The Law of Accumulation may be the most terrifying concept in this book. Unlike the ideas I have advocated, this “Law” is in effect whether we choose to apply it or not. The Law of Accumulation is a fancy way of what we focus on is who we will become. Fortunately, in life we can focus on more than one thing – but not too many. If we put too many balls in the air, we become someone with too many balls in the air. “Jack of all trades, master of none” used to be an insult. In the global economy, it’s a death sentence.

You can apply this further: whatever we focus on, we become expert in – though I prefer the word “aficionado” for expertise that has little or no chance of improving our lives. Before going to bed, I often watch bad movies on HBO or Cinemax. Therefore, I am becoming a bad movie aficionado. It is not affecting my livelihood, but it’s not helping my livelihood either.

We all know people who hit happy hour every day. They are becoming happy hour experts. So it is that the Law of Accumulation can work for us, or against us, or often a bit of both. But if we want to change our economic destinies, we had better find a way to use this law to our advantage.

Not long ago, I was working on my laptop at the Northampton Brewery, putting the finishing touches on Resumes from Hell. A woman came up to me and belted out, “I’ve always wanted to write a book!” To which I said to her: “Three hours a week for three years, and you’ll have it.” It was not the answer she wanted to hear. We prefer to think of these things as beyond our reach. If it’s impossible to accomplish dramatic things, then we can feel more secure in our rationalizations as we bury our best chances in beer and slot machines.

The Law of Accumulation is the enemy of rationalization. That’s because applying the law doesn’t require a lot of time, just consistency. Was it a pain in the ass to write a book one day a week over three years? Sure. But the work got done. This new book is less graphic-intensive and should only take two years. Same deal: three hours a week. The Law of Accumulation says I will eventually be an author of many books. Will this solve all my problems? No. But will these published assets give me a chance to improve my life professionally and financially? That’s a bet I’d be willing to make.

On some level, we all like to fantasize that we are in the process of becoming rock stars, business tycoons, and other “persons of influence.” The Law of Accumulation deflates these fantasies with a sharp taste of the truth. If we spend most of our time serving coffee, we are becoming Baristas, and not much else. Perhaps the most bitter aspect: the things we focus on are not necessarily out of choice, but out of financial obligation.

Fortunately, we can counter-act the trend of our dominant time commitment by initiating a counter-balancing, subordinate time commitment that develops a different theme. Eventually, a new theme matures to the point that it shifts our lives and brings on new and better opportunities.

“Developing themes” does get a little tedious. Most people would rather go snowboarding – so we have a culture of Baristas who also happen to be snowboarding aficionados. Along those lines, some folks work jobs they can’t stand in order to save for exotic vacations. You know the score: the Law dictates that these folks are becoming people who have yucky jobs and go on nice vacations. Eventually, crummy jobs add up to bad careers. It becomes necessary to supplement the yearly escapes with a little Prozac or whisky shots or whatever else softens the mirror.

For some, this is an acceptable tradeoff. But then again, if you were perfectly happy with your life, you wouldn’t be reading this book. No worries: if you are ok with the tradeoffs of your life choices, you have little to fear from the Law of Accumulation. On the other hand, if you’re like me, you are haunted by things not done and life not yet lived.

If you burn for more than the crap you’ve been served, then you’d best take this law seriously. That means fighting for the time to develop an asset that may someday change your life. And yes, sometimes this means pushing away from the bar or the pool table or the fantasy football league. On the bright side, your projects will save you from a lot of bad movies and yawner parties. Tough out the bad job if you must, but find a time or savings gap somewhere. Take less exotic vacations and claim the time and resources to finance a dream you don’t want to offer up as the so-called “price” of growing up.

Most good lives are structured by hard choices. But sometimes we give up too much because we think our window of opportunity has closed. The Law of Accumulation (short for the Law of Accumulated Experience) says this isn’t so. A few hours a week may be enough to develop the skills that could transform us. As for what to focus on, that’s up to you, but if money is at the root of your problems, then be sure to choose something that passes my aficionado-versus-expert test.

According to this test, you can’t become a balloon animal expert, only an aficionado. I’m not sure you can become a knitting expert, and I know for sure you can’t become an expert on techno jams. Unless you see a financial connection, you’re better off leaving those things in the recreational/hobby column and choosing another expertise to develop. Make sure this expertise is something you can become “world class” in. And make sure it’s experiential. By that I mean: pick something that’s not just book-learning, but the applied learning of hands-on skills, shaped by the “best practices” available.

Becoming a marketable expert is not the ultimate destination. It is only an intermediate phase, and it brings some traps of its own that we’ll cover in a bit. But becoming a sought-after expert is a significant step. The more you can make your mark as someone with unique know-how, the more you can dictate your own terms with the marketplace.

As an expert, you’ll have a market value that allows you to take your skills to the best situation possible and not be held captive by one company. It’s not easy to get there, but the Law of Accumulation can help you. And if you don’t put it to work, it just might turn on you.

Want to buy Free From Corporate America or see reviews of the final published version from readers like yourself? The printed book is now available on Amazon.com with product reviews.

You can also get a discounted version of the final book in eBook (PDF) format, or you can pick up a copy on the Kindle. The published version of the book is significantly enhanced from the web version available on this site.