the alleged murder. Frazee, who had been engaged to Berreth, is in jail facing two counts of murder and three counts of soliciting help in committing the crimes. 

In addition, Berreth's parents are filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Frazee.

With Valentine's Day coming up soon, it's imperative for lovers and those searching for love to recognize the risk that goes along with the strong passions associated with romance.

With the easy availability of guns a domestic resentment could quickly turn deadly. Despite the efforts of "Dateline" to hammer that law enforcement automatically assumes the lover is a person of interest, both males and females continue to off their significant other. And are confident they will get away with it.

Takeaway: Love can cast deadly spells.

Get amazing results through out of box communications strategies/content. Complimentary consultation janegenova374@gmail.com. I help, not sell.