We're all selling something.

It's often said that we are all selling something. You may not be a salesperson by trade but even the act of getting married is selling yourself to someone.

Now that we can avoid the dreaded "Can I help you with something?" by shopping online, how does it affect those who sell? And those who buy?

"Stephanie Flanders asks her panel of top business guests about the fine art of salesmanship. Now we can all bypass those eager shop assistants and go online, are salesmen on the way out - or just getting a makeover?"

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The Great Climate Change Hijack

Could the focus on climate change take away from other pressing environmental issues?

I know one thing this summer in Canada global warming wasn't prevalent at all. With Edmonton having 5C nights in the middle of August, I had to wonder if it wasn't a bit of global cooling at work.

"The BBC's environment correspondent Richard Black investigates if climate change is diverting attention away from other environmental problems such as air pollution, acid oceans and species extinction.

Talk about climate change is everywhere, from the classroom to the UN. It is undoubtedly an important issue, but has our enthusiasm for tackling climate change led us to neglect other pressing and arguably more immediate environmental concerns, such as poor air quality in our major cities?

Why has climate change attracted so much political attention and the loss of plant and animal species so little?

Far from being an 'inconvenient truth', could the climate change debate actually be rather politically convenient?"

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Life changing wealth.

We've all thought about what we would do if we got the windfall that would take us to life changing wealth. For some it might be to quite your job or travel other may start their dream company or build that fantastic house.

BBC Radio Scotland is doing a series on people who have come into life changing wealth, how they did it and how it impacted their their lives.

This time the topic is more local - a Canadian engineer, Sam Malin, who struck oil in Madagascar.

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There is always opportunity...

Do criminals suffer in the credit crunch? No, they don't. Their businesses adjust and adapt to the ups and down of the economy. From the MLM structure of drug dealing to the multinational business structure used in the Mafia. Criminals are always profiting.

Obviously I'm not promoting crime!

Listen to BBC Radio Scotland digital radio download

What's happening to America's middle class?

A really interesting BBC broadcast on the changing 'typical America'.

"Stephen Smith finds out how the city of Muncie in Indiana reflects the impact of the economic crisis on the American middle class.

In 1929, the Rockefeller Institute published Middletown: A Study in Modern American Culture, a scientific study of a 'typical American city' which examined church, school, family and work in Muncie. The book was an instant hit and is still in print. It launched Muncie's reputation as the most widely studied small town in the world.

Today it is a rust-belt city grappling with de-industrialisation and deepening recession.

A co-production with American RadioWorks for BBC Radio 4."

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Work life balance - Is it possible?

Many of my corporate friends are bemoaning the fact that their overtime is now unpaid or "volunteer" in Japanese companies. By volunteer I mean they can stay if they want but if they leave it doesn't look good.

When I came to Japan 10 years ago people were working crazy hours. Generally from about 9 to 9 or longer. One man I know commuted from Yokohama to Utsunomiya 2 hours each way every day. The other alternative being to live in a separate house in Utsunomiya during the week only seeing his family on the weekends.

The extra income that overtime generated really helped fuel the economy but people really had no life. I wonder with all the free time entering people's lives if we will see some niche market opening. I've seen a lot of adult classes springing up perhaps to improve employ ability in this economy.

Here is a fantastically funny and relate-able audio file from the BBC

It's About Time - Comedian and writer Dave Cohen seeks help from experts in trying to achieve a 'work-life balance'. He hardly sees his family - during any 'downtime' he is actually looking for more work. Years of freelancing and the current economic climate make it hard to say no to any offer.

Don't Be In The 80%

I used to love listening to CBC Radio but after Morningside's Peter Gzowski, Vicki Gabereau and of course Finkleman's 45's left, my heart did too.

Instead I've tuned into BBC Radio. Recently heard on BBC Radio 5 live 'Phone In Programme' discussing the world economic recession:

Caller: 'Thanks to my financial adviser I now have a small fortune.'

Presenter: That's very interesting, tell me more.

Caller: Pause……………..

Caller: 'Mind you, I started off with a large fortune.'

Just a little joke to put a smile on your face.

Remember Pareto's law? 80% of people are frozen (in this case) fear, while 20% are out there investing (in action).

The Pareto principle states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. It was named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.

The original observation was in connection with income and wealth. Pareto carried out surveys on a variety of other countries and found to his surprise that a similar distribution applied. Because of the scale-invariant nature of the power law relationship, the relationship applies also to subsets of the income range.

Even if we take the ten wealthiest individuals in the world, we see that the top three (Warren Buffett, Carlos Slim Helu, and Bill Gates) own as much as the next seven put together.

The Pareto Principle also applies to a variety of more mundane matters: one might guess approximately that we wear our 20% most favoured clothes about 80% of the time, perhaps we spend 80% of the time with 20% of our acquaintances, etc.

As you follow the news, remember to step back and see how the 80/20 rule plays out. There are plenty of good deals out there that 80% of the people are missing.

Audio File - How To Deal With The Credit Crunch

I love BBC radio. The new iplayer offers hundreds of interesting, entertaining and enlightening programs in one easily accessible location. They have excellent financial programs - the link today is to a 1 hour show with great advice on how to avoid or deal with the credit crunch. My favorite is to take up a hobby because it keeps you home more and therefore not wasting money. *Of course the show is U.K specific*

5 Live Money - Fighting The Credit Crunch

The whole world is feeling the effects of the credit crunch and "frugality is the new black". Everyday when I check www.msn.com there are new ways to cut costs, implying that everyone wants to reduce their expenses and increase bank account balances. Today it was "how to fix up your kitchen for less"

Here is to cutting coupons!