• WEALTHY: Does money really matter? (Alex Green)
• HEALTHY: Should you eat before you work out? (Kelley Herring)

• WISE: Fanny Burney on happiness

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Online publishing is easier than you think (David Cross)
  

• You’re not really irreplaceable (Yanik Silver)

• It’s Good to Know… about the new generation of ATM skimmers

• Add “occiput” to your vocabulary

Act Before 5:00 Saturday, and You Could Get a $275 Million Blueprint to Creating Your Own Wealth

Kevin Hodges first started using this “blueprint” about five years ago, when his business was a two-person operation.

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“This makes me the only 28-year-old I know who can retire today if I wanted to… though business is way too much fun right now,“ Kevin was recently quoted as saying.

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“How little has situation to do with happiness.”

- Fanny Burney

Stumbling On Happiness

By Alex Green

The recent decline in home values and the stock market - not to mention corporate and municipal bond markets - has left most investors with less than they had a year ago. To meet their long-term investment goals, many will have to spend less and save more than they originally planned.

This is not easy. As the economist Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations in 1776:

“The desire for food is limited in every man by the narrow capacity of the human stomach; but the desire of the conveniences and ornaments of building, dress, equipage, and household furniture, seems to have no limit or certain boundary.”

In the current economic downturn, many of us are unable to afford all the things we want. That pinches. But should it make us unhappy?

That depends. But for most of us, the answer is a resounding no.

As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert writes in Stumbling On Happiness:

“Economists and psychologists have spent decades studying the relation between wealth and happiness, and they have generally concluded that wealth increases human happiness when it lifts people out of abject poverty and into the middle class but that it does little to increase happiness thereafter. Americans who earn $50,000 per year are much happier than those who earn $10,000 per year, but Americans who earn $5 million per year are not much happier than those who earn $100,000 per year. People who live in poor nations are much less happy than people who live in moderately wealthy nations, but people who live in moderately wealthy nations are not much less happy than people who live in extremely wealthy nations. Economists explain that wealth has ‘declining marginal utility,’ which is a fancy way of saying that it hurts to be hungry, cold, sick, tired, and scared, but once you’ve bought your way out of these burdens, the rest of your money is an increasingly useless pile of paper.”

If this is true, why are so many people out there busting their humps for more?

For some, it is the pursuit of financial independence, a worthy goal. But for others, the answer lies in their increasingly materialistic ways.

We all must consume to survive, of course. But when consumerism becomes an end in itself, when it overruns more important ideals, provides the measure of our success, or corrodes our capacity to know truth, see beauty, or feel love, our lives are diminished.

Some will argue that for economies to flourish, we need rampant consumerism. It is consumers’ insatiable hunger for more stuff that fuels the economic engine.

In many ways, this is true. In fact, the notion itself is hardly new. In 1759, Adam Smith wrote in The Theory of Moral Sentiments:

“The pleasures of wealth and greatness… strike the imagination as something grand and beautiful and noble, of which the attainment is well worth all the toil and anxiety which we are so apt to bestow upon it. … It is this deception which rouses and keeps in continual motion the industry of mankind.”

Notice that Smith, the father of the concept of free markets, referred to the endless pursuit of more as “this deception.” He recognized that the needs of a vibrant economy and the requirements for us to be happy as individuals are not the same.

Studies show that the riches and material goods we desire - should we have the good fortune to acquire them - won’t necessarily make us happier. Yet we often imagine they will, even when experience teaches us otherwise.

Walk into your local auto dealership, for example, and check out the cars in the showroom. They look sharp. They smell good. The tires have been blackened. The exteriors have been waxed and polished and Windexed until they gleam. In short, we are seduced by their newness.

And even though we know that a new automobile is perhaps the world’s fastest-depreciating asset - and within weeks we will be mindlessly traveling from point A to point B without a second thought about our vehicle’s make or model - we plunk for one.

As my grandmother used to say, “Most people can’t tell the difference between what they want and what they need.” (This remark, incidentally, was generally directed toward me and my latest two-dollar object of fascination at F.W. Woolworth.)

Look around today and you’ll have no problem finding folks with plenty of neat things: big cars, fancy boats, the latest electronic gadgets, and all sorts of expensive “bling.” They seem to have it all. What you may not realize is how many of them are two payments from the edge.

Yet some middle-class Americans remain obsessed with what they don’t have. To some, it just doesn’t seem right - doesn’t seem fair - that others have so much more than they do. But as political satirist P.J. O’Rourke observed:

“I have a 10-year-old at home, and she is always saying, ‘That’s not fair.’ When she says that, I say, ‘Honey, you’re cute; that’s not fair. Your family is pretty well off; that’s not fair. You were born in America; that’s not fair. Honey, you had better pray to God that things don’t start getting fair for you.’”

[Ed. Note: If you're sick of thinking about "more money, more stuff" - or if you want to know what, besides wealth, there is to life - pick up a copy of bestselling author Alex Green's latest book, The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters. Described by Michael Masterson as "shockingly good," this book will help you explore money, meaning, and the pursuit of a good life. Get your copy here.]

How to Keep the Cash Flowing INTO Your Bank Account

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The 3 Basics You Need to Start an E-mail Newsletter

By David Cross

An e-mail newsletter is one of the best ways to make almost any business at least twice as valuable, to generate substantial cash flow, and to double or triple profits. It’s also the perfect way to turn an interest or hobby into a moneymaking venture.

And starting one is much easier than you might think. You really need only three things (and the ability to be a good writer is not one of them):

1. Something to Write About

The Internet is full of thousands of people who are interested in the same things you are. So when you’re looking for a topic for your e-newsletter, think about your own interests, your own hobbies, and your own areas of expertise. This has two benefits. First, you’ll be able to write about your topic with endless enthusiasm. Second, you’ll be able to write articles that are useful, informative, and based on your own real-life experience.

2. An Audience

There are 1.6 billion Internet users out there, according to Internetworldstats.com. Among them is your audience. The best way to find these folks is through search engine marketing.

First, set up a small “landing page” that explains the benefits of reading your newsletter. Include a sign-up form that allows you to “capture” names and e-mail addresses.

Next, set up a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign with some of the major search engines. When people search for the keywords you’ve purchased, they’ll have a chance to see your ad. Once they click on your ad, they’ll be routed to the landing page you set up earlier.

You can also include a small ad for your e-newsletter on the back of your business card, on your voicemail message, and at the bottom of your e-mails. And tell other enthusiasts about your e-newsletter and ask them to share it with their friends.

3. A Way to Get the Message Out

To send out your e-newsletter, use an e-mail service provider like Get Response, AWeber, or 1Shoppingcart. That should set you back less than $30 a month. Your service provider will allow you to add subscribers automatically, create newsletters with pre-designed templates, and determine which subscribers open your e-mails and click on your links (so you can track those who are most responsive to your offers).

Once you’re up and running, you’re ready to start using your e-newsletter to generate income. I’ll tell you how to do that in my next article…

[Ed. Note: David Cross - Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. - and a handful of other Internet marketing experts have just revealed a powerful "blueprint" that's responsible for generating $275 million a year in Internet revenues. Right now, you can not only get your hands on this blueprint to creating lasting wealth... you can get expert, step-by-step instruction in how to make it work for YOU. Act before 5:00 p.m. TOMORROW, and you could get a whopping 80% discount on this incredible guide to Internet riches. Learn more here.]

Are You Suffering from ICLMB Syndrome?

By Yanik Silver

Too many entrepreneurs and business owners seem to believe that they cannot leave their office - even for a few days of fun in the sun - without things getting off track. I call this “I Can’t Leave My Business” syndrome.

If that’s the way you feel, you either have some serious micro-managing issues that need to be worked on… or you need to remember why you went into business for yourself.

You might think you’re indispensable, but everyone (including you) is replaceable. If employees are left to fend for themselves without the “big boss” insisting on approving everything, most things would still get done. Maybe not quite the way you would do it, but the end result would be close enough… and you’d have the freedom to enjoy your life.

In fact, I think freedom is the operative keyword for entrepreneurs. (That is why you struck out on your own, right?) And unless we exercise that freedom by stepping away from the office from time to time, it slowly collapses - and we become nothing more than highly paid servants to our businesses.

[Ed. Note: Starting your own Internet business is the epitome of freedom. You'll have the freedom to concentrate on your passion... the freedom to set your own hours... the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. Best of all, you could finally have freedom from financial worries. Get started building your own Internet business with help from ETR's experts. They'll show you how to set up a website, create products, make sales, and much more. Act by 5:00 p.m. Saturday and you could get 80% off this powerful program - plus a $2,000 bonus. Get the details now.

For more about how much freedom you can have with an Internet business, check out master Internet marketer Yanik Silver's website www.MaverickBusinessInsider.com. He breaks new ground in online marketing every day... and still finds the time to "get away from it all."]

Dear ETR: “What is a good pre-workout snack?”

“I greatly appreciate Kelley Herring’s articles in ETR and Total Health Breakthroughs - and her great recipes. (Many are standard fare on my weekly menus.)

“Kelley’s article regarding post-workout fueling was another good reminder of a ‘don’t’ for people working to get fit. My question: What is a good pre-workout ’snack’? I get up early in the morning to work out, and having to eat something immediately before that will likely give me a side ache or stomach ache. What is the best approach? Eating too little leaves me feeling lightheaded and limp. Eating too much and ugh!”

Audry Morell
Pompano Beach, FL

Hello Audry,

Thank you for the compliments - and for a great question!

Eating a little something before exercise is a great way to maximize your workout. It boosts performance and improves stamina, helps prevent low blood sugar (which saps energy and can cause lightheadedness), and fuels muscle and liver carbohydrate stores to provide lasting energy for the duration of your workout.

But if you don’t get the balance right, you’ll wind up feeling full - not fueled for your workout - as you found out.

The type of snack you should have depends on several factors: your metabolism and digestive system, as well as the type of exercise you’ll be doing. Because everyone’s metabolism and digestive system is unique, listen to your body to find your own balance and timing. You may also find it helpful to keep a journal of your snacks, workouts, and how you feel.

Meanwhile, here are some guidelines:

1. Blood flow to your belly for digestion means less to your muscles for fuel. It can also mean that you’ll feel bloated during your workout. Yuck! Aim to have a solid meal or snack 45-90 minutes before your workout. And allow more digestion time before intense exercise (like circuit training) as opposed to lower-intensity exercise (like Pilates).

2. If you have difficulty with digestion, go with a liquid snack instead of something solid. Liquids take less time to digest, and so can be enjoyed 30 minutes before your workout.

3. While sugary snacks will give you a quick boost, you will experience a drop in energy when your blood sugar levels stabilize. Don’t rely on too much fruit, and stay away from quick-converting sugars in general - especially before your workout.

4. Eating carb-heavy foods before a workout can interfere with performance and cause stomach discomfort - mainly because the body is still working to digest the carbs.

5. Opt for slow-burning low-glycemic carbs. A study published in the May 2009 issue of the Journal of Nutrition found that women who ate low-glycemic carbs before a workout burned 50 percent more fat during the workout. Wow!

If you want to learn all about the metabolic power ingredients that stimulate fat burning - and tasty ways to combine them to create a tummy-trimming pre-workout snack - check out pages 19 to 22 of “Your Guide to Living a Low-Glycemic Lifestyle.” It’s part of my new series, Your Plate, Your Fate. You can pick up a copy right here.

- Kelley Herring

It’s Good to Know: The New Generation of ATM Skimmers

Skimmers are small electronic devices that identity thieves attach to ATMs, gas pump card readers, and other places where you swipe credit or debit cards. They are used to steal card numbers, expiration dates, and PINs. And now criminals in Eastern Europe have come up with a new twist: a software skimmer that is inserted in the operating code (usually Windows-based) of the ATM’s computer. The program allows them to access all the personal data for all the cards used in the machine.

Security experts predict that the new skimmers could make an appearance in the U.S. soon.

(Source: Scientific American)

How to Get Recession-Proof Cash Pay-outs of Over $3,000 a Month

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Word to the Wise: Occiput

The “occiput” (AHK-sih-put) - from the Latin for “against the head” - is the back part of the skull.

Example (as used by Alan Falk in Michigan Lawyers Weekly): “So let me suggest that everyone put away their pitchforks and firebrands and stop trying to ‘bury the hatchet’ by planting it in the other fellow’s occiput.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: Have you turned yourself into a victim? (Howie Jacobson)

• HEALTHY: The key to a lean, sexy body that makes heads turn (Shane Ellison)

• WISE: Warren Buffett on the business world

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• The power of the T-Factor (John Forde)

• Why you should “make it up” (Matt Furey)

• It’s Fun to Know… about outsourcing special effects

• Add “obstreperous” to your vocabulary

Like to Increase Your Take Home from $60,000 a Year to $650,000?

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As a direct result of the “ETR / Agora Model” business-building ideas - Brad Soloman increased his sales to over $6.5 million annually.
“But the best part is that the business brings in net income of over $650,000 a year that goes right into my pocket. That’s not paper profits, but positive cash flow,” Brad says.

And it all started with some instruction in the “ETR / Agora Model”…

In Denver this week, ETR’s team of experts is giving over five full days of instruction on the “ETR / Agora Model” - and we’re capturing every expert guideline, Q+A session, step-by-step presentation so you too can follow along at home…

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How to Handle the Ongoing Recession

By Howie Jacobson

This recession has revealed a psychological rift in the world’s consciousness.

A lot of people are scared and angry. They’ve lost their jobs, their businesses, their insurance, and in some cases their self-worth. They feel victimized by events, by elites, and by entities. So they bob up and down, waiting to be rescued by a government or a friend. They hunker down into a form of abdication of self-responsibility because it feels better to be justified in misery than vulnerable in power.

And the interesting thing about this group of people is how threatened they are by another group.

This second group of people may be suffering just as much in real terms as the first group, but they refuse to see themselves as victims. Instead of giving up and waiting to be rescued, they are scrapping and hustling and retooling. Starting businesses. Taking risks. Flexing muscles they may not have fully understood or claimed before. In crisis, they are making opportunity - and, in the process, taking responsibility for making themselves.

They are discovering something amazing about work: that it really isn’t about the money or the power or the status. In other words, not about the external rewards. Those rewards are nice (actually, they’re awesome when received in the right way) - but the real reward of work, or entrepreneurship, is the flowering of passion. When we take responsibility for our contributions to this universe, we discover that work truly is, in Khalil Gibran’s words, “love made manifest.”

[Ed. Note: Which group are you in? You can take a stand against the recession this instant. Not only can you pursue your passion, you can turn it into a moneymaking venture. Get all the details right here. Hurry - the price goes up $200 this Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

When not contemplating social issues, Howie Jacobson is an expert on Google AdWords and driving traffic to your website. Get his complimentary AdWords ER Report "Why Most AdWords Campaigns Fail - and How to Make Yours Succeed" at www.AskHowie.com.]

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

- Warren Buffett

Do “Brands” Really Matter?

By John Forde

Ad agency guys love brands. They love brand-driven advertising too.

On the website for Ogilvy & Mather, the agency founded by legendary ad man David Ogilvy, I once saw the phrase “We’re all about brands.” Poor old Ogilvy probably did a double-tumble tailspin in his grave.

As readers of Early to Rise know, I love to trash the whole idea of brand marketing. And I’m not alone. The entire direct-response industry leans away from it.

It’s just not in our blood. And not for no reason.

Brand-based marketing logic, after all, is the planning you see behind all those Super Bowl commercials that make you laugh but sell nothing.

It’s the thinking behind sleek, wordless billboards and print ads that leave you scratching your head. (”Hmm,” you say to yourself, “I feel vaguely sexy… and crave salted pork products… but I have no idea why.”)

But the main reason we in the measurable, quantifiable world of direct response reject the strategy of introducing a product based on brand is because it is usually a long, laborious, and not measurably effective process. And, far too often, an exercise in self-adulation. But not much more.

However - and you’d better sit down for this - it turns out there’s at least one area in the world of direct response where… yes… even yours truly can spot some value in pumping up the profile of a product’s brand.

Not just a small area. A huge one. Very big.

How so?

How E-Mail Relationships Change Everything

Used to be, every marketing piece that went to your target customers was in an envelope, sent cold to a rented list. Your prospect didn’t know you from Adam.

Brand mattered little, because you had little footing with the prospect in the first place. Benefits and features, instead, told the story.

Then we started marketing online.

You can’t do cold e-mailing online, because that’s what we call sp*m. So the best and brightest e-mail-driven businesses went about it another way.

First, they built relationships with their prospects. With e-zines. With product fulfillment and digital extras delivered to inboxes. With membership sites that brought visitors in free, then kept them coming back for more.

And what’s more important in e-mail marketing than getting a recipient to open your steady stream of e-mail missives? Nothing. Without that, your efforts are sand on a sea turtle’s back. Going nowhere in a hurry.

The relationship is what gets the e-mail opened. The relationship is what gets the e-mail read. The relationship is what makes way for the sale. And that relationship is based on… yep… a kind of “brand” trust that surrounds you or your organization as the source of that e-mail.

The Power of the T-Factor

In short, you’re counting on your name… which IS your “brand”… to carry enough “T” factor (Trust) to keep the reader from clicking “delete.”

The best way to earn any kind of noble brand status, in e-mail or anywhere else, is via the quality of the product itself. Online, that means quality content. Content that informs. That entertains. That gets results. Or at least shows the reader how to get results.

Occasionally, that can happen in a single flash of brilliance. More often, it happens as a trickle. Over time.

First, there’s the e-zine or the valuable online report. There also might be a website, full of content and trustworthy testimonials.

Then there’s the respectful treatment. The lack of sp*m. The html that doesn’t take forever to download. The ideas never heard or seen elsewhere.

A thank you note for sign-ups. Delivery that actually sticks to the promised mailing schedule. And so on.

Until the reader can’t wait to hear what you have to say next. You’ve become part of his online “family.” A member of his inner circle of trust. And that’s where you reap the rewards.

You can now endorse products you’re pretty sure your readers will want. And if you’re right, they’ll even buy.

Continuing to offer them good products deepens that trust cycle. And your brand takes on an even brighter shine. Every subsequent sale, even for higher-priced stuff, gets that much easier.

Of course, bungle it and you’ll lose your brand power pretty darn fast. But there’s no denying it - the deeper this cycle goes, the more valuable that idea of a brand becomes.

The new customer becomes the loyal customer. Ready to spend more, too. Not just a little, but often by multiples. And you’re soon selling lots of specialty items to your serious fans.

This is where fortune building begins.

Yet again, a lot of this depends on how well you lay the groundwork… on having quality information to offer your prospects, right up front.

And that has to happen long before the marketers and copywriters come along.

[Ed. Note: To get more of copywriting expert John Forde's wisdom and insights into marketing (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable. Get a free report about 15 deadly copy mistakes and how to avoid them when you sign up today.

You can start your own powerful e-mail marketing business in just 5 days with help from ETR's team of experts. In ETR's Internet Business-Building DVD Library, you'll discover how to build a website and pick a product. Plus, you'll learn about product marketing, customer list building, joint venture and affiliate marketing, search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing and Google AdWords, content creation, and much more. Pick up this A-to-Z business-building program before July 18 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, and you can save $200 AND get a $2,000 bonus.]

Learn the World’s Most Financially Valuable Skill – in One Short Weekend

If you can persuade and influence others, you can command top-dollar from companies eager to beat a path to your doorstep. Or, start your own business and use your skills to move the masses to buy your own products and services.

And now, it’s easier than ever for you to master the art of persuasion because three of today’s top ad writers and businessmen have dissected the teachings of a legend in the business world. A man who was directly responsible for over $2 BILLION in sales, working just four hours a day.

You can quickly learn his secret techniques and apply them however you wish. To land your perfect job… sell more for clients who hire you… start your own business… even apply them in your personal relationships…

When you master this skill, a whole new world opens up to you because you have the ability to persuade others. See exactly what we mean and get all the details by clicking here.

Where Ideas Come From

By Matt Furey

Many people wonder where so-called “creative” people get their ideas.

They’re looking for answers that are profound. There aren’t any.

Ideas are in the air at all times. You simply reach in and pull one out by doing something that all young kids do in their imagination each and every day.

That is - you “make it up.”

Yes, you may “make up” your ideas based upon things you’ve already seen and heard - or felt. Yes, you may combine one thing with another thing until you have something unique. But you still “made it up.”

And when you make things up, you do so without resistance. You simply imagine - then move.

The other day, my eight-year-old and five-year-old were pounding me with punches while I was lying on the couch. They were yelling “Inside Kung Fu!” - then chopping me. A minute later, they were flexing and strutting around, saying “Errh, muscles!”

Where are they getting this stuff?

Sure, they’ve been influenced by me. But I have never gone around our home saying “Inside Kung Fu” while throwing punches. Nor have I ever flexed in front of my kids, grunted, and said “Muscles.”

Yes, there are bits and pieces of these elements at play - though most certainly NOT in the way my kids put them together. But as soon as the ideas “popped” into their creative little minds, they began expressing what they were thinking.

Becoming successful in business is much the same.

My successes - on the Internet as well as off the Internet - have NOT been a result of long-term planning, trying to get every detail right before doing anything. They have been a result of using my imagination to come up with an idea. Then moving forward on the idea - and continuing to move forward on it until the idea got completed.

And coming up with ideas isn’t hard. They’re all around us. Just look at little kids and you’ll see what I mean.

[Ed. Note: Matt Furey, an internationally recognized expert in self-development, fitness, and martial arts, is president of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation, Inc. With Matt's 101 Ways to Magnetize Money, you can learn the REAL SECRETS of financial success known only to the most prosperous men and women who have ever lived. Find out more right here.

Once you've got the idea, you need to put it into action. Get a step-by-step guide for turning your thoughts into a money-making business with Michael Masterson's runaway best-seller, Ready, Fire, Aim: From Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat.]

5 Essential Fat-Burning Foods for Women

By Shane “The People’s Chemist” Ellison

My wife recently competed in the Arnold Amateur Figure Competition - the largest competition of its kind in the world. This is like a beauty contest in a bikini. Women are judged on their muscular physique and posing.

A 30-year-old mom of two, she swept the competition! (And the women she was competing against were 21- to 25-year-old non-moms.) What is her secret to staying lean and muscular? For one thing, she sticks to five essential foods:

1. Organic eggs
2. All-natural grass-fed beef
3. Wild salmon
4. Avocados
5. Whey isolate

These five fat-burners are staples in her diet. Why are they so critical to keeping the fat off? You see, unlike men, women are very sensitive to the fat-storing hormone insulin. (It’s because they have lower testosterone levels.) These five foods help keep insulin - and blood sugar - low, therefore helping to keep fat off.

These foods are also rich in healthy fats, which help us stay fuller longer, thereby warding off binge eating and snacks.

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

It’s Fun to Know: Outsourcing Special Effects

India has long been the go-to country for companies looking for low-cost customer service and software programming. And now Hollywood studios are increasingly looking to India for special effects artists to help make movie magic. Currently, the Indian companies are doing mostly midlevel work. But they hope the higher-end jobs, such as creating entire computer-generated landscapes, will start coming their way as their expertise grows.

(Source: Associated Press)

Transform Your Life In Only 15 Minutes A Day!

Would you be willing to set aside 15 minutes a day if it meant you could…

• Pay off your credit card bills?
• Rebuild your financial portfolio?
• Buy or sell a house?
• Grow or start a business?
• Lose weight?
• Prepare for early retirement?

I thought so.

I’d like to show you exactly how you can dramatically increase your chances of achieving these (or other) goals in 2009.

Click here to continue…

Word to the Wise: Obstreperous

Someone who’s “obstreperous” (ob-STREP-ur-us) - from the Latin for “to make a noise against” - is noisily and stubbornly defiant.

Example (as used by Marilyn Stasio in a New York Times review of Finger Lickin’ Fifteen by Janet Evanovich): “Eye on the reward, Stephanie’s obstreperous fat friend, Lula, decides to enter the cook-off, which she reckons will attract the killer.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: The most important thing to know before asking for a promotion (Michael Masterson)
• HEALTHY: How a brunch buffet can ruin your weekend (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Ben Franklin on being humble

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Why you should poke fun at yourself (Paul Lawrence)
• The reason your success will never truly be complete (Bob Cox)
• It’s Good to Know… about cuts to 401(k) plans
• Add "lamster" to your vocabulary

Act Before 5:00 Saturday, and You Could Get a $275 Million Blueprint to Creating Your Own Wealth

Kevin Hodges first started using this "blueprint" about five years ago, when his business was a two-person operation. 

With only a small amount of instruction on how to implement this blueprint (far less than you can expect to get) – Kevin’s business grew to be grossing over $7 million annually and could now easily be sold for $3.5 million or more. 

“This makes me the only 28-year-old I know who can retire today if I wanted to … though business is way too much fun right now,” Kevin was recently quoted as saying.

This "blueprint" is responsible for generating $275 million a year in Internet revenues.  Right now, you can not only get your hands on this blueprint to creating lasting wealth… but you can get expert, step-by-step instruction in how to make it work for YOU.

If you act by 5:00 pm this Saturday, we’ll show you how to get your wealth-building guide at an 80% discount… plus, how you can grab an additional cash generator worth $2,000 at no extra cost.

Hurry - 470,000+ ETR readers are reading this message too, so these won’t last long.

How to Ask for a Promotion… and Get It 

By Michael Masterson

The most important thing you need to realize before asking for a promotion is this: Your employer is not really interested in you and why you think you deserve a higher-paying position.

He’s interested in himself. And he’s interested in his business - the problems and the challenges his company faces every day. He may be in need of someone to help him, but he doesn’t care about how wonderful that person is. He just wants to know: "Can this person solve my problems?"

If you think of your objective as a direct-marketing problem, it will be relatively easy to achieve.

Direct marketing is the science of creating positive responses with sales copy. By using its proven secrets, you dramatically increase your chances of getting the kind of response you are looking for.

The direct marketer knows that, to make a sale, she can’t waste her prospect’s time by talking about herself. Everything she says in her sales pitch must be focused on the prospect’s problem and how much better his life will be after buying the product she’s selling.

This is exactly what you have to do when you make your case to your boss. In this case, you are the "product" you’re selling. You have to let him know that you understand exactly what his problems are and that you have solutions for each and every one of them.

[Ed. Note: This article was adapted from Michael Masterson's bestseller, Seven Years to Seven Figures: The Fast-Track Plan to Becoming a Millionaire. For more specific advice on how to get a promotion and start building your wealth FAST, go here.]

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"To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness." 

- Benjamin Franklin

Win People Over by Giving Them a "Superiority Complex"

By Paul Lawrence

"Actually, I’m a total weakling," I told Bob. "I’ve got a lot in common with the guy in those classic bodybuilding ads who kept getting sand kicked in his face."

Bob had just commented on how I looked like I worked out a lot - and I sensed that, because I looked so "big," it bothered him.

We were meeting for the first time, and I wanted to secure a deal with him. I didn’t want him to feel intimidated or get his guard up. (Not that being bigger and stronger is worth much when it comes to business.) So I used an old comedian’s technique to win him over.

Not only did I admit to being a "natural-born" weakling, I told him that I’m a lousy athlete. I said that any strength I had was artificially created through years of working out - and that the moment I stopped exercising religiously, my muscles would melt away with alarming speed.

Bob did just what crowds do in a comedy club when a performer uses this technique. He smiled and loosened up.

People don’t go to a comedy club to listen to some guy on stage who presents himself as being smarter, better looking, and making more money than they do. They go to feel good. And when a comic uses self-deprecating humor, it makes them feel good about themselves. It’s just human nature.

Putting yourself down to build up the other guy works just as well in the business world - whether you’re trying to close a deal, get other people to support your objectives, or win new customers.

Here’s an example of how it works…

John, a real estate multimillionaire, was interested in buying an office building that was about to go into foreclosure. The owner had taken a risk when he bought the building by using almost all his cash for a down payment. Then, when the economy slowed and several tenants moved out, his cash flow slowed to a trickle… and he was in trouble.

When John met with the owner, it was clear that the man expected to take a financial beating on the property - and was blaming himself for the situation he was in. So before John even made an offer, while shuffling through the papers in his briefcase, he chatted about his own "problems." Shaking his head, John said, "I don’t know how it happened, but I have no control over anything at home." He confided that his wife ruled the roost - and he felt lucky that she even allowed him to watch football on Sundays.

There was a smile on the owner’s face as he read through John’s offer… and then, feeling very much in control, signed the contract.

Here’s another example…

When Jane was hired as the manager of a retail jewelry store, she expected trouble. The assistant manager was 20 years her senior, and had worked for the company for eight years. Needless to say, he resented having been passed over for the promotion.

As Jane walked through the door her first morning on the job, the assistant manager made some flippant, borderline-offensive comments. The other employees laughed, and Jane knew she had to do something quickly to overcome this potential obstacle to her success.

She could’ve given the assistant manager a verbal lashing in front of everyone, but she knew that would simply make matters worse. Instead, a bit later in the day, Jane asked him to come into her office.

"I’m going to be honest with you," Jane admitted. "I’m so scared about doing a good job that I almost lost my breakfast this morning."

The anger in his eyes dissipated as Jane continued: "I know that I’m an outsider, and there must be a ton of things I don’t know that could ruin me. I’m hoping I can count on you - so, together, we can make this the number one store in the chain."

The assistant manager’s attitude completely turned around. From that moment on, he went above and beyond the call of duty to get the entire staff to support all of Jane’s decisions.

Now before you try this self-deprecation technique for yourself, there is one important caveat: What you say about yourself must ring true, or you’ll completely alienate the person you’re trying to win over. But when used correctly, it is a very powerful tool - and only one of many that I have in my arsenal.

There is nothing more important to a business career than knowing how to deal with other people. If you want to have every advantage on your side, click right here and check out my free report on People Power Skills.

[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur and publisher who has started over a dozen profitable enterprises. If you're interested in starting a new business with less than $100 in capital, you should take a look at Paul's Micro-Business program right here. It could add thousands to your bank account in as little as 30 days.]

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How to Pull "Small" Stacks of Cash - $5K - $10K a Pop - from the Market Each Week

If you feel like you’ve gotten the short end of the stick in the stock market… it’s probably true.

Good trades here and there… Other trades that wound up costing you big… If you’re lucky, you wind up breaking even.

All the while, the Wall Street elite keep getting richer.

One former Wall Street insider discovered how the "fat cats" wound up with wealth beyond anything an Average Joe could imagine.

You can piggy-back on their success using his "road map to riches."

There’s one catch: You can "only" pull out "small" stacks of cash - no more than $5K to $10K at a time.

Get your free report on this low-risk strategy right here.

4 Simple Strategies for Maintaining Your Success

By Bob Cox

Way back in January, you set a goal for yourself. Let’s say you wanted to lose 10 pounds by July 1. After months of hard work and discipline, you’re down nearly 12 pounds! Success!

Now… how do you keep yourself from slacking off and erasing everything you’ve achieved so far? Here are three ways to maintain your success:

1. Work hard even when no one is watching.

Commit yourself to excellence without the need for someone else’s approval. Yes, it is wonderful to receive a "pat on the back" from friends, family, or coworkers. But it’s much better to develop your own personal sense of pride and accomplishment.

2. Never arrive.

This may sound counter-intuitive. But one of the best ways to sustain success is to think of your goal as a construction project that’s always in progress and yet to be completed.

Never see yourself as having finished your goal journey. Condition yourself to actively keep learning. Learn more about your field when your goal is to advance in your profession… learn more about technique when your goal is to advance in a physical skill… and learn more about what everyone else in your industry is doing when your goal is to advance your business.

3. Be persistent.

If you keep going the extra mile - or even taking one more step after everyone else has given up - you will keep getting results. Over time, this will become a way of life… and you will be unstoppable.

[Ed. Note: If you have dreams you want to achieve and goals you want to accomplish, you CAN do it on your own. But you could reach success so much faster with step-by-step guidance from success mentor Bob Cox. Bob - who has worked one-on-one with four billionaires and monitored the techniques they used to succeed - can help you determine exactly what you want out of life and the exact steps you need to take to get there. Find out how to become one of Bob's proteges right here.]

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3 Steps to Keeping Your Energy High on Weekends

By Craig Ballantyne

If you work hard all week, then find yourself "crashing" on the weekend - just when you need even more energy to do the things you love - here are some tips for you:

1. Go to bed and get up at the same time as you do during the week.

I guarantee you won’t be tired all weekend - and you won’t have trouble falling asleep on Sunday night.

2. Start your weekend days with 30 minutes of fun activity.

It doesn’t have to be a structured workout (you can save that for during the week), but getting up and getting moving will get you off to a high-energy start.

3. Avoid high-calorie, high-sugar brunches.

A surefire way to make yourself sleepy is to load up on orange juice and pancakes after your weekend "workout." So skip those foods, stick to an omelet filled with vegetables, and drink green tea.

And when you get together with your friends, keep your energy high by going for a hike or bike ride, rather than sitting down in a pub or movie theater with a bunch of high-calorie snacks.

[Ed. Note: Regular exercise can help keep your energy levels high any day of the week. Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne has put together a high-energy program that allows you to burn fat and build muscle in three 45-minute sessions each week. Learn more here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

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It’s Good to Know: Cuts to 401(k) Plans

One-quarter of U.S. employers have eliminated matching contributions to employee retirement plans, specifically 401(k)s, since last September, according to a recent report from discount broker Charles Schwab Corp. Another quarter have limited enrollment to certain employees. Most of these companies claim these measures have been taken temporarily as a result of the ongoing recession.

(Source: Reuters)

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Don’t Get Mad at Wall Streeters… Get Rich Off Them

Are you a disillusioned stock market investor?

Or maybe even just a “regular” Joe or Jane alarmed by the economic woes reported daily on every TV channel, radio station, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines?

If so I’d like to invite you to join my “anti-Wall Street” club.

We don’t sit around bad-mouthing fat cats or lamenting our lost dollars.

In the Liberty Street League, we’re getting even by making money hand over fist “off Wall Street.”

Find out if you qualify to join the League today.

Word to the Wise: Lamster

A "lamster" LAM-ster) - a word with obscure origins - is a fugitive, especially from the law.

Example (as used by Christopher Loudon in The Financial Post): "The vast majority of identity-changers become scurrying lamsters, spinning an endless wheel of lies and deception… ."

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: How has the recession affected your marketing practices? (Bob Bly)
• HEALTHY: Making exercise a positive, life-altering experience (Craig Ballantyne)

• WISE: Thomas Jefferson on advertising

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Is this cheating? (Ilise Benun)

• When customers like your mistakes (Howie Jacobson)

• It’s Fun to Know… about pirated video online

• Add “succor” to your vocabulary

The Anti-”Fix and Flip” Foreclosure Profits System

Thousands of entrepreneurs are buying and trying to “flip” foreclosures these days.

But one man has made $3.2 million in foreclosures by refusing to jump on the “fix and flip” bandwagon. He has learned to approach the market in a whole new way.

Go against the “crowd” with him, and learn how you could make thousands a week on “autopilot” with virtually zero risk… a few hundred in start up capital… all while working from home for just an hour day on your home computer.

You can get started today.

“The man who stops advertising to save money is like the man who stops the clock to save time.”

- (attributed to Thomas Jefferson)

The Skinny on Marketing in a Recession

By Bob Bly

Whenever the country is in a recession, marketing trade publications run articles extolling the importance of continuing to advertise. Since these articles are usually contributed by ad agencies and marketing consultants, one could argue that they are self-serving.

As Warren Buffett says, “Don’t ask the barber if you need a haircut.”

Marketing professionals make money only when companies buy their services. But do they REALLY believe that spending money on advertising in a recession is smart business? Or are they pushing clients to keep spending so they themselves won’t starve?

During a recession, when money is tight, should companies ramp up their marketing… keep it steady… cut back… or stop altogether?

Following the 1981-1982 recession, the McGraw-Hill Research Laboratory of Advertising Performance analyzed the performance of some 600 industrial companies during the downturn. Of course, we must keep in mind that McGraw-Hill, as a major publisher of trade journals, depends on ad revenues to maintain profitability. That being said, they found that “business-to-business firms that maintained or increased their marketing expenditures during the 1981-1982 recession averaged significantly higher sales growth both during the recession and for the following 3 years than those which eliminated or decreased marketing.”

In a different study, Management Review asked American Management Association (AMA) member firms about their spending during the 1990-1991 recession. The data showed that most firms that increased their marketing budgets enjoyed gains in market share.

One of my readers, MT, owns a software company. In response to the recession, he has cut his budget for Google AdWords campaigns in half.

How did he determine what to trim?

Before the recession hit, MT ran 10 Google PPC ad campaigns - all profitable. “When the economy turned south, six of those PPC campaigns, those targeted mainly at fence-sitters who don’t buy any longer, began to lose money,” said MT. So he wisely cut those unprofitable PPC campaigns - and kept running the four that were moneymakers.

According to an article in Internet Retailer, nearly four out of five households earning $100,000 a year or more said they are cutting back their spending. And when consumers cut back on spending, your business can take a real hit - especially if you sell a product that’s “nice to have” vs. one that customers absolutely must have.

So what can you do to maintain healthy sales during a recession that is likely to continue for some time?

The first thing big corporations cut in tough times is marketing. That’s really stupid. And, yes, I know that, as a copywriter, I sound self-serving when I say this. But marketing, when done right, makes money, brings in customers, and generates sales.

During a recession, your biggest problem is making sales and maintaining revenues - exactly what marketing is designed to accomplish. So stopping all marketing really makes no sense. What DOES make sense is MT’s approach:

1. Precisely measure the ROI (return on investment) from all your marketing campaigns.

2. Cut the ones that lose money.

3. Keep the ones that make money.

John Wanamaker, a famous retailer in his day, once said, “Half my advertising is wasted, but I don’t know which half.” But today, with direct-response measurement and Web analytics, we DO know which half is wasted. So we can fix or eliminate the wasted ads, and generate a positive ROI by running the ones that do work.

I am taking a survey on my website (www.bly.com) on how the recession has affected my visitors. So far, 38 percent of survey participants say their sales are flat, while 25 percent report increased sales and 37 percent have seen sales fall.

Eight out of 10 express some degree of worry about the effect the recession will have on their business and their sales. In response, 32 percent have increased their marketing budgets and 24 percent are spending less on marketing. Yet most are holding firm on pricing. More than 8 out of 10 say they have not lowered their prices to stimulate sales.

When it comes to predicting economic recovery, my survey participants are slightly pessimistic. Just over 57 percent believe the recession will end this year or (more likely) next year. Almost 43 percent say the country won’t recover from the recession until 2011 or later.

To find out more about marketing and selling in a recession, click here now.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now.

It might surprise you to know that many marketing channels cost nothing or next to nothing to explore. If you know what they are, and the best ways to use them, you can attract paying customers no matter what the economy is doing. Join Early to Rise and world-class marketing genius Bob Bly in the remarkable new program we've put together solely to solve today's most pressing business problem: How to make money during the recession. Get all the details here.]

Finally! A simple “click-and-profit” system that lets you dip into the Forex market… over breakfast, on your lunch break, even in the evening…

Discover how you could make a $28,600 to $114,400 side-income, depending on stakes - just by following “dummy- proof” red and green signals.

Click here to find out more.

How to Instantly Grab a New Contact’s Attention With Your Answer to One Question

By Ilise Benun

One of the first questions you get when you meet someone at a networking event is “What do you do?” You need to answer this question not only at networking events but on job applications… on your website or blog… in promotional materials… and that’s just the half of it!

Clearly conveying the kind of work you do can be something of a challenge. You don’t want to say “I’m a copywriter” or “I sell shoes.” Boring! You want to capture the other person’s attention and get them to remember you.

Last week, a new client gave me a great idea for how to answer this critical question: Get the language from your testimonials (or even the testimonials on your competitors’ websites).

For example, I could take this testimonial for my business, Marketing Mentor:

“Thank you so much for helping me - I think I’d still be spinning my wheels! You’ve been a great partner in this sometimes halting process of getting the word out about what I do.”

… and turn it into this:

“We partner with you so you can stop spinning your wheels and get the word out about what you do.”

[Ed. Note: Ilise Benun is an author, consultant, national speaker, and co-founder of Marketing-Mentor.com. She helps her clients learn the tools they need to market their services, get ideal clients, and grow their businesses.

You can get twice-monthly marketing tips and a free report on "20 Ways to Get Your Prospects to Call You Back" when you sign up for Ilise's Quick Tips newsletter.]

The Dirty Secret of Screw-Ups

By Howie Jacobson

Here’s something I discovered shortly after launching my business in 2001: Up to a point, customers don’t really mind when something goes wrong.

What drives them batty is when they complain and nobody cares. And when you make it clear to everyone in your organization that listening to customers is the Number One job of your business, you can turn the inevitable screw-ups into opportunities to build loyal customers and passionate fans.

Luckily for me, I made lots of mistakes when I was starting out. That gave me constant opportunities to provide great “I’m really sorry” customer service and improve my business - the marketing, products, fulfillment, and more - rapidly.

What about your business?

Do the customer service folks on the front lines really feel remorse when your business screws up, or are they just punching the clock? Do your employees feel empowered to admit mistakes, their own and yours? Do your customers feel respected and heard?

If not, you have your marching orders.

[Ed. Note: Howie Jacobson (www.askhowie.com) is an Internet marketing expert specializing in pay-per-click advertising. In fact, he literally wrote the book on the subject: AdWords for Dummies.

Find out how Howie increased his income by five times - by accident - and how his unintentional good fortune can make YOU rich right here.]

5 Simple Steps to Making Weight Loss Fun and Effective

By Craig Ballantyne

Your biggest roadblock to staying fit is probably that it isn’t fun. I just read a study which found that most overweight folks don’t find exercise enjoyable. Worse, instead of feeling energized, they feel tired after a workout.

No wonder it seems to be so hard to lose weight!

But, no matter what you have experienced in the past, losing fat can be fun and fast. It doesn’t require long, boring workouts. It can also mean making new friends by participating in fat-loss forums and group training or fitness classes.

If you are just getting started, here’s what you need to do…

1. Get a trainer or nutritionist for professional accountability. Research from Stanford University found that this improves fat-loss results.

2. Work out with a friend who is also losing weight. It will help keep both of you motivated.

3. Go online and get social support in a weight-loss forum.

4. Join a bootcamp and work out to cool music with new friends.

5. Get a nutrition buddy at work who will help you stay on track.

Combine the social support with good eating and proper workouts, and you’ll feel energized all day long. Soon you’ll completely transform your body and boost your confidence… and you’ll be living the fat-loss lifestyle forever!

[Ed. Note: Exercise doesn't have to be grueling or boring. Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne has put together a high-energy program that allows you to burn fat and build muscle in three 45-minute sessions each week. Learn more here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

It’s Fun to Know: Pirated Video Online

A new survey from FutureSource Consulting has found that 10 percent of Web surfers in the U.S. and Europe have watched illegally downloaded videos. France appears to have the most violators, with 25 percent of respondents from that country admitting to accessing pirated TV shows, movies, and the like.

(Source: PC Advisor UK)

What if you KNEW You Couldn”t Fail?

What if you knew you couldn”t fail at making money? I mean it…

What if you had miraculously ingrained into your mind to attract such
wealth that deals came to you effortlessly?

Opportunities you never thought possible PLOPPED into your lap with a note attached that read, “These dead presidents are for you…”

Not just any money… but a financial windfall that is so huge you think a rich relative died and left you an inheritance… THAT type of wealth.

GONE are your unpaid bills… GONE is that old clunker of a car and now you have a Mercedes… GONE is the stress of never having to worry about making lots of money and your family never suffering again!

Now, how would your life change if you had a Billionaire Mentor reveal to you his “wealth attraction secrets?”

And what if I told you could learn all these billionaire money-magnet strategies in just 30 days— guaranteed?

Well, you are about to find out…

Click here to get all the inside details…

Word to the Wise: Succor

“Succor” (SUHK-er) - from the Latin for “to go beneath” - is help or relief.

Example (as used by Daniel Gross in The New York Times): “The financial meltdown has sent the literary-minded scurrying back to the classics for insight and succor.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: Are you speaking nonsense? (Michael Masterson)
• HEALTHY: The world’s simplest fat-loss plan (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: William Safire on exaggeration

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• 3 ways to drive traffic to your website (Marc Charles)
• Do you feel lucky? (Rich Schefren)
• It’s Good to Know… about brand loyalty
• Add “vacuous” to your vocabulary

Your $1,000 per Hour Part-Time Job

You can make money off the booming foreclosure market… without dealing with mortgages, renovations, trying to sell in this market, or any of the other hassles of “fix and flip.”

There’s a system that bypasses all that “hard stuff” and allows you to pull in profits nearly on “autopilot.” Its creator, who works just one hour a day from home, has already quietly made $3.2 million.

You can join him and make your own fortune today.

“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: Resist hyperbole.”

- William Safire

If You’re Trying to Impress Me, Don’t Do This

By Michael Masterson

He had been strongly recommended for the job. And so, when I got on the phone with him, I was expecting a sharp, take-charge guy. Instead, I got this:

“I’ve been involved in strategically important roles with communications companies for 25 years. Throughout, I’ve focused on my core competencies, building brand recognition and interfaces with key personnel.”

To which I responded: “Huh?”

He went on…

“It’s been a personal paradigm of mine that quality control and dynamic leadership are essentials in today’s globalized business environment, and that’s what I feel I can bring to any company I work for.”

I had already made an initial assessment: This guy was a fraud. But to give him a chance to redeem himself, I tried to keep the conversation going.

“So,” I said, “what, exactly, have you been doing all these years?”

I could almost hear him thinking, “What kind of dummy am I dealing with?” But this is what he said:

“Bringing in a bottom line and achieving optimal results have always been goals that resonated with me.”

“That’s enough,” I thought. “I can’t take any more.”

“I’m sorry to do this,” I said. “But I have to jump off the phone now to handle an emergency. I enjoyed talking to you. I’ll be sure to look at your resume and get back to you if something comes up that meets your qualifications.”

And with that, I bid farewell to this young man and any chance he had of ever working for me.

In their book Why Business People Speak Like Idiots, authors Fugere, Hardaway, and Warshawsky say there are three reasons executives - and people applying for management positions - sometimes speak like this.

1. Their focus is on themselves, rather than on the person they’re speaking to. “When obscurity pollutes someone’s communications it’s often because the… goal is to impress and not to inform.”

2. They fear using concrete language, because saying exactly what they mean can make it hard to wiggle out of commitments. “Liability scares [some people], so they add endless phrases to qualify [their] views, acknowledging everything from prevailing weather conditions to the 12 reasons we can’t make a decision now.”

3. They want to elevate and even romanticize their thoughts and deeds, because they are afraid they aren’t impressive. They do so by using lofty language that disguises the mundane truth.

They are afraid to appear ordinary. Their solution is to attempt to bamboozle everyone they speak with - and particularly those with power.

This is a very bad strategy.

In a job interview, it makes the interviewee look pompous and vacuous - two traits any sensible employer wants to avoid.

When applying for a job, only two things really matter: what you know (your skill set) and who you are (your integrity). Pretending to know things you don’t is a waste of your time, because you will soon be found out. Getting tossed into the street after only a few weeks on the job is both embarrassing and an ugly blemish on your work history.

You can demonstrate your good character by being honest from the outset. Be candid about what you know and what you have done. But make it clear that you are confident you can quickly learn to do anything that is required of you.

In granting you an interview, your future employer is trying to find out if you can help him solve his problems and grow his business.

He isn’t looking to be impressed. He’s looking for someone who can make his life easier by doing a great job. Your job during the interview is to sell yourself as being that person.

And the first rule of successfully selling yourself is to make sure you’ve got the basics down pat:

• You must be good at something - really good.
• That something must be useful to the success of the business you are attempting to work for. If you’ve been reading ETR - even for a short time - you already know what I mean by that: It must be some financially valued skill. Generally speaking, that’s one of four things: marketing, selling, creating profitable products, or managing profits.
• You must prove that you are good.
• And then you must deliver.

[Ed. Note: One of the most valuable skills you can learn is how to persuade others to take action. Power and money decisively travel toward those who are persuasive. Master the art of advertising and promotion, and the world will beat a path to your door. You will not only have success convincing people to buy your products, but also your ideas, concepts, and beliefs. Early to Rise can help you become a bona fide expert at this skill. Simply read on here.

Get more of Michael's surefire strategies for getting ahead in business and in life in True Path to Profits: A Master Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Success. Find out more - including how you can get a bonus subscription to Michael's VIP newsletter, Ready Fire Aim - right here.]

The Internet Has Become a Profit-Happy Playground for Budding Online Entrepreneurs

From an automatic $800 monthly to $187,296 in one day, for a few hours of work - that’s what is possible with this new Internet formula for success.

Now you can discover how to do the same by setting up automatic income streams that flow to you each and every month. And there’s no limit to how many sources of income you could have.

This new program, called Instant Internet Income, is easy, fast, and flat-out WORKS. Just follow the step-by-step plan for making money online.

One note: It’s guaranteed to do exactly what I say. Click here to learn more and get started today!

Making Money With AdSense

By Marc Charles

With Google AdSense, you can run Google advertising on your website or blog - and get paid every time your visitors click on those ads.

There are hundreds of ways to drive traffic to your website. Some of them are free, and others cost money. The trick is to get “targeted” traffic. By that, I mean visitors who are likely to be interested in the content on your website and in the Google AdSense ads you’re running.

My favorite ways to do this are as follows:

1. Targeted e-mail newsletter advertising. Preferably using deep discount or remnant ad campaigns.

2. Keyword advertising on discount ad networks like Advertising.com, 7Search.com, ExactSeek.com, Kanoodle.com, and AdBrite. You can purchase keyword advertising “clicks” on these networks for as little as 5 cents.

3. Building your own search engine or directory, and redirecting traffic to your website that’s running Google AdSense. A search engine or directory is simply a website with a database and a searching mechanism. Most programmers can easily build one for you.

The best part of Google AdSense is its “auto pilot” feature. If you have a website running Google AdSense ads, and you have targeted traffic coming to the site, the ads run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - without requiring any maintenance or babysitting on your part.

[Ed. Note: These tactics for driving highly targeted website traffic to boost AdSense revenues were originally published in the Liberty Street Letter, a monthly publication dedicated to under-the-radar business opportunities and investments. To find out if you're eligible to receive regular profit alerts that could help you boost your income, click here.]

3 Simple Strategies for Increasing Your Luck

By Rich Schefren

Do you know somebody who seems to have the best luck in the world?

It’s like everything they touch turns to gold. And it doesn’t matter if it’s in their business or their personal life, they just seem to have luck on their side all the time.

I can add myself to that list. Because I consider myself to be EXTREMELY lucky.

I’ve built an eight-figure business, married the woman of my dreams, and have two beautiful daughters who are healthy and happy.

And along the way, I’ve had lots of lucky breaks - things that just sort of “happened” and ultimately made me become more successful. But I just didn’t wait around for luck to find me. I went out looking for it.

Here are three things that have always helped me increase my luck:

1. Get out there. I’ve found that luck stems mostly from opportunities, and the more you put yourself in front of others, the more opportunities you’ll have. So don’t be an introvert. Meet new people. Shake their hands. Look them in the eye and find out more about them. This will increase your luck exponentially.

2. Go with your gut. I can’t count how many times I’ve made an important decision based on a gut feeling and it’s turned out to be the right one. So follow your instincts and go with what you feel is correct. More often than not, you’ll see your luck increase.

3. Grab the silver lining. The most successful people I know don’t wallow in misery when their luck goes sour. They find something positive in the situation and focus on that. And guess what? They always turn their fortunes completely around very quickly. You can do the same.

Those are a few of the strategies I use to bring more luck into my life. Apply them to your life… and watch your own fortunes rise.

[Ed. Note: Rich Schefren - one of the world's best small-business strategists - knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful. The businesses he coaches have done over $500 million every year - piling up more than $1 billion in sales every two years. Visit his blog to learn how to streamline your business while skyrocketing profits.

For more strategies and techniques for "making" your own luck, check out the Early to Rise Total Success Achievement program. Success mentor Bob Cox will help you achieve all you want in life - in just minutes a day.]

The Best Diet for Weight Loss

By Craig Ballantyne

Most diet “plans” are really complicated… or downright confusing. But the truth is, eating for fat loss is simple. Just avoid junk food and eat more whole, natural foods.

If you need proof, take a look at this…

European researchers studied 89,431 men and women from five countries in Western Europe for 6.5 years. They found that the more fruits and vegetables someone ate, the greater their chances were of losing weight. It’s as easy as that.

So if you want to lose fat, make sure you increase your intake of fruits and vegetables.

[Ed. Note: Eating the right foods is just one part of slimming down and firming up. To burn fat and build muscle, check out fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training program right here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

It’s Good to Know: Brand Loyalty Goes by the Wayside

Consumers who are usually loyal to certain brands when it comes to food, cosmetics, and other products are increasingly shifting to lower-cost alternatives.

A new study from Catalina Marketing Corp. showed that among customers classified as “highly loyal” in 2007 to brands like Coca-Cola, Crest, or Green Giant, 33 percent had switched to other products in 2008. Meanwhile, grocery stores have been expanding their lines of generic brands.

(Source: Reuters)

Ready for Your “Mind-Over-Money Make Over?”

They’re not any better than you… smarter than you… in fact, these four men came from such humble beginnings NO ONE ever thought they would amount to anything.

One was a factory worker, the other began as a file clerk, and two others toiled as a grocer and shop-assistant.

And yet, against all odds they all became billionaires. (yes, with a “b”)

What was the “X” factor that made the difference and allowed four ordinary men to enjoy the financial freedom that most people could only dream about?

Well, one man knows exactly what it was… he had front row seats and experienced first hand how these “Average Joes” went from ordinary to extra-ordinary.

He should know… he personally mentored them to billionaire status!

Not only that, but this shrewd businessman (a former insurance salesmen himself) went onto become mega-wealthy himself when he became the co-founder of the first TV shopping network.

So how does this help you out with your money problems?

It’s simple: This mentor boiled down every tactic, trait, and “secret wealth attraction strategies” these four billionaires remarkably possessed… and swears he can give you a “mind over money make-over” in just 30 days that’ll allow you to attract gobs of money like bees to honey.

Ready to finally “Crack the Wealth Code?” Click here to get all the inside details…

Word to the Wise: Vacuous

“Vacuous” (VAK-yoo-us) - from the Latin for “empty” - means lacking in ideas or intelligence.

Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): “This is a very bad strategy. In a job interview, it makes the interviewee look pompous and vacuous - two traits any sensible employer wants to avoid.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: Power up your sales copy with specifics (Charlie Byrne)
• HEALTHY: Have you taken this important test? (Kelley Herring)
• WISE: Napoleon Hill on knowing where you’re going

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Adding something in often means taking something out (Bob Cox)
• Don’t commit the mistakes these writers did (Don Hauptman)
• It’s Fun to Know… about really alternative energy
• Add “biddable” to your vocabulary

The Anti-”Fix and Flip” Foreclosure Profits System

Thousands of entrepreneurs are buying and trying to “flip” foreclosures these days.

But one man has made $3.2 million in foreclosures by refusing to jump on the “fix and flip” bandwagon. He has learned to approach the market in a whole new way.

Go against the “crowd” with him, and learn how you could make thousands a week on “autopilot” with virtually zero risk… a few hundred in start up capital… all while working from home for just an hour day on your home computer.

You can get started today.

Could This Be The Worst Ad Ever?

By Charlie Byrne

Over the past few years I’ve made a lot of good friends at the local running store here in Delray Beach. It’s where I buy my Brooks Beast running shoes… I enjoy the training runs and races they sponsor… and I get tons of good advice from them practically every week.

But brother, was I disappointed when I got this e-mail from them last Saturday. Here’s how it read, more or less:

“Special Sunday Event - Several running experts speaking on various topics - $15.”

Ouch!

No specifics. No proof. All summary and generalization.

It’s a weak, weak, weak recipe for disastrous copy. Suppose, instead, their e-mail had looked more like this…

Coming This Sunday, Power Up Your Running to the Next Level!

• Four-Time Miami Marathon Finalist John Smith explains how to cut 15 minutes off your fall marathon time…
• Palm Beach Orthopedics Institute director Mary Jones gives you the 4 secrets to avoiding training injuries and getting in the best shape of your life in the next 6 weeks…
• Nike Shoes Director of Advanced Technology Jim Jackson previews their breakthrough new X-743 running shoe (on sale 25% off Sunday only).

Specifics… Proof… Details… Facts, figures, names, and places… Oh yes, and that little matter of Benefits!

Now that, I might pay $15 for!

[Ed. Note: Just by applying a few simple but powerful rules to your sales copy, you can grab more attention from prospective customers and motivate them to buy. Now, one marketing legend responsible for over $2 billion in sales can show you the sales copy secrets that could help explode your profits by more than 10,000%. Get all the details here.

And for more of Charlie's thoughts and insights, follow him on Twitter at http://CharlieByrne.BlogSpot.Com.]

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“The world has the habit of making room for the man whose actions show that he knows where he is going.“

- Napoleon Hill

How to Make Room for What’s Important With a Simple 5-Second Exercise

By Bobob-cox/b Cox

It’s easier to accomplish any goal when you make it your top priority. That often means focusing less on something else in your life - or eliminating it altogether - to make room for what now has to be done.

Let’s say you and your spouse are planning for the arrival of your first child - and you’ve made it your number one goal to make sure everything goes smoothly. Well, that’s going to take a lot of time. Regular visits to the ob-gyn… setting up the nursery… reading up on child care. Doing all that requires you to make adjustments to what had been your schedule.

By deciding in advance what you can take out in order to make room for what you are going to put in, you will be ahead of the game.

Try this little exercise to see what I mean…

My goal is to ______________________________.

I can take out _________________________ and ____________________ to make room.

For example:

• My goal is to exercise regularly.

  I can take out staying up late and I can get up earlier to make room.

• My goal is to spend more time with my spouse.

  I can take out playing golf every Sunday and nights out with friends to make room.

• My goal is to increase sales.

  I can take out unimportant meetings and long lunch hours to make room.

Can you see how this works? Now it is your turn!

Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a Word document, create the template shown above, and start filling in the blanks.

I promise this will help you keep your goals on track, put them back on track, or get yourself started in the right direction.

MaryEllen’s Secret to Enjoying a Balanced Life

MaryEllen Tribby, Publisher and CEO of Early to Rise, is brimming with energy and a passion for excellence in business. She is also married and has three beautiful children.

MaryEllen has a lot on her plate in all areas of her life. She is often asked how she can possibly balance running a multimillion-dollar company AND managing her home life. In an article she wrote for ETR - The Balancing Act That’s Up to You - this mega-successful working woman, wife, and mother gave much of the credit to taking three simple steps:

• Step #1. Having the Right Attitude
• Step #2. Making the Right Choices
• Step #3. Developing the Right Relationships

In the article, MaryEllen shared a story to illustrate Step #2. As it happens, that same story can be applied to my message today.

She had an opportunity to attend a major networking party in Texas. Everyone who is anyone in the information publishing industry was going to be there. She immediately RSVP’d, and began thinking about all the deals she could make that would benefit ETR.

But while reviewing her travel plans with her husband, he pointed out that she would be away on the first day of the new school year. With three young kids in school, this is a huge event in MaryEllen’s world. She wanted to be there!

So even though her husband encouraged her to go, assuring her that he could handle the excitement of the first day of school without her… no way was MaryEllen going to miss it. After thinking through the consequences of missing the networking party or missing the first day of school, she made the decision to send someone else to Texas.

If she had used our little “take out” exercise, she would have come to the same conclusion. She probably would have done it this way:

My goal is to be present at my children’s first day of school.

I can take out the networking event and find time later to talk to or meet with everyone I would have seen that day to make room.

Your Personal Balancing Act

MaryEllen is the first to admit that she is not Superwoman. The truth is, she sincerely believes everyone can have a balanced life.

“You just need to want it… and act to achieve it,” she says.

That works for me, and I am betting it will work for you. You can find your own personal balance by using my “take out” exercise to help manage your priorities. It’s all about taking ownership of what you want - and making room for the good choices you need to make to get your goals done.

[Ed. Note: It is entirely possible to turn every dream you have into reality. Allow success guru and "Mentor to Billionaires" Bob Cox to help you every step of the way. Get all the details here.]

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You Could Be Just Hours Away From Instant Internet Income

All you have to do is watch a simple video, and I’ll show you one of the most startling ways I’ve ever seen to make money in the shortest amount of time… within a few short hours of watching the presentation.

You will learn the exact plan that banked $187,296 in 24 hours for one man.  And you can copy it step for step.  And the best part is, once you put in just a few hours, you need not do any additional work.  You could very quickly have an “automatic” monthly income stream flowing into your bank account.

This new program is appropriately called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it does exactly what I promise.  Take a look and discover how Jim Sheridan made this money so quickly.

How to Monitor One of the Most Important Factors in Your Health

By Kelley Herring

Because blood sugar is one of the most important factors in your overall health, you might think getting tests is a good way to keep it in check. You’d be right on that count. But you might be surprised to know that the best test may not be one you’re familiar with.

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from ETR readers about blood sugar. What most of them are concerned about is this: Which test is better - fasting blood sugar, oral glucose tolerance, or random blood sugar?

The answer is “none of the above.” It’s the glycated hemoglobin or A1C test.

The A1C is far superior to the other tests. Not only can it be used to diagnose diabetes, it also gauges how well a diabetic is managing his or her condition.

And that’s not all. The A1C tells you what percentage of your hemoglobin (a protein found in red blood cells) is sugar coated (glycated). And “sugar coated” is a really bad thing when it comes to your cells. In fact, these glycated compounds are associated with an increased risk for heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, cataracts, and many other chronic ailments.

Ask your doctor for an A1C test. Ideally, you’ll want an A1C of less than 5 percent, which corresponds to an average glucose level of 90 mg/dL.

[Ed Note: If you steer clear of sugar, you're doing yourself a big favor. But if you've swapped the "white devil" for artificial sweeteners, there's something you should know. Studies show that people with diabetes who consume sucralose have significant increases in A1C. Find out about the dangers of artificial sweeteners (and the healthy alternatives) in Kelley Herring's revolutionary 7-part health transformation program, Your Plate, Your Fate. Get all the details and learn how to get 3 bonus books right here.]

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The Language Perfectionist: More Misuses in the News

By Don Hauptman

Here is more proof, if any is needed, that proofreaders and copy editors don’t always catch every error. I found all the following examples recently in major national publications.

• “But worse, it always gets my shackles up when someone tells me I can’t do something.”

The word shackles refers to handcuffs or other sorts of fetters. Hackles are the feathers of a bird. Hence, the expression “to get one’s hackles up” means to be insulted or irritated.

• “How presumptuous that the guy in the ads says, ‘Test drive a Jag-u-ar today’… .”

The word presumptuous means taking liberties by assuming too much. It implies an attitude that’s bold or arrogant. The right word here is pretentious.

• ” … the efficiency-demanding requirements of rice-patty cultivation… .”

A rice patty is a culinary creation, but an irrigated or flooded field where rice is grown is a paddy.

• “Time drags as we wait for the next meeting with our lover.”

This choice of words creates an image that the writer probably didn’t intend. Better: “… as one waits for the next meeting with one’s lover.”

• “Her books are banned here, and the blog she has kept since 2005 is currently blocked.”

When a new word, such as blog, enters the language, it can take a while to work out the right ways to use it. The phrase “keeping a blog,” which is probably modeled on “keeping a diary,” isn’t ideal. It implies doing something that’s private rather than public. Blogging is a form of communication, so the best word here is published, not kept.

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book recently published by AWAI that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]

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It’s Fun to Know: Really Alternative Energy

Wind power is already a growing source of alternative energy. But some researchers (probably the same people who predicted we’d be living in bubble cities on the ocean floor by now) are proposing a whole new model. Instead of land-based “wind mills,” they want to send wind turbines up to 30,000 feet in the air to harness the power of high-altitude winds.

These high-energy “jet streams” are steadier and 10 times faster than surface winds. The turbines would be tethered, like kites, to ground stations in order to transfer the collected power. Theoretically, say the scientists, a network of these devices could meet the energy needs of the entire planet.

(Source: LiveScience)

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Imagine Having a  Really Rich Relative… and it was YOU!

Congress can throw money into our economy until the end of time…

The Fed can lower interest rates to practically nothing…

But here’s the cold hard facts: At the end of the day, Uncle Sam ain’t gonna help you… the only one who can get you out of this economic mess  and guarantee you a stress free retirement is you!

And one sure-fire way to do that is to acquire the wealth attraction skills of a billionaire.

Why? Because billionaires think differently (even differently from millionaires), they behave differently… and most of all-see money making opportunities where others see only despair!

Imagine having billionaire “money magnet” skills so ingrained into your consciousness that magically deals fall into your lap.

Imagine for the first time in your life NOT having to chase wealth! When in fact, MONEY opportunities just knock on  your door- and you simply open it.

Think this can’t happen to you? Well, think again…

It can- especially when the mega-wealthy co-founder of TV’s first home shopping network personally mentors you to financial success in just 30 days!

Vince Lombardi once said, “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will…”

I think you know what you have to do! Click here to get all the inside details…

Word to the Wise: Biddable

“Biddable” (BID-uh-bul) - from the Middle English for “to ask/command” - means obedient/easily led.

Example (as used by Thomas Sutcliffe in The Independent): “The chaotically organised event proved nothing more than that one charismatic individual can impose his will on a lot of biddable ones.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: Spending habits of the rich (Michael Masterson)
• HEALTHY: When you don’t want to give up ALL your carbs… (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Aldous Huxley on self-improvement

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Making every year your most productive and lucrative year so far (Brian Tracy)
• How to be simple and complex at the same time (John Forde)
• It’s Good to Know… just when you thought it was safe to go into the water
• Add “trenchant” to your vocabulary

* Highly Recommended *

Put More Money in Your Pocket with Step-by-Step Cash-Generating Secrets from “America’s Top Copywriter”

McGraw-Hill calls him “America’s top copywriter.” Joe Vitale calls him “a prolific advertising genius.” American Writers and Artists, Inc. calls him “a legend.”

Now’s your chance to call him “mentor.”

This past March, world-class copywriter and Internet marketing superstar Bob Bly revealed dozens of his top secrets for making money with the Internet.

Better yet, he gave step-by-step instructions for how each attendee could follow in his footsteps, including how to:

• Earn 20 times more per hour than you do now, starting almost instantly…
• Write an email in five minutes that could give you nearly 5 figures in profits in a week…
• Generate online revenues of $20,000 a month “working” as little as 2 hours a week…
• Use a shockingly easy “hidden logic” method that can produce 25% - 50% more sales…
• And much MUCH more.

If you couldn’t take part in this intensive weekend seminar, I’m sorry. It was well worth every cent of the $5,000 cover charge.

But you can still get Bob’s specific, easy-to-follow advice for how you can make piles of cash selling information (or practically anything else) online.

If you’re looking for proven methods for putting cash in YOUR pocket, you need to read on here.

A Little-Known Secret of the Truly Wealthy

By Michael Masterson

Carlos, one of my Jiu Jitsu instructors, is living the American dream. He came to this country to compete in mixed martial arts and earn his fortune as a champion fighter. While building a stellar win-loss record, he lived on club sponsorship and fees for giving lessons. For the first three years of his time here, he managed to support himself and his wife on less than $15,000 a year. Recently, he captured three title belts - and now fights at the top level in Japan. His typical payday has gone from $500 to $25,000.

“The problem with making more money in America,” he told me, “is that every time you make an extra dollar you spend two.”

How true. The first couch I bought cost $400. I remember thinking, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” And it never did. The couches I buy today give me no more pleasure, comfort, or space. Yet they cost much more.

What happened? The truth is that my own success has victimized me. In earning more, I allowed myself to spend more on things like couches. If I had gotten more out of it, that would have been fine. But I didn’t.

Why do we do it? Why do we feel the need to spend more when we make more?

Here’s what I think. When you are poor, you are surrounded by things you think you would like to own but cannot afford to buy. After a while, you equate the feeling of unsatisfied desire with poverty. And when desiring begins to feel poor, having seems like it will make you feel rich.

Master wealth builders understand a secret that it took me years to learn: You have to keep your spending down while your income increases.

[Ed. Note: This article is an excerpt from Michael Masterson's bestselling book, Automatic Wealth: The 6 Steps to Financial Independence. For more insights into becoming - and staying - wealthy, check it out today.]

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“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.”

- Aldous Huxley

4 Ways to Improve Your Business - and Your Life

By Brian Tracy

There’s an old saying: “The more you do of what you are doing, the more you will get of what you’ve got.”

In other words, if you want to improve your business - and your life - you have to do something different from what you are doing today.

One of your goals should be to always make the current year your most productive and profitable year so far. And there are only four ways to do it. Here they are:

1. You can do more of certain things.

What are the things you should do more of? Obviously, you should do more of the things that are working best for you.

For example, as a businessperson, you should use more of the marketing and sales methods that are getting you face to face with your best customers, the ones who buy the most readily and who most appreciate the special features and benefits of your products and services.

It is amazing how many marketers lose track of their most effective selling methods. Instead, they keep experimenting with something new, different, and unproven. And then they are surprised when their sales drop and their income declines.

2. You can do less of other things.

Many people fall into doing things that are not working particularly well. But because they are comfortable doing those things, they continue doing them.

You must continually think about the value of your time. You only have so many minutes and hours each day. If you spend your time doing things of low value, that time is no longer available to you to do things of higher value. You should do less and less of those things that are giving you few results, so you have more time to do more of those things that are giving you better results.

3. You can start something brand new.

You must be open to the idea of starting something that you have never done before. As Jack Welch, GE’s legendary ex-CEO, once said, “Our greatest competitive advantage is our ability to learn and apply new ideas before our competition.”

In times of economic turbulence, especially - with customers, markets, prices, demand, and competition rapidly changing - perhaps the most important thing you can do is commit yourself to being an aggressive, lifelong student of the profession of selling.

It is amazing how many people come up to me at my seminars and tell me that one method or technique that they learned at a previous seminar, or from a training program of mine, had changed their lives. They had doubled and tripled their incomes. They had gone from rags to riches. They had started their own businesses and become millionaires. And it was all because of a single, simple idea that they opened their minds to through continuous study. You should do the same.

4. You can stop certain things altogether.

Ask yourself this question: “Is there anything that, knowing what I now know, I would not start up if I had to do it over?”

You must be willing to discontinue or eliminate any activity - in your business or personal life - that, given your current knowledge and experience, you would not get involved with again.

Many people are lemmings. They continue running in the same direction, doing the same things, getting fewer and fewer results, until they go over the cliff.

Top people are always open to the possibility of, and the need for, doing something completely different. They are willing to stop doing anything that no longer works. They don’t get stuck in their “comfort zone” and stay there just because it feels good. They are willing to take the risks that go with embarking on any new course of action.

Is there anything in your life - right now - that you should do more of, less of, start, or stop?

The answer to that question will get you on track. And if you keep asking it, every day, it will help guarantee that you’ll become one of the most successful - and highest-paid - people in your industry.

[Ed. Note: Are you prepared to handle any situation in business and in life? Setbacks are unavoidable. How you deal with those setbacks will determine whether you succeed or fail. Be prepared for any situation with Brian Tracy's "Crunch Point." Order now and get 5 valuable bonuses. Learn more here.]

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Immigrant’s Son Unlocks the $5K a Week “Money Vault”

He grew up in a working class family. Clawed his way up the ladder of success to the $1,500 suits and the $10,000 watches.

Along the way, he stumbled across the combination to a vault 30 times the size of anything he’d ever dreamed of.

Now, in a special report free to ETR readers, he reveals how you could be siphoning $250,000+ a year from the markets with just 30 minutes of “work” a day.

Get your combination to the “money vault” here.

The Simple Secret of… Complexity?

By John Forde

Usually, the writer’s mantra is “K.I.S.S.” (Keep It Simple Stupid.)

And most of the time, this rule works just fine.

Yet, we also know that writing - especially the kind of writing we do in sales letters and editorially - is more and more about building relationships. And aren’t relationships complex, built layer upon layer?

Well, maybe there’s a way to reconcile this insight with the rule about simplicity.

First, I’d say that yes, the relationship you build with your readers - from the first paragraph of your sales copy to the last, or through a series of articles or blog posts - does need to grow and evolve. And the process of growth and evolution is never simple.

Still, this doesn’t mean you can just jumble your ideas together. Even rich and layered relationships are united by a few very simple objectives. Maybe even one simple objective, depending on who you talk to. Even in a sales letter that drills home one distinct message, the copy also builds trust, nurtures a sense of urgency, intensifies desire, and so on.

Second, I’d say that you can never discount the power of the passion behind written ideas.

You can’t write well about something you don’t believe in. And you write better about things you believe in strongly. I say this because passion about ideas, it seems to me, is the glue between the “power of one” single-idea insight… and the context of complexity in which it can still be couched.

[Ed. Note: To get more of copywriting expert John Forde's wisdom and insights into marketing (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable, at www.copywritersroundtable.comand get a free report about 15 deadly copy mistakes and how to avoid them.

Powerful, effective writing, whether in ad copy or editorial articles, is just one part of a profitable online business. To get a complete guide to starting and growing a profitable Internet business, check out the Internet Money Club: Independent Learner Edition.]

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How to Eat Rice and Pasta on a Weight-Loss Diet

By Craig Ballantyne

Almost everyone loves rice and pasta, but it’s tough to enjoy them when you’re on a diet trying to lose weight.

Fortunately, it’s possible. Here’s how.

First, you need to avoid the processed, “white bread” versions of rice and pasta. The whole-grain, unrefined versions take a little longer to cook, but are much better for you. And they fill you up.

I’ve spent the last month on a vegan diet as part of an experiment, and I’ve been able to eat as much rice and pasta (and bread) as I’ve wanted - while still losing body fat - thanks to choosing the right sources.

These are your top sources for whole-grain carbohydrates on a weight-loss diet:

* Wild rice

* Quinoa - a high-protein grain

* Spelt - a high-fiber grain

* Kamut wheat pasta - a high-protein, high-fiber grain that is tolerated well
by folks who are usually allergic to gluten (a protein found in wheat).

The kamut pasta is delicious, and as good as any traditional “white flour” pasta you’ve ever had.

[Ed. Note: Eating the right foods is just one part of slimming down and firming up. To burn fat and build muscle, check out fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training program right here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

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It’s Good to Know: Just When You Thought It Was Safe to Go in the Water

Great white sharks, it turns out, are calculating hunters. University of Miami researchers have discovered that they use strategy and don’t engage in random attacks. Staying just out of sight, they stalk their victims (seals, for example - we’re not talking Jaws, here), focusing on the most vulnerable prey and waiting until they’re alone before striking from below.

The researchers also found that individual great whites have a “base of operations” from which they hunt - information that could be useful in avoiding shark attacks on humans.

(Source: Associated Press)

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* Highly Recommended *

Transform Your Life In Only 15 Minutes A Day!

Would you be willing to set aside 15 minutes a day if it meant you could…

• Pay off your credit card bills?
• Rebuild your financial portfolio?
• Buy or sell a house?
• Grow or start a business?
• Lose weight?
• Prepare for early retirement?

I thought so.

I’d like to show you exactly how you can dramatically increase your chances of achieving these (or other) goals in 2009.

Click here to continue…

Word to the Wise: Trenchant

“Trenchant” (TREN-chunt) - from the French for “to cut” - means incisive or keen; clearly or sharply defined.

Example (as used by Megan Marshall in a New York Times review of We Two by Gillian Gill): “Gill’s vivid and deeply reasoned account of Queen Victoria’s marriage should be read alongside Phyllis Rose’s still trenchant Parallel Lives, with its portraits of the marriages of five 19th century British literary lions.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: In defense of entrepreneurs
  (Howie Jacobson)
• HEALTHY: Smoothie sabotage (Kelley Herring)
• WISE: Abraham Lincoln on working

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Working "out of order" (Clayton Makepeace)
• Why do info marketers avoid this strategy for making extra sales? (Bob Bly)
• It’s Fun to Know… about a nightmare workplace for claustrophobics
• Add "agon" to your vocabulary

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"My father taught me to work;
he did not teach me to love it. "

- Abraham Lincoln

A Non-Entrepreneurial Slap of Reality

By Howie Jacobson

My buddy - author, CEO, and consultant Peter Bregman - recently wrote a commentary for CNN.com advising people to embrace the recession as a chance to reconfigure their careers to be in line with their passions.

"Focus your time on what you’re truly passionate about," he said. "Successful people are passionate, obsessed. And obsession isn’t motivated by money. It’s deeper than that. Find your obsession. Let it loose. …

"You’ll work at your obsession all the time because you want to. And that kind of persistence, that kind of focus, is worth a lot of money. But don’t make the mistake of chasing the money."

The interesting thing about this article turned out not to be the article itself, but the comments about it that were posted by CNN readers. It was like people were responding to two completely different articles. Some were wildly favorable… thanking Peter for his inspiring words or saying that his philosophy can be backed up by their own experience. But others were downright hostile.

For example:

"Someone throw this guy off of the roof of Harvard Business School. People are starving to death looking for work and they’re supposed to find their inner child?"

"You are a jerk and should keep your trap shut until you learn a thing or three about hard work."

"Is the author’s passion in life to write stupid articles? Or does he do this for the money? I’m guessing he wrote this to get a paycheck."

"I think it’s great when people with high paying jobs and a big savings account tell us not to worry. Bite me, Peter."

"This is (nearly) the stupidest article I have ever read on a news website. CNN is supposedly a news network, not kumbayah, feel good, ideological BS. Work isn’t necessarily fun, which is why it is called work."

So what’s going on here? Why does the idea that work can be soul-fulfilling anger so many?

My guess is that Peter’s message will resonate with you and the other folks who read Early to Rise. If only because you’ve seen that it’s possible to make a good living online. Whether you sell industrial equipment or massage services or coaching or travel advice or radio-controlled toys or juggling equipment, you don’t think that entrepreneurship is simply "pie in the sky" talk by delusional ex-hippies or meaningless advice from the wealthy to the impoverished.

We’re entering a new phase in human history. The Internet is part of it. The unsustainability of our assault on our planet is part of it. A stirring of the soul - a wave of recognition that life is more than molecules and atoms - is part of it.

And saying it ain’t so ain’t gonna make it not so.

In my opinion, the CNN readers who decried Peter’s lack of "reality" are the ones with their heads in the sand. They’re looking at the world and saying, "This isn’t how things should be" - rather than looking at what IS and asking themselves, "What’s the opportunity here?"

Those of us who’ve been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug know that we humans can dream a reality into being. And that if we don’t, we’re abdicating our responsibility to stand up to those who seek to minimize and disempower us. Those who want us to be good little consumers and not passionate seekers and boat-rockers.

Of course, entrepreneurs are not the only ones who understand this. But we’re the ones who get to test it out in the world of molecules and atoms. And when we succeed, our advice is sought out by others who want to follow in our footsteps.

My mentor and good friend Perry Marshall writes in defense of entrepreneurs on a regular basis. I confess, sometimes I’ve felt that he goes overboard in seeing "anti-entrepreneur" sentiment almost everywhere. But I’m reconsidering.

It’s important to recognize that the irrational anger is simply misplaced and projected fear. The fear is understandable. So don’t think I’m looking down on those caught in its grip. When I’m afraid, nothing anyone says or does matters. The fear projects its own rules upon reality, and anyone who tells me the monster isn’t real is just trying to get me killed. Hence, my anger. It’s self-preservation.

So what’s the takeaway? Here are a few contenders:

1. If you’re an entrepreneur, realize that no matter what happens to the economy, you’ll be in a better position than almost anyone to land on your feet.

2. If you’re doing well these days, keep your mouth shut. Most people will not celebrate your good fortune.

3. Don’t give advice to anyone who doesn’t ask for it. Heck, who doesn’t beg for it. The only people you’ll be able to influence are those who envy the spirit you bring to your work and life… not those who envy your money.

[Ed. Note: Howie Jacobson is an expert in using Google AdWords to create monster sales for your online business. You can master AdWords from the inside out with Howie's book AdWords for Dummies. Get his complimentary AdWords ER Report "Why Most AdWords Campaigns Fail - and How to Make Yours Succeed" at www.AskHowie.com.

Find out how Howie increased his income five times - by accident... and how his unintentional good fortune can make YOU rich right here.]

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The Anti-"Fix and Flip" Foreclosure Profits System

Thousands of entrepreneurs are buying and trying to "flip" foreclosures these days.

But one man has made $3.2 million in foreclosures by refusing to jump on the "fix and flip" bandwagon. He has learned to approach the market in a whole new way.

Go against the "crowd" with him, and learn how you could make thousands a week on "autopilot" with virtually zero risk… a few hundred in start up capital… all while working from home for just an hour a day on your home computer.

You can get started today.

Splitting Tasks Between Your Right and Left Brain

By Clayton Makepeace

Every copywriting or marketing project requires copious amounts of creative, right-brain skull sweat, plus plenty of detail-oriented, left-brain elbow grease.

So when I’m fresh and full of mental energy, I focus on the creative tasks associated with the project. And when I’m running a bit low on creative juices, I use my time to handle the left-brain, detail-oriented stuff.

In other words, I approach my copywriting projects modularly and out of order, much like the way they make movies in Hollywood.

If I’m feeling frisky, I’ll work on my theme, my headline, and my opening copy - or maybe on the first two-thirds of my body copy. If I’m feeling sluggish, I may simply outline the project. Or focus on the research, number-crunching, or the charts and tables I’ll need.

Sometimes, if I’m kind of in between, I may rough out the last third of my copy first - the factual product description, premium description, offer, guarantee, and response device. Or, if I’m further along and have a complete draft, I may spend my time on editing what I’ve written.

This is what works best for me - the approach I’ve developed through trial and error during my four decades in this biz. It fits me like a glove.

It may work for you, too. It might make you tons more productive and improve your sales copy (or whatever else you do) by an order of magnitude.

Or, who knows? My way could prove to be the absolute worst way for you to approach your work.

There’s only ONE way to find out. Test. Analyze the results. Improvise with new ways to work that may fit you better. Repeat.

[Ed. Note: Master copywriter Clayton Makepeace publishes the highly acclaimed e-zine The Total Package to help business owners and copywriters accelerate their sales and profits. Claim your 4 free moneymaking e-books - bursting with tips, tricks, and tactics that'll skyrocket your response - at MakepeaceTotalPackage.com.

Staying productive is critical to keeping your goals on track. For specific tips, click here.]

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How to Triple Your Sales With an Overlooked, Under-Used Marketing Technique

By Bob Bly

Internet buyers LOVE discounts, yet most info marketers don’t use them nearly enough.

A case in point: On 4/9/09, we sent an e-mail to my list offering one of my e-books at the cover price of $79.

It generated 32 orders and $2,528 in revenues. Not great, not bad.

Last Thursday, we sent the identical e-mail to the same list. But we added a P.S. offering the book at $49 (a $30 savings) if they ordered by midnight Sunday. So far, we have sold 155 copies at $49 each, generating $7,625 in revenues, and orders are still coming in.

Does it bother me to let people have a $79 product for only $49? Of course not. What’s important is not profit per sale but profit per e-mail blast… which the discounting tactic will more than triple.

This works with products that have a large enough profit margin - and in the case of e-books, the margin is close to 100 percent.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now.

When and how to discount is just one of the secrets Bob reveals in ETR's Internet Cash Generator program, the complete guide to jumpstarting your online business. Find out more about it here.]

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Doing This After You Exercise Kills the Benefits

By Kelley Herring

A friend of mine spends hours in the gym each week, but hasn’t been able to get a single pound or inch to budge. Despite her clean diet (I’ve checked her cupboards) and doing the "right" kind of exercise, she can’t seem to reach her fitness goals.

Why not?

Looking for clues, I asked her to tell me a little bit more about her diet. High in protein and fiber, low in carbs, a good balance of healthy fats. It sounded great. Until I heard this: "I even refuel after every workout, like my trainer told me to, with a banana chocolate smoothie."

Uh oh.

While many trainers encourage consuming a carb- and protein-rich meal or snack after a workout to promote muscle growth and speed recovery, recent research shows this can sabotage weight-loss efforts.

In fact, studies conducted at the University of Massachusetts found that walking on a treadmill for one hour per day improved blood sugar regulation by 40 percent. But that effect was completely wiped out when people noshed on carb-rich foods afterward.

Keeping your blood sugar stable flips your fat-storage hormone (insulin) off. So if you’re trying to drop a few pounds, skip the post-workout carbs. Opt, instead, for a balanced snack before your workout to make your time at the gym count.

[Ed Note: Eating a low-glycemic diet to keep your blood sugar stable is essential for weight loss. But when the pizza craving strikes (and you indulge), you can slash its fat-storing effects by up to 56% with eight foods. Find out what they are in Kelley Herring's revolutionary 7-part health transformation program, Your Plate, Your Fate. Get all the details and learn how to get 3 bonus books right here.]

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It’s Fun to Know: A Nightmare Workplace for Claustrophobics

Scientists probing the secrets of "dark matter" will soon have a new home in South Dakota. Crews are building a lab in an old goldmine 4,850 feet below ground (picture six Empire State Buildings laid end to end), making it the world’s deepest science lab. Why go so deep? It shields their experiments from interference from cosmic rays bombarding the surface.

Short explanation of why they’re doing it: There is evidence that dark matter, which emits little or no detectible radiation of its own, can account for gravitational forces that have been observed on many astronomical objects. The scientists are hoping their research could reveal the origins of the universe.

(Source: Associated Press)

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Word to the Wise: Agon

"Agon" (AH-gahn or ah-GOHN) - from the Greek for "a struggle or contest" - is a conflict, especially between the protagonist and antagonist in a literary work.

Example (as used by Lawrence Osborne in Salon): "It is the irresolvable love-hate agon between men and women that drives all cultures."

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: Are you only marketing one way? (Michael Masterson & MaryEllen Tribby)
• HEALTHY: 3 ways to make exercise fun (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: William Bernbach on the art of persuasion

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• A copywriting secret with “real world” power (Carline Anglade-Cole)
• Did you forget to set “mid-range” goals? (Christine Comaford)
• It’s Good to Know… why you go gray
• Add “sempiternal” to your vocabulary

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Get Rich Online by Grabbing a Tiny Little Piece of the $50 Billion Internet Marketing “Profit Pie” for Yourself!

The Internet is positively lousy with all sorts of hype-masters and scam artists - all glibly promising to help you to “get rich quick” in Internet marketing.

Unfortunately, the only thing most of these hucksters have made any money selling online is — you guessed it — programs on how to get rich online!

When it comes to starting a real Internet business… and making six or seven figures from it… they haven’t a clue.

That’s where my friend and colleague, Internet millionaire Mike “Zappy” Zapolin, can help.

Read on…

- Bob Bly

Why You Need a Multi-Channel Approach

By Michael Masterson & MaryEllen Tribby

Retailers like Walmart, IKEA, and J. Crew reach customers with print catalogs, TV advertising, online ads, and websites. Insurance companies use telemarketing, TV and radio ads, various online channels, direct mail, and print ads. Car dealerships can be found online, in newspapers, through direct mail, and on TV.

To be sure, there are still many successful businesses that practice only one type of marketing. But it is our belief that those companies are an endangered species. Relying on one marketing method to build your business today is like swimming upstream with one hand tied behind your back. It can be done, but it is very difficult… and completely unnecessary.

To be at the top of your game, you need to continue to do what you do so well - the kind of marketing that is now working for you - but you must gradually add new arrows to your quiver. You will notice a sudden and substantial improvement in sales and profits if you do.

Relying on one marketing channel is simply foolish. Even if you choose a lucrative channel, there is no telling when it will change to a mere trickle. You can make temporary adjustments by using marketing tricks - special offers and over-the-top promises. But those gimmicks will not sustain sales for long.

[Ed. Note: This is an excerpt from the bestselling book, Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business. Discover how to double, triple, or even quadruple your business by making simple (and cheap) changes to your marketing efforts. Find out more here.]

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“Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.“

- William Bernbach

Bring in the Reinforcements

By Carline Anglade-Cole

I’ve just gone through a serious health scare. My 98-year-old grandmother, Mama Da, was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.

Our local family hustled to create a 24-hour care program for her. After all, why should a 98-year-old have to stay in the hospital by herself when she has children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a great-great grandson?

I got the day shift - the scariest shift of all. Nine hours when I watched Mama Da struggle to breathe - and had to listen to the doctor explain the seriousness of her condition.

Mama Da told me that she wasn’t afraid to die, and she proceeded to tell me everything she wanted done - and not done - when her time came.

I was alone in the room with her, and I was scared. I needed some backup - some reinforcements - to help me cope with this situation. So I told her that I had notified our family, and they were trying to get there as soon as possible to see her. That didn’t seem to matter to her.

Then I said, “Mama Da, Moon and Pot are getting on a flight from Maryland as we speak to come to see you.” Then a funny thing happened:

Her eyes opened up and she said, “Really? Who else?”

So I went down the list, “Shorty and Sidney are driving through the night… Gigi is cutting her vacation short in Orlando… Daty and VaVa are flying in tomorrow from Philly… Carole, Kuky, and Marley are flying in from Miami… Bibi and MaMa will be here on Saturday… Joey and Angela got one-day round-trip tickets to come and spend a few hours with you… Ferg and Chrissy are hitting the road at 2:00 a.m. and will be here by noon… and the rest of the family are calling me non-stop to let me know when they’re planning to come.”

As I ran down the list, I saw a light in Mama Da’s eyes that I hadn’t seen in the past 24 hours. She was getting excited about seeing her family. And when the kids, grands, and great-grands came to her hospital room to kiss her and talk to her, I watched her draw energy from each one of them.

In fact, she started to look and feel so good that many of our family members jokingly said that Mama Da was making up the whole pneumonia thing as a way to create an impromptu family reunion!

For several days, Mama Da’s hospital room was so full of our loud family having fun that the nurses asked us to keep the noise down!

During the nights, we had more than enough willing aunts and cousins volunteering to sleep in the room with her and stand guard.

I was very glad for the extra help. But while I was waiting for the reinforcements to come, I re-learned two very important lessons:

For one thing, my family has some really crazy names! And, most important, specificity works!

When I told Mama Da that family was coming, it didn’t register with her. But when I told her exactly WHO was coming… WHEN they were arriving… WHAT they were doing to get to her… and WHERE they were coming from… man, it really boosted her curiosity - and possibly her will to live.

That got me thinking about writing sales copy - and the importance of reinforcing your copy with ultra-specifics so you can grab your prospect’s attention and keep it.

So I want to show you two quick and easy ways for you (or your copywriter) to reinforce your copy too:

#1. Name names.

As I said, specificity sells. So build credibility in your copy by using exact names and numbers. Here’s an example from my own copy…

BEFORE: “Numerous scientific studies have shown that this remarkable ‘brain food’ can help you restore memory loss and sharpen your thinking.”

“Numerous scientific studies” is pretty lame. That’s like when I told Mama Da “Family is coming.” It just didn’t get much of a rise out of her.

I needed some specific details to put MEAT on this baby! So here’s how I changed that line of my copy…

AFTER: “Scientific research from Stanford University… Vanderbilt University… the Memory Assessment Clinic’s facility in Bethesda, Maryland now prove this remarkable ‘brain food’ can help you restore up to 12 years of memory loss and sharpen your thinking.”

See the difference? Name names and give specifics. Referencing those prestigious institutions builds credibility in the prospect’s mind - and stating that the product can restore up to 12 years of memory loss is powerful.

#2. Don’t be afraid of long headlines.

One of the first copywriting “rules” I learned was that headlines should be no more than 7 words. That way they would POP and grab the prospect’s attention. Sure, I learned the rule - but, more important, I learned when to break the rule too.

The truth is, it’s a stupid rule. The goal of your headline is to stop your reader dead in his tracks. If you can do it with one or two words - GREAT! But I’ve had many successful promotions with 20… 30… or more words in the headline. Here’s an example of how one of my headlines “grew”…

BEFORE: “Why Your Vitamins Won’t Work”

When I was telling Mama Da about all the relatives who were coming to visit her, I had no idea which ones she really wanted to see. Was it the young grandkids who would bounce on her lap… the teenagers she’d helped raise… or her own children? So I decided not to take a chance. I’d just list them all and see which ones piqued her interest.

Which brings me to my headline. “Why Your Vitamins Won’t Work” wasn’t bad - but it was too general. I wanted the prospect to stop and say, “Hey, I’m taking that stuff - so I’d better read this!” - and the best way to achieve that was to give ‘em a long list. So here’s how I reinforced the copy - and the results went through the roof…

AFTER:

Why

CoQ10

Garlic

Lutein

Ginkgo

Calcium

Bilberry

Probiotics

Vitamin C

Magnesium

Chondroitin

Glucosamine

Low-fat diets

Omega 3 fish oil

Grape seed extract

Blood pressure drugs

Weight-loss supplements

Cholesterol-lowering drugs

Won’t Work

Yep! That was the actual headline! Well over the 7 word “limit,” but who the heck cares? It worked!

So don’t be afraid of long headlines. Just make sure every word you use counts.

The Lessons Go Both Ways

It’s all about communicating your message as clearly as possible. And this just goes to show how you can apply what you learn about that in your personal life to your work… and how you can apply what you learn through your work to your personal life.

PS: In case you’re wondering how Mama Da is doing, here’s an update. We brought her home from the hospital after a 6-day stay. The pneumonia damaged her heart and lungs - and she already had diminished kidney function. So with the help of hospice, we’re just going to keep enjoying her - and listening to her thousands of stories - for as long as she’s still with us.

Mama Da always told us that she doesn’t plan to leave us with a dime, but that we will be rich with her memories. She’s definitely lived up to that promise. I am so thankful to be blessed to have had her in my life for 48 years.

[Ed. Note: Carline Anglade-Cole has 20 years of direct-mail experience in mailing-list strategies, new-product development, and creating kick-butt controls. She is the author of How to Write Kick-Butt Copy: Straight Talk From a Million-Dollar Copywriter, Anatomy of a Kick-Butt Control: How to Create a Winning Promo From Start to Finish, and Which One Won? How to Write Kick-Butt Headlines and Boost Response! Contact Carline directly by visiting her website at www.CarlineCole.com.

For more moneymaking and sales secrets, check out ETR's comprehensive Internet Cash Generator program here.]

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* Highly Recommended *

Your Path to Online Profits

You don’t have to be a slick Silicon Valley, computer prodigy -type with billions of venture capital to make money - lots of money - on the Internet. That’s a media myth.

In fact, you can join thousands of your fellow normal citizens and start your own million-dollar+ online venture starting right now. And:

• You don’t have to be a tech genius.
• You don’t need business experience.
• You can “copy” winning formulas to accelerate your success.

Learn how to sell on the Internet today.

Striding Versus Striving

By Christine Comaford

Steven sells his products directly from his website, as well as through hotels and gift shops. His revenue had gradually increased for five years, but then dipped and then plateaued last year. He tried motivating the troops, finding new sales channels, and hiring new salespeople, but nothing changed.

Then Steven started to panic. And as his panic increased, the only thing he could think of doing was to shut down the business and walk away.

Steven was striving without having any specific goals in mind. No wonder he felt so discouraged.

Striving for success is stressful. You’re reaching for something you don’t have, and haven’t really defined. On the other hand, when you’re striding toward success, you’re taking steps each day to come closer to the outcome you desire. Every day, you get to acknowledge your forward momentum. When striding, you are in the here and now instead of struggling to reach a fantasy future. Since you’re mentally present, you are able to recognize opportunities that present themselves.

After I explained this to Steven during our consultation session, he set some specific goals for himself. Now he is striding toward the following:

• Reaching $2 million in revenue by adding retail channels, building more solid online sales, recruiting two new pay-for-performance salespeople, and forging alliances with five or more companies that have complementary products.
• Taking weekends off by training his team to be self-managed and delegating more to his office manager.
• Cutting costs by 20 percent by negotiating new terms with existing suppliers or finding new sources, streamlining internal processes, and using standard operating procedures across all departments.

By striving, Steven might eventually have reached these same goals. But by striding, he’ll get there more quickly… and enjoy the process.

[Ed. Note: Business Accelerator Christine Comaford is CEO of Mighty Ventures, a startup and CEO mentoring company. She has helped more than 150 entrepreneurs become millionaires with her proven strategies and killer connections. Get her free business-boosting tools at www.MightyVentures.com and join her Facebook group at www.BusinessRenegades.com.

And get even more goal-setting tips with ETR's Total Success Achievement Program. Don't wait until Jan. 1 to change your life.]

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The REAL Reason You Avoid Exercise - and How to Defeat It

By Craig Ballantyne

The two main reasons people give for avoiding exercise are lack of time and lack of motivation. But those are really just politically correct answers. The truth is, most people just don’t like to do it.

If you “hate” exercise, here are three ways to stay motivated and stick to your plan:

1. Work out with a partner or in a group. Bootcamp exercise classes are becoming more popular every year - mostly because they are a million times more fun than jogging on a treadmill by yourself. If you get a good high-energy trainer, and a few friends to join you, you’ll have a grand old time while you burn belly fat.

2. Play the right music. Whether your bootcamp trainer brings it or you create a kick-butt mix on your iPod, working out to peppy music will make the time fly by.

3. Turn your exercise program into a golf game. In other words, keep challenging yourself to do better. That’s what golfers do. They get hooked on the game because they always want to beat their last score. And by giving yourself a “score” to beat every time you work out, the competitive streak deep within you will come to the surface and you’ll work harder and more consistently.

It’s all about making it fun. That’s why workouts like my Bodyweight 500 have become so popular that more than 5,100 readers of Men’s Health magazine used it to burn up to 41 pounds of belly fat in just 8 weeks.

You, too, could see results like that.

[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training for Fat Loss program is the ultimate in fat burning. Not only are the exercises high-energy and high-intensity - which means they blast fat away - they are also quick and fun to do. Better yet, you can build a lean, toned body with just three 45-minute workouts a week. Learn the details here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, sign up for ETR's free natural health newsletter.]

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It’s Good to Know: Why You Go Gray

A new study from Tokyo Medical and Dental University has found that stress on the cells in your hair follicles is what causes your hair to turn gray. And no, it’s not the stress of overdue bills or being overworked. Try chemicals, ultraviolet light, and radiation. These environmental stressors affect all the cells in your body - but especially those in your hair follicles.

(Source: National Geographic)

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Don’t Get Mad at Wall Streeters… Get Rich Off Them

Are you a disillusioned stock market investor?

Or maybe even just a “regular” Joe or Jane alarmed by the economic woes reported daily on every TV channel, radio station, the Internet, newspapers, and magazines?

If so I’d like to invite you to join my “anti-Wall Street” club.

We don’t sit around bad-mouthing fat cats or lamenting our lost dollars.

In the Liberty Street League, we’re getting even by making money hand over fist “off Wall Street.”

Find out if you qualify to join the League today.

Word to the Wise: Sempiternal

“Sempiternal” (sem-pih-TUR-nul) - from the Latin for “always” + “eternal” - is another way of saying “everlasting.”

Example (as used by Thomas L. Jeffers in Commentary): “… Syon’s orchards are the world as our imagination would like it to be - not wilderness, since orchards are after all planted and cultivated by farmers, but a sempiternal and ideal region of the mind.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

• WEALTHY: The huge boomer market (Marc Charles) 
• HEALTHY: What’s better, vegetarian or carnivore?
  (Shane Ellison)
• WISE: Sartre on being alone

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• What’s behind Michael Jackson’s death? (Robert Ringer)
• Why you should avoid “25 cent” words (John Forde)
• It’s Fun to Know… about sound effects
• Add “aphorism” to your vocabulary

Your $1,000 per Hour Part-Time Job

You can make money off the booming foreclosure market… without dealing with mortgages, renovations, trying to sell in this market, or any of the other hassles of “fix and flip.”

There’s a system that bypasses all that “hard stuff” and allows you to pull in profits nearly on “autopilot.” Its creator, who works just one hour a day from home, has already quietly made $3.2 million.

You can join him and make your own fortune today.

A Boomer Industry That Could
Make You Rich

By Marc Charles

Aging baby boomers are driving a multibillion-dollar market, according to a recent study by MarketResearch.com. And there’s a big opportunity for you to tap into the trend. I’m talking about the “cosmeceutical” industry. (”Cosemeceutical” is a combination of two words: cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.) Examples of cosmeceuticals include skin- and hair-care products, anti-aging creams, and moisturizers - all of which claim to have “drug-like” benefits without the harmful side effects.

Boomers aren’t the only ones buying and using cosmeceuticals. Young and old alike are potential customers.

The quickest and easiest way to get in on this business opportunity is to become an Internet affiliate for an established company. Three companies I like that offer affiliate programs in this area are:

• Perricone MD
• Mercola.com
• Celazome Skin Care (Commission Junction manages their affiliate program.)

As an affiliate, you associate yourself with a company that has a proven brand name and product line - a big plus, because that’s what people will be searching for on the Internet. And you won’t have to handle any orders, customer service, support, or billing. That sort of thing is taken care of by the company you become an affiliate for.

Instead, you focus your energy on marketing their products.

That could mean keyword advertising on Google, MSN, Yahoo!, Bing, or hundreds of other sites, directories, or search engines. It could also include opt-in e-mail marketing, social media marketing, targeted blogs, and whatever other channel you find to be effective. The links you provide in your advertising will be unique to your affiliate account, ensuring you will get a commission every time a prospect you send to the company’s website buys.

[Ed. Note: Marc Charles is a member of the Liberty Street League, a group of investors and entrepreneurs specializing in "off Wall Street" investments and business opportunities. Find out how the League can boost your wealth today.]

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“If you are lonely while you’re alone, you are in bad company.”

- Jean-Paul Sartre

Overdosing on Loneliness

By Robert Ringer

Michael Jackson’s close friend Uri Geller, talking to Fox News by phone after Jackson’s death, said that one time when Jackson was sitting on a couch in Geller’s living room, he asked the “King of Pop” if he was a lonely man. According to Geller, Jackson paused, then slowly looked up and said, “Uri Geller, I’m a very lonely man.”

After decades of observation, I have concluded that Jackson’s sad response could have come from any one of millions of people. A lonely person’s giveaway is his eyes. No matter what happy disguises he may wear, his eyes betray him.

This brings back memories of John Belushi, Freddy Prinze, Andy Gibb, Marilyn Monroe, and, more recently, Anna Nicole Smith. We only know what we’ve read and heard about these tragic figures who were so revered by those afflicted with Tinseltown Derangement Syndrome, but what we’ve read and heard is pretty grim.

The truth about these false idols should give Americans hope as they watch the economy push them from false prosperity into poverty. While vacation cruises, golf outings, and fine dining continue to disappear from our lives at an accelerating pace, it’s helpful to remember that material wealth has failed to buy happiness for many of the rich and famous.

And what they all seemed to have in common was loneliness. Who but the most narcissistic among us would not trade fame and wealth for love? The tabloid crowd provides a lot of laughs for folks at the checkout counters, but their marriage-divorce… marriage-divorce… marriage-divorce cycles are not at all humorous.

When I think of Angelina, Britney, Lindsay, and Madonna, I think of loneliness. All of them appear to be Michael Jacksons waiting to happen.

I recall a brief encounter I had with Sammy Davis Jr. in the early 1980s when we were sitting next to each other on the dais at a charity event in Los Angeles. He was a warm and gracious man with many similarities to Michael Jackson - African-American, slight of build, multi-talented, and a life of nonstop troubles. In a birthday tribute to Sammy, Jackson sang the heart-wrenching song “You Were There.”

Years earlier, I had read Sammy’s memoir, Why Me? It just as easily could have been Michael Jackson’s memoir. In the book, Sammy was forthright about his addiction to a life of drugs, booze, chain smoking, kinky sex, and lavish spending.

One story, in particular, that I recall from Why Me? is about a multi-girl orgy Sammy had arranged to have set up in his hotel suite after a performance in Las Vegas. When he entered the bedroom, he found the girls already “engaged” with one another. He said it made him sick to his stomach, and he walked out of the room feeling like the loneliest man in the world.

But when it comes to loneliness, Elvis was The King. We’ve all heard his ex-friends talk about how, after every show, he would have parties in his hotel suite that lasted till dawn. The word from those closest to him was that he couldn’t stand the thought of being alone.

It’s no wonder that so many songs have been written about loneliness. People can relate. It’s a common problem. More often than not, I suspect the songwriters and performers themselves feel very lonely.

Which brings me to Neil Sedaka. I don’t know how much loneliness he may have experienced in his life, but he sure grabbed us with his classic song Solitaire:

“And solitaire’s the only game in town,
And every road that takes him, takes him down.
While life goes on around him everywhere,
He’s playing solitaire.

Heavy words. Great songwriters write to a broad audience - and the audience for a broken heart and loneliness is very broad indeed. In the final analysis, perhaps all of us simply expect too much from life, thus setting ourselves up for disappointment when it fails to deliver the endless happiness we envisioned when we were young.

Nineteenth century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer summed up this discouraging reality when he wrote:

“There is only one inborn error, and that is the notion that we exist in order to be happy. … So long as we persist in this inborn error… the world seems to us full of contradictions. For at every step, in great things and small, we are bound to experience that the world and life are certainly not arranged for the purpose of maintaining a happy existence… hence the countenances of almost all elderly persons wear the expression of what is called disappointment.”

(From The Consolations of Philosophy, Alain de Botton)

Granted, Schopenhauer was not the kind of fellow you would have wanted to invite over for an evening of small talk and laughs, but he may very well have zeroed in on an underlying cause of the many early deaths that followed a meteoric rise to fame and fortune.

Weighing in on the Michael Jackson tragedy, renowned psychiatrist and bestselling author Dr. Keith Ablow spoke of “people who are not at one with themselves,” mentioning their inability to feel comfortable with their age, gender, race, and sexuality, among other factors that contribute to their feelings of isolation. In other words, their inability to accept themselves as they are.

I think most of us would be far better off if we focused on getting to know ourselves better rather than placing so much emphasis on having an active social life. After all, if you can’t enjoy your own company, why should you expect others to enjoy it?

Fittingly, I shall defer to Thoreau for the final word on this subject: “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.”

[Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos. And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to his one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World.]

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Should Making Money Online Be This Easy?

I hear stories of budding Internet entrepreneurs jumping through hoops to make a buck. And sure, many times building a solid, long term business does take real effort. But you can also quietly pocket some decent dough online for much less work.

In this case, you can copy the exact steps one man used to make $187,296 in one day. No, that’s not a misprint.

What’s stopping you from doing the same? The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it works exactly as it says.

Take a look and see just how easy making money online
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Short Words, More Word Power

By John Forde

Brevity, they say, is the soul of wit. And if that’s true, I admit… sometimes, I can be a little soulless. 

See, I was taught to love what the nuns used to call “25 cent words.”

These are the words, they told us, that make you sound smart. That win you respect, jobs, and the girl of your dreams. People who use these words, they said, can walk through walls.

Boy, did they get that wrong.

When I slipped into the world of the written word as a professional, I discovered that a bigger, Latinate vocabulary doesn’t improve the accessibility of your cogitations at all. Rather, it obfuscates it. (Translation: Big words can actually make you sound dumber… simply because you’re tripping over yourself to get your message across.)

Which is why I was thankful when longtime copywriting buddy David Deutsch sent me a copy of “Short Words Are Words of Might” by Gelett Burgess. It’s a 16-page essay that originally appeared in Your Life magazine in 1938.

Here’s a juicy quote that reveals the core idea:

“Short words, you see, come from down deep in us - from our hearts or guts - not from the brain. For they deal for the most part with things that move and sway us, that make us act. … That, I think, is why short words tend to make our thoughts more live and true.”

Or to say it even more briefly, short words have power. That’s true in all kinds of writing, including sales copy. “Never put a policeman in an automobile,” said someone much smarter than yours truly, “when a cop in a car will do.”

[Ed. Note: To get more of copywriting expert John Forde's wisdom and insights into marketing (and much more), sign up for his free e-letter, Copywriter's Roundtable, at www.copywritersroundtable.com. Or send an e-mail to signup@jackforde.com and get a free report about 15 deadly copy mistakes and how to avoid them.

Effective copy is just one element of a successful online business. For a soup-to-nuts guide to starting your own Internet business, check out the Internet Money Club: Independent Learner Edition.
Find out more here.]

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The Big Fat Vegetarianism Lie

By Shane “The People’s Chemist” Ellison

I’m pretty selective about what I eat. Nothing is more important to maintain good health and a slim physique than proper diet. Most of us agree on that. The argument usually arises when we attempt to define “proper diet.” Some insist on a vegetarian diet, while others proclaim meat to be a necessary staple. Which is it? And how can we know?

I question everything (even my wife’s cooking after seven years of perfect cuisine). And instead of accepting anyone’s opinion about matters related to my health - no matter how famous they are or how many books they’ve sold - I look to biochemistry for my answers.

One of the main factors to consider with your diet is the relative amount of glycation that occurs when you eat various foods. Glycation - a biochemical change that’s associated with aging - is a result of excess glucose (sugar) in the blood. Aside from causing unsightly wrinkles and age spots, it can destroy muscles, joints, and the cardiovascular system. A simple blood test is used to measure it.

In a paper titled “Would carnosine or a carnivorous diet help suppress aging and associated pathologies?”- published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences - scientists found that vegetarians have more glycation than meat eaters. The reason? Vegetarian diets lack some important anti-glycation compounds. These include carnosine, a full spectrum of B vitamins, and acetyl-L-carnitine.

Vegetables, of course, provide tons of other nutritive compounds, notably those with anti-cancer properties. Therefore, I recommend eating both veggies (organic) and meat (grass-fed), locally produced whenever possible. Maintaining a good balance of vegetables and meat will help you slow the aging process… and stay lean.

[Ed. Note: Shane Ellison's entire career has been dedicated to the study of molecules - how they give life and how they take from it. He was a two-time recipient of the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Grant for his research in biochemistry and physiology. He is a bestselling author, holds a master's degree in organic chemistry, and has first-hand experience in drug design. Take advantage of his knowledge and insights to look and feel your best in 90 days.]

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It’s Fun to Know: Sound Effects

Movie magic goes beyond visual special effects. Foley artists specialize in recreating sounds from the mundane (horses galloping) to the spectacular (explosions) for a movie’s soundtrack. Here are some of the methods they use:

• Birds in flight - flapping leather gloves
• Actors walking in crunching snow - squeezing a leather pouch filled with cornstarch
• A large crowd murmuring - a recording of several people saying “walla, walla, walla”
• Punches –thumping a watermelon

(Source: Discover Magazine)

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What if You KNEW You Couldn’t Fail?

What if you knew you couldn’t fail at making money? I mean it…

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Word to the Wise: Aphorism

An “aphorism” (AF-uh-riz-um) - from the Greek for “to define” - is a terse saying embodying a general truth or astute observation.

Example (as used by Ross Douthat in a New York Times review of Digital Barbarism: A Writer’s Manifesto by Mark Helprin): “[The book] is a vindication of the aphorism about the perils of wrestling with a pig. (You get dirty; the pig likes it.)”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker... build your self-confidence and intellect... increase your attractiveness to others... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]