It was about a year ago that Katie and I started Aridni, and in the last year we have had some all kinds of articles. Some good ones, some Great ones, and of course some lousy ones. Today I want to highlight what I think have been some of the years best articles for each month in 2006.

1. January - Investing: When can you start? How can you start?

One of the earlier articles from Aridni to help get you going in the stock market. What are the issues and skills you need to be aware of and possess?

2. February - I’ve got a Big Sky Booya coming at ya!

Watching Jim Cramer is like jumping into the stock market. It isn’t easy for the novice, but here are some tips to getting started.

3. March - “Acey said ten percent.” – Why less is more.

I still really like this ideology about investing less to learn more.

4. April - Weekend Homework: Define ‘Value’

What is important to you? How are your actions stacking up to what you hold important?

5. May - Marketing with MySpace

While this approach works out well in theory, it’s a lot harder than my article makes it look. I’ve been trying things out and will certainly post some new ideas about it.

6. June - How you might destroy $1,000,000 dollars or more today.

Do you keep track of your ideas? Tomas Edison didn’t either, until got fed up with losing to many. From then on Tom and ‘the boys’ filled up thousands of notebooks with all kinds of ideas and discoveries.

7. July - Expand your business with “The Three C’s”

What’s the best way for you to set raise the capital needed to increase the output of your business?

8. August - An employee finds a second job. An entrepreneur finds an opportunity.

Katie takes a moment to ask just what exactly is she working towards.

September - Have you ever considered that you are not good enough? With Billions of people in the world, you might not be good enough. By no means does it mean that those who are won’t be willing to work with you.

9. October - Is real estate calling you?

This is an article Katie wrote about some of here experiences and thoughts after spending some time in the real estate market.

10. November - On hiatus for the month!

A little break before it’s back to the grindstone.

11. December - Step back from the obsession with $

Katie gives us some reflections about money and the desire for wealth. What is money, and how does it work?

Katie found some of her favorite posts from the past year and put them in an article called Seeking Goals and Reaching Objectives - THIS YEAR

I hope that we can provide another great year of ideas and inspiration. And as always, feel free to leave a comment or even send a message with our Contact form

Today on Aridni we are going to introduce you to one of the key members of Aridni. We’ll be focusing on Todd.

Todd is currently attending the University of Montana in Missoula working towards a double major to receive degrees in Business Marketing and Business Management. Along the way Todd is also working towards a minor in Media Arts.

Todd has always had an entrepreneurial mind and business sense almost came second nature to him. Perhaps it is because as a child, he took on more ventures than most people even consider in their lives. Some were more successful, while others failed completely. Even though he is young, getting involved and passionate as a child continued as he aged and he now easily can adapt to changes in atmospheres and markets.

This article is hard to write about myself in the third person, so with that I’ll completely switch perspective if you don’t mind and talk about myself in the first person.

I have been focusing my attention on projects and businesses quite a bit. The best way to retain knowledge is to actually use it and then teach it. You can read a thousand articles about investing, but does that make you a better investor?

In theory yes, but it’s too bad that we live in a reality where this is not always the case. Yes, you want to know everything you can, especially when it comes to your fiscal matters. But there is a point where you have to say, “Okay, I have read through these articles, or books, or whatever, and now it is time to put that information to use.”

(Continue reading this article…)

Aridni will introduce you to a different staff writer every Monday. The full staff lineup can be found here.

Michelle, age 20

You may be surprised to see my unfamiliar face on the “Meet the Cast” series on Aridni. I’ll admit I am rather stunned myself. However, when asked to join the team I readily accepted the offer to be a weekly writer.

Currently I am a sophomore at the University of Montana. My life goals seem to change periodically as I am unsure of my major. However at this point I am interested in double majoring in Accounting and Business Education. I would like follow my Mom’s footsteps as a high school business teacher and educate students on the importance of the business world. But if for some reason I am unable to find a job or I simply do not enjoy the career of education, I will pursue a career in accounting.

All of my life I have been inspired to own a business. But no doubt like you, I have a dilemma: I have no idea what I would like this business to be and I haven’t the slightest idea where to start.

To educate both myself and Aridni readers, my first series of articles will be posted on Thursdays with an emphasis on developing a business.

I truly hope that you continue to read Aridni and that my unfamiliar face on Aridni will become in fact recognizable.

Aridni will introduce you to a different staff writer every Monday. The full staff lineup can be found here.

Katie, age 24

I earned an English degree at Hollins University, a fantastic women’s university in Virginia. Outside of my classrooms, I learned that money makes people feel more important than they really are. No one noticed you at my university unless you carried a Vera Bradley school bag, wore certain brands, and wore pearl strands and earrings everywhere… even with your pajamas to breakfast. I never knew about true wealth—or envy—until I went to a rich girl’s school.

How did I escape the strangling influence of envy? I remembered home. The average income in the State of Montana is $24,000. I earned a business management degree at The University of Montana. The goal of my education didn’t ever seem to be how to make a million bucks. The goal pushed at UM was how to sustain yourself and provide for your family in a rewarding company. In Montana, the quality of life matters more than the quantity in your bank account.

We live. We die. Life is about more than money. Yet a life without money is pretty difficult. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working for someone else–that feels too robotic. So I try to take risks. I have been married for one year. During the majority of this time, my husband and I have been devoting our weekends to our own investment projects. We’re trying to raise as much capital that can convert to passive income as possible. The work is tough—you’ve never met two people more enthusiastic to start work on Monday morning for the other guy, our bosses. But the greatest motivator for most people is the idea of independence. We make our own schedules and own priorities. The harder we work, the more we benefit. How often do our Monday-Friday bosses reward our extra efforts? They probably pocket the change. Knowing that my intelligence becomes hindered at work because I’m often forced to be a yes man and get paid only per minute that I’m actually doing stuff drives me crazy. Passive income fascinates me!

My decisions aren’t perfect–I did give in to a beautiful Vera Bradley bag! Every successful person confronts failures. And if a person works hard enough, I’m certain she will also confront some level of success. We have to look deep at ourselves to discover what we really want. Having money isn’t enough… well, unless your best friends have less. My husband and I started working on weekends with dreams of money. Then we shifted gears. We want to have the financial freedom to do the things we dream of–he wants to go back to school to study alternative energy and ideas like the electric car. Oil companies and car industries–the wealthiest power in the country–hate people like my husband. We cannot enter his dream career and hope to get rich. We’re looking for the joy and challenge of work in our future, not the cash.

Every night, I try to ask myself, “What can I do better tomorrow to reach my goals based on what I learned from today?” I’m convinced that I won’t have to work for money forever. Instead, I’m going to make money work for me.

Some of the Aridni articles that I find most inspiring in my financial mission include:
What does it really take to make money? finding ways within yourself to define and reach your financial desires
Is it better to let your dreams die or do a poor job? Todd’s had an idea for about a year… but he lacks skill. What do you do?
No longer the bride today a 5-step plan to seeking goals and reaching objectives
Are you climbing to the top when there is no top? examining the corporate ladder at your office
Make your success move from the polls to the ballot Women are starting new businesses twice as fast as men. Three success secrets revealed–
One month to impress Defining your image in one month, step by step

How does the idea of having more money than you need make you feel? Take out a pen and paper and write this down:

I want to be wealthy so that I can ______________________.

To reach my goal, I am willing to sacrifice the following: _____________________.

My husband and I often discuss these two questions to better understand our mission and keep ourselves in check:
We want to be wealthy so that we can—point blank—enrich our lives and give back to the community. We believe that each person has a responsibility to give back to society. My husband wants to make a positive contribution to alternative energy, more intelligent use of resources like wind, and ideas like the electric car. In other words, he wants to work against the major oil companies and car manufacturers… which obviously translates into low-paying work. At the same time, he wants to support our family, we both want to get more education, and we want to travel (he’s from Germany. What could we do to even afford live there a few years?). I think of all of the volunteer activities I’d like to do, all of the really cool but no money jobs I’d like to try, probono work I want to offer, and how much time I want to devote to my future family the way my mom dedicated herself to me.

Can a person hold wealth and still hold integrity? Your thoughts establish the role of money in your life. I only hope that through Aridni, we can help readers establish a positive, ethical means to their ultimate dream.

For question two, my husband and I figure we are risking only two things with our investment strategies: security and time.

If we—or you—feel fearful, uncertainty is going to take control. If you feel good about yourself and the efforts you are making, your positive ideas can cultivate more change and more satisfaction. I hope that Aridni generates more people like my husband who want to find a way to dedicate themselves to change our country desperately needs. With fuel prices alone, I’m sure you can agree. All I know is that I had more cheaters in my college business ethics 400-level class than any other class. How can we live that way?

Pull out your piece of (recycled?) paper one more time and answer the following:
Do you make/want to make money by creating for other people or by competing and cheating other people?

Do you devote yourself to the highest good, not just for yourself, but for as many people as you can touch?

Would you get satisfaction signing up for multiple rewards cards from companies who don’t catch your trickery because it means more money for you?

Do your methods of making money imply selfishness and greed in the eyes of others?

Does every dollar that you make equal a dollar that another person loses?

And finally, years from now, if you were to teach a thousand people how to become wealthy the way you did, would you have done these people and society a disservice?

In your quest for wealth, remember to give. Exhaust yourself in personal sacrifice.

My life-long, secret dream has always been to build my own company. I have the business idea. I’ve started the idea. And now I’m the deer in the headlights, and I can’t get past it.

Yes, I’m a world-class chicken, afraid of what many of you might think is the dumbest fear: I dread calling people and making decisions without consultation and afraid of answering the phone in fear that I can’t fulfill what the person needs done. How can I manage a business?

The truth: I can’t, not like this.

We all have weaknesses that deter us from our business dreams. No matter how petty, we first have to admit our hesitations. Then we have to jump onto those hot coals. Every day, I ask myself what I’m most fearful of doing… then I do it immediately. I make those dreaded phone calls.

1. Admit: what’s the thing you most fear doing?
2. Do it now—tackle your toughest task. (I’m calling the Simon Legree of my life right now…)