“The Banker Who Saved His Soul”

For the last month I’ve been working on the latest edits to the book. In the process, I’ve realized just how far the book has come from the first days of writing. The stories themselves have not change, but I have.

In the continued evolution of the banker’s soul, the messages within the stories have become more impactful and clear while and yet the facts remain the same. It is a testament to how much of a difference personal energy can make when sharing experiences.

Picture if you will, how someone would share their experience about a tornado while they are in the underground shelter in the middle of the catastrophe compared to how they would share the experience ten years later.

I’m enjoying making the last edits even more than I enjoyed writing the manucript. And I’m sure you’ll enjoy the book equally as much.

The Universe continues to work its mysteries. My preferred editor has unexpectedly become available again and has started to work on the book.

I had written in a previous entry how I felt that the Universe had brought about some circumstances in order to align things so that the true mission of The Banker Who Saved His Soul could be achieved.

Well, there was quite a bit of thought and shifting that took place over the month that followed that blog entry. It seems that over the last two months the book has undergone its hardening, not unlike how metal is hardened. It seems now, that it was a necessary phase to go through and that there was really no other way to go through it.

It is ironic that the very editor that was not made available to me was suddenly made available once the book itself was slightly shifted and hardened. If there is no such thing as coincidence, then this has to be a sign of universal intervention.

It was over a year ago that I had decided which editor to go with for my book. I had interviewed quite a few individuals that were all highly recommended. But, only a couple really got what my book was about and I felt held the philosophy and values that are inherent in my story. The editor I chose was a lady with extensive experience in the publishing industry and who had worked with some of the world’s leading firms.

Well, due to various reasons it took over a year before the book was ready for her involvement. So finallly last month I took her for dinner and we talked about having the book completed within about six weeks. I waited for the work agreement for weeks and it never came, each time monitoring the calendar.

Finally, when I had a heart-to-heart chat with the editor she admitted that the Television show she was working on was taking much more of her time than she planned. So, that explains why it was taking her so long to return my messages. When she told me that the earliest she could have the book done by was mid-December, I still didn’t panic. I just asked her to send me the agreement and we’ll get started.

But as more days passed and I didn’t receive the agreement I decided I had been accommodating enough and I wasn’t willing to put my book at jeopardy. As it stands now the book will be launched in the Spring, later than the fall launch I was hoping for.

Fortunately, since I had invested so much effort in finding the right editor, I had many that I had met. So, I called the person I had originally met who was my first choice for editor. She is a woman I highly respect, best-selling author, very talented, ethical and reliable. Turns out she is still very interested in working on th ebook and is looking into whether she can make changes to her schedule to work with me.

So, I wonder if all that has happened to stall the book hasn’t been the Universe’s way of aligning things the way they should be for me so that the book will be what it is meant to be.

The Banker Who Saved His Soul will first be available in e-book format. Print versions will be available shortly thereafter. I’m planning to have a launch party for the book and will have 100 autographed copies of the printed book available. These will of course be the first copies, numbered and presented as collector’s items.

The book makes an excellent gift for corporate employees or entrepreneurs that want to better understand the corporate world and how to work with them, especially how to work with their bankers.

You can get invited to the launch party by joining “The Banker Who Saved His Soul” group on www.facebook.com. Or you can email us at info@thebankerwhosavedhissoul.com asking to be included on the invitation list.

I was indulging in some Fish and Chips at a local pub yesterday with my friend Dr. Kollias.  After contemplating the economic and social situation that Baltimore finds itself in, we started exploring what could be done to turn things around.  As it turns out, all the ideas we came up with rooted back to the fundamental messae in my book. 

I thought to myself, if I could only get the people to understand the this fundamental message which I share in my book, it would make the world of a difference for Baltimore and its citizens.  Now I need to do is help the Mayor see the light.  Okay, so maybe it may not be so easy, but it is an idea and all great things begin as an idea.

It’s been years since I first started writing “The Banker Who Saved His Soul” and the reason I had started to write the book is as much there, if not more so than ever before.  To this very day I see and experience large corporations and their structures taking advantage of situations for the sole purpose of immediate profit.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m totally for profit, but not at the expense of relationships, people, ethics and simply what is right.

A good example is the whole no fault insurance in Ontario.  It is supposed to be fair to the public (that’s you and me).  But, did you know that the insurance companies have these guidelines that tells them who is at fault, simply based on the position of the cars when they collided?  It doesn’t matter if one of the drivers was driving hazardly before hand or had just missed hitting a pedestrian or had caused the accident by aggressive driving.  The claim adjuster will only consider the point of at which the cars collided.

Yet, if one driver is driving aggressively or perhaps is too old to be able to react quickly enough to avoid an accident in every day regular driving conditions and the claims adjuster is disinterested in right and wrong, but simply in applying the guidelines then that driver may go on to hurt or even kill someone.  So in a way, the insurance adjuster who is more concerned at applying the guidelines, rather than  understanding what caused the accident is as much at fault as the old lady who killed a pedestrian because of her poor reaction ability.

Yet, who can challenge the insurance companies with their billions in annual profits and with the top lawyers on retainers?  By the way, as long as a lawyer is on retainer with an insurance company, then they can’t take you on as a client.  This is sort of a monopoly on the most capable lawyers and one more reason why Insurance companies are so effective in court, even when they are not right.

So, what about the conscience of the insurance company employees?  How can that claim adjuster sleep at night knowing they are turning their head on the truth simply for the sake of convenience or profit?  Is it that they are too stupid to realize it, or is it that they are so occupied with climbing the corporate ladder, or perhaps checking their emails to take the time and care in making sure something is done right?

I’m hoping that it is simply a matter of them not realizing what is happening.  And that once they read my book, they will realize and see things differently.  Perhaps to become more caring and effective corporate employees and leaders not afraid to make the right decisions, rather than the convenient decisions.

Due to the significant events in my life over the last couple of years, including the passing of my father the publishing of the book has been delayed.  I’m presently dealing with matters at hand and am not able to focus as much effort on this book.  So, please be patient with me.  If you would like to contribute some assistance to bringing this book about, you can reach me at baldo@metroactive.org.  Look to my next update within the month.

After months of waiting for the publisher to take action, I’m now believing that they’re not going to take action at all.  Although, I’m told by other authors that it isn’t unusual to experience frustrating delays with publishers, I’ve decided that I need a contingency plan.  So, I’m falling back on my original intention to self publish. 

Tomorrow, I’ll dust off my original action plan for self publishing and update the details. 

I’m sure you’re as frustrated as I am in the delay and will agree with me that I can’t wait forever for the publisher.  A three month delay is totally unreasonable, even in this business.

So much for my publishing budget.  You wouldn’t happen to know a potential sponsor with $25,000 to donate towards the book in return for sponsorship recognition - would you?  If you do, please let me know by emailing me at baldassare@sympatico.ca.

Well, that’s it for now.  Time to re-organize this project.

This Tuesday was the last session for the MetroActive Writer’s Club at the University of Toronto for the 2005/2006 season.  Cindy Stone and Amy Lee have done a marvelous job running the club and I’ve learned so much from the sessions.  It has been a great inspiration to me.

As we prepare for the 20026/2007 season beginning in October, I will need to find other ways to keep my writing inspired and active.  Fortunately, I’ve met so many authors through the club that I have lots of support to reach out to.  I also have received many, many requests, some from across the world to co-author various business-related books.

But, sorry everyone - until I launch “The Banker Who Saved His Soul”, I won’t start on another book.  We’ll maybe I’ll jot down some notes.  For now, I need to complete the two business acquisitions I am pursuing.

Today my first choice for Editor called to tell me her main contract has doubled her workload and that she won’t be able to work on my book for the next couple of months.  This means I now need to find a new Editor.  Just when I thought I had dealt with one more item, I have to start over again.

Well, thanks to the Writer’s Club I received several recommendations and will start right away to interview them.