Life and Biz

Why Positive Thinking Is Bad for You

2010-03-23T23:29:00.001-05:00

"To everyone is given the key to heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell."

Ancient Proverb

Why Positive Thinking Is Bad for You
By Srikumar Rao

The "power of positive thinking" is so firmly enshrined in our culture that knocking it is a little like attacking motherhood or apple pie. Many people swear by positive thinking, and quite a few have been helped by it. Nevertheless, it is not a very effective success tool -- and it can be downright deleterious. There are much better ways to get the benefits that positive thinking allegedly provides.

Perhaps the statement that best exemplifies positive thinking is "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade." It seems so obvious that this is good advice that we never question the wisdom of the adage. But it does not take a whole lot of digging to unearth the flaws in this reasoning.

For one thing, did life really hand you a lemon -- or was that merely your initial, unthinking reaction upon finding yourself in a difficult situation? And is being handed a lemon really a bad thing?

No matter what happens to us in life, we tend to think of it as "good" or "bad." And most of us tend to use the "bad" label three to 10 times as often as the "good" label. When we label something as "bad," we greatly increase the odds that we will experience it as such. And that is when we assume that we need to apply positive thinking. We have been given a lemon, and we had better scramble to salvage something out of the situation by making some lemonade out of it.

How tiresome and tiring!

Think back on your life. Can you recall instances when something that you initially thought was a bad thing turned out to be not so bad after all -- perhaps even spectacularly good?

Maybe, for example, you missed the early-morning train that you always take to get to work on time, and you had to wait a whole hour for the next one. But in that hour, you struck up a conversation with someone else who had missed that train... and a beautiful friendship developed. Or maybe you didn't get a job that you desperately wanted. But then you were unexpectedly offered a much better job -- which you would not have been able to accept had it not been for the earlier rejection.

And consider the story of Olympic champion Michael Phelps. He broke his wrist after slipping on some ice. He was in the middle of intense training for the Beijing games, and thought his career as a swimmer was over. But his coach wouldn't let him quit. And though he couldn't swim for a few weeks, he kept training just by kicking his legs.

Phelps did make it to the Olympics, and he won the 100-meter butterfly by one of the closest margins in athletic history -- 1/10th of a second. Turns out the weeks of kicking had given him leg strength he'd never had before. While his opponent had to stop kicking and glide at the end of the race, Phelps was able to keep going and win.

Now, let me propose something radical and revolutionary: No matter what happens to you -- no matter how terrible it may seem -- you do not stick a "bad" label on it. You are fired from your job... your mortgage lender sends you a foreclosure notice... your spouse files for divorce... or whatever. Is it possible, just possible, that the reason you experience such things as personal tragedies is because you have been conditioned to think of them that way?

In his book Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl tells about a beautiful girl from a privileged background who was grateful to be in a concentration camp because it allowed her to connect with a spiritual side of herself that she never knew existed. Observations like this led Frankl into his life's work of trying to determine why, when faced with extreme adversity, some people flourish while others disintegrate.

Many who rise triumphantly never label what they go through as "bad" and, thus, don't agonize over it. They simply take it as a given -- like an engineer surveying a swamp through which a road is to be built. From his perspective, the swamp is not a bad thing. It is merely something that has to be addressed in his construction plan.

If you never label a situation as "bad," you won't experience it that way. You won't need positive thinking to get yourself through it. And all of the stress associated with figuring out how to make lemonade out of your lemon simply goes away.

That's a lot different than saying to yourself: "This is bad. Really bad. But somehow I will make some lemonade out of this lemon -- and then perhaps it won't be so bad." What you're doing, here, is falling victim to the huge pebble in the positive-thinking shoe. First you think your situation is bad. Then you think you will somehow make it less bad. Meanwhile, you can't help but wonder if you're just kidding yourself. And if you don't manage to make lemonade out of your lemon, you're devastated -- because the success tool you were conditioned to believe in caved in on you. That's why I say that, in some cases, positive thinking can be harmful.

Can you actually go through life without labeling what happens to you as "good" or "bad"? Sure you can. But you have to train yourself not to do it. You have been conditioned to think of what happens to you as being either bad or good. And you can de-condition yourself. It is neither easy nor fast, but it is possible.

Let's say you break your leg. Yes, there is some unpleasant stuff you have to do -- like having a doctor set the broken bone and going to therapy when the cast comes off. But the real unpleasantness in this situation is what you inflict on yourself: "Why did this have to happen to me? Bad things always come my way. I am in such pain." All of that is simply baggage. You don't have to pick up this load -- and the only reason you do is because you were never told that you don't have to.

I am telling you now. Don't pick up that useless burden. Don't label what happens to you as "bad." Then you won't need positive thinking -- and much of the stress in your life will simply disappear. Poof! Just like that.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article- "Why Simple Writing Works Better"

2010-03-11T10:53:00.001-06:00

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don't know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use." Ernest Hemingway

Why Simple Writing Works Better
By John Forde

Someone once asked me...

Why I would, so often...

(at least in copy)...

Use so many...

One-line paragraphs...

And so many... well... of these things: "..."

Of course, the above is exaggerated.

But there's no getting around it...

Many copywriters really do use a lot of one-line paragraphs.

Or even one-word sentences.

Why?

Let me explain...

Imagine that you are reading, say, an e-zine that you happen to subscribe to. Much like Early to Rise, for example. You love it as ever, but you've noted quietly to yourself -- in those deep, dark hours of the night when you lie in bed thanking the heavens for all good things -- a new and disturbing change in said e-zine.

Namely that the e-zine editor seems to have lost the key marked "return" on his keyboard.

Now all his paragraphs are long, even formidable, having gone from one line, two lines, or even the occasional three to five lines, all the way up to 10 lines, 12 lines, or, God forbid, entire pages of lines with no visual break where you might rest your eyes and take a little ocular breather now and again -- something essential when you set out to read vast tomes that present weighty ideas, especially those limited, as most text today usually is, to black print on white for the bulk of the message; a problem only compounded if the same said editor has also lost his key marked "." as well.

See what just happened?

My guess is that you had to go back and read that paragraph a couple times just to stay with the thread. You may even have gone back once to check whether it is, indeed, all one long and rambling sentence.

How easy was it for you to read that paragraph? I'll guess again: not very.

Of course, there are lots of writers who live for that long, unwieldy style. Many of them work for law firms and city governments.

But even a few famous fiction writers love to get away with long sentences, uninterrupted by something so plebian as punctuation or manual line breaks.

Take author Jonathan Coe, who pounded out a 13,955-word sentence in his 2001 novel The Rotter's Club. Then there's the Polish novel with the translated title Gates of Paradise, which includes a 40,000-word sentence. If you're really a glutton for punishment, go for the Czech novel that's one sentence start to finish.

Copywriters -- the good ones -- just don't do things that way.

For one, it's just too tough for people to read big blocks of text. They look foreboding.

So we opt instead for smaller lines, shorter sentences randomly interspersed, and tight punchy ideas... because they let our readers breathe while reading.

Shorter paragraphs, words, and sentences don't slow readers down. They can even egg a reader onward, because it's no big feat to take in "just one more line"... "and one more"... until he's finished reading the column, the page, or the entire piece you've written.

The biggest reason for writing mostly in short, compact lines is that this style mimics the way we speak. And good copy almost always wants to sound conversational.

To see what I mean, try taping your next conversation.

Or read plays and screenplays.

And listen closely to the dialogue in a (good) movie.

It's quick. It's tight. It's clear.

And in copy, you're better off writing the same way.

When the writing is breezy, uncomplicated, and conversational, it also feels more accessible. But when it's cursed by big fat blocks of text and sentences choked with dependent clauses, long paragraphs that are grammatically perfect but dense, readers can get scared off in a hurry.

To sum up:

Please DO use line breaks in your copy. And your e-mails. And your blogs, e-zines, plus anything else you want to have that "easy-to-read" feel.

Please DO use those breaks judiciously. Sometimes with a one-liner. Sometimes with three lines. And yeah, sure, sometimes with a five-line heifer. But rarely more.

Be sure, too, to vary the blocks so you've got some long. Some short. But with no discernible (distracting) predictability.

Remember how you learned, back in school, to always present your paragraphs as "thesis, body, conclusion?" Well... don't do that. Learn it, but then avoid it most of the time. At least in copy.

Instead, imagine a strand of thread stitched through each paragraph block. Even the one-liner visual breaks. Just as you look to jump that white gap between paragraphs, ask yourself... "Where am I going to put my next stitch?"

Remember how your teacher told you never to start sentences with "but," "because," or "and"" Forget that too. At least some of the time. In real conversation, we break this rule often.

If you've ever looked longingly at your ";" key, purge that urge right now. Really. It's not recommended. And back away from dependent clauses as well. You're usually better off clipping each sentence at a single idea. Then starting the next sentence where you left off.

What else? One- or two-word questions are a nice way, sometimes, to urge your reader onward.

Beware of format when you make your paragraph breaks. Too many one-liners in succession, for instance, look funny in a two- or three-column layout. Equally, a three-line paragraph in a letter becomes a very long block when you go to columns. If you can mark up a post-production draft, scan for lines that need re-breaking.

A freebie: Line-breaks count in headlines and subheads too. Visually, you want one or two lines. Three at most. Usually of equal length, but do try to start new lines with verbs, numbers, or otherwise alluring bits of text. Never with throwaway words.

Sound about right?

Let's hope so.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-"The Creativity Of Constraints

2010-03-11T00:28:00.002-06:00

mnmlist: the creativity of constraints

On this site, I embrace a 400-word limit (unless it doesn’t make sense). It forces me to be concise, to focus on smaller topics, to choose the important, to be creative.

Yes: constraints force us to be creative.

Often, constraints, limitations, are seen as a negative, but to me they’re a feature. They might restrict freedom and force sacrifices, sure, but they also force us to choose. And to work within and around the constraints.

When we must work within limits, we have to figure out how to make those work. This forces us to think outside our normal mode of thinking, to think of new ways to make things work.

Consider:

When we have a small home, we must find new ways of living within that small space, instead of being lazy and doing whatever we want with lots of space.
When we must use fewer words, we must choose them wisely, instead of spilling them out carelessly.
When we eat fewer calories, we must choose more nutritious and yet tasteful foods, to make them count.
When we have less storage space, we must choose only the most important things, and make do with less.
When we limit ourselves to four sentences per email, we must say the essential, creatively.
I could go on all day, but that would be contrary to my point. What constraints can you place on yourself, and how can you work creatively with them?

This posting is from MMlist, a blog by Leo Babauta.

Article- The Other Seven Wonders of the World

2010-03-03T10:44:00.001-06:00

"Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

The Other Seven Wonders of the World
By Harvey Mackay

A group of students was asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there are so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are:

1. To see
2. To hear
3. To touch
4. To taste
5. To feel
6. To laugh
7. And to love."

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder -- that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.

A reader sent me the above story. Wow! This is certainly something to think about.

We're so busy looking for the big picture that we sometimes miss the little pictures that make it up. It's true in all aspects of life, personal and professional. You can deal with the personal side; I'd like to explore the wonders of life at work.

If you look at what's important in your company, certainly a successful bottom line is right up there, but how do you get there?

Can you be successful without a contented workforce? Products you believe in enough to use yourself? Sterling reputation? A real desire to be the best? These are the simple elements of any successful individual or company.

In other words, can you see your way to success? Can you feel it? Can you taste it? Can you smell it? Is it calling to you? Will you have some fun getting there, and will you love what you do?

President Woodrow Wilson phrased it eloquently: "You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forgot the errand."

Thomas Watson Jr., former chairman of IBM, often told anecdotes about his father, Thomas Watson Sr., founder of the company. One of them went like this: "Father was fond of saying that everybody, from time to time, should take a step back and watch himself go by."

I invite you to do just that today. Then ask yourself some questions: Am I making things more complicated than they need to be? Am I getting a good look at everything that's going on around me? Am I using that information to improve my performance? Am I looking for big changes when little changes would make a bigger difference? Am I making more work for others and myself? Do I appreciate the simple gift that each day is?

The answers need not fly in the face of simplifying matters. Instead, they should help you see that, frequently, a simple solution will solve most problems. It's been said that making the simple complicated is commonplace, but to make the complicated simple requires creativity.

Like a great sculptor who chips away at a massive piece of marble to reveal its simple beauty, try to approach matters at work to get to the very core of the issue. It doesn't matter if you're talking about sales, manufacturing, marketing, management, or whatever. Keeping things simple will avoid a lot of complications down the road.

Mackay's Moral: Simplicity is the eighth wonder of the world.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Five Steps to Creating a Balanced Life

2010-03-02T12:46:00.002-06:00

"The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty,
character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty."
-- Zig Ziglar

Five Steps to Creating a Balanced Life

By MaryEllen Tribby

It was a simple business call. My colleague - "Larry" - had invited me to speak to his mastermind group on a teleconference later in the week. Nothing out of the ordinary. But my sister-in-law's mouth was hanging wide open.

"I can't believe he called you at 9:00 at night! Don't you think that is totally inappropriate?" Annmarie asked.

Larry wanted me to speak to his mastermind group about accelerating their businesses' growth via multi-channel marketing. Given the fact that his attendee list included people like Alex Mandossian, Tony Robbins, and John Carlton - people I personally considered my mentors - I was honored to accept.
When I tried explaining this to my sister-in-law, she just waved her hand and said, "In my day, when you left the office at 5:00, you were done until 9:00 the next morning."

I thought about dropping the subject, but I couldn't resist the challenge.
She opted for early retirement about six years ago - but I asked her if, during her working years, she'd ever left the office to pick up a sick kid from school, go to a dentist appointment, or meet the cable man at her house.

When she begrudgingly nodded her head yes, I knew I had her attention. And I hope I have yours as well. If you think that your work life exists only between 9:00 and 5:00 ... and that your home and social life exists only between 5:00 and 9:00, you need to make a change.
I recommend that you resolve, right here and now, to make your life better, more rewarding, and more balanced. And I'm going to help you do it.

Who am I to talk about balance? Well, I'm a happily married mother of three who runs her own business. Over the past few years, I've gotten pretty good at managing all the different aspects of my life in a way that makes me feel happy and proud.
The very first step to creating a happier, healthier lifestyle is to realize that "9:00 to 5:00" no longer applies. By giving yourself the flexibility to do business at all hours of the day or night, you are actually better able to enjoy both your work and your family even more.

This may sound counter-intuitive but by taking the following five simple steps, you will be able to break free of the 9:00 to 5:00 shackles.
Creating Balance Step One: Define what a balanced life means to you.

Many people think that having a balanced life means spending the same number of hours on work as you do on personal activities. This is a big mistake, because most of the time its not realistic.

To define what will work for you, you need to take into consideration that life is constantly changing. And the right balance for you today may not be the right balance for you tomorrow or next week or next month, because over time your priorities change. The one constant in knowing you have a balanced life is the feeling of accomplishment and happiness you enjoy every day.
Creating Balance Step Two: Create Boundaries.

Some people may agree with my sister-in-law that receiving a business call at 9:00 at night is inappropriate. But the way I look at it is that Larry is someone who is good for my organization and good for my career. Besides, when I met him at a conference earlier this year, he asked me for the best way to reach me. I gave him my e-mail address and my cell number. So why shouldn't he call?
And keep in mind that I made the decision to take his call that night - I created the boundary. It happened to be a good time to talk. However, if he'd made the call 90 minutes earlier - when I was doing homework with the kids - I would have let it go to voice mail and called him back when it was convenient for me.

Later that week, I was the keynote speaker on the mastermind teleconference Larry had invited me to. Many of the attendees learned a great deal. In fact, I got several e-mails from attendees saying they'd purchased Changing the Channel, the book on multi-channel marketing that I co-authored with Michael Masterson. Others called or e-mailed to ask if they could promote the book to their in-house list.
Had I adopted the attitude that I would do business only from 9:00 to 5:00, I may have lost out on a wonderful opportunity that proved to be valuable both to my company and to me personally.

Because I advocate balance, I support the efforts my team members make in striving for balance in their own lives. Some of them work in the evening and/or on the weekends. So I have no problem with it if they need to leave to take care of something personal. I truly believe that your accomplishments aren't dependent on how much time you spend in the office.
Creating Balance Step Three: Learn how to say "No."

No one wants to say no to their boss, their spouse, their employees, their friends, or their kids. But to achieve balance, you are going to have to do it once in a while.

We all have the same 24 hours in a day. And we cannot possibly do everything that we want to do AND everything that everyone else wants us to do. So a big part of leading a more balanced life is to cut down on unnecessary tasks and protect your priorities.

When requests or conflicts are set before you, ask yourself: "Is this going to give me a feeling of accomplishment and a feeling of happiness?"

Years ago, a good friend of mine - "Rita" - wanted my husband and me to meet her new boyfriend. He was "the one" as she put it. So we made dinner plans for the following evening.

But when our two-month-old baby Delanie woke up in the morning, she had a fever. I called Rita and apologized, but told her we would have to cancel. I just did not feel right about leaving the baby with a sitter.

Rita was irate. She said I was overreacting, and asked how I could possibly feel that way given that Delanie was our third child.

As I held Delanie though the day and night, I knew I had made the right decision. But I was saddened by Rita's anger - and her anger lasted for weeks.

Then, about five weeks after the infamous missed dinner, Rita called to say that "the one" had dumped her. This time it was her turn to apologize, saying that now she realized I had made the right decision.

Social decisions are one thing, but work decisions can be more difficult. You must learn that sometimes you have to choose your family, your health, or even your social life over work. And you'll also have to make some hard decisions to put work first.

For instance, I take my health seriously. A few months ago, a doctor's appointment conflicted with a last-minute visit from one of the industry's top marketing minds. The only chance I had to see him was during the time I'd reserved for my appointment. Since I wasn't sick and the appointment was for a simple check up, I didn't think twice about rescheduling.

Creating Balance Step Four: Keep a journal.

The only way to make your life better is to understand what you're doing, what's working, and what isn't. And there are far too many things going on in our lives to try to keep it all in our heads.

So keep a journal. Write down what you spend time on - everything from the meetings you attend to how many times you go to the gym.
Keeping a journal will help you see if you are spending your time in the most productive way - and it will make you accountable for your actions. It will help you accomplish your professional and personal goals, and will make you proud of those accomplishments.

Creating Balance Step Five: Understand that you're not a superhero.
Having a balanced life means being realistic. Realistic about the fact that some things are just not going to get done. And you have to be okay with that.

When my husband and I got married 13 year ago, we both had busy careers. But we still enjoyed spending time decorating and upgrading our home with art and new furniture. After a busy day, we loved coming home to our immaculate sanctuary.

Well... once we had kids, things started looking a lot different. Instead of the beautiful vase I picked up in Mexico on the coffee table - there was a stuffed Elmo. Soon our Tiffany picture frames were replaced by toy trains. And many days, while we're making dinner, the kids have all the pots and pans on the floor.

But instead of spending my time cleaning up and trying to make my house look perfect, I would much rather play with the kids, banging on the pots and pans with them and playing with trains.

There are always things out of place in my house - but that is exactly the way it should be. Because when I come home to my family, I absolutely have a feeling of great accomplishment and happiness!

This goes for work, too. You may have a dozen projects on your plate, and only so much time to complete them. Don't get down on yourself for re-prioritizing so you can spend more time on marketing, or so you can care for your ailing grandmother, or so you can spend an hour at the gym.
Following the other guidelines I've recommended - figuring out what kind of balance is right for you, creating boundaries, picking priorities, and knowing what's working and what isn't - will help you feel confident that your accomplishments are enough... even if you have more goals you want to achieve.

Article reprinted from here at WorkingMomsOnly.com

Thinking: It's One of the Most Difficult Tasks We Do

2010-02-26T11:12:00.002-06:00

"Many highly intelligent people are poor thinkers. Many people of average intelligence are skilled thinkers. The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven."

Edward de Bono

Thinking: It's One of the Most Difficult Tasks We Do
By Harvey Mackay

Henry Ford once hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant. Ford directed him to find the nonproductive employees and, he said, "I will fire them!"

When the expert finished his evaluation, he reported to Ford that he was particularly concerned with one of his administrators. "Every time I walked by, he was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk. The man never does a thing. I definitely think you should consider getting rid of him!"

Ford was curious to know who was using company time that way. Then the expert identified him, and Ford shook his head. "I can't fire him. I pay that man to do nothing but think, and that's what he's doing."

Even in this culture of downsizing, right-sizing, and just plain streamlining operations, no company can afford to lose its thinkers.

Most small to mid-sized companies probably can't afford to hire a "staff thinker," but among the larger, and likely the most successful companies, I'll bet you'll find someone with a title like strategic planner, researcher, creative engineer, visioner, or some similar version. At Disney, they're called "imagineers." (At Microsoft, they're called "millionaires.")

"What a job!" you're thinking right about now. No measurable goals, no restrictive job descriptions, no pressure, because nobody can tell if you're doing your job. But you must prove yourself over time.

Guess again. Some people get lost in thought because it's such unfamiliar territory. And then look around your office and see if you can identify the person you'd go to first if you needed a great new plan or idea. There's the thinker. The job title may not be a tip-off.

Years ago, at the El Cortez Hotel in San Diego, management decided that one elevator wasn't adequate to serve their guests. They hired engineers and architects to add a second lift.

The professionals discussed several options, and eventually settled on a plan to cut a hole in each floor to accommodate the new elevator.

A janitor overheard the discussion, and inquired about their intentions. The engineers patiently explained their plans to him. The janitor was concerned and told them so: "That's going to make quite a mess -- plaster, dust, and debris everywhere." No problem, he was told, because the hotel would be closed during the construction.

"But that will cost the hotel a lot of money, and a lot of people will be out of jobs while the hotel is closed," the janitor replied.

"Do you have a better idea?" one of the architects asked.

The janitor surprised them all with his answer: "You could build the elevator on the outside of the hotel."

It had never been done before, but it was an intriguing concept. The engineers and architects, hired for their creative thinking, decided it was an idea worth developing. An architectural feature we now see every day was the brainchild of a hotel janitor. Not a "staff thinker." But a thinker on the staff.

Chances are you have several folks like that in your employ. They are worth their weight, and yours, in gold. Consultants may come and go, but those employees who can think are your best source of great ideas and inspiration for the rest of your organization.

Let me lay down a few ground rules for encouraging great thinking:

Respond with enthusiasm. When someone has a great thought, be enthusiastic rather than demanding details on implementation. This person has ideas. Somebody else can develop them. You've seen that happen a million times.

Make your workplace conducive to thinking. Windows are inspirational. Cheerful colors stimulate creativity. My office is full of photos and souvenirs and some of my favorite things. Sterile surroundings are for brain surgery. We're looking for brain candy.

Celebrate occasionally. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is still true. Let your staff know they can have fun and be productive at the same time.

Give credit where credit is due. I surely hope that janitor at the El Cortez got the recognition he deserved and a big bonus. Reward great thinking. You'll be surprised how creative every member of your staff can be.

Mackay's Moral: Minds are like parachutes -- not much good unless they are open.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Goal Setting Techniques

2010-02-24T18:15:00.000-06:00

The Top 10 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert Using Social Media

2010-02-24T12:43:00.001-06:00

"Begin somewhere; you cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do."

Liz Smith

The Top 10 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert Using Social Media

By David Riklan

Let's start by answering a very simple question:

As a small businessperson, entrepreneur, or Internet marketer, why would you want to position yourself as an expert?

The answer is very simple. Everybody trusts an expert. And, as every salesperson will tell you, individuals want to do business with people they know, like, and trust.

It doesn't matter whether you are a doctor, lawyer, accountant, auto mechanic, business owner, or consultant. Being seen as an expert in your niche will help your business and your career.

I have found that the best way to brand yourself as an expert is by using a 10-step strategy that leverages Social Media. This includes LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and blogs.

The prerequisite to using this technique, of course, is to first become an expert in your field. This can be done through education (by getting a degree or getting certified), through experience, or by doing research.

Having a degree or certification is the most powerful approbation you can present to the world. (Just think of how many doctors sell health advice in books and newsletters.) But your personal experience and any studying you've done on your own is also effective in positioning you as an expert -- sometimes more so. Have you gone through bankruptcy? You're an expert in that field. Have you dedicated your off hours to learning search engine optimization? You're an expert.

However you "become" an expert, it gives you with the necessary proof to position yourself as such to your potential customers. And once you have this proof, the fun begins. Because the quickest and easiest way to build your reputation is by using the power of the Internet and social networking. Connections can be made instantly and thousands of people can be reached at one time.

Here's the 10-step process:

Step 1. Determine how you are going to brand yourself or your company. How do you want people to see or perceive you?

Step 2. Create a profile that will match your brand. It can include your degrees or certifications, your experience, your knowledge, and any material you've written or created.

Step 3. Create accounts at all of the major sites where you can brand yourself -- LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, SelfGrowth, and Squidoo. Then post consistent information on each of these sites with proof of your expertise.

Step 4. Get your knowledge out there by participating online. Many social media websites -- including LinkedIn and Facebook -- provide a place for you to answer questions posted by other users. All you need to do is review the questions, post a detailed, informed, and succinct answer, and include a way for people to contact you.

Step 5. Get published on the Internet. The easiest and fastest way to get published is by creating a blog. There are many free tools out there for blogging, including Wordpress and Blogger. The more quality information you publish in your area of expertise, the more you are perceived as an expert.

Step 6. To increase the impact of your social media presence, interlink between the social media sites and have them all crosslink to your website or blog. For example, have LinkedIn link to your blog, have Facebook link to your blog, and have your blog link back to LinkedIn and Facebook.

Step 7. Develop a strategy for enhancing your credibility with simple, informational videos highlighting your area of expertise. They can be as short as 3-4 minutes. Record them with a flip camera or a video cam on your computer and upload them to YouTube.

Step 8. Leverage the power of these sites for search engine optimization. If you follow the steps above, you'll find that your name will come up high in the search engines. Google loves social media websites.

Step 9. Be active on these sites. You need to become part of the community. Social media websites are not just places to post information and broadcast your ideas. They are designed to be interactive. The more you interact, the more people will get to know, like, and trust you -- and respect you as an expert.

Step 10. Finally, become a voice of your industry. You can do this by researching relevant news stories and reporting on them to your followers. You will soon be recognized as a source of great information in your area of expertise.

As you go through each of the above steps, your reputation as an expert will grow exponentially, especially in your particular niche. And as I said at the beginning of this article, that will lead to trust... which will lead to more business for you.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-"Why Peak Oil Is a Crock"

2010-02-15T18:02:00.002-06:00

Blog host note: Not sure I agree with this, but it's worth posting. What do you think?

"Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil."

J. Paul Getty

Why Peak Oil Is a Crock
By Andrew Gordon

The good news about the oil supply? Peak oil is a crock. There's plenty of oil. It's just harder to get to it now than it was 20 years ago.

The oil is deep underground or below miles of sea or mixed with sand or in places where the underground pressure to bring it up has fizzled out.

The question isn't whether the technology exists to get hundreds of billions of barrels out of the ground. The technology is there. But in many cases, deploying it is an expensive proposition.

How to light a fire under the oil companies? The answer doesn't lie in government subsidies and grants. That's the last thing the oil sector needs. Let the marketplace motivate them.

Oil companies talk about raising production all the time. Talk is cheap, and so are the oil companies when it comes to investing in their E&P (exploration and production) operations.

But let supply run low and prices run high. With fat profit margins to fall back on, new technologies will be unleashed.

In short, oil companies need to find more oil -- and they will. If they don't, they won't be able to leverage rising oil prices. And besides, a future without oil ain't in the cards...

Basic Energy Fact #1: Oil is the lifeblood of modern society -- has been for quite a while. In fact, the rise of oil and the modern economy has gone hand-in-hand. One would not exist without the other.

Basic Energy Fact #2: Energy consumption will rise 35 percent by 2030, according to a number of energy research firms and oil companies. And which energy resource will be number one in 2030? The same one that is number one now: oil.

Basic Energy Fact #3: Renewables like wind, power, hydro, and thermal will increase their piece of the pie. But don't expect miracles. I love solar and wind. But I don't expect energy production from them to contribute more than 10 percent of the total energy pie by 2030. Right now, they have a 5 percent slice.

What's happening right now is part of the boom-and-bust cycles endemic to the energy sector. In down times, underinvestment prevails, nicely setting up the boom part of the cycle.

Underinvestment will give way to rising prices, leading companies to invest more in E&P. Eventually, supply will catch up to demand and prices will fall. A bust is turning into a boom right in front of our eyes.

The big integrated oil companies will benefit nicely. Take your pick. ExxonMobil, British Petroleum, Chevron, and Conoco-Philips all make nice long-term picks.

But there's another reason why I'm convinced that peak oil is a crock. There's already a proven technology out there that takes petered-out fields whose oil output has been reduced to just a trickle and jacks up production again. The company that owns this technology is buying up abandoned oil fields for next to nothing.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Video-"The Most Important Part of Any Marketing Campaign

2010-02-15T10:24:00.001-06:00

6 Easy Steps To A Productive And Organized Home Office. | Simple. Organized. Life.

2010-01-02T14:45:00.000-06:00

6 Easy Steps To A Productive And Organized Home Office. | Simple. Organized. Life.

� Slowness isn’t about comprehension – it’s about happiness | mnmlist.com

2010-01-02T14:43:00.000-06:00

� Slowness isn’t about comprehension – it’s about happiness | mnmlist.com

My Worst Job Ever..and Why It Makes Me Thankful Today

2009-11-26T14:11:00.005-06:00

I was being fired. I could not believe it. I gave my boss the best project of my whole employment, he loved it, and he fired me with the next breath. I stood up and walked out of his office....

Believe it or not, my worst job ever was doing exactly what I studied for in college: writing for a newspaper. I’d fallen in love with the idea of ferreting out stories, interviewing all kinds of people, even traveling, from a character in a novel and the stories I read in the paper all the time. Musical studies had not gone well, so I focused on what else I was good at: writing.

After a bumpy ride in college, which included both arrogant and kind professors and a stint with the college paper, I graduated in 2003 and found a job as a reporter for the local newspaper. I was assigned to a sub-publication for the paper’s sister-city in the same county. My first day was exciting: rushing off to the high school for a scoop on an abandoned infant. That’s when I was introduced to how unwelcome the press is by bureaucrats.

Work did not improve from that chilly welcome. Self-serving profiles, interviews with arrogant politicians, soft news pieces like “how generous are the local power mavens” and endlessly scouring police reports for anything worth printing sucked my enthusiasm dry.. Mixed in with that, I typed up obituaries, edited thinly veiled “advertising” stories, and did whatever grunt work could be thought of; like covering city council meetings. Local requests for sewer service and “who-gets-which-neighborhood” at the city borders put me to sleep..

Two-and-a-half months in, I was finally doing well. I had a dozen printed stories, including front page. I’d shown I could keep up with the work, and share the workload of late nights and odd weekends. Then, I was called in by my boss and told I “was not performing up to par.” I was not given specifics of what they meant, only a reminder that I was still under the 90 day trial period, and could be let go if I failed to “shape up.” I demanded details from my supervisor to find out what they meant. Turns out that included an interviewee complaining I’d quoted her wrong, as “On Tuesday morning, I went to the show” instead of “I went to the show on Tuesday morning”. I was floored, but no one would listen, so I simply worked harder.

Day ninety: I covered a heated city council meeting the night before. A local official had allegedly not forwarded funds raised for charity use, but had used them to purchase equipment. There was considerable public anger at this. The entire workforce of the official showed up to the meeting, as a show of their support for their boss. The meeting reminded me of watching teenagers argue with well-spoken 5-year-olds. I kept my mouth shut.

The next morning, I was editing the article before the morning printing. I finished a nicely unbiased story when I was called into the boss’ office. I went upstairs, hoping he liked the story I wrote.

Good news: story was great.

Bad news: I was fired for “still not being up to par”: So much for having a chance to improve.

I was shown the door immediately. I gathered my belongings and said “bye” to my coworkers. I managed to hide my reaction, and was coolly civil to others as I departed. My story was published that very day and was well received. I was proud that I went out on such a good note.

I later discovered that I was replaced in less than a week with a popular former reporter from the same paper that had only weeks earlier moved back to town. I heard many rumors as to why people thought I’d really been let go, but it was enough I left with my head held high.

I learned many things and met many people during those three months. I would not trade it for the world, but I will never be a small-town reporter again. Politics, bureaucracy, power plays and rump-smooching in that line of work rival anything I have ever seen or heard out of Washington, D. C. I earned my stripes, and I am getting my new dream career off the launching pad: writing good copy to help people improve their lives and businesses.

What have your worst experiences taught you to be thankful for?

Giving Thanks

2009-11-23T10:51:00.001-06:00

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."

William Arthur Ward

Giving Thanks
By Michael Masterson

Of the many execrable things that happen to you when you approach 60, the recognition of mortality is the worst. You can't avoid it. People you know -- even friends and family members -- are seriously sick or dying.

I see death is a hateful thief. I know he will steal life from me eventually, but I don't want him to come any time soon. There is too much I want to do. Too many goals I have yet to reach. And too many relationships I want to enjoy.

You probably feel the same way.

There is a book called The Denial of Death. It makes the case (a convincing one) that, in order to go forward with our lives, we must keep death out of mind because of the fear of nonexistence.

If you have ever contemplated the end of your being, you will find this argument compelling.

We must believe in our vitality if we are to have any. Success in the material world requires it.

We are here to succeed in living. And that means believing the impossible -- that we can do all things and live forever.

That is the feeling I want you to have. But it's not always possible. When your friend walks into the room looking like a skeleton in clothes (his flesh thin, his eyes bulging), the doors of depression unlock.

A colleague told me his former partner has lung cancer. "I've known him since high school," he said. "We played on the same team, we dated some of the same girls, and we built a business together. But now he's dying and I can't do anything about it."

"So how does it make you feel?" I asked.

"It makes me sad, but in some ways it's been good for me," he said. "I wake up every morning and say, 'I'm alive! I'm healthy! Thank you! Thank you!' I get a scratch on my new car. Who cares? My next door neighbor is a jerk. So what?"

That made a lot of sense to me.

Facing the inevitability of death changes your perspective.

Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It...

This is Thanksgiving week. If you ask the typical American what Thanksgiving is about, he'll mention food and friends and football. But not thankfulness. Nobody takes that part of the holiday too seriously.

You should. It will make your life better. It will slow things down and bring what's important into focus. It will give you both energy and tranquility.

Here are three ways to do it:

1. Spend 15 minutes by yourself.

Take a walk. Find a peaceful place. Breathe slowly. Look around. Recognize that one day -- sooner than you can believe -- you will not exist any more. You will not be around to breathe the clean air, feel the sun on your skin, and see the things you find beautiful. You will not be around to hear the sound of your lover's sigh, your children's voices, and your best friend's laughter.

Try to get, as clearly as you can, a sense of your own mortality. Try to stop, if only for a few moments, a fundamental aspect of consciousness -- the denial of death.

2. Think about all the things you should be thankful for.

These are things you might have forgotten. But accepting your mortality should bring them back into focus. If you are healthy, that will probably be high on your list. If you have friends and family members you care about, they will be up there too. If you have had material success, you may put that on your list too -- but certainly beneath health, family, and friendship.

3. Make a resolution that, from now on you will spend a moment every day contemplating your mortality and then waking up to your life and all the blessings you can enjoy while you are living.

"Gratitude," said Cicero, "is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others."

Think about it...

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Why Sidebars Are Crucial

2009-11-19T12:24:00.002-06:00

"Curiosity is as much the parent of attention, as attention is of memory."

Richard Whately

Why Sidebars Are Crucial
By Clayton Makepeace

There are pretty much only two kinds of prospects in a marketer's universe: (1) casual copy scanners, and (2) inveterate readers.

Hand a sales letter to a dozen people, and you'll see what I mean. Some of them -- the inveterate readers -- will read the headline and every page of the copy.

The rest -- the scanners -- will quickly flip through, reading only the heads and subheads.

Before the invention of sidebars, we rarely gave scanners much that would draw their eyes into our sales letters. But sidebars turned scanners into readers. And because only readers respond to an offer, they dramatically increased our chances of making the sale.

My point -- and I do have one -- is...

Great sidebars turn scanners into readers -- AND responders.

Notice I said "great sidebars." Unfortunately, a lot of the sidebars I see are not great. They look like what they are: afterthoughts. Or, worse, "leftovers" from an earlier draft.

Instead of sleepwalking through your sidebars, try writing your running copy first. Then read each paragraph, thinking, "What kind of sidebar could I use to drive this point home in the most powerful manner possible?"

Do that and, suddenly, every sidebar becomes more focused. So does your entire sales message.

Then, after you've written a sidebar, ask yourself, "How can I make sure this is not a dead end? What can I do to help this sidebar drive the reader back into the copy? Or, better yet, to my order device?"

Most of the promotions I see would probably pull 10 percent to 30 percent better if the writer had followed this advice.

20 Kinds of Sidebars and How to Use Them

That said, let's take a look at the kinds of sidebars that give you the best chances of turning scanners into readers...

Readership Sidebars are designed to sell the prospect on reading your text. They generally fall into one of three categories...

Tables of contents: A listing of the valuable information revealed inside the promotion enlists the prospect's self-interest.

Pull-quotes: These boxes put an intriguing proposition... or a compelling benefit... up in lights. I often include a photo of the ersatz author of the piece for added attention-getting power.

Teasers and page-turners: Inserted at the bottom of a right-hand page, these little gems "sell" the reader on turning the page by hinting at the valuable information on the next spread.

Biography Sidebars are really a kind of a "credibility device." They're used to eliminate any doubt that the titular author of the piece knows what he's talking about. They attempt to lift your expert -- and, therefore, your sales message -- head and shoulders above the competition. They often take the form of a...

Curriculum vitae: A true biography of the expert -- his education, accomplishments, awards, books, and so on.

Case history: A narrative of an experience the expert has had that demonstrates his wisdom, experience, and/or prestige in his industry.

Proof Element Sidebars are used to present facts, figures, and other evidence that prove the truth of statements made in your text. I use them in three ways...

To document the enormity of the problem or opportunity: When I'm trying to evoke concern over heart disease, for example, I might include a chart showing how many Americans will suffer a heart attack this year.

In a financial package, I might use this kind of sidebar to document a claim that 80 percent of all mutual funds don't keep up with the S&P 500. Or I might use a table listing the advisor's most profitable trades. Or maybe a line chart showing soaring global demand for oil and plummeting supplies.

To demonstrate the wisdom of the expert's approach: This kind of sidebar might be a chart or graph comparing the profits the expert has earned to another indicator -- the S&P 500, for example. Or, it might compare the blood pressure of people who take a particular supplement with those who don't.

Benefit Sidebars are really just like ads within your ad. Each one draws out one of the compelling benefits the product offers. More important, each one is presented in a way that connects with the prospect's feelings about:

Avoiding or resolving a problem: With this approach, I typically put my prospect's negative feelings about the subject at hand into words... validate how he feels... and empathize with him. Then I show him how my product will resolve those feelings.

Easing a fear: "Fear relief" sidebars appear around the middle of my sales message -- after I've done everything I can to bring every concern or frustration my prospect has about the subject at hand bubbling to the surface. Once I've done that, I use these sidebars to show him how my product will free him from those negative emotions.

Fulfilling a strong, long-held personal desire: If my main theme is a positive one -- focused on one or more benefits that will bring tremendous value to my prospect's life -- I use these "fulfillment" sidebars to prove that my product will, indeed, deliver.

Credibility Sidebars are invaluable tools for convincing your prospect that your expert's view (no matter how radical) is valued by other experts, and that your product will produce the promised benefit.

Customer testimonials: These can take the form of straight testimonials or narrative testimonials. They can appear singly to add impact to a spread or be clumped together. I like to do both.

Expert testimonials: Praise from peers and other experts whose names are known -- or whose titles are impressive and/or connect them with respected institutions -- establish the authority and credibility of your expert.

Media mentions and appearances: These demonstrate that your expert is important enough to have been noticed, quoted, or invited to appear on major media outlets. At best, they'll say something about him that reads like an endorsement. But the simple fact that he regularly appears on CNBC or "Nightline" or is quoted in The Wall Street Journal makes him worth listening to.

Sales-Closing Sidebars generally appear in the final third of the sales message. They are designed to remove the final roadblocks between the prospect and your response device. I use seven of these kinds of sidebars in just about every promotion I write...

Pull-quotes: To allow the author to look the prospect in the eye and deliver a compelling benefit or horrifying alternative and ask for the sale.

Premium ads: To ramp up the perceived value of the free gifts the prospect will receive. Usually, these ads are a series of bullets on the most valuable information in each premium.

Product ads: To fully lay out the value the product will bring to the prospect's life. These are typically written in much the same way as a premium ad.

Value sidebars: To demonstrate how mind-blowingly cheap the product is relative to other things the prospect buys. These sidebars are designed to make not ordering feel like the dumbest thing he could possibly do.

Risk relief sidebars: "Risk relief" is just a fancy-schmancy way of saying "guarantee." But I make my guarantees go beyond simply saying, "If you hate it, I'll refund your money." I use my guarantees to reiterate the benefits I'm promising... to have my expert sign a contract with the prospect, promising that he'll deliver... and to demonstrate his "money-where-his-mouth-is" confidence that the product will perform as advertised.

Contact devices: Actually, these should appear on every spread and contain a toll-free number the prospect can call to order. I also like to break them out in sidebars to drive my prospect to my response device or to his telephone.

Action devices: Often imbedded in other sidebars, they urge the prospect to order now -- either by calling a toll-free number or turning to the order form.

Lots to think about!

Now, here's your assignment: Grab a pile of promotions and plop down on the sofa. Look at each sidebar and ask yourself, "Why did the writer include this? What kind of sidebar is it? What does it accomplish? Does it focus his main theme or serve to diffuse it?"

More important, read the running copy and ask yourself, "What other kinds of proof element, credibility, and other sidebars could have done a better job of making the sale?"

By the time you're done, you'll be twice the copywriter or marketer you are now.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Someday I'll ......>> Someday is Today!

2009-11-10T11:15:00.001-06:00

"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

C.S. Lewis

Someday I'll...

By Jason Holland

"At this point, we cannot rule out malignancy," he said.

It wasn't the typical opening to an Info-Marketing Bootcamp presentation.

But MaryEllen Tribby, Publisher and CEO of Early to Rise, is not your typical presenter.

Those words were spoken by her doctor just last June. And, as MaryEllen revealed, the rest of that day passed as a blur, as if she were a spectator. All she could think about was her three kids, and how devastated they would be if something happened to her.

MaryEllen is fine. A biopsy confirmed that she did not have cancer.

But the experience changed her.

A few weeks later, MaryEllen was in Denver for ETR's Five Days in July conference, teaching budding entrepreneurs how to start their own Internet businesses. She saw the passion of the attendees. Their drive.

And that convinced her she had to do something more herself.

Yes, she had a great job. She was working with the best in the industry. And she was well compensated.

But after years as a leader of other companies and businesses, she wanted to go it alone.

For some time, she'd been dreaming of starting a business combining her two biggest passions: Helping the millions of homeless children around the world. And reaching out to working mothers to make sure they led the balanced lifestyle they deserve.

In fact, she had purchased a domain name for her dream business in 2007. But, like many aspiring entrepreneurs, she kept saying to herself, "I'll do it someday."

As soon as she came back from Denver, she started working on her business in earnest.

And what she did can work as a step-by-step guide for you if you're ready to start your own business. I can't provide the specific examples and all the details she provided in her two-hour speech, but these are the core ideas.

Spend Most of Your Time on What You Know Best

You may be used to working as part of a team. Somebody does the graphics. Somebody writes promotional copy. Somebody else develops the marketing plan. But when you're solo, you're in charge of everything.

Some tasks you can just ditch. And some you can delegate. Establish your priorities. Should you spend time on the phone with your website hosting provider? No, you should delegate that. Should you spend time on content and offers geared toward your market, which you know better than anyone else? Yes.)

Make Technology Your Friend

You may be used to letting others handle the "tech" stuff in your workplace. But when you're running your own business, you're the tech guy. And, as MaryEllen discovered, it turns out much of it is pretty easy. For things you can't figure out, take a class. If it's really complicated, hire a freelancer.

You don't have to know everything. But you need to know enough so you're not at the mercy of your outsourced help. You don't want to be overcharged or told something is impossible when they just don't want to do it.

Don't Ask for Favors, Ask for Advice

At meeting with the mega-successful entrepreneur Richard Branson, MaryEllen was invited to talk about her business. Instead of asking for help, she simply explained what her venture was about and asked for suggestions. Richard offered his support. And, already, his charitable organization, Virgin United, has been in touch with her.

You don't have to know Richard Branson to take advantage of this approach. Just think about it. If you're constantly asking people for favors... how long will they feel like granting them?

Create a Network You Can Brag About

Get the best people in your industry in your network. Not people you've only met once or see once a year. I'm talking about people you can call at any time. People who will do anything for you. (Of course, you have to be willing to do anything for them, too.)

When you're starting out, you probably won't be in touch with industry giants. But you can still make great contacts. Start with likeminded people who are as focused as you are on growing their businesses. As your businesses grow, you will be able to help each other.

Create Accountability Partners

You are 65 percent more likely to accomplish your goals if you have someone watching over your shoulder. As MaryEllen pointed out, it probably has a lot to do with not wanting to admit to not doing what you said you would do. That fear keeps you motivated.

So set up a time to speak with a colleague or business partner once a week. Talk to each other about what you've been doing with your businesses. Call them out if they've been slacking. Ask them to do the same for you.

Understand Your Market Intimately

One of the first things MaryEllen did was research her market and her competitors. Using keyword research tools from Google, she found that 43 million people a month search terms related to "working moms." She visited every site in the organic results and pay-per-click ads.

She looked in depth at their site layouts, sales letters, offers, products, and marketing strategies. She figured out what other companies were doing right. And what they were doing wrong. (For example, many didn't have sign-up boxes on their home pages to build their e-mail lists.)

Work on Your Business Every Day

You can't just work on the weekends. You have to do something every single day to advance your business. If it's important to you, you'll do it. Get up extra early if you have to.

If you want to sell supplements online, for example, you could start researching which products are hot right now. You could contact some suppliers. Buy a domain name. Build your website.

Learn, Understand, and Strive to Master Direct-Response Marketing

Direct marketing is the key to online success. An e-commerce site like Amazon may work. But you're not Amazon. You can't wait for customers to find your site. You must reach out to them, get their contact information, and start building relationships that lead to sales.

Don't Fall Victim to the Biggest Entrepreneurial Curse

Four projects halfway done yields ZERO revenue. One project 100 percent finished brings cash in the door.

Focus on one thing at a time -- the one most important thing -- and complete it before you start another project.

Ready, Fire, Aim

You have an idea for a business -- and six to nine months later, you're still working on getting your site together. And you're still working on your marketing copy. Know this: Everything doesn't have to be perfect before you launch.

As MaryEllen pointed out, most of what you learn about business comes from doing it. You'll find out what people will buy and for how much. You'll discover the best way to reach your customers and build your list.

Turning Someday Into Payday

These days, MaryEllen is working toward her dream: to start her own online business aimed at working mothers. And she'll help kids in need at the same time. Her venture will allow her to work from home, spend time with her family, and make enough money to live the lifestyle she wants to live.

After years of putting off her dream until "someday"... it's finally happening.

What are you doing to make your "dream" business a reality?

Maybe you're waiting 'til after the holidays... or for the kids to get a little older... or for that big project at work to be finished... or for the economy to pick up again.

If that's the case, now's the time for a little MaryEllen-style tough love: Those are just excuses. Sure, they are real obstacles -- but they're still excuses. And you can always find more of them if you want to.

Stop trying to come up with rationalizations for not taking action. The truth is, now is always the best time to start a business.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Really Building Wealth

2009-11-09T12:43:00.002-06:00

Bootcamp Dispatch-Or "How Do You REALLY Build Wealth?"

By Jason Holland

What do you really need to start building a life-changing amount of wealth?

Your 401(k) ain't gonna do it. Neither is your day job.

The 200 aspiring Internet entrepreneurs at Bootcamp know. It was the subject of Michael Masterson's keynote speech: The Special Theory of Automatic Wealth.

It all starts with the true nature of wealth.

"What is wealth?" asked Michael.

First, let's consider what wealth is not. Wealth is not income. Even having a huge income is not wealth. Wealth is not a lifestyle with fancy cars and a huge house. Or investing in hot stocks. Anything rented, borrowed, or mortgaged - anything that can be taken away from you – is not wealth. Those are the trappings of wealth.

Wealth is stored, unencumbered value. That means retained income, savings, tangible investments, and financially-valuable and timeless skills. Anything with true value.

So how do you get this wealth?

Why is it that some people, no matter how privileged or how much income they have, are unable to really accumulate long-lasting wealth and others can?

It all boils down to the decisions you make.

Every conscious moment is an opportunity to become richer or poorer. Whether you'll work on a project now... or later. Whether you'll act on what you learn at a seminar... or get too busy and put it aside. Whether you'll spend your "off" time gaining new skills... or watching game shows.

A person with a rich mind understands this concept. He is aware of these enriching opportunities. He can assess their value instantly. And he has the internal, emotional capacity to act on this information.

A person with a poor mind think the world is unfair. He believes in luck. He thinks there is a limited amount of wealth in the world – and he wants his cut. He feels powerless over his fate. He uses his energy criticizing, complaining, and condemning. This is someone who will never become wealthy.

Not all the decisions we make have to make us richer, said Michael. But when you make enough of these little decisions you start getting momentum. All these little decisions build and accumulate. Once you start making enriching decisions they will come easier and easier. And you will find more opportunities, accumulate more assets. Eventually, you'll discover you're very confident that you can build as much wealth as you want.

Here's what it boils down to: Every situation is an opportunity. Every person you meet... every conversation... every book you read... every speech you hear... every meal you eat... every spending decision... every chance you are given... every problem you face... is a chance to become richer or poorer.

And if you have a poor mind... or are just skeptical... or find it hard to "take action" all is not lost. You can change and develop your own rich mind in eight simple steps:

1. Forgive yourself for being imperfect

2. Educate yourself out of ignorance

3. Practice yourself out of incompetence.

4. Develop rich skills:

Think well (have capacity to ask questions, gain an ability to trust your gut instinct)

Speak well (speak from the heart and with enthusiasm, have purpose in your conversation, learn the art of persuasion)

Write well (a combination of being persuasive and being able to identify great ideas)

5. Recognize opportunity in everything

6. Take action (start right away)

7. Take profits and save them (don't spend more than you have. As your income increases, keep your spending reasonable. When you make money, pay yourself first – always put money in savings.)

8. Continue to learn. Be an avid learner, be interested in everything.

Michael continues to develop his Special Theory of Automatic Wealth. And you'll see his thoughts in future issues of ETR. But this is the core idea – and what you can take away today:

Every conscious moment we all have the capacity to make these decisions. This gives all of us enormous potential power. You have this capacity if you just allow yourself to be aware of these opportunities, recognize their value, and take action.

As Michael said, "Right here, right now is your opportunity."

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Make Up Your Mind Already

2009-09-03T13:03:00.001-05:00

By Rich Schefren

The Internet is the world's largest and most comprehensive source of information.

Need instructions for fixing a flat tire ... a copy of War and Peace ... a map of the Paris Metro? You can find all of it -- and so much more -- online.

But the sheer amount of information can be overwhelming. Much of it is useless. And sometimes finding what you need can be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

People have never been so well informed ... yet, so confused.

Lots of entrepreneurs go around thinking "Access to information is what separates the winners from the losers." And "The smartest person in the room should be the most successful." Not true. If it were, whoever bought the most "how-to" products or read the most books would be the richest. And we both know how ridiculous that is.

That's not to say getting the right information isn't important. But it's only a tool. When it comes to being successful in business, there are a few easily overlooked factors that are absolutely vital.

So, what are these deciding factors?

1. Being Action-Oriented

Taking action is the main difference between the super-successful and the wannabes. When successful entrepreneurs get good information, they act on it -- as soon as they can. Wannabes simply absorb information and, at their best, react to it.

The reason so many wannabes don't take action is because they are paralyzed by the prospect of failure. Add to that their mistaken belief that the next information nugget they come across could make the difference between success and failure, and it becomes obvious why "waiting" for it has them stuck.

If they press on, they become more confused by conflicting facts. At the same time, they become increasingly frustrated that they still haven't found the magic they're seeking.

If that sounds like you, here's my advice: Stay focused!

Take a deep breath and ask yourself, "What do I have to get done today to further my success?" Not tomorrow or next week or even next month. Today! Not "What do I have to learn?" but "What do I have to DO?!?"

It's easy to lose your focus on today when you are thinking about tomorrow. And it's tempting to believe that the next pearl of wisdom you come across is going to make all the difference. But it won't. You'll never reach the level of success you crave without taking the specific DAILY steps that get you there.

It's pretty straightforward. To build a successful business, you have to train your brain to crystallize a future vision, break it into small details, and organize those details into daily tasks. After that, all you need is the courage to commit to the completion of those daily tasks -- despite any obstacles that get in your way.

Sounds easy enough, right? So what will sabotage your success? Fear! Fear is your enemy. That little voice whispering "What if it doesn't work? What if I'm wrong?"

Look, some self-doubt is natural. But when it prevents you from achieving the success you deserve, it's a problem. Which leads me to the next crucial success factor ...

2. Rising Above Your Fears and Doubts

You have to get far enough above your doubts to keep going, or you're doomed. What works for me is to get lost in the project at hand. It works for me, and it'll work for you. Just throw yourself so deeply into what needs to be done that you forget about your fears. Every successful business owner learns how to do this. What makes it easier is knowing that experience will always be your best teacher.

You are going to make mistakes. We all do. Even the Intels, Microsofts, and Googles of the world mis-step from time to time. Building a successful company is complex, and there are always things beyond your control.

The trick is to learn from your mistakes. Just do your best to limit your risk. Keep trying. Learn what works. And don't torture yourself when you take a wrong turn. Just acknowledge it ... and change your approach.

And since we are talking about mistakes ... do you know what's at the root of most of the mistakes you'll make? I see it over and over again. And practically everyone who struggles in business is guilty of it. It's this ...

For some strange reason, people want to make things more complicated than they need to be. It's as if they are fascinated by the overly complex. So, instead of keeping things simple, they burden themselves with too much to do and too little time to do any of it right. Which leads me to ...

3. Avoiding the "Stupidity Tax" by Keeping Things as Simple as You Can

The "stupidity tax" is easily avoidable. But, for some reason, almost everyone trying to make a success of an online business seems to walk right into it.

Here's an example of how this flawed approach plays out ...

Instead of picking one way to drive traffic to your website, mastering it, and then moving on -- you do the opposite. You want to learn about pay-per-click advertising, search engine optimization, affiliate marketing, and every other method under the sun. All at the same time, and without developing any level of expertise in any of it.

Yet, the most successful online businesses I know concentrate on one method at a time. Agora Inc., for example, focused primarily on pay-per-click advertising to get to its first $50 million in online sales. My company focused on joint venture/affiliate launches -- and in nine months, we did over $7 million in sales.

When you pursue multiple directions in your business, you end up making very little progress. And it doesn't matter how smart you are or how hard you work, because you are spread way too thin.

With an Internet business, this mistake can really kill you. Here's why: In online marketing, your results are directly related to how your skills stack up against those of your competitors. If your competition is better than you at using Google AdWords, for example, they'll pay less than you to get traffic to their website and will convert more of it to sales. If they're better at search engine optimization, they'll rank higher than you. If they're better at affiliate marketing -- converting better, selling more -- they'll be able to pay their affiliates more, and lock you out of the market.

It doesn't work this way with an offline business. You don't pay more if your ad or commercial sucks. You might not get as many responses as your competitors -- but you're not locked out. And you're not forced into paying the "stupidity tax."

Isolate the fewest activities you can be successful with. Then knock them off, one at a time. Don't make the mistake of trying to do too much and, thus, marginalize your results. As Confucius said, "Man who chases two rabbits catches neither."

If you follow my advice, you'll get to take back quite a bit of the time you're currently wasting by trying to learn too much about too many marketing tactics at once. Plus, you'll get back the time you're wasting by trying to execute strategies with a superficial level of knowledge. What you do with your newfound free time leads us to our fourth and final success component ...

4. Knowing Where the Money Is

It takes time to know your market. But it's time you must invest if you're serious about your business's success.

The first step is quite simply to open your eyes and look at what's going on around you. You need to keep your finger on the pulse of your market to know what's "hot." But that's only half the equation. The second step is to do your best to understand WHY it's hot. Until you understand your market at a deeper level, you'll keep scratching your head and wondering why you are making less than your "dumb" counterparts.

The good news is that once you get it -- once you fully understand the psychology of your market -- your results will improve immediately. From promotional e-mails to pay-per-click ads, your results will multiply, because you'll know your prospects better than any of your competitors do.

So there you have it.

If you've ever wondered why you make less than others even though you are smarter than they are, now you know. And it's up to you to change that. Are you going to keep plodding along in frustration? Or are you going to embrace the four elements of business success that I shared with you here and decide that, once and for all, you are going to do what it takes?

Only time will tell ...

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

5 Gateways Into Your Promotion

2009-09-03T12:35:00.001-05:00

By Will Newman

Most marketers look at a promotion with straight-line logic. They assume all prospects come into it through the headline. And they're wrong.

In fact, a well-planned, well-written promotion has five distinct ways to get prospects involved. These "gateways" are spread throughout the promotion. Each one is specifically designed to catch the interest of a different type of prospect and lead them into the sales message.

Your prospect opens your promo and scans it. The headline might catch her interest. But maybe it doesn't. Maybe it's the bio piece. Or the sidebars. Or the order device. If the promo is a magalog, maybe it's the centerfold. (That's usually where the copywriter has summarized key data or important benefits.)

In my case, I almost always look at the order device first. That gives me a quick look at the offer -- what the product costs and what I'll get for my money.

For you, it could be one of the other gateways.

But regardless of how you are pulled into a promotion, it's crucial to understand that these gateways are not afterthoughts to be slapped together at the last minute. They must be planned and written with the same care and consideration as the rest of your promotion.

That said, here's what you need to know about the five main gateways:

1. Headline (including the envelope copy as a form of the headline)

Captures the prospect's interest, begins establishing a trusting relationship with the prospect, gives a hint of the Big Idea of the promotion ...

2. Bio piece

Establishes the credibility of the person signing the sales letter, and puts a human "face" to his or her name ...

3. Sidebars

Emphasize important information and data, add credibility, and provide a way to present crucial information that might disrupt the flow or tone of the sales letter ...

4. Centerfold (in magalogs)

Provides a way to accentuate a compelling part of the sales argument. This can include results data for investment promos, company history, explanation of core benefits, and much more about the premiums being offered ...

5. Order device

Provides a quick and effective summary of the offer, key benefits, guarantee, etc. ...

Let's look at how master copywriter Kent Komae used a bio gateway to bring prospects into his million-dollar magalog promotion for a joint-relief supplement.

Before you read this, imagine that you suffer from joint pain. You've searched for relief -- by taking drugs and supplements -- with little success.

The headline on the cover page of the magalog reads "The Next Breakthrough for Joint Discomfort!" If you suffer from joint pain, you can see how these six words could attract your attention.

But attracting your attention might not be enough to get you to keep reading. So you scan the magalog. On page 4, you come across this:

The sole purpose of this bio gateway is to build Dr. Williams's credibility.

Dr. Williams is decked out in a white coat and is holding a stethoscope. And he sits authoritatively in front of a lab table with test tubes and electronic instruments. The picture begins to tell the story of a physician who does a lot of research.

The picture goes a good way toward establishing his credibility and pulling you into the sales copy. Yet ... you're skeptical.

This doctor may be offering real, believable joint relief. But you're not convinced.

Still, you've seen enough to want to find out more. Kent Komae has ushered you through one of the gateways into his magalog. And that's where he convinces you that Dr. Williams has the solution to your joint problems.

Kent knows that successful promos don't depend on having the prospect come in through the headline and read through from the beginning. Successful promos use these five gateways (and sometimes a few more) to open up different paths into the promotion for different types of prospects.

Learn them and you'll be writing winners.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

How a Big-Thighed Mama Can Help You Accelerate Your Business

2009-08-27T13:35:00.001-05:00

By MaryEllen Tribby

I love to get up early and go to the gym.

The outcome of my entire day is determined by that very first hour. When it goes well (and it almost always does), I have more energy all day long. I’m more productive. And, frankly, I am a lot more pleasant to be around.

All due to my simple morning workout.

Monday through Friday, I’m waiting for the gym doors to open at 4:55 a.m. And I am not alone. I wait outside with my fellow “regulars.” We exchange pleasantries and chat about major news items. But when the doors open at 5:00 a.m., we can be mid-sentence and the conversation stops. We all focus on our fitness goals.

At least that’s how it goes 99 out of 100 times. But once in a while, “stuff happens.”

A few weeks ago, I was up with Delaine (my 4-year-old) at 1:00 a.m. because her tummy hurt. I knew my morning workout was in jeopardy. As I crawled into bed at 1:30, I nudged my husband and said, “I can’t believe I have to get up in three hours.”

Don’t do it,” he said. “Get some sleep.”

I responded with “My day will be shot if I don’t get my workout in!”

In need of sleep himself, he suggested that I set the alarm for 6:30. That would get me to the gym before 7:00 and in the office by 9:00. That, I could live with.

But here’s the funny part. Walking into the same gym at 7:00 a.m. was like walking into a foreign country! The music was loud. The cafe was open and crowded. People were standing by the stairs and by the weights and by the exercise equipment, talking and laughing.

I was a little taken aback. But I decided to just go with it. After all, in business I am constantly reminded how important change is to overall success.

So after an abbreviated version of my weight training, I headed to the third floor to find my favorite elliptical machine waiting for me.

Soon I was in my zone, drowning everything else out. It was just Bono and me, and he was telling me it was a beautiful day.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a woman approaching. She was smiling at me. I knew she was going to try to engage me in conversation.

I had to think fast to preserve the only “alone” time in my entire day.

But before I could come up with something that didn’t sound crazy or mean, she was standing right in front of me. Against my better judgment, I put Bono on pause and took off my earphones.

“Liz” started off by complimenting me. She said I looked like I owned the machine, because I made it look so easy. Then she told me she had joined the gym recently, a few months after giving birth to her first child.

She said she was embarrassed by the size of her thighs, but most of the machines intimidated her. All she’d been doing were modest workouts on the treadmill.

Having been a new mom not once but three times, I understand how it feels to want to lose the extra weight after giving birth. So I decided to turn Bono off and help her get started on the elliptical.

Within minutes, Liz was doing fine on the machine, and we were having a pleasant conversation.

She told me that before having the baby she was a marketing director with a large advertising agency in Miami. She loved marketing. But said that, with a newborn, there was no way she could handle the long commute and demands of the job. And though her attorney husband had a good income, she knew that, with the new addition to the family, her salary would be sorely missed.

And then Liz said the magic words that were music to my ears.

She wanted to start an online business!

Liz had already enlisted a friend to help build her site. But she felt like the site was going in the wrong direction, and that it was too complicated.

Well, of course I jumped right in with advice. Here’s what I told her:

Building the Website That’s Right for Your Business

There are basically three marketing reasons to have a website. So before you start building yours, make sure you understand which one is best for your business:

1. To provide information about a product or company in order to establish a presence on the World Wide Web

2. To stimulate sales through direct marketing

3. To develop a list of prospective buyers

Each of these reasons is valid. Each dictates a different sort of website.

The Information Site

A site built to provide information about a product or company — and, thus, add to its credibility — must be comprehensive, beneficial, and easy to navigate. It should be rich in useful free content: articles, photos, videos, news, and advice.

The Direct-Response-Driven Site

A website built for marketing purposes must have all the important elements of a direct-response promotion. That includes a strongly defined look and message, free content, and a call to action. The call to action could be in the form of an offer or a subscription sign-up box. It’s best to have two sign-up opportunities on EVERY page — one in the upper right hand corner and one centered at the bottom. The site should also be constructed to gain high rankings on search engines like Google. Our site, EarlyToRise.com, is a good example of a direct-response-driven site.

The List-Building Site

A website built to develop a list of prospective buyers must be engaging, interactive, and constantly changing — with a prominent, easy-to-fill-in e-mail sign-up box. It should also offer a free bonus, such as an e-report or e-book, in exchange for signing up. A good example is expert info publisher/copywriter Bob Bly’s list-building site Bly.com.

Each of these websites is different. Each requires different copy, graphics, and technology. But all of them should have plenty of free, useful content. And all should load quickly and be accessible to people with older computers and slower Internet connections.

After I explained all of this to Liz, she said she was happy she’d had the courage to talk to me. She said she was going to go home and call her Web designer immediately.

I have to admit that Liz was not the only one who learned something that morning. I walked away with a few valuable lessons myself. For one thing, this experience reconfirmed that change is good. By getting to the gym at a different time, I not only made a new business contact but a new friend as well. Plus, it reminded me not to judge a book by its cover. When I saw Liz approaching that morning, I assumed I was in for some inane small talk. But it turned out she is a smart, well spoken, and interesting person who has added something to my life.

Are you opposed to change? Do you make negative assumptions that keep you from having something good happen in your life?

If, for example, you’ve thought about attending a business-building conference but convinced yourself that it would not help, I have an opportunity for you.

Join me, our elite lineup — which includes industry thought leaders like Clayton Makepeace, Rich Schefren, Joe Polish, and ETR’s founder Michael Masterson — and other determined and successful fellow ETRers at Bootcamp this November. But come only if you want to grow your business and learn cutting-edge marketing techniques. And only if you want to be in the 1 percent of people who really understand the inside secrets of the world’s most successful info marketers.

Remember, if you want to change your life … change your actions!

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

If You Don’t Know, Don’t Say

2009-08-26T16:44:00.001-05:00

By Bob Cox

I was returning from a flight to Florida’s West Coast. I was five miles out of Orlando Executive (my home airport), and winds were only 5 to 7 knots. But they were coming at an angle that was going to make landing difficult for the runway air traffic control had assigned.

I felt confident I could do it. But, whenever possible, I ask for the runway that makes landing my plane as safe and easy as possible.

I called the controller and made the request, but it was denied. So I went ahead and landed on the other runway.

Before I did, though, I called the controller again and asked for a “time check.” That told him I was not happy and would be speaking with a supervisor. Among other things, the “time check” provides the supervisor with a way to review on-air exchanges between a particular controller and pilot. (Those exchanges are recorded, and I know to be careful to say only what can be used for me and not against me.)

My gut feeling was that the controller didn’t want to do the work involved in switching runways for me. It was late afternoon, right around time for a shift change. But since I couldn’t be sure of his reason for denying my request, I decided to hold off judgment until I had spoken with his supervisor. The supervisor called me the next morning. Long story short, I got an apology from the controller on duty for not having given me the okay. More important, I established a relationship with the supervisor — an articulate, intelligent, savvy guy. He recognized the unique qualities of my plane, and understood why I preferred to land with its nose into the wind. He also agreed with me that a pilot coming in to his home airport should get special consideration.

Had I let my emotions get in the way, I would not have achieved this larger goal.

I didn’t radio the control tower and yell, “You lazy sons of guns, get off your duffs and make it happen!” Alienating controllers, even if I am in the right, diminishes my stature as being reasonable and in control. (A must for pilots.)

By using my philosophy of “If you don’t know, don’t say,” I set myself up for success!

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

A Sixth-Grade Dropout’s Secret to Coming Up With Great Ideas

2009-08-25T07:40:00.002-05:00

By John Wood

It was 1898.

James Webb Young dropped out of school and started working for a book publisher. He was 12 years old.

By the time he turned 22, he was advertising manager. In 1912, he joined the prestigious advertising agency J. Walter Thompson. And he quickly became known as an “idea man.”

In 1917, Young became vice president of the agency. In 1919, he wrote one of his most famous ads. It was for the deodorant Odorono, and ran in the Ladies’ Home Journal. At the time, women found any mention of underarm odor to be in bad taste. Cleverly avoiding the word “armpit,” his headline grabbed attention with “Within the Curve of a Woman’s Arm.” But then readers were hit with this: “Persons troubled with perspiration odor seldom can detect it themselves.” Outraged, more than 200 women canceled their subscriptions to the magazine. Despite the controversy, sales of Odorono went up 112 percent.

Young believed the secret to coming up with great ideas was to use a method similar to the one Henry Ford used to produce cars. And in 1940 — at the height of his career as an advertising legend — he laid out his five-step method in a small book titled A Technique for Producing Ideas.

For marketers, it’s a secret so powerful that mastering it can mean the difference between success and failure. Consistently come up with ordinary ideas and you’ll make an ordinary income. If you work for somebody else, you’ll be easy to replace. If you’re a freelancer, you may starve. Consistently come up with great ideas and everyone will want you to work for them.

As motivational author Robert Collier once said, “A single idea, the sudden flash of a thought may be worth a million dollars.”

It was worth multiple-millions to Jack Smith and Sabeer Bhatia. In 1995, while working on starting their own business, they worried that their bosses might see the e-mails they were sending to each other. That’s when they hit on the idea for a Web-based e-mail system that could be accessed anonymously. As a result of that idea, Hotmail was launched on July 4, 1996. And they sold it to Microsoft less than two years later (on Sabeer’s 29th birthday) for $400 million.

Mark Zuckerberg got the idea for Facebook from his days at Phillips Exeter Academy. Like most colleges and prep schools, they had a long-standing tradition of publishing an annual student directory complete with headshots. Today, Facebook is valued at over a billion dollars. (At its peak, it was estimated to be worth $15 billion.)

Merv Griffin’s wife came up with the idea for one of his most successful ventures. They were flying from New York to Duluth one day back in 1964. Griffin was mulling over game show ideas when his wife noted that there had been no successful “question and answer” shows since the quiz show scandals. Then she said, “Why not do a switch, and give the answers to the contestant and let them come up with the question?” With that one twist of an idea, the hit show Jeopardy! was born.

These examples illustrate the principle behind James Webb Young’s five-step technique for generating ideas: “An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements.”

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how to apply the process to your marketing efforts …

Step 1. Gather the raw material.

In Young’s words, “In advertising an idea comes from a new combination of specific knowledge about products and people with general knowledge of life and events.”

So before you even attempt to come up with an idea, assemble as much information as possible about your prospect, your market, and your product. Approach this systematically. Dig deep. Find all you can.

Young offered two suggestions to help you get the most out of the gathering stage.

Grab a supply of 3 x 5 index cards and write down specific information as you gather it. One item per card. Organize the cards by subject. This will bring order to what you’re doing and reveal any gaps in your knowledge.
Log general information in a scrapbook or file. By general information, he meant newspaper articles, magazine articles, etc. that are related in some way to what you’re selling.

Step 2. Chew and digest the raw material.

Take all the information you’ve gathered and go over it “with the tentacles of your mind.”

Specifically, Young said …

Take a fact. Turn it several different ways.
Bring two facts together. See if they fit.
Try to find a relationship between facts.

Out of this, tentative or partial ideas will come to you. No matter how crazy or incomplete they are — write them down. (Use the 3 x 5 cards.)

Even if you think you’ve exhausted the possibilities, keep going. Your mind will get a second wind. Eventually, you’ll run out of insights. Everything will be jumbled up in your head.

That’s when you stop.

Step 3. Turn the process over to your subconscious.

Forget everything you’ve done so far … and do something completely different. Listen to music. Go to a movie. Go golfing. Go shopping. Play tennis. Anything that will take your mind off the task of generating ideas.

Young isn’t the only one who has advocated this approach.

According to Dr. Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics, when people try to solve a problem through conscious thought, they become anxious and fearful of the results. That brings the creative process to a screeching halt. It’s a lot easier, said Maltz, if you let go of the problem and let your subconscious mind take over.

Master copywriter Gary Bencivenga explains it this way:

“You’re effortlessly teaching your mind what’s going to be happening. Your subconscious mind … is a goal-striving mechanism. When you give your subconscious a target that you want to hit, it will pull into itself and eventually share with your conscious mind all kinds of resources that you never knew you had within you to make that happen.”

Step 4. Let the idea hit you.

An idea will come to you when you least expect it. It might be when you’re half awake in the morning. It might be in the middle of the night. You might be brushing your teeth, driving to work, or standing in line at the coffee shop.
“This is the way ideas come,” said Young. “After you have stopped straining for them and have passed through a period of rest and relaxation from the search.”

Step 5. Test, edit, refine, and polish the idea.

Now it’s reality-check time. The idea will almost certainly need a little “tweaking” before you can build a marketing campaign around it. What kind of tweaking? The best way to find out is to run it by people you trust and ask for feedback.

That’s it. Five simple steps for generating an endless stream of ideas.

Try it. If you get the results Young predicted, you’ll have mastered one of the most important skills for success as a marketer.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Uncle Al’s Rules: How To Become Your Company’s Most Valuable Employee

2009-08-24T09:33:00.002-05:00

By Michael Masterson

Today, I’d like to give you a simple, three-part formula that, when followed, will make any ordinary employee into a superstar.

If you are working for somebody else now, you can use it to become your company’s most valuable employee. And within six months, here’s what you can expect:

Your income will increase dramatically.
Your job satisfaction will skyrocket. (You’ll love coming to work!)
Opportunities for career advancement will start flowing to you.
Your boss and coworkers will start treating you as someone special — with admiration and respect.
Your sense of job security will soar, knowing that you will never, ever be fired.

If you are a business owner, you can give this article to your employees and expect to see at least one of them quickly begin to work at a much higher level.

Imagine how great it will be when you don’t have to be the only person who:

Comes up with all the marketing ideas
Keeps a concerned eye on expenses
Makes all the important deals
Keeps the vendors honest
Really, really cares about the bottom line

How does that sound?

Okay. Let me tell you about Uncle Al.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.” Those were the rules that Al Perot, owner of The Maple Avenue Deli, laid down at 6:00 a.m. the first Saturday I worked for him.

At 15, I had little use for maxims — and less for those delivered before I was fully awake. But Al’s three rules, as I kept learning later in my life, were a formula for wealth, health, and happiness.

I ignored them at first because I didn’t truly understand them. But when I finally realized what he meant, my career caught fire.

Uncle Al, as we called him, was an interesting guy — a blue-collar Renaissance man. He read widely. He was a connoisseur of classical music. He coached football. And he mentored his teenage employees.

I was one of his proteges for a summer in 1965. And during that short period of time, I am quite sure I heard Uncle Al repeat his rules no fewer than two dozen times.

“Show up. Do your job. Keep your nose clean.”

So simple. Three imperative sentences — the first consisting of two words, the second three words, the third four.

As an author of self-improvement books, I have contemplated many prescriptions for successful living — from the Ten Commandments toThe Seven Habits of Highly Successful People. But I never found one as simple as Uncle Al’s.

Simple, but hardly simple-minded.

I think of his rules now as individually sealed little packages — each one containing a lifetime’s worth of wisdom.

Show up. Woody Allen famously said “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” But Woody didn’t mean just drag your body to work at the appointed time — and neither did Uncle Al.

Do your job. Lots of people consider a good workday to be one where they do as little challenging work as possible. The more idle or fun or lazy time they can get paid for, the better. This belief is amazingly widespread. It is a big part of union mythology, a big part of executive mythology … and even a big part of the Internet business world.

Keep your nose clean. Most people take this to mean “Stay out of trouble.” But Uncle Al was too smart to think you can achieve greatness by avoiding conflict or staying on the beaten path.

Let me show you what Uncle Al’s three rules really mean. To illustrate, I will introduce you to RM, a woman who came to work for one of my clients just three years ago.

Show Up

I remember the day I met her. Her boss, my client, introduced me to her. She stood up, shook my hand, and greeted me with a big smile. “I’ve read all your books,” she said. “I’m a big fan.”

I’ve talked about the power of flattery before. It doesn’t matter whether it’s intended or accidental. So long as it is delivered with enthusiasm, it always works. It works because nobody can get enough of it. Okay, maybe Brad Pitt gets tired of it. But for the rest of us, enough is never really enough.

When you meet someone who has the power to affect your career trajectory, you have a one-time opportunity. Instead of trying to impress the individual by acting smart or smart-alecky, a genuine smile and a sincere compliment will work wonders. The more specific the compliment, the more powerful it will be.

I once met a distinguished Ezra Pound scholar — Hugh Kenner. He gave a lecture at Catholic University, where I was enrolled in a very competitive graduate program. After his speech, I walked up to him with a copy of his most recent book and asked him to sign it. I told him I had read every one of his books, and I mentioned a specific idea from one of them to prove my point.

He was immediately interested in me. We spent a good 10 minutes talking. Correct that. We spent that time talking about him. He talked. I admired what he said.

The next day, the chairman of the English department called me into his office. “What in God’s name did you say to Hugh Kenner?” he asked.

“Why?” I said.

“Because he said you were the most intelligent graduate student he had ever met.”

This is a true story. During that brief conversation with Hugh Kenner I told him I had read all his books, and I cited the one example. Other than that, all I said was, “Yes, I see what you mean. Yes, I never thought of that!”

This is all basic stuff for anyone who has read Dale Carnegie’s classicHow to Win Friends and Influence People. (If you haven’t read it, buy a copy today.) It’s all about the power of focusing your attention on the person you are communicating with.

If RM hasn’t read Dale Carnegie, she is Dale Carnegie reincarnated. Because she showed up at that first meeting with a full understanding of Carnegie’s secret of influencing people: Win the friendship first. And every time I have met her since then, she has taken the time to prove to me that she appreciates everything I have to say to her. By making a friend of me, she has gotten all my best ideas and best wishes. At every stage of her career, I have done my best to move her forward.

And don’t think for a moment that I am the only one. RM has this effect on everyone she meets.

But that’s only part of what RM knows about “showing up.” It also means preparing yourself for every important interaction.

Before RM comes to a business meeting, she knows exactly what is expected of her. She has the facts. She’s done her homework. When she speaks, it is clear to everyone that she knows what she’s talking about.

She also makes a great personal presentation. She is always well groomed and well dressed. She is always energetic and cheerful. When problems are discussed, she never gets discouraged. She is the “can do” woman. That has a very positive effect on the people who work with her — her coworkers, her employees, and her bosses.

If you want to become your company’s most valuable employee, you must start by adopting RM’s happy-to-be-here attitude toward work. I know more than a few employees as capable and intelligent as RM, but none that brings so much to the table. In fact, I am thinking of firing a potential superstar right now because she thinks that showing up means just showing up and being smart.

Being smart doesn’t cut it. When you show up, show up the way RM does!

Do Your Job

When RM does a job, she never does what she is asked to do. People who do what they are asked to do are “B” employees. Reliable. Conscientious. Keepers.

But when the boss is thinking of promoting an employee to a responsible position, the last person he wants is someone who is reliable, conscientious, and a keeper. The best jobs are given to people who do more than they are asked. Upward mobility in any organization worth working for is about astonishing the boss. Satisfying him won’t get you anywhere.

In Automatic Wealth for Grads … and Anyone Else Just Starting Out, I put it this way:

“So long as your work performance is ordinary, you can’t expect anything more than an ordinary salary. But if you change your work habits and contribute substantially more than your fellow workers, you can rightly expect to be paid substantially more than they are getting.”

You may be thinking, “My boss is so demanding … I can never satisfy the son of a bitch. How the hell am I going to astonish him?”

But the truth is you can. Demanding businesspeople are dissatisfied with 99 percent of their employees because they have set their standards too high. They want everyone who works for them to be a superstar. That is impossible and self-defeating. But it doesn’t mean you can’t astonish these people. All you have to do is work harder and smarter and with more enthusiasm than anyone else.

You can do it. You really can. It’s just a matter of deciding you should.

And why should you? Because even if your boss is Mephistopheles in an Armani suit, he notices his superstar employees and becomes dependent on them. If you become a superstar, he may not praise you … but he will never let you go. And when you ask for a promotion or raise … he’ll give it to you. Trust me.

RM understands that. She also understands that doing your job is about paying attention to the big picture. And the big picture in any business is focused on two goals:

Providing exceptional value to your customers.
Realizing long-term profits from your relationship with them.

Every time RM has been given a challenge, she’s planned her strategy according to those two goals. She would never produce a product unless she was convinced it would be genuinely valuable to the company’s customer base. And she always makes sure the marketing plan she’s working with is one that will produce long-term profits.

Keep Your Nose Clean

RM made her way from a beginning employee making less than $30,000 to a partner in the business making six figures. She did it in less than three years. And she did it by following Uncle Al’s first two rules.

Yes. If you really show up and you really do your job — like RM — you will be really successful. There is absolutely no doubt about that.

So what need is there for another rule?

And such a rule! Keep your nose clean?

Well, it’s not an accident that this rule comes last. Because you can understand it only after you have fully understood the first two.

In fact, I only began to figure it out about 10 years ago, more than 20 years after Uncle Al died.

Briefly, here’s what I think …

Keeping your nose clean is about attending to the small details that make for a more mannerly and considerate life. Keeping your nose clean means taking care of those small details, even if you have achieved great success while ignoring them.

One example: In the information marketing world — ETR’s world — good spelling, punctuation, and grammar will have no impact on your success. So long as you are a master of using the English language to persuade people to buy what you’re selling … it doesn’t matter how you butcher it to achieve your goals.

Time and again I’ve seen mailings go out with terrible mistakes, even on headlines. And never once did I see it have any impact on sales.

If your core ideas are good and your will is good — i.e., you provide exceptional value — your customers will be more than happy to forgive you for making small blunders along the way. If they even notice them. Which they probably won’t.

So the reason you want to keep your nose clean can’t be to achieve more success, right? Right.

Why, then, would you worry about it at all?

You want to keep your nose clean because, in the long run, your career is much less about achieving the status symbols of success — wealth and its trophies — than it is about being spiritually healthy and feeling proud of yourself.

That, it turns out, can be achieved only by keeping your nose clean.

If you think I’m talking out of my butt, don’t fret about it. Just keep working on the first two rules. When you are young and strong and wanting to become rich and powerful, it’s enough to show up and do your job.

But just keep this third rule in mind. And I promise you — after you have achieved everything else, you will say to yourself one day, “You know, Michael Masterson was right about Uncle Al’s third rule. I’m going to start wiping the snot from my nose.”

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Net $50,000 for Making Simple Introductions

2009-08-21T05:18:00.002-05:00

By Matthew Adams

Picture this …

You’re invited to a lobster bake at the yacht club by a friend who has four marinas in the area.

A half-hour into the party, you meet a guy who imports boating supplies and sells them to retailers. During your conversation, you find out he’s looking to expand. You ask your new acquaintance if he would be open to paying a small commission for any new business you might generate for him. He eagerly accepts your offer, and you reach an agreement. Over beer and lobsters, mind you!

Then you introduce your marina-owning friend to the boating supplies importer.

They hit it off immediately. Before long, they are discussing prices. In other words, negotiating. Within a few minutes, they have a deal. Your friend will buy some of the importer’s products wholesale and sell them at all four of his marinas.

The best part? You get a cut of the deal for making the introduction.

But that’s not all. Going forward, you get a percentage of each and every sale the importer makes to your friend!

My first year as a “connector” (also known as a “finder’s agent”), I made $22,000. I made it by introducing high-profile advertisers to trade publishers … and by introducing business sellers to business buyers. When they struck their deals, I received my “fee.”

Before long, I was making $50,000 a year … simply by making phone calls and sending e-mails. It took only a couple of hours a week of my time. I was still making nice commissions by introducing business sellers to business buyers and advertisers to publishers. Meanwhile, I had started helping print publishers slash production costs by outsourcing to India.

I stumbled into the “connecting” game. But I found I was perfect for the job because of my background as a successful entrepreneur. I’ve launched, bought, sold, and managed dozens of small businesses over the past 19 years. What’s more, I’m a former commodities futures trader. I learned a great deal about human psychology by monitoring and trading financial markets. (Not to mention how to steward large sums of money.)

Actually, anybody can be a “connector,” even with a very limited business background. It requires almost no capital to get started. You’ll be providing a service that’s in high demand. And you can run the whole thing from your home office.

You’ll have to test the waters to find the best way to structure your compensation. You can charge clients a flat fee, or you can charge a percentage of a transaction made as a result of bringing people together. If ongoing sales are involved (like the deal between my friend and the boat supplies importer), you can receive “residual” payments.

Either way, you can make good money.

Not only that, but sometimes clients will ask you to assist them in other ways — negotiating, setting up escrow accounts, developing sales agreements, and more. If you have the skills, you can, of course, charge additional fees for that extra work.

Basically, here is how the “connector” service works …

Let’s say you hear about someone who is interested in buying a large parcel of land, a business, a commercial building, surplus merchandise … or any of the thousands of other products, services, or properties that are bought and sold every day.

Then let’s say you find someone who has that item or service or property for sale at a reasonable price.

You inform the prospective buyer that you’ve found an eager seller. You tell the prospective buyer that if a deal is made, and both parties are satisfied, you will be entitled to a finder’s fee or commission.

When you and the prospective buyer have an agreement, you introduce him to the prospective seller.

A buyer and seller will sometimes (rarely, in my experience) try to negotiate a deal without your help, even though you introduced them. Not to worry. You can keep this from happening by putting your agreement with the buyer in writing.

Nothing fancy. Don’t get tied in knots over paperwork and contracts. Keep it simple. My first agreements were less than a page long, and were sent by e-mail or fax. Just outline the terms of the deal (including your commission). Then have it signed by the prospective buyer before any introductions, negotiations, or transactions take place.

For the most part, you can trust people to live up to their end of the bargain. After all, you’re making money for them. So they’ll probably want to do business with you again in the future.

Here’s another example of a deal I completed as a “connector”:

I read about a man who was looking to purchase websites. Specifically, he was looking for travel websites with significant traffic that were also fully functional with e-commerce.

I contacted him by e-mail, introduced myself, and gave him a brief rundown of my business background. Then I told him about two travel websites I thought might interest him.

I explained my “connector” service, and presented my fee proposal. He agreed to the terms.

I then introduced the prospective buyer to the principals of both travel websites. One of the websites was a perfect fit, and he made an offer. The final sale price was negotiated in about a week.

When the sale was completed, $2,250 was electronically transferred to my bank account. That was 3 percent of the deal. My “connector” fee.

It’s that easy.

On top of that, this particular deal took less than 60 minutes of my time, from beginning to end.

Where do you find potential deals? The sources are almost unlimited.

You can find people and companies looking for products, businesses, real estate, surplus inventory, bankrupt companies, capital, etc. in all the national business papers. That includes TheWall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, The New York Times (especially the Sunday Edition), Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, and the Los Angeles Times.
There are hundreds of websites for finding deals, too. Alibaba.com, in particular, is an excellent source of clients looking for specific products.
International Wealth Success (IWS) publishes newsletters with an abundance of leads. IWS also publishes a comprehensive course on becoming a “finder’s agent.” Contact them for details.
Three resources for finding clients and deals overseas are theSouth China Morning Post, the London Times, and the Gulf Times.
For smaller-scale deals, you’ll find a boatload of leads on CraigsList (under the Items Wanted category) and Crain.com Classifieds.

Whatever niche you work in, this is a fun sideline business for anyone who enjoys putting deals together and introducing prospective buyers and sellers.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

How Long Can You Concentrate?

2009-06-21T23:52:00.002-05:00

“I just try to concentrate on concentrating.”

Martina Navratilova

How Long Can You Concentrate?

By Matt Furey

Imagine this: You’re sitting in front of your computer, working on a project. Perhaps it’s a book, an e-mail, or an article. Or you’re doing research.

The phone rings. Do you answer it?

A new e-mail chimes. Do you immediately read it?

A text message arrives. Do you look at it and reply?

Your spouse or child enters the room. Do you stop what you are doing to see what they want?

The question is: How easily are you distracted?

The other day, I was reading that the average person can concentrate on one thing for only about five minutes. He’s got so many gadgets and gizmos that he can never rest or relax mentally. The cellphone or blackberry is always with him. He sleeps with it at his side. Cannot go for a walk without it. Or attend a movie or concert. Can’t eat a meal with his family without looking at his gadget.

I am NOT saying you should get rid of all your gadgets. I’m not saying to stop using technology.

What I’m saying is that peace of mind, happiness, and the ability to achieve your goals has a lot to do with how long you can concentrate on one thing. And if you can’t go for a walk, watch a movie, or have dinner with family or friends without constantly checking your tweets and text messages - if you can’t leave all your gadgets at home or away from your reach for extended periods of time - then you most likely have a lot of trouble finishing projects that require deep concentration and focus.

Here are some things I do that you may find helpful:

1. I put my gadgets in another room when I go to bed at night.

2. I do not bring my gadgets with me when I go for a walk.

3. I do not bring my gadgets with me when I am eating with family or friends - and if I do bring them, I do not use them when we’re talking.

4. If I am working on a project (like this very article), I do not respond to pings, pongs, pangs, or anything else. Everything can wait until I am finished with what I set out to do.

5. If I am talking to someone who allows himself to be continually interrupted by pings, calls, and tweets - I end the encounter. Because that person is letting me know that he values his gadgets more than me.

Now if you’re the type of person who likes his gadgets more than accomplishing something worthwhile - well, you’ll get no argument from me.

On the other hand, if you’re willing to try turning off your gadgets - or letting them ring or chime, unanswered, for extended periods of time - you’ll be amazed at how you will have eliminated a great deal of the unwanted resistance you may have to success.

In fact, if you really want to get more things done in less time - with next to no interruptions - then you’d better learn to do nothing more than concentrate on what you want in such a way that you feel as if nothing is blocking you whatsoever.

No resistance.

No turbulence.

No sandpaper rubbing against you as you go through life.

Instead, a resistance-free feeling flowing against your skin and through your veins.

You get up in the morning with things to do - and you get them done. Day after day. Week after week. Year after year.

Thousands upon thousands of days in which you git ‘er done because you know the power of a focused mind.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Are Your Expectations Too High?

2009-04-21T05:35:00.000-05:00

"Success, n. More achievement than expectation / Failure, n. More expectation than achievement."
- Leonard Roy Frank
Are Your Expectations Too High?

By Michael Masterson

I once pitched a real estate deal to a small group of affluent investors. I was (very loosely) projecting upside annual profits in the 25 percent range. That's a very healthy optimum return, but was not uncommon for real estate development deals at the time.

I thought everyone would be pleased with the projections. But when I finished, a man in the back of the room raised his hand and challenged me.

"I wouldn't even think of investing in a deal like that," he told me.

"Okay," I said, and looked around the room for other questions.

"Don't you want to know why?" he asked me, visibly upset by my nonchalance.

"Not really," I said. "I'm sure you have good reasons."

"But I want to tell you," he said.

"Okay," I said. "Tell us."

"I have high standards," he said smugly. "I never invest in anything that won't give me a 10-to-1 return on my money."

"Aha," I said.

And then I took some other questions.

Whether we do it consciously or not, we all set expectations for every event we take part in, every task we undertake, and every challenge we accept. Some success experts tell us that it is better to set our expectations high, because we can achieve more that way. "Shoot for the stars," they say.

The idea that you'll get more if you have higher expectations has a certain logic to it. We've all had the experience of succeeding at something we thought we would fail at. "Holy cow! I parred that hole. I'm not a duffer. I'm the next Tiger Woods. From now on, my goal will be shooting scratch golf!"

These happy but rare moments teach us something important - that it is possible to underestimate what you can do, and that you never know how well you will perform until you try.

We don't want to lose for lack of trying, so the intelligent athlete will do everything he can to put the expectation of success in his mind. Visualization - the technique by which a competitor imagines vivid details of the competition and sees himself emerge victorious - is an important and useful method for overcoming doubt and building confidence.

But visualizing success and setting goals are two different things. You should always visualize your success. But it is a mistake to set unrealistically high goals.

Let me explain.

Marcus, one of my Jiu Jitsu instructors, is a professional fighter. Before each contest, he imagines himself winning the fight. He pictures himself standing after the fight, his hands raised in victory. When he talks about the match beforehand, he speaks as if his victory were a foregone conclusion.

This positive mental attitude has been a factor, no doubt, in many of his career victories. I know it was a factor in his beating the world champion in his weight division two years ago. But it didn't help the following year when he fought the same guy again and lost.

When I get involved in a new business, I am hopeful that it will succeed. And I occasionally visualize that success by actually imagining a P&L statement with a seven- or eight-digit figure at the bottom.

But when it comes time to set goals for the business, I don't use that visualized number. Instead, I make three projections over a one- to five-year span. One of the projections is based on what the profit would look like if everything went as well as it could go. Another one is based on what the loss would look like if the business failed completely. And a third is somewhere in between.

By working out three projections instead of one, I am able to think about how I can handle certain contingencies if they occur. This three-tiered approach also helps me separate my business intentions from my emotional expectations. (Reread my article "Emotional Detachment and the Zen of Golf" to understand why that is important.)

This process, as you can see, does not prevent you from imagining success. What it does - and this is critically important - is help you make plans that are based on a range of realistic projections.

Having unrealistic expectations for passive investments is perhaps the worst mistake of all. (Keep in mind what I've always said about passive investments: They are risky because you can't possibly know enough about them, and you can't control them even if you know that something is going wrong.)

Remember the man in the back of the room who chastised me for projecting an upside return of "only" 25 percent a year on that real estate deal? Well, he invested in another development that offered the 10-to-1 return he insisted upon. Less than 12 months later, that development went broke... and he did too.

The investment I pitched, as it turned out, gave its investors a 1,000 percent return over three or four years. It was almost certainly the best real estate deal I ever participated in. I never would have projected a 1,000 percent return. It would have been insane. But it turned out better than my best expectations.

And once - just once - I shot an eagle. But I still don't expect to break 100.

I wonder how all the people who invested with Bernie Madoff feel about the projections he was making.

Setting unrealistically high ROI goals is bad for two reasons:

You are much more likely to be disappointed, and

You are much more likely to make bad decisions.

Assuming you are mentally tough enough to deal with disappointment, you still shouldn't set your investment goals too high. If you do, you will pass up good investments because the yield they promise will be below your threshold. So what should you do?

I would recommend you do what I do when I set business goals. Make three projections. Make the first one, the most optimistic one, about half of what the broker tells you to expect from the investment. Make the second one as pessimistic as possible. And make a third one in between.

My experience, in both business and investing, is that the middle projection will usually be the closest to what comes to pass.

Bill Bonner, writing in the Daily Reckoning, explained why his expectations for his investments are even lower than mine:

"While we are on the subject of our own investing, we would like to confess that we do not even try to make a profit from our investing. We only try to preserve our capital. Why? Because we have been very lucky in business... lucky in love... lucky in family... lucky in so many ways. Expecting to be lucky in our investments would seem like ingratitude on our part."

So don't be greedy. Make three projections. Don't invest if you can't be happy with the middle one and okay with the worst one. Do that and you will have a good, long life of wealth building. And every once in a great while, you may get a shockingly good result.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

How to Stay Up When the Economy Is Down - With 5 Quick-Start Steps

2009-04-19T23:42:00.000-05:00

"Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities"
- Aldous Huxley
How to Stay Up When the Economy Is Down - With 5 Quick-Start Steps

By Marci Shimoff

"How can I be happy when the economy is tanking?" It's a question I hear a lot lately. It seems that as the financial picture becomes more depressed, so do we. That's why now, more than ever, we need to learn to be happy from the inside out - no matter what's going on in our lives.

What would it take to make you happy? A fulfilling career? A big bank account? The perfect mate?

What if it didn't take anything to make you happy?

Well, it's possible.

Doing the research for my book, Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy From the Inside Out, I interviewed scores of scientists, as well as 100 unconditionally happy people. And I discovered a way to experience a state of inner peace and well-being that isn't dependent on external circumstances.

When you're Happy for No Reason, you don't need to manipulate the world around you to make yourself happy. You bring happiness to your everyday experiences rather than trying to extract happiness from them.

Here are a few strategies you can use to become happier - and stay that way:

1. People who are Happy for No Reason incline their minds toward joy.

Have you noticed that your mind tends to register the negative events in your life more than the positive? If you get 10 compliments in a day and one criticism, what do you remember? For most people, it's the criticism. Scientists call this "negativity bias" - primitive survival wiring that causes us to pay more attention to the negative than the positive.

To reverse this bias, get into the habit of consciously registering the positive around you: the sun on your skin, the taste of a favorite food, a smile or kind word from a co-worker or friend. Then take a moment to savor it deeply andfeel it. Make it more than a brief mental observation. Spend 20 seconds soaking up the happiness you feel.

2. People who are Happy for No Reason trust in a friendly universe.

Happy people believe that this is a friendly universe. When things don't seem to be going their way, instead of feeling like a victim, they look for the lesson and the gift in the situation.

Try it: The next time you face a challenge, take a moment to reflect silently, asking yourself, "If this were happening for a higher purpose, what would it be?"

3. People who are Happy for No Reason let love lead in their life.

One way to power up your heart's flow is by conveying a feeling of loving kindness to your friends and family, as well as strangers you pass on the street.

When you're waiting for the elevator, stuck in a checkout line, or caught in traffic, send a silent wish to the people you see for their happiness and health. Simply wishing others well switches on the "pump" in your own heart that generates a strong current of happiness.

4. People who are Happy for No Reason make the cells in their body happy.

Your brain produces a veritable pharmacopeia of natural happiness-enhancing neurochemicals - endorphins, serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine - just waiting to be released to every organ and cell in your body. The way you eat, move, and rest, and even your facial expression, can shift the balance of your body's feel-good chemicals in your favor.

To dispense some extra Joy Juice - smile. Scientists have discovered that smiling decreases stress hormones and boosts happiness chemicals, which increase the body's T-cells, reduce pain, and enhance relaxation. You may not feel like it, but smiling - even artificially to begin with - starts the ball rolling. It will turn into a real smile in short order.

5. People who are Happy for No Reason surround themselves with support.

We catch the emotions of those around us just like we catch their colds. It's called emotional contagion. So it's important to make wise choices about the company you keep.

Establish appropriate boundaries with emotional bullies and "happiness vampires" who suck the life out of you. Develop your happiness "dream team" - a mastermind or support group you meet with regularly to keep you steadily on the happiness path.

"Happily ever after" isn't just for fairy tales or the lucky few. Imagine experiencing inner peace and well-being as the backdrop for everything else in your life. When you're Happy for No Reason, it's not that your life always looks perfect - it's that however it looks, you're still happy!

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

9 Steps to Defeating Depression

2009-04-06T07:36:00.002-05:00

"Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."

- Viktor Frankl

9 Steps to Defeating Depression

By Michael Masterson

Of all the many prescriptions for happiness that populate the media these days, the most popular one is also the stupidest. I'm talking about the idea that you can defeat depression by "paying attention to yourself."

The truth is that paying attention to yourself doesn't make you happy at all. In fact, the more attention you give yourself, the less happy you are likely to be. Focusing inward can perpetuate your feelings of hopelessness.

60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace defined depression this way: "Sunshine means nothing to you. The seasons, friends, or good food mean nothing. All you do is focus on yourself and how badly you feel."

Think of the least-happy people you know. What are they always talking about? Their accomplishments. Their troubles. Their hopes. Their worries. Their this. Their that. In short, themselves.

I have a friend. Let's call her Shelly. Shelly is a smart, good-looking woman but she can't maintain long-term relationships. She has no idea why this is true. "People are always disappointing me," she says. And she has stories.

We have lunch together two or three times a year. And at every meeting, Shelly talks non-stop about all the people who have failed her. She complains about her boss. She bitches about her husband. She does it with a certain sense of humor - but it is all "Wah! Wah! Wah! What about me?"

I've suggested to Shelly that she would be happier if she did some volunteer work or took on a hobby. Perhaps get a pet. But she doesn't listen.

To the outside observer, Shelly has nothing to complain about. She has perfect health. She has a healthy family. And she is financially independent - putting her among the luckiest people on earth. Yet from her perspective - from the inside - she sees nothing but negatives.

You probably have a Shelly in your life. Maybe more than one.

The trouble with the Shellys of the world is that they spend too much of their valuable time thinking and talking about themselves. Their lives never get any better. And they can't figure out why. They believe the solution lies in getting other people to feel sorry for them. They don't understand that seeking attention is a big part of their problem.

I have a theory about why this is so.

There are essentially two impulses in the universe: contraction and relaxation. Everything - every animate and inanimate thing - is, literally, becoming more or less dense at any given moment. The ultimate denseness is a black hole, which sucks in light but gives out none.

As psychological creatures, our consciousness is always in flux between the contraction and the dissolution of the ego. Our egocentric impulses are the source of much of the work we do and the art we create, but they are also the source of tension, sickness, and despair. Our dissolution impulses are the source of our loving relationships. They relax us and prepare us to accept the ultimate dissolution of the ego, which is death.

Contraction gives us the egoistic pleasure of being loved - being acknowledged and appreciated. Relaxation gives us the exocentric pleasure of doing the loving - of our work, our lives, and the people who inhabit them.

Both contraction and relaxation can deliver pleasure, but the pleasure of contraction (the pleasure of the ego) is temporary, whereas the pleasure of relaxation is the enduring pleasure of the soul.

It feels good to have people pay attention to you. But even at its most intense (imagine being a movie star), the pleasure dissipates almost as soon as the attention shifts away. And when the pleasure of the ego leaves, a vacuum of sadness takes its place.

It's like taking drugs. The effect is temporary. It's addictive. It leaves you wanting more. And each time you get more, it is not enough. Eventually, it kills you.

"Enough of all this deep thinking," you say. "What does this have to do with me?"

Just this: The next time you are feeling sad or angry, recognize that there is a way to become happy again: Relax your ego.

Here's how...

1. Accept the fact that it is perfectly normal to feel crummy sometimes.

Despite your core strengths and your many accomplishments, you will occasionally find yourself down in the dumps. It's natural for ambitious people (which means you - you are reading ETR, aren't you?) to feel that way. As productivity expert Tim Ferriss says, "The occasional bouts of self-doubt and sadness are an integral part of building anything remarkable."

2. If you are upset because of something you did to yourself, forgive yourself.

It's okay. You screwed up. What matters is what you do next, not what you just did.

I sometimes get angry when I feel pressured by work obligations. But when I examine the reason for all the work, it's usually because I volunteered to take it on in the first place. When I recognize that my mood is being affected by my own prior actions, I remind myself that I'm lucky. "It's okay that you are angry. But you don't have to be. You can get through today. And you can have better discipline tomorrow." That's what I tell myself, and it helps me feel better instantly.

3. If you are upset because of something someone else did to you, take a chill pill.

Count to 10. Recognize that you can't control the behavior of other people. The only thing you can control is your response to their behavior. Nobody can take that away from you.

"Between stimulus and response there is a space," said Viktor Frankl, author ofMan's Search for Meaning. "In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."

I used to get upset when my family, friends, or colleagues made a mistake. I realize now how stupid that was. It didn't do me any good. And it made me unproductive, unhappy, and unpleasant to be around. I changed by learning toturn the other cheek. The moment I stopped resenting others for their shortcomings, I began to feel better about myself.

It's amazing how well this works.

Somebody bumps into you on the street and you sprain your ankle. You have a choice. You can be angry at that person. You can be upset with yourself for not being more aware of your surroundings. Or you can forgive the person and yourself and change the way you think about your injury. Rather than rue the inconvenience of being laid up for a week or two, see the recuperation period as a gift - the chance to start a new project or catch up on your reading.

4. Don't allow unrealistic expectations to interfere with your relationships.

(This is a sub-category of not allowing the behavior of other people to upset you.)

Instead of being upset by your spouse's habit of (fill in the blank), resolve to accept the fact that she won't be changing and find a way to forgive her and even love her for her frailty. Instead of being angry that your child is a slob, find a way to love him for his strengths while gently teaching him (by showing, not telling) the advantages of being orderly. Instead of being angry at your business partner because she didn't perform as well as you expected her to, learn to appreciate what she brings to the table and negotiate a new deal with her out of love, not anger.

Accepting people for who they are does not mean allowing them to make your life miserable. On the contrary, it means being realistic - realizing that 90 percent of the time a person's fundamental characteristics cannot be changed. If you find a certain behavior unacceptable, you change the way you deal with it (something you can do) instead of trying to change the person (which you can't do).

5. If you are upset because of circumstances beyond your control, take a double dose of chill pill.

As Alex Green, Investment Director of the Oxford Club and Chairman of Investment U, said in his article "The Psychology of Optimal Experience," you can deal with your troubles more effectively if you define them as "problems" (which can be solved) or "predicaments" (which can be coped with).

Getting caught in a storm or catching a cold is not a reason to get mad at yourself. Neither, by the way, is being caught in a worldwide economic collapse.

6. If you are unhappy at work, find a way to care about what you're doing.

As Albert Camus said, "But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?" You won't experience happiness if you work at a job you hate or if you do poor work on a project you like. But if you learn to care about the work you do, you will find that your energy will improve and you will start to enjoy it.

7. Engage in some sport or challenging exercise - something that is so demanding you can't do it while thinking.

Walking, stretching, and yoga are great forms of exercise. If you do them with a tranquil mind, they will make you healthy and happy too. But if you do them when you are sad and feeling sorry for yourself, they will give you no relief. You will forget about the exercise and focus on your negative thoughts. That will make things worse.

8. Recognize that the health of your body has a great deal to do with your mood.

If you are feeling bad much of the time, you probably need to make a few lifestyle changes. To wit:

Eat healthy. Eating too many carbohydrates will make you crazy, cranky, and tired. To have consistent energy all day, use food like fuel. Eat six smallish meals a day, avoiding junk food and favoring organics, lean meats, and plenty of protein.

For specific advice on healthy eating, keep reading articles in ETR by Dr. Al Sears, Kelley Herring, Jon Benson, Jonny Bowden,Craig Ballantyne, Shane Ellison, and other experts.

Sleep and rest adequately. For me, adequate sleep is a major contributor to feeling good. Studies show that people who get seven good hours of sleep a night live longer, suffer from fewer illnesses, and achieve more because they have more energy.

For tips on sleeping well, read my article "Are You Getting Enough Sleep?" If you get tired during the day, take a short nap.

Get the advice of a good doctor about antidepressants. I'm generally against putting chemicals in my body. I much prefer natural cures. But antidepressants have helped some people close to me, and may help you too.

9. Take positive steps to focus "outward" instead of "inward" - to pay less attention to yourself and more attention to others.

A few examples:

Make your friends happy. Smile when you see them. Listen to their stories. Give them the advice they want and shut up when they don't want any. Become the person they turn to when the chips are down. Learn to love their peccadilloes and encourage them to overcome their faults. Above all, be loyal.

Be a reliable and steady resource for your business colleagues. Help them achieve their goals - not because you want them to reciprocate in some way but simply because you care about them and want them to succeed.

Do something for someone you don't know - a stranger you come upon, a foster child, or a sick or poor person who can benefit from your help. Spend time and money.

Make this outward focus a natural part of your daily life. Do it purposefully and deliberately until it becomes second nature. You will know when that happens because you'll be feeling happy most of the time - and when you become sad or angry, you'll be able to get over it quickly and easily.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Does Anyone Get It Yet?, Part II

2009-04-04T17:21:00.000-05:00

Does Anyone Get It Yet?, Part II

Posted: 03 Apr 2009 05:34 AM PDT

By Robert Ringer

As the Obamacrats continue to take over banks, auto manufacturers, and, soon, everything from land-development firms to sports franchises to lemonade stands, more and more people will finally get it. They won’t have a choice: They’ll be living in servitude!

Of all the dictators over the past hundred years, I think BHO comes closest to the model used by Adolf Hitler. I know, I know … I can practically hear you chuckling. Enslaved people throughout history have a propensity for chuckling - until they wake up one morning and find themselves in chains. So, by all means, feel free to chuckle - but do hear me out.

Though few people realize it, Hitler was legitimately chosen to be Chancellor of Germany in 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg. At his swearing in ceremony, Hitler faithfully repeated the oath of office: “I will employ my strength for the welfare of the German people, protect the Constitution and laws of the German people, conscientiously discharge the duties imposed on me, and conduct my affairs of office impartially and with justice to everyone.”

Nice words … similar to those uttered by the president of the United States when being sworn into office. Hitler was a charming, eloquent speaker who carried on incessantly about change. (Sound familiar?) Then, once elected, he moved quickly to establish a dictatorship – accomplishing that seemingly impossible feat (in a Western democracy!) within weeks.

Big business supported Hitler, because they felt certain his policies would wreck the economy and, thus, lead to a return to authoritarian rule (which major corporations love, because it makes it easier for them to establish monopolies). What they did not count on, however, was that Hitler himself would be the one to grab the reins of power.

The upstart Nazi Party (which was the commonly used name for the National Socialist German Workers’ Party … repeat, Socialist) staged a slobbering love affair between Hitler and the German people. (Sound familiar?) When Hitler spoke for the first time as Chancellor, it was said that “he was greeted with an outpouring of worshipful adulation unlike anything ever seen before in Germany.” (Sound familiar?)

It is appropriate that I close by quoting from The Road to Serfdom, by F.A. Hayek, “the bible” when it comes to explaining the way countries travel the road from democracy to dictatorship:

It is important to remember that, for some time before 1933, Germany had reached a stage in which it had, in effect, had to be governed dictatorially. Nobody could then doubt that for the time being democracy had broken down and that sincere democrats like Bruning were no more able to govern democratically than Schleicher or von Papen.

Hitler did not have to destroy democracy; he merely took advantage of the decay of democracy and at the critical moment obtained the support of many to whom, though they detested Hitler, he yet seemed the only man strong enough to get things done.

Under the Articles of Confederation, the central government of America was very weak – which was a good thing. It was true then, and it’s true now: You can have a strong government and a weak people, or a strong people and a weak government – but you cannot have both. Today, we have a draconian, out-of-control government and a very weak people.

Arguably, democracy in this country started breaking down in 1787, when the Constitution created a strong federal government. It got worse - much worse - under the fascist policies of Woodrow Wilson’s reign from 1912 to 1920. Then, beginning in 1932, FDR’s failed fascist policies took away even more individual freedom from American citizens. And the final disintegration of true democracy in the U.S. was catalyzed by the left-wing revolutionaries of the sixties.

So if you’re wondering how BHO and his Marxist cronies have been able to violate the Constitution as though is didn’t exist, the answer is that they are merely taking advantage of the decay of democracy in the U.S. that was already present when they came to power. While Americans have been busy watchingAmerican Idol, Oprah, and other assorted mind-dulling fare on TV, the liberal fascists (to borrow Jonah Goldberg’s appropriate term) in Washington have been quietly (until now) working to establish a dictatorship based on the ruins of democracy.

Get it? I hope so. Because if a vast majority of everyday folks don’t get it soon, it will be too late. Perhaps it already is. We will soon find out.

Perhaps you’re wondering what the W stands for in the D & W Factors, and how it plays into all this. No teasing intended, but I think I’ll leave that for another time. I wouldn’t want to say anything that might spoil your otherwise blissful day.

Article from RobertRinger.com. All rights to author.

Parallel Parking...and Business Success

2009-04-04T00:22:00.001-05:00

"Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives."

- Willa A. Foster

Why My Wife Can't Parallel Park - and How It Can Affect Your Business

By Rich Schefren

Last Sunday, my wife Debi, two daughters, and I drove 40 miles north to have brunch with some old friends from New York.

We took the Maserati and raced up I-95. It's a great car. (Ferrari engine and interior straight out of Architectural Digest.)

With Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and the Allman Brothers blaring from the radio, we took turns singing along with them. We were having a blast... until we reached the restaurant and Debi tried to parallel park in a tight spot while I was belting out my rendition of the Allmans' "Crazy Love."

Her first attempt was... how should I put it... off a bit. (Okay, maybe off a lot.)

Debi decided she needed to concentrate on the task at hand. So I was told, in no uncertain terms, to "shut up." The radio was muted. There was absolute silence. And she came in for her second attempt...

This time, she NAILED IT! In fact, it was a better job than yours truly has ever done.

And that, my friend, is where an entrepreneurial lesson is hidden.

You see, there are four stages of learning...

Stage 1. Unconscious Incompetence: You don't know what you don't know.

Stage 2. Conscious Incompetence: You know what you don't know.

Stage 3. Conscious Competence. Now you know whatever it was that you didn't know, but you have to concentrate to use it.

Stage 4. Unconscious Competence: You know it, and you can use it without thinking about it.

Let's take learning the alphabet as an example. There was a time when you didn't even know what the alphabet was (Stage 1). Then, you were told about the alphabet and you realized you didn't know it (Stage 2). Next, you learned the alphabet, but you really had to concentrate to draw each letter and not confuse a "b" with a "d" (Stage 3). And now (hopefully), you can write words, sentences, and even pages without thinking about the letters themselves (Stage 4).

Back to Debi for a sec...

Debi is unconsciously competent (Stage 4) when it comes to driving, BUT she's only consciously competent (Stage 3) when it comes to parallel parking. And you know what? That's good enough.

"So, where's the lesson in that?" you ask.

Easy chachi, I'm getting to it. First, let me ask you a question: Are you unconsciously competent (Stage 4) at your moneymaking activities? For example, can you write an optimized blog post without having to think about keywords and their placement? Or draft an e-mail with an effective hook and a compelling call to action?

If you're like most entrepreneurs, odds are you can't - and it costs you more than you realize. Here's why:

When you are only consciously competent (Stage 3)...

You're more prone to making a mistake.

You're forced into doing things slowly, meaning you also make money slowly.

You can complete the task only in certain places (with your reference material) and at certain times (when you can concentrate), so you don't make money as often as you could.

You never achieve mastery, so you quickly fall back into conscious incompetence if you take a few days off.

This is important. Come closer. Listen...

The biggest leap in income happens when an entrepreneur becomes unconsciously competent (Stage 4) in his or her moneymaking activities. When you're unconsciously competent, those activities become easier and you can do them faster, with better success, and more often. In essence, you can spend your time doing instead of fumbling.

I'm not talking about mastering every business skill. Focus, for now, on those that have the biggest chance of making you money. For instance, start honing your marketing muscle. Put in the time - Michael Masterson recommends1,000 hours to achieve competence - and you'll take your skills to such a high level that you could do them half-asleep!

Imagine the leap of income you'll have when the skills you need to make money are hardwired into your brain like that. When getting joint venture partners is a snap, writing copy is a breeze, and growing your business becomes your healthiest habit.

I can't promise you'll be a better driver or parallel parker - but I can promise that you'll be driving and parking in front of your bank to make bigger deposits, more frequently.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Does Anyone Get It Yet?, Part I

2009-04-03T02:18:00.000-05:00

Does Anyone Get It Yet?, Part I

Posted: 01 Apr 2009 08:57 AM PDT

By Robert Ringer

I didn’t watch much news for a couple of weeks, because I found it frustrating that almost no one — not even the staunchest conservatives – seemed to get it. Today, however, I am happy to see that a handful of commentators are edging closer to acknowledging what is really happening to America.

Even Bill O’Reilly is now using the term socialism (though he still claims that BHO has “good intentions”). O’Reilly, you will recall, is the guy who, back in the good old days when Rev. Wright was entertaining us nightly, insisted “I don’t believe for a second that Obama shares the reverend’s radical views.” (If the latter is not a precise quote, it’s a close paraphrase of statements about Obama that O’Reilly has repeatedly made.)

Now that I’m back to watching the news, I’m happy to see that Sean Hannity, Karl Rove, and Newt Gingrich have begun to openly accuse BHO of lying. The other night, Hannity even used the word
Bolsheviks in reference to what the Obamacrats are doing to this country.

But Dick Morris is even closer to zeroing in on the BHO endgame. He has frequently stated that BHO is well aware that his policies will destroy the U.S. economy. And he’s right. BHO knows exactly what he is doing. Morris believes that transforming the U.S. into a socialist country is more important to BHO than winning a second term. Pretty good insight – but on that one, he’s still a step away from fully getting it.

I’ll get to what I mean by that in a second. But first, I feel compelled to say that in the Getting It Derby, Glenn Beck is ahead of the field by a solid margin. Beck just may be the most talented commentator in television history. Amazingly, he managed to overcome his drug and alcohol addictions, and is now one of the most well-informed and brilliant voices in the media.

What sets him apart from his equals is his ability to entertain and his fearlessness when it comes to speaking the unspeakable. However, since Beck switched to his natural habitat (Fox News), events in Washington have forced him to transition from an emphasis on humor to an emphasis on anger.

He is the only person on TV who talks openly about communism in the U.S., and yesterday he referred to BHO as “the master of misdirection.” I don’t know how long the government is going to sit by and allow Beck to feed raw truth to the public, but he is saying things that honestly make me fear for his life.

Even so, I’m not 100 percent certain that even Beck has taken that last step – the one Dick Morris is so close to taking. The step I am referring to is talking candidly to the public about the “D & W Factors” – the factors no one wants to think about, let alone discuss out loud.

For purposes of this article, I will zero in on the D Factor only:Dictatorship. This is the one area where I disagree with Dick Morris (i.e., that BHO is willing to be a one-term president in order to implement his socialist agenda). I don’t believe that BHO has any intention of being a one-term president. Quite the opposite, in fact. I think he much prefers the Hugo Chavez model: Take control, then move swiftly to create economic havoc and use it as an excuse to establish a dictatorship.

Now don’t go giving BHO credit for originality. He is the ultimate no-change president, but a very clever copycat. Getting elected and then using your powers to eliminate all competition is an old trick used by power-hungry thugs in countries large and small.

In Part II of this article, I’ll discuss just one example of where the transition from democracy to dictatorship was pulled off quite smoothly – and quickly – and the masses cheered as they marched happily down the road to serfdom.

Article from RobertRinger.com. All rights to author.

Emotional Detachment and the Zen of Golf

2009-03-31T21:58:00.001-05:00

"To be consistently effective, you must put a certain distance between yourself and what happens to you on the golf course. This is not indifference, it's detachment."

- Sam Snead

Emotional Detachment and the Zen of Golf

By Michael Masterson

About a month ago, I played golf for the first time with Number Three Son (N3S). I was looking forward to a pleasant afternoon. I imagined fresh air, healthy sunshine, and that father-son banter that women who don't understand men categorize as superficial.

The afternoon started off as hoped for. The sun was shining. The course was green. We prepared by eating hotdogs and lighting up cigars. But on the very first tee, things started going badly. At least for N3S.

N3S is a novice golfer. He's played less than half a dozen games. He was focused on long drives and good chips and accurate putting. When he didn't hit the ball well - which was most of the time - he was angry with himself.

Though he may not have been hitting the ball the way he wanted, he was hitting it. I was impressed and told him so. "You are doing a lot better than I was at your stage of the game."

That didn't mollify him. By the ninth hole, he was emotionally exhausted. He didn't want to play anymore. "It's no use," he said morosely. "I stink."

N3S's frustration with his poor performance and his subsequent depression reminded me of myself until just a few years ago. It scared me to think that he might go through what I went through for 40 years. On the way home, I talked to him about one of the ways I've overcome my own tendency to get depressed. Today, I'm going to share that same strategy with you.

When you're happy, you can move mountains. When you're angry or depressed, your energy drops, your focus blurs, and your productivity lapses.

Depression can blunt your work skills. It can damage your reputation. It can separate you from your income and your possessions. It can affect your relationships with your spouse, your children and family - even lifelong friends. Depression will rob you of all the beautiful little moments that make life worth living - like a day on the golf course with Dad.

It steals your fun. It steals your time. It leaves you with nothing.

Last week, in my article "Defeating Depression Before It Defeats You," I told you two stories about friends of mine who fell into deep depressions when they lost their jobs and their income.

Both of them had based their self-worth on their ability to make money - a mistake that many entrepreneurs make. And when, through no fault of their own, they suffered a serious financial setback, they felt like failures. I suggested that the way to avoid falling into that trap is to base your self-worth on things that really matter - on personal values that have nothing to do with your income.

There's another common mistake that leads many to despair. The mistake that N3S was making during our golf game. I have to warn you that the solution to this one is a bit harder to understand and practice. But stick with me while I explain it. Because once you "get it," you'll have no trouble maintaining a positive outlook... even under the most difficult circumstances.

I am talking about developing the skill of emotional detachment. More specifically, developing the ability to set and pursue goals without caring whether you actually achieve them.

I learned how to do this only six or eight years ago, and have been practicing it in fits and starts. As each year passes, I get better at it. I feel happier and more in control of my life. Most important, I think it has helped me pass along some of my newfound happiness to others.

When most people hear the phrase emotional detachment, they think it means indifference or even heartlessness. Nothing could be further from the truth. Emotional detachment frees you from neurotic attachments and lets you focus your energies on other people, other things, and the here and now.

The best example I can give you is the natural love that a mother has for her child. When the child is happy, the mother is happy. When the child is unhappy, the mother instinctively wants to find the cause of the unhappiness and end it, if she can.

When the mother discovers that the child is unhappy because of some physical discomfort, she tries to relieve it. When the cause is an emotional conflict, she does her best to teach the child how to handle it. The mother's goal is always to prepare the child to become independent. She works consistently to gradually free the child from his natural dependence on her so that he can go out into the world and live a happy and productive life.

When an 11-year-old tells his mother that he "hates" her because she's imposed some restriction on him, the (mentally healthy) mother does not feel hurt, even though a hurtful thing has been said. She loves the child and doesn't take his statement to heart. She remains calm. She reminds him that she loves him. And she explains that the restriction will not be removed simply because he "hates" it or her.

In other words, she is emotionally detached from the child's expressions of anger.

If you are a parent, you understand what I mean. Most parents, most of the time, practice this sort of emotional detachment with their children. But there are some who can't do it, because they are emotionally attached to their children's approval of them. These are the parents who want to be "best friends" with their children. They break their own rules the moment their children object to them. Sometimes they go so far as to tolerate risky behavior.

The skill of emotional detachment can be applied to all relationships. It can work with your boss and colleagues at work. It can work with your spouse or parents at home. Detachment can also be applied to almost any challenge or problem. And the result will always be greater calmness and clarity.

This gets us back to my story about N3S...

When I started golfing, I approached the game very much the way my son approached it. That is, I was concerned about the outcome of my shots. When hitting the ball off the tee, I cared about how far it would go. When I putted, I cared about how close the ball would get to the hole.

This made the game very frustrating. Being a beginner, the outcome of most of my shots was disappointing.

But it didn't take me long to realize that I was my own worst enemy. By allowing myself to be disappointed four shots out of five, I was setting myself up for failure. (How can you learn to play golf well if you are swearing when you are swinging the club?) The trick, I soon figured out, was to detach myself emotionally from the intended outcome (where the ball goes) and focus instead on the experience of the swing.

My goal, when I play golf these days, is to have a good swing. I don't care where the ball goes. All I care about is whether I achieve my intention of swinging the club properly.

This has made a remarkable difference in my game. In several short months, I have brought down my handicap by about 30 strokes. Before, I was shooting about 130 and hating the game. Now, I am hovering at 100 and liking it, even when the ball lands in a sand trap or rolls over the green.

Anything we do in life - any goal we set, any relationship we engage in - can be done better and more happily by applying emotional detachment.

Let me give you a few more examples.

Emotional Attachment: You want to go on a picnic Saturday afternoon. It rains. You are disappointed.

Emotional Detachment. You intend to have a picnic on Saturday. But, knowing you can never predict the weather, you consciously detach yourself from the hope that the sun will shine. You create Plan B - going to the movies instead. So when it rains, you move happily from Plan A to Plan B without getting upset or upsetting those with you. You are the Zen Master of your Saturday afternoon. You help others feel better by your good example. And that, in turn, increases your happiness.

Emotional Attachment. You want to get a raise. You don't get one. You are disappointed.

Emotional Detachment. You intend to get a raise. But, knowing you can't control the outcome of your next performance review, you come up with a Plan B that involves starting your own side business. You make a good presentation at the review, but your boss doesn't give you the raise. You aren't disappointed. In fact, you are excited... because now you can initiate Plan B.

Emotional Attachment: You want to marry your college sweetheart. You propose to her. She refuses you. You are crushed.

Emotional Detachment. You intend to marry your college sweetheart. But, recognizing that you cannot control her feelings, you detach yourself from that outcome and settle on Plan B, which is to enjoy the relationship for some months longer while you begin to look for a new one. You propose to her and are turned down. You aren't sad. You don't pout. You put Plan B into action. She notices your detachment and likes you better for it. Now it is up to you to continue the relationship or move on.

As I said earlier, the skill of emotional detachment is hard to understood and practice. But if you can master it, you will enjoy a life of unlimited wealth, health, and happiness.

Before N3S and I went golfing for the second time, I had him take a lesson with Larry, the pro I learned from. (Larry understands the Zen of golf. He, like Ben Hogan, understands that the true purpose of golf is not to achieve a specific score but to experience the serenity and pleasure that come with developing a consistently good swing.)

When we hit the golf course this time, I reminded N3S to focus his mind not on where the ball goes but on executing his swing. We played all 18 holes in perfect harmony. And though we didn't care about our scores, they were better than they had been the time before.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

How to “Achieve the Impossible” by Putting the Pain/Pleasure Principle to Work for You

2009-03-29T09:35:00.000-05:00

How to “Achieve the Impossible” by
Putting the Pain/Pleasure Principle
to Work for You
By Guillermo Rubio

This week, Kyle Maynard turns 23.

And already, Kyle’s accomplished what takes most people a lifetime …

He’s an in-demand motivational speaker, a New York Times best-selling author, and has appeared as a guest on Oprah, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America. Plus, he’s in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, having won 36 varsity matches as a high-school senior against top opponents. He also owns a fitness center.

These accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary, when you consider what makes Kyle truly unique …

He was born with a condition known as congenital amputation. His arms end at the elbows, and his legs end at the knees. Despite this, he lives a pretty normal life.

He can type up to 50 words per minute, eat without help, write, and even drive. To most people, Kyle’s achievements seem impossible, given his circumstances …

But Kyle found a way.

Many times, our circumstances can make our goals seem impossible to achieve.

Perhaps you’re so deep into debt, getting out of it seems like a far-fetched dream …

Maybe you’ve been hit hard in this economy and you think you’ll never be able to retire …

Or maybe you think making a full-time living doing what you love is just not possible, because it’s too hard to do.

The good news is, you can achieve the seemingly “impossible.” You just have to tap into your personal power, just like Kyle did.

Personal development guru Tony Robbins says one of the major keys to tapping into your personal power is understanding the concept of pain and pleasure.

Every choice you’ve made – and will make – is based on avoiding pain and seeking pleasure.

The key, then, to “achieving the impossible” is to make the emotional power behind your pain/pleasure motivations strong enough to accomplish your goal.

In his e-book, Need to Know, business-building expert Paul Myers puts it this way …

“Make the pleasures that you get and the pain you avoid when you achieve your goal as strong as you can. Then make the pleasure you get and the pain you avoid by NOT getting it as weak as possible.
“When the emotional attachment you make to things that move you toward it are stronger than those of the things that keep you from it, you will have effectively put the car in drive. You will automatically move in the direction of those desires.”

This is exactly how Kyle Maynard has been able to achieve so many “impossible” things.

For him, the pain of not achieving his dreams is huge. And the pleasure of gaining them is even bigger. This is what’s helped him bulldoze past any obstacles life throws his way.

So how do you put this pain/pleasure principle to work for you?

Here’s how:

Figure out what you want. What is the “impossible” goal you’d love to accomplish? Is it to finally get in shape and stay that way? Is it to quit your job and start your own business, doing what you love? Or, maybe you’d love to have a passive online income.
For example, Shaun Fawcett’s job with an international training company disappeared, when their largest customer – the government – pulled their funding. Unemployed and wondering what to do next, he decided to strike out on his own.
For a couple of years, he consulted and did some copywriting. But what he really wanted was to make a living online. He soon determined the best way was to build a content-rich, theme-based website. Today he’s bringing in over six figures a year.

Do a pain/pleasure inventory. Let’s say, like Shaun, your “impossible” goal is to create a passive online income. Here’s what you do next, to give yourself the best possible chance of achieving that goal.

Grab two sheets of paper. Draw a line down the middle of each one. At the top of the left-hand column, write “Pain I Avoid.” At the top of the right-hand column, write “Pleasure I Gain.”

On the first sheet of paper, you’re going to identify the pain you avoid and the pleasure you gain, by NOT taking action to create a passive online income. For example:

By NOT TAKING ACTION to Create a Passive Online Income:

*Pain I Avoid*	*Pleasure I Gain*
Potential failure	Safety in knowing I’m not risking anything
Having to give up some of my free time to make my goal happen	Being able to spend my free time doing things that are fun and pleasurable in the moment
Criticism from family and friends for trying to do something that seems “impossible”	Approval of others, because I’m playing it safe and not making any waves

On the second sheet, write down the pain you avoid and the pleasure you gain by actually achieving your goal of creating a passive online income:

By TAKING ACTION to Create a Passive Online Income:

*Pain I Avoid*	*Pleasure I Gain*
Regret and a feeling of “what if?”	Satisfaction and security, knowing I have enough money for all my needs
Retiring without financial security	Being able to work from home and have less stress, by avoiding long commutes and having to deal with unreasonable bosses and office politics
Not being able to do and have the things I want	A better quality of life for me and my family, such as being able to take more vacations, live in a nicer house, have plenty of money for retirement, etc.

Now that you’ve done your pain/pleasure inventory, now it’s time to …

Tip the scales in your favor. Now that you’ve filled out your pain/pleasure lists, it’s time to get some emotional power behind wanting to achieve your goal of creating a passive online income. Make the “Taking Action” pain avoided and pleasure gained so great, that they completely outweigh the pain and pleasure of NOT taking action.
To do this, take the “NOT Taking Action” list (the first sheet in step #2 above) and minimize both the pain avoided and the pleasure gained.
For example, for the pain of potential failure, make that pain less severe by rationalizing it. Realize that as long as you create a detailed action plan and account for any pitfalls along the way, your chances of failure are minimal. Plus, as long as you keep at it, you haven’t failed. You only fail when you give up.
Now, for the pleasure of, say, being able to spend your free time watching television instead of working on your goal, you can minimize it by realizing the pleasure is only temporary. It won’t give you lasting fulfillment. Think how, in five years, your life won’t be any better because of the hours spent watching those sitcoms.
After doing this for each item on your “NOT Taking Action” list, the emotional power behind the pain avoided and pleasure gained by not taking action will be zapped.
Visualize the specific results of taking action. Go through your “Taking Action” pain/pleasure list (the second sheet in step #2 above), and think about what you’ve written.
For instance, if the pain avoided by taking action is not having enough money for retirement, get specific. What exactly would you not have money for? Would that mean you’d have to move out of your house and into a small apartment? Would you have to ask your family for help?
Then, do the same thing with your “Taking Action” pleasure list. If the pleasure gained is financial freedom, be specific. Does that mean you’ll finally get to visit the Egyptian pyramids? Take that cruise to St. Martin you’ve always wanted? Help a certain charity?
There is power in specificity. That’s because it’s easier to visualize going on a skiing vacation to the Swiss Alps, than it is to visualize the abstract of “financial freedom.”

This is how you’ll build emotional power and motivation to automatically start achieving your goals. And soon enough, you’ll regularly be “achieving the impossible,” just like Kyle.

This article appears courtesy of The Golden Thread, an e-letter from AWAI that delivers original, no-nonsense advice on how to build your freelance copywriting business. For a free subscription, visit http://www.awaionline.com/thegoldenthread

Does Investing Your Time Guarantee Success?

2009-03-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

"No-one gets an iron-clad guarantee of success. Certainly, factors like opportunity, luck and timing are important. But the backbone of success is usually found in old-fashioned, basic concepts like hard work, determination, good planning and perseverance."

- Mia Hamm

Does Investing Your Time Guarantee Success?

By Bob Cox

Last week, my wife Karin and I received an e-mail inquiry about one of the goal-setting programs we offer through Early to Rise. The gentlemen indicated that he was at a point where he was looking for a real change, not a temporary fix. He was interested in the program, yet skeptical. He wantedmore than a money-back guarantee. He said that he would follow the materialto the letter, but was hesitant to invest his time unless we could guarantee that his time wouldn't be wasted - that the program would work specifically for him.

Karin and I talked about how best to reply. Of course, we stand behind our programs. But, as with any product, a blanket guarantee of results is impossible. Yes, we can return his money if he's not satisfied. (ETR has an exceptional money-back guarantee.) But no, we can't return his time.

Our decision was to politely thank the gentleman for his interest.

Taking Action: the Most Important Key to Success

A good program will provide you with the raw materials for achieving your goal - but no one can guarantee that you will actually achieve it.

For instance, an Internet business-building program will give you instructions for setting up a website, starting an e-mail newsletter, and writing sales copy. But the best Internet business-building program in the world won't help you build a million-dollar business unless you put what you learn to work in the real world. You've got to follow those steps for setting up a website andset up a website. You've got to use that copywriting information to write sales copy.

When I started off in insurance sales, I had to invest a lot of time in studying to pass the licensing test. Did having an insurance license automatically guarantee that I would make sales? Of course not. I became a successful insurance salesman because I took action. I marketed myself. I mastered dozens of sales techniques. I learned my product inside and out.

Taking action may be the most important component of success - but it's not the only one. There are three more:

Know What You Want

It is interesting to me that many people spend precious time thinking and talking about what they don't want. Like that fellow who said he didn't want to waste his time on our goal-setting program if we couldn't guarantee it would work for him. Or the people who say they don't want to be broke... or don't want to be overweight... or don't want to lose their jobs... or don't want more stress.

What they should be doing is turning those negative thoughts around and taking a positive approach: telling yourself what you want to do (I want to be fit and trim... I want to create additional income... I want to feel relaxed), not what you don't want to do, you will inspire yourself to take action to achieve the goal.

It starts with forming a specific and detailed plan. This is where visualization is helpful.

If you want to be fit and trim, visualize a new post-weight-loss achievement outfit you are going to buy... or that favorite pair of jeans you want to get back into. In addition, visualize the favorable responses you will get from people when you reach your ideal weight and fitness goal.

If you want to increase your income, visualize how you will feel when you see your bank account balance increase... and what you will do for your family with that money. Would you buy a bigger house? If so, picture exactly where you'll live - the neighborhood, the size and color of the house, etc. A new car? Picture the exact car you'll buy.

Measure Your Results Along the Way

Keeping track of how you are doing with your goal-setting plan helps you determine the effectiveness of your actions.

You may find that you no longer want to pursue a goal you assigned yourself. Or perhaps you want to modify that goal. Maybe you want to keep the goal but you've discovered a more convenient and efficient way to get to the "finish line." Let's say you set a physical fitness and weight-loss goal. And the plan you came up with to achieve that goal was to go to the gym three nights a week. You've been doing that for two months, and you're happy with the results. But now you think there's a good chance you can stay on track by working out at home.

Okay.

Only YOU can determine the most effective way to use your time. But you won't be able to do that if YOU don't measure and monitor your progress along the way.

Make Constant Improvements

The Japanese principle known as "kaizen" (which means continuous improvement) can be applied to all aspects of life. But it is perhaps best known for the way it's been applied to business.

Some scholars think kaizen is what enabled Japan to go from defeat in World War II to being one of the world's strongest economies. What the Japanese did was commit to continuously improving their manufacturing industries to be more efficient, cost-effective, and productive. The idea was that everything could always be done better.

This is exactly what we here at ETR want for you! We want you to believe that you can always find new and better ways to achieve your goals. If an action is working and bringing the desired results - do it more often. If an action is not working or throwing you off track - do it less often. (Or eliminate it altogether.)

The beauty of goal setting is that it is all about YOU and what you want to achieve. You choose... you act... you monitor your actions... you celebrate and continue refining your actions.

Each one of us is very different, yet we are all alike in that we are success-seekers on a life journey that is just that - a journey to success. You want guarantees? I can guarantee that you won't have success unless you are proactive in using the four simple success components I outlined for you today.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

The Hero Within You, Part II

2009-03-28T00:40:00.000-05:00

The Hero Within You, Part II

Posted: 27 Mar 2009 03:48 AM PDT

By Robert Ringer

While pondering the continued existence of slavery and genocide throughout the world, I also thought about the current batch of scoundrels running for the highest office in the land. They all have at least one thing in common: They employ their favorite euphemisms (e.g., “change”) to hide their intent to further increase government power over ordinary citizens.

Amazingly, these masters of deceit are revered by millions. Especially by those politically sedated humanoids who cheer wildly and pump signs into the air as their political heroes work them into a frenzy with the same tired platitudes that have been used by politicians throughout recorded history.

The airlines warn us to put on our own oxygen masks first so we will be in a better position to help our children. Good analogy, because as I watch those ecstatic sign holders on TV dutifully playing out their roles as political sheep, it occurs to me that folks who are interested in lessening pain and suffering in the world might do well to first concentrate on what is happening right here in America. Most Americans are so lost that they have come to actually love their servitude.

Just as the war against teacher and student bullying is never ending, so, too, is the war against tyranny. Thirty years ago, I wrote that the only hope for the U.S. lies in educating the masses. To be sure, libertarianism — which I believe a majority of Americans would embrace if they understood it — has made strides since then, and that is cause for hope. Unfortunately, those who aspire to consolidate government’s power over the masses have made even greater strides.

We may never become another Burma or Bosnia, but, aside from the varying degrees of violence, slavery by any other name is still slavery. Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World painted a pretty stark picture of that reality.

The March Madness guys are great athletes who excel at playing a great game. And for that, I guess they deserve some applause. But they are not heroes. And no matter how exciting any of the tournament games may be, basketball is still only a game.

You, on the other hand, can be a hero. How? By refusing to be taken in by the corrupt political system that is ever more rapidly moving the U.S. toward totalitarianism … by learning all you can about the concept of liberty … by educating yourself about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the true intent of our founding fathers … and by sharing your knowledge with as many people as possible.

Gradualism and lethargy have worked in tandem over the past hundred years to make the odds against steering America back to its original libertarian foundation almost impossible to overcome. Almost — but notcompletely. To the extent you work at spreading the gospel of liberty to others — explaining to as many people as possible why liberty must be given a higher priority than all other objectives — you are a hero.

By all means, enjoy sports and other forms of entertainment as a respite from the daily cares of life. But for the sake of your children and grandchildren, keep those things in perspective and don’t allow them to distract you from what is happening in the real world — because what’s happening is going to have a dramatic impact on their lives.

Allocating a portion of your time and energy resources to help prevent a further slide toward totalitarianism in the U.S. is a good investment. And the nice thing is that it doesn’t even require a license to become a bona fide hero … yet.

Article from RobertRinger.com. All rights to author.

3 Tips On Improving Your Sales Pitch

2009-03-27T23:02:00.001-05:00

Excellent video I found on improving sales.

Overcoming Money Objections

2009-03-26T20:42:00.001-05:00

"Not brute force but only persuasion and faith are the kings of this world."

- Thomas Carlyle

Overcome Customers' Price Objections With the "Starbucks Break Down" Technique

By Paul Lawrence

Let's say you're a roofing salesman and you get a call from a homeowner who's concerned about a leak in her ceiling. You do an inspection and realize that what she needs is a $500 repair. But $500 is a lot of money. So, to convince her to do it, you might use a persuasion technique called "perceptual contrasts." You've probably read about it in ETR.

Briefly, here's how it works: You explain to the homeowner that the roof is very old and that replacing it would be the ideal solution. Unfortunately, that costs $10,000. But, you explain, there is another viable option that costs a lot less. The roof can be repaired for only $500. In contrast to the cost of replacing the roof, she now perceives a $500 repair to be a bargain and signs on the dotted line.

Today, I want to tell you about another very effective persuasion technique that's based on altering a person's perception. With this technique, you break down a large expense or job into smaller, more manageable units.

For example, I'm sure you've seen commercials asking you to sponsor starving children in poverty-stricken parts of the world. The cost to sponsor one child is about $30 a month. But it's hard to get people to commit to donating that much money. So they point out that $30 a month is less than the cost of buying one cup of coffee a day.

That immediately changes your perception, doesn't it? Less than a cup of coffee a day? Surely, you can afford that!

This technique is widely used by many salespeople. And the "less than a cup of coffee a day" example is so common that I've dubbed it the "Starbucks Break Down."

Many years ago, I sold a product that was allegedly the "Cadillac" of vacuum cleaners. It was good - but boy was it expensive! At the time, it sold for about $800. Today, I imagine it might go for $1,500.

When I'd demonstrate the machine, showing my prospective customer all the dirt her old vacuum wasn't picking up, she'd usually be very interested in the possibility of buying one. Until, that is, she saw the price tag.

Then I'd introduce her to the company's financing plan, which broke down the cost of the vacuum into a series of $30 monthly payments... less than a dollar a day. No, I didn't use the cup of coffee example. But when I pointed out that, for less than $1 a day, she and her children would be living and sleeping in a much cleaner, healthier environment, the $800 price was no longer a problem.

Say you want to persuade your spouse to lose 20 pounds. Make it sound a lot more doable by telling him that if he can reduce his caloric intake by a mere 500 calories a day - by replacing his usual candy bar and can of soda with a piece of fruit and a bottle of sparkling water - he can easily lose a pound a week.

Or say you want to persuade your teenager to get a part-time job. If you tell him to get off the couch and start earning some money, he'll roll his eyes. But if you tell him that all he has to do is wash two cars a week at $10 a pop and, in less than six months, he'll have enough money for that brand-new ten-speed bike he wants... the idea of working on the weekend suddenly seems appealing.

Here are the basic steps to using the Starbucks Break Down technique:

First, work out the numbers. Break down the cost/size of the item/task you're going to present to your target into smaller units that will be perceived as easier to handle.

If Amy writes five pages a day of the 100-page e-book the company needs by the end of the month, it will be done ahead of schedule.

Come up with an attractive comparison - a way to make your target realize how easy it will be to find the time/money to do what you want her to do.

Compare the time it will take for Amy to write five pages of the e-book to the time she can save by delegating her least-favorite daily job.

Make your presentation in positive terms, emphasizing how your target will benefit from it.

If you tell Amy that she has to write a 100-page e-book in four weeks, it will sound like a daunting task. And once a person has a negative attitude toward whatever it is you want to persuade them to do, it's going to be hard to turn them around.
So start by telling Amy that you've got a great opportunity for her - one that will help her make a huge contribution to the company's bottom line, get the boss's attention, and move up in line for a raise. Tell her about the e-book. Tell her that all she has to do is free up a little time by delegating those follow-up phone calls she hates to make... write five pages a day... and it will be done ahead of schedule.
Then watch her eagerly run to her computer to get started!

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

The Hero Within You

2009-03-25T15:22:00.003-05:00

The Hero Within You, Part I

Posted: 25 Mar 2009 04:01 AM PDT

By Robert Ringer

I rarely watch sports on TV anymore, and that includes March Madness. Somehow, I find it difficult to get excited about these young kids, especially knowing that a majority of them will not graduate from college. Heroes? Not so much.

So, instead of watching college hoops like normal Americans this time of year, the other night I watched the DVD of the last Rambo. It was a grim reminder of the never-ending genocide in Burma (a.k.a. the Union of Myanmar). Part of the movie’s weak plot is based on Rambo’s warnings to a group of well meaning but naïve missionaries to go home … that their efforts in Burma were a waste of time.

Notwithstanding the over-the-top violence that saturated this film, it made it clear that there really is a brutal, repressive military regime in Burma that continues, to this day, to systematically rape, pillage, torture, and murder Burmese minorities, particularly the Karen and Shan people. These military thugs have been in power since 1962, and I’d have to agree with Old Man Rambo that things aren’t about to change anytime soon.

Burma is also a reminder that when most of us think of the word holocaust, we mistakenly associate it only with the Jews who were exterminated by Germany’s Nazi regime during World War II. And when we think of the word slavery, our myopic American view focuses only on pre-Civil War African slaves in the U.S.

Unfortunately, both genocide and slavery are, and always have been, widespread. They have, in fact, been staples of human existence since at least the days of the ancient Greeks, and probably much earlier.

For example, in the 12th century, Genghis Khan specialized in pouring molten lead into the eyes, ears, and throats of his captives. Not exactly the kind of guy you’d want your daughter to bring home. More recently, Pol Pot, who apparently was a neatness freak, kept the skulls of his victims stacked in an orderly fashion on shelves in specially designated warehouses.

Ida Amin, the black bubba of Uganda, preferred to stuff his mutilated victims in the trunks of cars. And Saddam Hussein employed everything from lethal gas to rabid dogs to keep upstarts in line. It’s been pretty much the same story in Rwanda, Darfur, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and who knows how many nameless towns and villages throughout black Africa that are terrorized by thugs brandishing weapons made in Iran, North Korea, and China.

I’m not suggesting that the U.S., or any other Western country, should intervene in any of these ongoing human tragedies, because thousands of years of recorded history have clearly demonstrated that well-meaning people don’t have the power to permanently end Third World suffering.

The days of a British Empire occupying a country like India and leaving behind a modern legal system, modern infrastructure, and a modern education system are gone forever. (It goes without saying, of course, that the Brits also plundered a good deal of India’s wealth, but most Indians concede that their country is far better off today as a result of two hundred years of British occupation.)

The reason such a foreign occupation is impossible today is because (1) the world political climate would never allow it to happen (Just think of the hatred caused by the U.S. “occupation” of Iraq.) and (2) Western countries (particularly the U.S.) are — to put it bluntly — broke. We can’t even afford to pay our current debts, let alone save victims of terror and oppression in other countries.

But in Part II of this article, we’ll take a look at what you can do to make things better.

*Reposted from RobertRinger.com. All rights to the author.

The Reason You Messed Up

2009-03-24T15:37:00.000-05:00

"Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses."

- George Washington Carver

The Reason You Screwed Up

By John Carlton

Several generations of Americans have now graduated from the education system believing that a good excuse is a Get Out of Jail Free card. Flunked a test? Forgot to finish your essay on time? Late for class? No problem... IF you have a great excuse.

I knew a girl in college who killed off her grandmother three times in three semesters. Got her out of taking a final (didn't study), out of being penalized for skipping a week of class (rock concert), out of not having a paper written on time (didn't even try). Granny never found out. And lived a good many more years. And this girl went on to the Dean's List, grad school, and a PhD.

The lesson learned: You can be instantly forgiven... even felt sorry for... if you just deliver a good enough excuse for screwing up.

That's a really, really, really bad lesson to absorb. Because once you get out of school and into the real world, you have a very rude discovery to make: No one gives a rat's ass about WHY you screwed up. The fact you DID screw up is all that matters. Your excuse will comfort no one but you, as you lick your wounds and look for another job.

The hardest thing to teach budding freelancers is the "Professional's Code." It's very simple: You show up where you're supposed to be... when you said you'd be there... having done what you said you'd do.

That's it.

The phrase "show up" includes the physical act of appearing where you're supposed to be... as well as the virtual act of meeting your deadlines.

I did NOT grow up with this code.

I was a victim of the school system, where few consequences couldn't be negotiated. (Hell - the cops back then even poured out your beer and sent you home after pulling you over. I knew dozens of guys who'd been nabbed while driving with a bottle of Schlitz in one hand, and not a one of them ever suffered a DUI. Right or wrong, that's how my corner of the generation grew up.)

As a low-level employee with no skills - my standard gig for the first decade or so of my adult life - half the job really was just showing up on time. However, once the idea of going solo as a freelancer copywriter took hold, I started looking seriously at how the really successful dudes were conducting themselves in business.

I vowed, going in, that I would meet all deadlines, no matter what. And BE that guy who could be trusted with delivering the goods to anyone who paid me.

I saw the alternative, in gruesome detail, during my time in a catalog art department.

There were multiple deadlines for photo separations, camera-ready art boards, and every word of copy. And anything that wasn't done by the printing deadline... didn't make it into the catalog.

The printing presses were in Nashville. They ran 365 days a year, and you booked your slot six months in advance. You missed your deadline, too bad. You paid anyway for the time and manpower. And your catalog didn't mail.

Missing a hard deadline was a mortal wound to your ability to continue doing business. You had nothing to mail. No money came in. Clients wandered away. Banks were not nice about outstanding loans coming due.

Wow. That'll sober you up.

In 25 years of writing copy for clients, I have never missed a hard deadline.

Let me repeat that: 25 years, zero violations on my deadline record.

This concept of never missing a deadline is the hardest thing to teach rookie freelancers. It's almost like you gotta experience disaster first... and it's gotta make a deep impression on you... before your mind can shift into Professional Gear.

This is why surgeons endure such rigorous training. Saying "Sorry, I was distracted" after botching an operation doesn't cut it.

Pilots, too. Accountants. Snipers. Astronauts. Film editors. Lead singers.

You screw up... you disembowel the entire gig. And your fabulous excuse doesn't fix anything. No one wants to hear it. Because of you, other people now have an emergency on their hands.

Entire kingdoms have crumbled from screw-ups by people who thought they had a great excuse. ("I had that 3-penny nail right here, sir. I dunno, it must have slipped from my hand back there. My arthritis has been really bad, you know, and...")

In school, a well-crafted excuse will get you sympathy and a do-over. In real life... not so much.

And yet... I am NEVER surprised when confronted with a fresh case of someone I've put massive trust in... screwing up. And offering an excuse. It's the default brain setting of almost everyone out there.

It's really not that tough to adopt the Pro Code. It takes a commitment, and requires the skill to tell others "no" when faced with a tough choice. And to tell yourself "no" when your very natural urge to flake out and bail on your responsibilities flares up.

Everyone would rather party, or even veg out... instead of buckling down and finishing the job they signed up for. That's the easy path. Being a true rebel nowadays means embracing responsibility with gusto and energy. The last rebellious act in business, really, is to commit to success. No matter what.

Your social life will suffer. The family will get mad at you. No one will understand, and you will toil without immediate gratification from outside sources. (Your rewards must come from your own heart and sense of self-respect.)

And it all rests on a simple foundation. If you take on a job, you do it. You kill the whiny beasts in your head, wrestle your attention deficit disorder into submission, push through pain and grief and disaster to do what you promised you'd do.

That's how that US Airways pilot saved all 150 passengers and crew in an emergency landing in the Hudson River. That's how all professionals worthy of the title treat every responsibility they have.

It's hard to do. It's kinda lonely at times. But committing to it will instantly change your life forever.

And remember: It's no crime not to have this code already in your bag. But once you're made aware of it, you lose big by choosing to ignore it. (So, yeah, it's a dirty trick on my part to throw it in front of you like this.)

Today - in business and in conquering the mounting ills of the world - we need professionals more than ever. The hardest and most rewarding jobs will not get done through excuses.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Defeating Depression Before It Defeats You

2009-03-23T11:51:00.001-05:00

"The best way out is always through."

- Robert Frost

Defeating Depression Before It Defeats You

By Michael Masterson

Let me tell you a story...

About 30 years ago, I became friendly with a man who had a very successful printing business, as well as a significant personal fortune. He was a very charismatic guy - always good-natured, upbeat, full of fun, and easy to like.

Then - during the recession of the 1980s - his business collapsed. I don't remember the details, but he had taken on a lot of debt and lost a few of his biggest clients. Then, suddenly, he was bankrupt.

When I heard about it, I called to console him and offer a helping hand. It was too late. Sobbing, his wife told me that he had killed himself.

I was shocked. Devastated. I couldn't understand why he had done it. He had so much going for him. A beautiful family. Loving friends. Intelligence. Good looks. He was, in short, a person with great natural wealth. His financial wealth, as far as I was concerned, was just gravy.

Apparently, he didn't see it that way.

Six months ago, another close friend lost his job due to our current recession. His income dropped from about half a million dollars a year to almost nothing. Within a few weeks, he had spiraled into a clinical depression. He would not leave the house. He would not look for work. He talked about suicide. I was afraid he would do it.

I visited him, hopeful I could talk him out of the hole he had dropped into. But all the support I gave him fell on deaf ears. He was consumed by his financial problems. He asked me to give him a job. I had nothing for him, but I told him I'd see what I could do. I wanted to buy some time.

I visited him again the following day. We talked about his financial situation. I was surprised to learn that he had millions of dollars in property and hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank. He was in much better shape than 99 percent of the rest of the world. Yet he was in despair, on the verge of suicide.

His problem, I realized, wasn't a financial one at all. His problem was that his ego had suffered a near fatal blow. Without a high-income job, he saw himself as worthless. He had attached his self worth to his income. When his income disappeared, so did his self-esteem.

The next time I visited, I brought him a copy of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking. In this classic self-help book, Peale observes that depression is "one of the great problems besetting people." He argues that the root of most depression is a lack of self-esteem. He points to a survey of college students which indicated that, for 75 percent of them, self-esteem was the thing most lacking in their lives.

If you've ever choked up in an interview, forgotten your lines in a play, or blown an easy lay-up, you know how your self-esteem can take a little dip when your actions don't meet your expectations. And when you feel like you have failed in a big way, you can be crushed. It's hard to recover from that kind of blow.

That's what I think happened to my friend - actually, both of my friends. They had decided that their financial setbacks were huge, personal failings. In both cases, the trouble was the result of an economic downturn, not foolish actions. Both were smart, hardworking guys who had been successful for many years. Then, for whatever reason, they failed... and they were broken.

Instead of thinking, "Gee, this isn't working anymore. How can I change to prosper in this new world?" they must have thought, "I always secretly knew I was a fraud. This proves it. Now the whole world will know what a failure I am."

The lesson here is that you don't want to link your self-esteem to your ability to make money. As billionaire businesswoman Oprah Winfrey says, "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."

We are all being affected by the Great Recession. If you are like most people, you have lost half your life savings. You may feel your job is in jeopardy. You may have lost your job. You may be without income. But the worst thing you can do right now is sink into a depressive state. You'll be good for nothing. You'll be unable to enjoy time with friends and family. And you'll be incapable of making a comeback.

Being depressed, a good friend once explained, is like falling into quicksand. The more you struggle, the deeper you get.

To avoid that quicksand, you have to change your thinking while you are still mentally healthy. You must detach yourself from the idea - if you have it - that your self worth is measured by your money. You must recognize that what counts most in your life is the minutes you spend learning and helping and growing - the time you spend helping other people, not dwelling on yourself.

In The Power of Positive Thinking, Peale says: "The blows of life, the accumulation of difficulties, the multiplication of problems tend to sap energy and leave you spent and discouraged. [It] is easy to lose track of your abilities and powers" - but by re-appraising your personal assets, you can convince yourself that "you are less defeated than you think you are."

As an example, he tells how he counseled a 52-year-old man who came to him "in great despondency." Everything in his life, the man said, had been "swept away" by a recent business setback. "Everything I built up over a lifetime is gone."

Peale recognized that although the man had indeed experienced a serious setback, his chief problem was the way he viewed it. "Suppose we take a piece of paper and write down the values you have left," he suggested. And so they did. Among other things, the list included:

a wonderful wife - and a 30-year marriage
three devoted children
admiring friends, happy to help
good physical health
integrity

Not bad.

Make your own list right now. If you have trouble making that list, try this - a little trick I've recommended before in ETR. Imagine yourself as an observer at your own funeral. Surely you wouldn't want to hear your spouse, your children, your friends and colleagues say things like, "He was a jerk, but he sure made a lot of money."

Think about what you would like them to say about you. Those are the things that really matter - positive personal assets that you don't lose just because times are tough.

If you're feeling down, focusing on those positive personal assets will help you overcome the worst feelings you could possibly have about yourself. And no matter what happens to your job or your income, you won't despair. You'll be able to use all your natural resources to start over again. And the money will come back - as it always does when you have the right work ethic.

If you think what I said here can help a friend, pass it along. As for what happened to my friend who lost his job six months ago... that's a story for another time.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Habits for Success

2009-03-22T01:25:00.006-05:00

Habits for success
March 13, 2009
Dear Artist,

Not long ago the popular business coach John Di Lemme broadcast a simple idea that applies to anyone wishing to succeed. It goes like this:

"I am your constant companion. I am your greatest helper or heaviest burden. I will push you onward or drag you down to failure. I am completely at your command. Half the things you do you might just as well turn over to me and I will be able to do them quickly and correctly. I am easily managed--you must merely be firm with me. Show me exactly how you want something done and after a few lessons I will do it automatically. I am the servant of all great men, and, alas, of all failures as well. Those who are great, I have made great. Those who are failures, I have made failures. I am not a machine, though I work with all the precision of a machine plus the intelligence of a man. You may run me for a profit or run me for ruin--it makes no difference to me. Take me, train me, be firm with me, and I will place the world at your feet. Be easy with me and I will destroy you. Who am I? I am a habit!"

Favourable habits reap favourable results. It seems that simple habits contribute more to success than luck, happenstance, or even a favouring economy. Further, recent studies on the nature of genius indicate that self-generated habits are mighty muscles indeed. While all of us who wish to master specific skills need to tailor our habits accordingly, here are a few for starters:

Squeeze out paint in the morning before your coffee is cold.

Program creative work balanced with rest, exercise and study.

Train yourself to be regular, punctual and workmanlike.

Shoot down your lazy tendencies before they shoot you.

Do whatever it takes to honour your personal perception of quality. This may mean slowing down, speeding up, multitasking, single-tracking, going back to basics, being risky, being cautious, dreaming, concentrating, winging it or even reading the instructions. Apparently, one of the most common bad habits these days is not reading the instructions. This can apply to artists. We need to regularly refresh the habit of truly looking, truly seeing and truly understanding. No big deal. It's just a habit.

Best regards,

Robert

PS: "Our natures are alike; it is our habits that carry us far apart." (Confucius) "We are what we repeatedly do." (Aristotle)

Esoterica: John Di Lemme was a 24-year-old stutterer working in his family art gallery who dreamed of becoming a motivational speaker. Over a seven-year period of hardships, challenges and obstacles, John focused on his dream and ultimately built a marketing team of over 25,000 representatives in 10 countries. His idea was simple: with the right habits one could see progression to a higher state. In the words of the great art mentor and teacher Robert Henri, "If a certain activity, such as painting, becomes the habitual mode of expression, it may follow that taking up the painting materials and beginning work with them will act suggestively and so presently evoke a flight into the higher state."

Why the Words You Use Might be Sabotaging Your Success

2009-03-21T01:34:00.001-05:00

Why the Words You Use Might Be Sabotaging Your Success

By Yanik Silver

Words are words, right? If you make a mistake and tell yourself "I'm an idiot," you're joking, of course. So it doesn't really matter. Or does it?

In fact, the more you say the same things over and over to yourself the more you internalize them.

Play back your built-in recorder and listen to the words you use when talking about money and success. Are you guilty of saying negative things like "filthy rich," "I can't afford that," or "look at those rich people - they're so lucky"?

Pay attention when you're talking to yourself and to others and you'll be shocked at the self-defeating language that creeps in.

One word I've worked hard to get rid of in my own life is "try." I bet you can catch yourself saying it to a friend. ("I'll try to make it tonight.") Or to a customer. ("I'll try to get that over to you today.") Umm... B.S.! Either you will or you will not.

Reframe negative talk and turn it around.

In his Rich Dad series, Robert Kiyosaki frequently uses the example of the Poor Dad saying "I can't afford this" and the Rich Dad asking himself, instead, "How can I afford this?"

That's a completely different and empowering statement.

"I can't..." or "I won't..." closes you down to solutions. "How can I...?" or"How will I...?" causes your brain to search for the answer to the problem.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-"Stressed? Try Vagus"

2009-03-18T22:16:00.001-05:00

Stressed? Try Vagus

By Kelley Herring

The effect of stress takes a nasty toll on your life. But it doesn't just damage your psyche. It harms your body too.

Stress increases dangerous inflammatory factors called cytokines... damages the hippocampus, causing memory loss and mood disorders... reduces the brain's ability to repair itself... increases abdominal fat... interferes with thyroid function... and even increases the stickiness of the blood (which can lead to dangerous clots).

But there's something very simple you can do to help alleviate the effects of stress. Stimulate your vagus nerve.

The vagus nerve controls the relaxation response through the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. And this anti-stress machine can be turned on in a matter of minutes.

Here is the exercise.

Take a deep breath into your belly to the count of five. Pause. Breathe out slowly to the count of five. Keep your belly soft. Repeat 5 times.

With this simple and effective exercise, you instantly reduce your levels of cortisol and help your body get back to a peaceful state of balance.

In addition to a few minutes a day of soft-belly breathing, you can bolster your body's defenses against stress by engaging in regular vigorous exercise, eating a clean diet of healing foods, and enjoying fresh air and sunlight.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-Paper VS Real Money

2009-03-17T12:58:00.004-05:00

A Little Game of Old Maid, Part IX

Posted: 16 Mar 2009 06:52 AM PDT

By Robert Ringer

(The content of this series of articles has been taken from my 1982 book “Civilization.” Today, we continue with our examination of real money. Following is what I had to say about that subject in 1982.)

In theory, paper money is fine, provided it is given only to people who produce products and services that other people voluntarily want to buy. So long as a majority of people believe that this is what paper money is used for, they have faith in it. Faith is the key to the whole paper money scheme; it is the key to the stability of any kind of money.

People have faith in gold because of the properties we discussed earlier and because centuries of experience have reinforced that faith. But paper money has none of the desirable qualities of gold, and centuries of experience have belied people’s faith in it.

Therefore, the value of a paper currency at any given time exists only in the minds of the people who are forced to use it. Once those people lose faith in the currency, the currency ceases to exist ─ no matter what laws the government passes.

By the same token, so long as people have faith in gold, governments cannot eradicate that faith simply by insisting that gold is not money. Vern Myers suggests how silly such governmental attempts are in the following analogy: “A comparable case would be if the U.S. government passed a law which said that parents no longer love their children; the bureaucrats would assure you that children were now only a commodity. After all, isn’t it the law? Therefore sell your children.”

Certainly all hard money newsletter writers, and most of their readers, are well acquainted with everything I have discussed up to this point. Yet, as I said before, they still seem intent on overlooking the crux of the gold issue. This is evidenced in many ways.

For one thing, their talk always centers on the price of gold, and what that price means in terms of profits or losses. For another, they recommend selling gold because they fear the possibility of a deflation.

Also, they say that gold has risen “too high,” and that it is therefore too late to buy. Finally, they warn that one of the big drawbacks to buying gold is that it doesn’t pay dividends or interest.

In each of these instances, however, they have drawn their readers’ attention away from the main point of the gold issue. Gold was never intended to be an “investment.” Gold is a protective shield ─ the finest ever known to man ─ against the destruction of paper currencies.

Gold is a survival tool. It guarantees you that the fruits of your labor will not be stolen. Think of gold as markers that keep track of the amount of goods and services you are entitled to as a result of your labor.

Governments can print infinite amounts of paper markers, but gold markers cannot be manufactured. You buy gold as a near foolproof insurance policy against government’s paper money theft scheme; you don’t “invest” in gold in the hopes of making a profit.

Once a person understands the crux of the gold issue, he has little interest in the paper money “price” of gold, whether it be $200 an ounce, $2,000 an ounce, or $20,000 an ounce. When the destruction of paper money is nearing its end, gold may very well be “priced” at $1 million an ounce, but so what?

If $1 million in paper money buys only a basket of groceries, does the price really matter? You may just as well measure gold in terms of air. If you understand the long term ─ which is the focus of this section of the book ─ you will condition your mind to ignore the “price” of gold in terms of depreciating paper dollars.

Likewise, you will not be tempted to sell gold just because its paper money price happens to be dropping at any given time. This is where many “deflationists” totally miss the boat.

A detailed historical study of gold’s effectiveness as a store of value, by Professor Roy Jastram of the University of California (Berkeley), confirms that gold tends to retain its value in relation to other commodities, long term, even through periods of deflation.

What does it matter if the paper money price of gold is $100 an ounce if one ounce of gold at that price buys the same amount of other commodities as it did at $500 an ounce? Gold transcends paper-money prices; in fact, it really measures the value of paper money, rather than the other way around.

As to the argument that it’s “too late” to buy gold because you didn’t get in at $35 an ounce, or $100 an ounce, or whatever, you should by this time see the faulty logic in such thinking. Gold is for long term planning. Just because you didn’t get in at the beginning, when the government first removed its artificial price barrier, doesn’t mean that it’s any less a protective tool now than it was then.

Sure, it’s nice to be able to buy gold at a lower paper money price, for the obvious reason that you can get more of it with fewer pieces of paper. But how many times in your life have you gotten in on anything on the ground floor? Get in now. Buy today. Buy at $1,000 an ounce. Buy at $5,000 an ounce. Let someone else get stuck with the Old Maid.

______________________________

Today’s Reflections:

Again, everything I said here is still true today - and, almost certainly, will continue to be true into the foreseeable future. As I pointed out, there would be nothing wrong with paper money per se if it were given only to people who produced products that other people voluntarily wanted to buy.

Paper money is all about faith. So long as a majority of people believe that it can be used to buy the goods and services they want, they will have faith in it. If the seller of a product believes that the IOU someone wants to pay him with can be used to buy something of equal value, no problem.

But once the general public catches on - once most people realize that government is simply printing up pieces of paper and handing them out to people who don’t produce anything in return - they begin to flee into hard assets. And with Washington’s dramatically accelerated march toward Marxism, the odds that we will see this happen in the not-too-distant future are very high.

This article appears courtesy of RobertRinger.com. The rest of his articles on gold versus paper money can be found here. All rights go to the author.

Article-Wasting Time and Money With Customer Service

2009-03-17T02:10:00.001-05:00

Wasting Time and Money With Customer Service

By Jason Holland

My cellphone plan includes free text messaging. But on last month's bill, there was a charge for two of the dozens of messages I sent - for a total of about 50 cents. I called the company and, as you might expect, spent an hour or so on hold, being transferred, and explaining my gripe to a succession of reps. When I hung up, it occurred to me: That hour of my time could have been much better spent.

Instead of quibbling over 50 cents, I could have brainstormed Internet business ideas, started writing a sales letter, done keyword research, foundpublic domain works to repurpose for sale. The list goes on. In short, in the time it took to snatch back my half-dollar from the jaws of corporate America, I could have started setting up a profit-producing Internet business that would ensure my financial future.

Some screw-ups are worth complaining about. But before you spend the time to call up customer service over a couple of bucks... or race back to the grocery store to get your Buy 1, Get 1 Free deal... consider whether it's really worth it. It can be tough to let go of that "It's the principle of the thing" mentality. But, most of the time, it's not really worth it. As Robert Ringer said in his article "When Not to Save Money," "Pennies may add up to dollars, but the time required to save those pennies can add up to a lot of stress - and enough stress might just add up to serious illness or premature death."

Take a minute to reassess the moneysaving measures you take - and whether they are worth the time, energy, and stress you put into them.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-Getting Your Biggest Tax Refund Ever

2009-03-15T07:35:00.001-05:00

Get Your Biggest Tax Refund Ever: 3 Strategies for Always Paying Less to the IRS

By Tim Clay

Tax planning effectively and immediately reduces your tax burden. It lifts a load from your shoulders and lets you enjoy more of the money you’re earning.

And there’s nothing wrong with doing everything you can to legitimately lower your taxes. Consider this famous quote from Judge Learned Hand:

"Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the Treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands."

It’s pretty much too late to do anything about reducing your tax bill for 2008. Trying to save on your taxes at tax time is like closing the barn door after the cows have run away.

But you CAN reduce your tax bill every year from now on. Today, I’m going to show you how.

Take the following tax-saving strategies with you when you visit your tax professional. Ask him to show you the difference these strategies will make in your financial health. You’re going to be meeting with him anyway, right? So go in prepared with this advice.

1. Invest in a Retirement Plan

Investing in a 401(k), SIMPLE IRA, individual IRA, or similar retirement plan gives you three benefits with one effort.

First, the money put into these plans grows tax-free. (It is taxed only when taken out.) That means a 20-year-old who puts $50 a month into a 401(k) can look forward to having $263,703 at age 65 (assuming a growth rate of just 8 percent).

Second, the contributions made to these retirement plans are tax deductible. Fifty dollars socked away every month gives you a $600 annual contribution. So, at tax time, you’ll end up with (approximately) $150 in tax savings (based on a 25 percent tax rate).

Finally, this money helps you plan for retirement. Younger people may feel it’s not necessary - but I have two words of warning: Social Security. Don’t depend on it. Take advantage of the tax law to plan your future.

2. Invest in Your Education

You’ve heard it from Michael Masterson: You can increase your income byexpanding your expertise.

Take courses that maintain or improve your employment qualifications. It’s not only a good self-investment, it can help lock in job security - which is more important than ever these days. And the cost of this education and training is tax deductible.

The deduction can be taken as an optional deduction or as an Education Tax Credit. Choose the one that gives you the greatest tax benefit.

3. Invest in a Home-Based Business

Home-based business owners are able to take deductions that employees cannot - for a business phone, Internet service, office supplies, a vehicle, etc.

When you start a business, any initial losses translate into bigger tax refunds. As the business grows and makes money, legitimate deductions continue to lessen your tax burden. In his book Lower Your Taxes Big Time, tax accountant Sandy Botkin says that having a home-based business can generate $3,000 - $9,000 in tax savings.

Not sure what kind of home-based business to get into? Consider an Internet business or affiliate marketing. Both have a low cost of entry.

The idea, with a home-based business, is to build it around something you’re passionate about. That transforms it into a source of relaxation as well as financial reward.

Let’s say you love to knit. You’ve been doing it for years, and you’ve become really good at it. In that case, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out some way that you could turn some aspect of knitting into a home-based business - maybe by giving lessons, selling knitting supplies online, or marketing a video demonstrating complicated stitches. That would give you additional income, as well as tax deductions and benefits.

One Last-Minute Tax-Saving Strategy for 2008…

As I said earlier, it’s pretty much too late to reduce your 2008 tax bill. But there is one last-minute tax-lowering strategy you might be able to take advantage of.

If you work for someone and you’re not covered by a retirement plan, you have until April 15, 2009 to fund an individual IRA for 2008. You could save $1,250 ($1,500 if you’re over 50) in taxes (assuming a 25 percent tax bracket) just by taking this one action.

If you are already covered by a retirement plan, make sure you’ve contributed the maximum amount allowed. Then keep "maxing it out" every year.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Article-The Power of One Thing, or What I Told My Son About Success

2009-03-15T01:17:00.003-05:00

"In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few."

- Shunryu Suzuli

The Power of One Thing, or What I Told My Son About Success

By Bob Bly

The other day, my oldest son expressed his concern that he would not be successful as an adult. Why? Because (in his mind), there are a quite a number of things he isn't good at. (Math is at the top of the list.)

I shared an encouraging success secret with him that I now pass on to you...

To be extremely successful - in business, career, and wealth building - you don't have to be good at a lot of things. In fact, you can attain an extremely high level of success even if you are really good at only one thing.

Warren Buffett made this point some years ago in a lecture to a group of college students. He told his audience that he is not very strong, not very fast, not very physical, not very athletic. "If I was dropped in the middle of Africa, I'd be eaten by a lion within two minutes." However, because he is good at one thing - investing in the stock market - Buffett is an extremely wealthy man.

In my neighborhood, parents worry incessantly about whether their kids will be successful. They fret over the kids' grades... piano lessons... sports. Even how many friends the kids have... summer camp... you name it.

My kids have it easy, because I don't worry about any of those things. As long as they do their best, I don't obsess over their grades or what extra-curricular activities they should be doing but are not.

I tell them what I just told you. You don't have to be good at a lot of things. Find one thing in life that you love - that turns you on, that you are passionate about - and keep doing it. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it.

With an early start and years of practice, your kids will get extremely good at something they love, and will, therefore, never have to worry about supporting themselves or being out of a job.

Of course, to ensure financial success, that "thing" - that singular passion - must be something others will pay money for. To paraphrase Aristotle, "Where your passions intersect with the needs of the public, therein lies your vocation."

Like Warren Buffett, I am not good at most things. The list of what I am mediocre or bad at is very long indeed. I'm incompetent at fixing things around the house, for example. And I have a depth-perception problem that makes me lousy at tennis, baseball, or any sport where you have to hit a ball with a stick.

But I was always a voracious reader. I love books, reading, and writing.

I began to write early - short stories in junior high, articles for the school newspaper in high school and college. I spent so much time writing for our college paper - it was a daily, and I became the features editor - that my writing began to improve significantly. I realized that was the one thing I love to do, have an aptitude for, and am good at. And when I discovered copywriting, I found a type of writing where I could be paid handsomely for my efforts.

A mistake many people make is to work to improve themselves in areas where they are weak. What you should do instead is work to improve yourself in the one area where you are strongest.

Why? Because we are a society of specialists.

When I was a kid and the tiles in our bathroom began to crumble, my dad strapped on a tool belt and fixed them. Now, when my bathroom has a cracked tile, I call the tile guy and pay him to fix it.

Success does not come from being a Jack of all trades and a master of none. It comes from mastering a skill or body of knowledge that others - employers or customers - will pay you to share.

If I were to take a course in tiling, I would learn a little... but my abilities would be nothing compared to the skill of my tile guy, who has been doing this for 40 years. So I spend my time increasing my knowledge of marketing, which helps me make more money in my freelance copywriting and Internet marketing business.

Society admires the Renaissance man, the well-rounded individual. But more often than not, it's the singularly focused person - Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Tiger Woods - who reaps the greatest rewards.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, an e-zine dedicated to making money, improving your health and quality of life. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

2009-03-15T01:17:00.001-05:00

Article-"How to Create a Perfectly Organized Office"

2009-01-20T13:43:00.003-06:00

“In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves… self-discipline with all of them came first.”

Harry S. Truman

How to Create a Perfectly Organized Office

By Michael Masterson

What does your office say about you? That you are orderly and businesslike? Messy but creative? Hopelessly overwhelmed?

Whatever your current habits are - sloppy or neat - you’ll get more done and have less stress while you work if your office is intelligently organized. All kinds of studies have proven this to be so.

I’ve added at least an hour of productivity to my day by planning and organizing my work. A big part of that has to do with the physical organization of my office.

Here are 12 things you can do to make your office work harder for you.

1. Provide yourself with a range of lighting, from subtle to very bright.

You will need three or four separate light sources. I recommend fluorescents (overhead or indirect) to light up the room brightly when you’re feeling tired and need to wake yourself up. A second light source should focus on your desk. You can do that best with an overhead spot. A lamp, either on the desk or standing on the floor, will give your office a warm and friendly feeling when you entertain visitors. And natural light, shuttered with blinds, is great if you can get it.

If possible, have all your lights on rheostats (dimmers) so you can control the amount of light you need. And have them all switch on and off from the same place - preferably by the door.

The lighting in your environment may seem unimportant if you are not used to giving it any attention, but it has a direct effect on your energy and your mood. Use the best-quality lights you can afford.

2. Make the space workable.

Your desk and credenza should be tailor-made to fit your working style. Don’t shortchange yourself here. Give yourself sufficient room, but not so much that you will accumulate more stuff than you need. Make sure the files and equipment you use regularly are within easy reach. And position the furniture so that you can easily move from desk to credenza and back.

Put your computer on the credenza, not on your desk. That way, when people come in to meet with you they won’t feel like your attention is half on them and half on the computer.

3. Keep all regular reference and inspirational books handy - preferably within a step and a grab from your chair.

This can be done inexpensively by furnishing your office with store-bought bookshelves.

4. Invest the time and money to find and purchase a great chair.

From a personal productivity standpoint, your office chair is the most important thing you own. It is more important than your house - even more important than your car. Just think… on a typical day, you may spend eight to 10 hours in that chair. Your chair is also one of the first things people notice when they step into the room. So make sure it looks good.

Adjust your chair so that your trunk meets your hips at 90 degrees, and tilt your computer so that the top line of the text is five degrees below your eye level. (That way, you don’t have to move your head up and down to read.) Your keyboard should be positioned so that your hands lie flat. Set down a hard plastic mat on the floor beneath your chair so you can roll freely.

5. Keep an egg timer on your desk.

Use the egg timer to make sure you are never seated for more than an hour at a time. (I block my time off in 30- and 60-minute increments. I’ve rarely needed to go beyond that - even for important meetings.) Each time the timer rings, stand up before you turn it off. And once you are standing, get moving. Do something physical for five minutes. I stretch or do squats and push-ups. Sometimes I walk around the office and chat up my colleagues.

6. Get rid of the mess.

You may think it works to your advantage to have everything you could possibly need piled up around you, but it doesn’t. It just shows the rest of the world how unwilling you are to take control of your life.

“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” That includes holders for pencils, pens, and reading glasses - separate and easily within reach.

7. Use two inboxes and two folders.

The first inbox is the one that other people put stuff in. The second inbox is for you. Go through the first inbox every morning and select from it any important work you intend to do that day. Transfer that work to the second inbox. Take the rest of the stuff in the first inbox and file it in one of two folders.

You need one folder that has 31 pockets, one for each day of the current month. And you need one with 12 pockets, one for each month of the year. As you go through your first inbox, decide (specifically) when you will attend to each item. If that date falls in the current month, file it in the first folder - in the pocket that corresponds to that date. If it falls in a future month, file it in the second folder - in the pocket that corresponds to that month.

Make sure the second inbox (your inbox) is cleaned out by the end of the day.

8. Have one or two drawers for everything you might need in case of an “emergency.”

In one of my drawers, I keep all the tools I might need at the office. Small screwdrivers (even a jeweler’s screwdriver that fits the tiny screw that holds the arms to my reading glasses), WD-40, duct tape, etc.

In another drawer, I stash some back-up clothing (two laundered shirts and two ties) so I can look good for an unanticipated but important meeting.

As it happens, I have my own bathroom at the office where I can stock a toothbrush and toothpaste, bandages, ibuprofen, hand sanitizer, cuticle cutters, etc. But these items can easily go in one of your “emergency” drawers.

9. Hang a clock on the wall that your visitors can see.

Nod at the clock at the beginning of each meeting as you announce exactly how many minutes you have to solve the problem at hand. (Do NOT use the egg timer for this!)

10. Set up an old-fashioned bar.

Stock it with Scotch, vodka, and rum for those moments when kind words aren’t enough. A humidor for cigars is optional for some, but not for me. If drinking is not your thing, try a Chinese tea service. I have a bar on one side of my office, a tea service on the other. They both come in handy.

11. Bring some life into your office.

A live plant breathes back oxygen into the environment. It softens the hard surfaces too. Select a big green plant, if you have room for it. Care for it on a few of your five-minute “egg timer” breaks.

12. Decorate your office with signs of who you are as a complete person.

Put up your family photos and your business awards. The walls and spaces of your office are gazing grounds for your visitors. Make sure the message they are getting is the one you want them to get.

And make sure there’s at least one thing in your line of sight that makes you smile - maybe an inspirational quotation. Keep it there to work its magic until it loses power, and then find something new to replace it.

Invest in a sound system, too. You don’t need anything fancy - just something that puts out soft background music.

One final thing that I won’t put on the list because it may be too much to ask for until you are the boss: a daybed for a power nap when you really need one.

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to making money, improving health and secrets to success. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Sleepy, but here's my post today.

2008-12-29T02:39:00.001-06:00

I don't think I've posted in a couple of days. I'm too tired to write much.

My husband's writing tonight led me to look up an old friend's records. He is Mancel "Gene" Crunkleton, a Marine who survived the Battle of Peleliu. I've known him for several years now, and he is a dear friend.

More of note later.
Ciao.

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