Smart Wealth Solutions

Review of Extreme Niche Empires

2011-05-04T16:41:00.003-05:00

Let me ask you a question. Are you fed up with all the lies and garbage put out by a lot of so-called “GURUS” recently? I know I am.

It is getting crazy out there, paid actors (that are really not that good), fake screenshots of trillion dollar incomes, outrageous claims that are just so far out there they are in ORBIT!

Then we have the “Push Button Millionaire” overhype with magic software that will have $1000s flying out of your computer every time you press that button! Really? Are you serious?

Well, even though I have become the ultimate skeptic as I am sure you are now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Someone has finally stepped up and is setting the record straight… that person is Sean Donahoe.

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you should have heard of Sean Donahoe. He was the guy behind the bestselling Video Marketing Goldmine course earlier this year. He is known for “Telling it like it is!”. I really love his no-BS message and REAL solutions for marketing and what actually works.

There are several things you need to know about Sean. First, his products are top-notch and very high-quality and he consistently over delivers. Second, his stuff just works!

No pie-in-the-sky claims, he will tell you straight “Getting wealthy online is possible but it takes work”. Now, that being said, he does show you how to do things the right way to avoid any pitfalls and hassles to really streamline things dramatically.

That is why I am really excited and writing this today. Sean is doing something AMAZING on April 28th. He is finally releasing his Extreme Niche Empires course. This course has been under wraps for almost a year as he honed, optimized and streamlined one of the most powerful money making strategies I have ever seen (and we have seen 100s of these over the years)

What Sean has done is nothing short of INCREDIBLE. He is going to share how he created an EMPIRE of high-authority autopilot income sites targeting niches that scare almost everyone else off… and he is making a FORTUNE doing it.

Now it’s your turn. This incredible course outline exactly how to do this yourself and do it the EASY WAY. This is not some crazy site building software that will get Google slapped (like many of them did after the recent Google Panda update). No, Sean is very unique, he shows you how to create laser-targeted, high authority sites that the search engines LOVE and rank like crazy.

He has packed this course with a ton of his INSIDER SECRETS that I have never seen anywhere else. This stuff is so powerful that it would blow your mind and has made me even rethink how I do things.

So, go check it out. If you are reading this before April 28th he has some very powerful videos that he is releasing too that will AMAZE you and give you a great idea about what is going on and even share some powerful tactics that you can start using right now.

I encourage you to go watch these videos and learn from one of the true masters of Internet Marketing and someone you should listen to!

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Traffic Travis -> http://jozsef.traffict.hop.clickbank.net

Holy smokes… you gotta watch this video…

2011-05-04T16:35:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I sent you an email with a link to a
(no-cost) video on generating revenue very quickly
online, even if you've never done it before.

It did not cost you a thing either. It is a must-see
video by a Texas man who's figured a few things
out about Internet Marketing few understand...
and it's still up right now (not for long though).

It's still up right here:

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ga1KYTwD
AND NOW...

his business partner is piling on even more!

This next video is by a guy who has done millions
online in several niche markets and has built
multiple lists in those niches EACH ONE WITH
OVER 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS ON EACH LIST!

Go Here to get this tremendous video on the house:

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ga1KYTwD
These videos and complimentary content just
keep getting better. I'm glued to what these
guys are teaching.

You really need to stop what you are
doing and take a look at these powerful training
videos.

They are loaded with solid content.

If you would like to get your hands on extremely
valuable content, at absolutely zero cost, then go
here at once before they remove the videos.

You only have a short time to watch these.

Seriously.

Check it out here:

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ga1KYTwDEnjoy!

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com
Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza
Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

BREAKTHROUGH. 29 Days To Success...

2011-04-22T18:15:00.000-05:00

This is the next BIG THING…

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ko7ypmqN

You need to decide which side you want to be on...

The WINNERS or the LOSERS…

Go here NOW

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ko7ypmqN

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

Facebook Update: Rescue to Facebook iFrame Change Is Here!

2011-04-22T18:11:00.001-05:00

"Star" this email, because I know you are going
to need to find this email again!

Hey, I talked to you yesterday about FBMaxed
coming to the rescue of Facebook's trashing of
FBML and implementation of the new iFrame.

You will no longer be able to use FBML to build
your pages, you have to rely on the more powerful
but less documented iFrame Pages.

Good new is, FBMaxed is right here helping you!

Watch FBMaxed In Action:

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=qt8JXCXD

Don't bother learning about how to use iFrames,
just implement the 3 templates FBMaxed has in the
package for you. You will be up and running in no time.

As simple as that, yes more powerful than the old
Facebook FBML!

>> Learn about the new Facebook iFrame

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=qt8JXCXD

See you on Facebook!

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

Ex-New Mexico governor Gary Johnson declares for president. Who dat, as GOP field grows some more.

2011-04-22T17:42:00.001-05:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

I'm going to tell you right up front: I like Gary Johnson. He's an ultra-personable, plain-talking, gets-things-done kind of guy. But he's got a fever -- Potomac fever -- that's going to upend his life for the next year and more until the next Republican National Convention in 2012.

You see, Johnson wants to be president of these United States... and so he's taken his near zero name recognition to Concord, New Hampshire where Thursday, April 21, 2011 he declared his candidacy. God help him...

Gary Johnson's my kind of guy.

Born January 1, 1953 in Minot, North Dakota (a good place to get out of), he ultimately moved to New Mexico and graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1975. We like that school in our family; my brother went there, too. Johnson and his family now live in Taos, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

In 1976 he had one of those "aha" moments that changes lives. Having graduated he was looking around for something he could do that would enable him to use his undoubted entrepreneurial skills. He decided to create a little business that would do all the fix-ups and home repairs all home owners need but which most of us are all-thumbs at doing. Gary had all the right stuff for business success. He was personable, "can-do" oriented, the man who told you what he would do... and then did it! That unstoppable American formula for success... where a person with a good idea and the determination to succeed helps others and earns big.

His first major break with his new firm -- Big J Enterprises -- was receiving a large contract from Intel's expansion in Rio Rancho which increased Big J's revenues to $38 million. Johnson was now a wealthy man, confronting one of the bedrock problems that all successful people must solve: how to find, train, motivate and keep good employees and do everything else you have to do to succeed. Always practical, Johnson went back to school, enrolling in a time management course. This helped him grow Big J into a big-time business with over 1000 employees. At that point, with all the money he and his family needed for life...he sold the business, so he could get started helping fix-up America, which had a host of home problems.... without the skills to solve them. Big J to the rescue...

"People Before Politics".

Johnson entered New Mexico politics for the first time in 1994. He approached the state Republican Party with the (to them) absurd idea he should run for governor, wresting the state's government from the entrenched Democratic establishment. They told him to take a hike and run for the state legislature, the most junior of positions.

But Johnson had what you need for success: an idea he believed in, the money to support his belief.... and a slogan that was more than mere words: "People before Politics". It was just what New Mexico wanted to hear. Johnson became the giant-killer of New Mexico, defeating former Republican governor David Cargill in the Republican primary and incumbent Democratic governor Bruce King in the general election. New Mexico had itself a straight-talking man who said what he meant and meant what he said. It was a revelation to the home folks of Nuevo Mexico.

Johnson, to everybody's surprise but his own, set about reshaping and reinventing New Mexico's government. He evaluated what the state was doing by asking two sensible, "get to the bottom of it" questions: what are we spending our money on... and what are we getting in return?

Legislators from both parties and every bureaucrat in New Mexico did what they are good at doing, protecting themselves and their interests, sabotaging everything they could. They were, after all, the haves who took too much for the little they gave. Johnson was their worst nightmare. Mr. "Can Do" became Mr. "You Won't". He used his gubernatorial veto over and over again, vetoing more bills and appropriations than all other 49 U.S. governors combined. Yup, he meant what he said... And the people of New Mexico responded by re-electing him in 1998 with 55 percent of the vote. It was an astonishing bouquet from the people he was always honest to and fair; they realized he was about as good a governor as they could get. Politicians of the pandering ilk take notice.

Johnson was retired because of a two-term limit. (Another indication of what a silly idea that is. Let the people decide when to retire their officials.) This gifted, personable guy, with a resume as long as your arm (for instance he left New Mexico with a huge surplus) was at loose ends... for a couple of minutes.

Johnson's "Our America Initiative", Founded 2009.

Forced out of the governor's chair, he responded by creating in 2009 the "Our America Initiative" , a nonprofit political advocacy committee that promotes common-sense business approaches to governing. Gary Johnson meant to do for the people of suffering, fed-up America what he had already done for the long-suffering people of New Mexico...

... which is why he found himself in chill and breezy Concord, New Hampshire on this April day.

He brought with him what has always distinguished the man: practical common- sense gleaned from proven business and high-level governing experience. More than that, he offers the kind of "let's roll up our sleeves and solve this problem together" approach that is what people crave. Our problems, we know, are not insoluble so long as we work together. A man like Gary Johnson believes he's the guy best able to work with Americans this way and so, one problem tackled after another, create the nation we want.

Frankly, this approach ought to play well in New Hampshire. The folks in the Granite State are pragmatic, "let's get it done together" folks. As Gary Johnson goes door to door doing the retail politics winning the primary requires, he'll find, I think, folks skeptical of course (they're that way up north) but friendly, curious, and increasingly receptive. In short, this bright-eyed New Mexico boy, with his unfeigned interest in the people of New Hampshire and America could be the dark horse the GOP has been looking and hoping for in a large field which has so far failed to impress and inspire.

These New Hampshire folks take very seriously their task of scrutinizing each and every candidate, doing what every civic-minded American would do given the opportunity: to look carefully, ask thoughtfully, and come to their judgements independently. That is what they do and what their famous primary is for.

I'll be surprised if he does not do well enough to take his message to other states. So, he decided to launch his campaign by achieving his first New Hampshire goal. That's why he left Concord following his announcement and went to climb Tuckerman Ravine, a large glacial bowl on 6,288-foot Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the Northeast.

Johnson's climbed Mount Everest; Tuckerman Ravine was a "piece of cake". He's hoping this is a good omen for the primary. It could happen. The people of New Hampshire, after all, like astonishing the rest of us. We shall just have to wait and see...

About the Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. , providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses.
Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Commission Maniac -> http://jozsef.xclone.hop.clickbank.net

Facebook Update: Rescue to Facebook iFrame Change Is Here!

2011-04-06T15:21:00.001-05:00

"Star" this email, because I know you are going
to need to find this email again!

Hey, I talked to you yesterday about FBMaxed
coming to the rescue of Facebook's trashing of
FBML and implementation of the new iFrame.

You will no longer be able to use FBML to build
your pages, you have to rely on the more powerful
but less documented iFrame Pages.

Good new is, FBMaxed is right here helping you!

Watch FBMaxed In Action:

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=qt8JXCXD
Don't bother learning about how to use iFrames,
just implement the 3 templates FBMaxed has in the
package for you. You will be up and running in no time.

As simple as that, yes more powerful than the old
Facebook FBML!

>> Learn about the new Facebook iFrame

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=qt8JXCXD
See you on Facebook!

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza
Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

Eating with history. The story of the newest acquisition to my collection, quondam property of the dukes of Devonshire.

2011-04-06T15:16:00.001-05:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

This is a story of unimaginable wealth, the highest social position in the land. It is a story of palaces and prime ministers and master craftsmen. It is the story of another Kennedy tragedy you don't know about and of monumental taxes and forced sales. It is the story of murder.

And it is the story of me, who now has en route from New York, two massive silver dishes, captivating, their "wow factor" apparent to even the most obtuse and least perceptive. Even such people can feel that these are something very special...and so they are.

First, the man who commissioned them.

In 1811, a young man named William George Spencer Cavendish succeeded to the title and fortune of the Dukes of Devonshire. Born in 1790, he thus became at a stroke the richest peer in England. He was already a master in the art of burning through money quickly. His father's man of business, Mr. Heaton, warned the 5th duke, his father, thus:

"My Lord Duke, I am sorry to inform your Grace that your son appears disposed to spend a great deal of money."

The 5th duke's laconic reply was "So much the better, Mr. Heaton, he will have a great deal to spend." We could all wish for a father so sensible and so rich.

Now master of the largest fortune in England, the young man... spent it. On everything you could think of... and then on things, very expensive, eccentric things, which only the very, very rich can even imagine. One of those things was the grandest fountain in Europe, which shoots its spray up to 300 feet. It was built for the intended visit of Tsar Nicholas I to Chatsworth, the duke's country place. But the Tsar didn't come after all and never saw it. It didn't matter... the money kept rolling in.... and out.

In the mid 1820s, this prince of purchasers got around to silver. And like everything this seasoned connoisseur touched, it had to be not merely grand but opulent, excessive, in your face, and of course "unique, Your Grace, quite unique." So he went to the master silversmith Robert Garrard.

When Robert Garrard took over the firm in 1802 it already had a long history with sovereigns and princes. It had started in 1722 with George Wickes. Frederick, Prince of Wales, father of King George III was a major patron. Where princes buy, trendy lesser folk will buy, too. And so it proved with the family Garrard. They knew the secret of entrancing fickle potentates. Such grandees wanted things unique, finely crafted, and excessive. Garrard was an expert in satisfying even the most difficult... and so he and his master craftsmen set to work on a silver service that was, quite simply, the finest in Europe, which meant the finest in the world. Both the 6th duke and Robert Garrard knew what they were about... and of course cost was never, ever a factor.

The duke wanted one thing and one thing only: perfection...

... and he got it!

In due course, pieces from this lavish service began to arrive at Chatsworth, the focus of the Cavendish empire. Each piece was hallmarked. Each piece featured the splendid ducal coat of arms... and all the serving dishes featured the ducal coronet with the strawberry leaves meant for dukes and dukes only. The most discriminating aristocrat in Europe was satisfied... or as satisfied as a restless man with a connoisseur's eye and the means to gratify could ever be.

And so the story might have ended here, with a splendid silver service doing its bit to create an ambiance fit for a duke and his suitably impressed guests. But the story does not end here because humans do end. We die... and our possessions... migrate to others, all of whom have stories, too. Fast forward, then, to Edward Cavendish, 10th Duke of Devonshire.

Born in 1895, succeeded to the dukedom -- and of course the still complete silver service designed by Robert Garrard in 1825 -- in 1938.

Still rich, still powerful, still owning and living with an overabundance of things rich, famous, astonishing, Cavendish and every other aristocrat now had a very potent enemy: taxes, especially death duties. These could be circumvented but only by establishing trusts. These could pass properties largely intact to eager heirs... but only if the strict requirements were met. But things went wrong, disastrously wrong. The Cavendishes and their world were vulnerable.

First the heir, Lord Hartington along with his wife "Kick"" Kennedy, JFK's favorite sister, was killed in a plane crash (1944). Both families, a la "Romeo and Juliet", had bitterly opposed the marriage; like "Romeo and Juliet" the lovers married anyway... and died together tragically.

Then the duke died, amidst a background of murder and scandal. The duke's sister, Lady Dorothy, wife of Harold Macmillan (my distant cousin) and future British Prime Minister (1957-1963) was having a notorious affair with another Tory politician Robert Boothby, enfant terrible and practised bi-sexual seducer.

Conspiracy theories abound about the 10th duke's death. Why was the death certificate fudged; why had the coroner not been contacted as by law he should have been? What had the freemasons to do with the matter... and, most of all, was he murdered... or die naturally?

Whatever the facts (and they are suggestive and controversial to this day), the duke was dead (1950), a few months before his asset-saving trust became operational. Mourning, devastated, the House of Cavendish now needed mountains of cash. The result was Christie's auction of "Highly Important Old English and French Silver from the Chatsworth Collection" (June 5, 1958) A large part (but not all) of the 6thh duke's magnificent silver service went on the block, including two over-the-top meat dishes, 5,038 grams of silver, hallmarked by Robert Garrad, with the resplendent ducal coat of arms, the finial with ducal coronet and strawberry leaves.

These are now wending their way to me, and the next part of their destiny, the next part of the story, but only the next. For these glorious items have a life long beyond mine. The saddest thing of all is I will not be here to know it.

But for now, for now, they are mine all mine. I shall enjoy them immensely and tell all those who dine from them the story I have just shared with you, for now I am part of their story, gladly so, forever more.

About the Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also an avid art collector and author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Six Figure RENEGADE -> http://jozsef.renegadex.hop.clickbank.net

Highly desirable (White) House for sale. Price tag: one billion, or more. Obama says, 'I'll take it!'

2011-04-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

To absolutely no one's surprise President Obama officially kicked off his re-election bid April 4, 2011. The real story is not that he's running (since the day he was elected in the first place, he's been running for the second term whose function is to validate what he's done and his place in history).

No, the story is on that most American of subjects: money, specifically the money it's going to take him to ensure his re-election.

Yup, it's all about the money.

In 2008, Obama set the spending record, $760 million for the primary and general elections. Obama, to the astonishment of many, was unstoppable in the fund raising department. Democrats were conflicted on the matter.

For one thing, they wanted to win... and here was a man dedicated to raising the money to make them competitive and give them victory on a sterling silver platter.

But that unnerved many Democrats at the same time, for such people have a knee jerk tendency to regulate campaign funds and limit them; Obama was always about victory, not limits. And victory, sweet victory, historic victory they got. Such victory papers over a lot of cracks.

The president opens his campaign.

Because this is 2011 and the world is wired President Obama launched his re-election campaign by e-mail. He said his campaign will be about "coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight." The man of soaring rhetoric commenced his campaign with business sobriety, without a memorable word. What did that mean?

It meant, above all else, that Obama realizes he'll be the issue; that what people want is not rhetoric, not to run on hope. Been there, done that. What the people want now is demonstrated results and sensible, realistic talk about the next four years of the U.S.S. United States of America.

Where does this captain want to take us.... and how does he intend to get us there? High blown rhetoric which was the centerpiece of the 2008 campaign will be used, of course, but carefully, sparingly. The country, after all, is still seething with rages... and Obama needs to be seen as a man of deeds, not words, however thrilling.

His re-election message signifies his understanding that the "first black president" card is not going to cut it. The high flying speeches about opening doors, too, are old hat, beside the point.

What America wants is a strong chief executive (white, brown or black) whose sole function is to tackle our grab-bag of problems and use the power of the presidency, which includes marshalling the people, to deliver results, results, results. Nothing less will satisfy the nation... and the president surely knows that even results, great results, will fail to satisfy many. That is the nature of our times.

Obama knows better than anyone that keeping the White House as his house is going to take a breathtaking amount of money. And Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission came at just the right time for him to raise it, in the historic amounts needed to make his case.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

On January 21, 2010 the United States Supreme Court made a decision of historic proportions. By the thinnest of margins, 5-4, the Court struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act that prohibited all corporations, both for- profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting "electioneering communications". These were defined in McCain-Feingold as a broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirty days of a primary. The decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) and partially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).

The Honorable the Justices of the Supreme Court had just made history, striking a hammer blow (albeit barely) on behalf of the First Amendment, which means, so the majority said, exactly what it says:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Liberal outrage.

Most every liberal in the land was enraged by this decision. Liberals, you see, specialize in telling folks like you and me, just what we can do, just when we can do it, just how we can do it. In this case, that means doing everything they can to limit your right to uninhibited election communications, including spending your money freely to influence these elections.

Freedom means being able to squander your money on elections if you want to.

Personally, I have never understood the thrill of throwing money away on presidential candidates. I'm of the firm opinion that spending the hundred or two I might donate to candidates, say, on dinner with winsome partner would be better spent. However, I am equally clear that people, by the Bill of Rights, should have the right to waste their money, be they private citizen, union, or corporation on the candidates they fancy.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission reaffirmed that right, and strongly so.

President Obama, chief beneficiary, the strongest attacker.

The president is a past master in the art of having one's cake while eating it, too. This decision he said "gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- while undermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support their preferred candidates." Obama later elaborated in his weekly radio address saying, "this ruling strikes at our democracy itself," and "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest."

Having stated, for the record, the standard liberal line... Obama set out to make the Court's ruling work for -- him.

Every time he lamented the realities of politics and fund raising and predicted the end of democracy... he was busily raising money, unparalleled amounts of money from... private citizens, corporations, and unions. If a billion will do the trick, fine; if not, he'll up the ante. For you see, he is determined to prove, through his re-election that America made no mistake in electing him in the first place.

Millions of American who voted for Obama have come to the conclusion they bought a pig in a poke; they've having second thoughts. But the president knows what money can buy. He'll raise whatever he needs so they'll buy -- him, secretly thanking Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission for the favor, while criticizing it every step of the way. The White House is worth it.

About the Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Six Figure RENEGADE -> http://jozsef.renegadex.hop.clickbank.net

[VIDEO]: Free Traffic success secret REVEALED

2011-03-30T16:49:00.001-05:00

I'm about to reveal to you EXACTLY where the big money and
HOARDS of FREE Traffic is at right now (hint: you need to
TAP into this ASAP...)

OK, strap yourself in...are you sitting comfortably?

I need to start this with an important question:

"How many times have you heard that 'social marketing is
all the rage' recently?"

Probably too many times, right?

How many products have you bought which claim to know it
all, and show you how to make money with social media?

Probably too many, right?

Well, we've all been there. In fact, I have personally
followed many social marketing courses to the letter, and
ended up with 3 months of wasted time and money to show for
it.

So where are they all going wrong? Is it our fault?

ARE WE DUMB?

No, that's not the problem. The real problem is... Sadly, most
of these products and courses don't really deliver... at all.

... but that's not all, and there's another reason why it
won't work for you.

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ng7s14QW
You see, it's clear to see that most of these courses are
written by ghost-writers and the methods have never been
tested in the real world.

They overload you with all these different places to put
your links, all these different networks to create your
profiles on, and all these lame techniques that basically
tell you to make friends with people, and nothing else.

That's why, when underground marketers Adeel and Bobby,
revealed their social marketing system to a small group of
close marketers, most of us simply rolled our eyes.

Like you, we have heard it all before.

That is, **UNTIL** Adeel and Bobby showed us a few facts...

========================================================
1. This system only focuses on the mother of all social
networks... Facebook (they have *OVER* 500 Million users!

2. This system uses tactics never before seen in any forum,
seminar, product.

3. This system doesn't rely on experience, special friends,
upfront costs or having a list

4. It actually works, and they have the videos and
screenshots to prove it

***Watch 100% PROOF that shows $144,998.27 in PayPal, LIVE!***

========================================================

Want to SEE the answer?

==> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=ng7s14QW
Stay tuned, things are about to get pretty sick around
here...

Enjoy,

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com
Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza
Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

Does your dead dog smell? Reflections on marketing myths and realities from one who knows.

2011-03-30T16:46:00.001-05:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

In the days when I taught university level marketing, I set my eager-beaver students a task.

Write a classified or space ad... and report on how it draws and what you did to handle any responses you received. In short, this project, like my teaching in general, was never merely theoretical, detached from reality. It was real! Vital! Truthful... and often, as a result, jolting. In other words, your class project either made money... or it didn't. Much more than your grade depended on it.

The scene of the crime...

All my students were adult practitioners, that is people who were already employed in professional positions or worked in home-based businesses or on the Internet. These were people who had a strong and pressing interest in mastering marketing. These students came because they needed to learn the ins and outs of marketing... or else. To such people one had an obligation, a sacred responsibility, to speak honestly, speak candidly, and address their real world concerns.

And I did.

On one occasion, a bright professional woman (I had lots of them in my classes) had the task of presenting her classified ad to the class... explaining why she wrote the ad she wrote, where she ran it, what the results were, how she followed up the respondents, and (and it was the all-important and) how much money this ad generated.

In other words, it was all real-life stuff.

She wrote her ad, as instructed, on the chalk board, the better for us to see the words which would shortly be shown as either golden, or dross. Then I became the Joe Friday ("facts, ma'am, just the facts") of the marketing drag-net.

"When did you start running this ad?" (Specific date required.)

"Where do you run this ad?" (Specific publication or venue required.)

"How many responses did you get?" (Specific number required.)

And then the kicker...

"How much money did you make... after deducting all actual costs of running the ad and responding to respondents?" (Exact dollar figures required.)

The lady squirms...

Now the moment of high truth and full disclosure had arrived. What had started as merely a class project had become for the person reporting a matter of life and death. The ad copy, you see, would show whether she had mastered the marketing essentials that either produced bucks... and all that those bucks could buy... or not.

Everything was riding on what she reported. And she knew it...

Bad, bad, tormentingly bad.

I an inveterate reader of body language, and this student's was typical of those who wish they were in any other place on earth rather than here, the cynosure of every eye in this most unrelenting of classes. Of course I knew she was squirming, mulling over how to disclose and deliver facts which (from that all important body language) were sure to be uncongenial. So... along with every member of the class.... I waited to see what the lady would say and do.

And we waited....

Then, at last, she admitted the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth... and it wasn't pretty. She had run her classified ad six times... had not had a single response... and, of course, and worst of all, hadn't made a single penny.

Now, the lady, this aspiring marketer, stood before her classmates.... abashed, humiliated, at rock bottom, a total marketing failure.

Then I told her the first essential truth of marketing: does your dead dog smell? And does it, day by day, smell worse... until the nauseating stench overpowers everything else?

The ad copy you produce is like a dog. Its job is to go out, your servant, finding and bringing home what it captures; the quarry that sustains you and gives you comfort, even excess.

No dead dogs do this... neither do ads which fail to produce responses.

The student began to get the picture.

Her ad hadn't pulled and yet she continued to use it, paying good Yankee dollars to do so.. despite the fact she KNEW the dog was dead, stinking.

Why had she done this?

First, because she was sure, absolutely sure, Her Ad Was Brilliant, the stuff of legend... she was invested in the words... certain that given a chance they would produce the desirable results; aged to perfection, like a fine vintage.

But that is a huge mistake... and now she was willing, and the entire class with her, to find the essential nubbin of truth, that made everything she had done worthwhile.

1) Marketing copy doesn't improve with age. It either works at once, immediately, or it never works at all. Dead dogs never become quick and agile again... they just stink the more.

2) ALL marketing copy, at ALL times must be evaluated, starkly , by results and nothing but results.

3) You must never, ever re-run marketing copy without knowing its previous results.

4) The entire business of marketing is about writing copy, testing copy, evaluating the results produced by this copy, then tweaking the copy to improve it and your overall results.

Marketing is and always be an action sport... it is not for the slothful, lazy, or unassertive.

More tips

** Never, ever become invested in, beguiled by the marketing copy you create. It either works (producing responses and money), or it doesn't. Success isn't everything here... it's the ONLY thing.

** Never re-run ANY marketing copy until you are certain it works; that is, until you have money in hand.

** Trash your erroneous but deeply felt belief that you can find marketing copy which is so good, so responsive that you never have to change it, never have to do anything else with it than run it and reap perpetual rewards.

Such copy doesn't exist, never existed, and will never exist.

Marketing is the most active sport in the world. Those who win at this sport, and the rewards can be staggering, are, to a person, people who are bold, active, engaged... not sleepy-heads hoping against hope that they will find and eternally profit from a few magic words artfully strung together. Those words have never been written.

Thus, energize yourself for the marketing you must do today, for if you want the rewards of marketing you must master and remain focused on and dedicated to the unrelenting truths of marketing.

Otherwise you are hunting with a dead dog... a dog that will never produce results. It will simply stink to high heaven. And that will never do.

About the Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. He is happy to give all readers, 50,000 free guaranteed visitors for attending his live webcast today. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Commission Crusher -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=fa3QyFoQ

This software is THE Traffic Game Changer

2011-03-26T13:12:00.000-05:00

I just met this guy named Daniel Owens. Daniel is a Super
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I'll have more for you in a day or so...

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Webmaster
http://SmartWealthSolutions.com

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

Commission Crusher, Reviewed...

2011-03-26T13:07:00.000-05:00

Lately there’s been a lot of talk about this new program that’s been coming in my email inbox and being wildly talked about online right now.

But you see, I got a sneak peak into what Commission Crusher is all about – and wanted to give you my review on it.

So… what is Commission Crusher exactly?

Commission Crusher is based on a simple marketing concept that anybody can duplicate online… and never have to compete against one another. This method allows anyone to find profitable affiliate campaigns online and swipe them for their profits.

The real beauty behind Commission Crusher is the software engine that drives the product… titled “Ad Assault”. This amazing piece of software will allow you with a flick of a switch find tons of hot websites in any market… any niche… and tell you everything you need to know to get tons of traffic from these websites.

Best of all… you don’t have to deal with Google, Yahoo, MSN or any of that crap. This method is unlike anything I’ve ever seen before online.

... and here’s the best part – Steve walks through every step of the process on video. And he’s got a great support team in place to help you with any questions you have.
Can you get any better than that?
So simply put – Commission Crusher works. It’s a fantastic product. If you’ve been looking for a way to make constant money online with something that’s not going to disappear tomorrow, this is it.

Grab a copy before they sell out. I highly recommend you get your hands on this software now!

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Commission Crusher -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=fa3QyFoQ

On the vernal equinox and the advent of spring. All poets need apply.

2011-03-23T12:49:00.001-05:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

An event occurred just the other day which impacts each and every one of us on Spaceship Earth, but which hardly one of us knows anything about and mentions, if at all, quite casually. Yet so momentous is this occurrence, coming with clock like precision, that our very existences depend upon it; nothing could be less prosaic, nothing more significant.

It is the vernal equinox...

Hereabouts in old New England, the vernal equinox took place at 7:21 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, March 20, 2011. The spring we have all been awaiting, the spring that delivers the relief from the oppression of cold and damp and short dull days, the spring that blows soft winds, as so many unexpected kisses -- and flowers, too -- that spring, right on the dot, arrived...

but we were heavy laden and may have been distracted when it came as our new reality.

Good citizens of this galaxy, give an ear now to this great event, which next occurs September 22, 2011 at 10:49 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

There is nothing that concerns you more than these great celestial movements, the unheard but momentous, unearthly music of the spheres, awesome, terrible, the very stuff of grandeur, eternal, too.

Put aside mundane concerns and remember, for an instant, who you are, a one-way passenger on the greatest of galleons, and wither it goes, you go.

What is an equinox anyway?

An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator. The term equinox can also be used in a broader sense, meaning the date when such a passage happens.

The name "equinox" is derived from the Latin "aequus" (equal) and "nox" (night) because around the equinox, the night and day have approximately equal length. Each are, then, about 12 hours long (with the actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days before the vernal equinox.) The Sun crosses the celestial equator going northward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west.

But of all this, we need remember only one thing: the vernal equinox, and the unending adjustments we make to the matter of human time, are all about light and the Sun at the center of our universe. Sol Invictus.

While the celestial movements, now this way, now that, are liable to confuse; we all know the crucial significance of our Sun; even the youngest amongst us looks up, involuntarily to admire, rejoice, and be glad of it. Our Sun, of an immensity and heat unimaginable, is brought nearer to us, and happily so, with the vernal equinox.

We are, all of us, Sun worshippers... for without it there would be nothing here for us, or of us either.

The vernal equinox brings that Sun closer.

Tinkerings with time.

Because of its unexcelled desirability, we humans have long been beguiled with the notion of how to get more of the Sun we crave. All ancient peoples, particularly the Greeks and Persians, the sophisticates of antiquity, gave serious attention to the matter. Sadly, much of their findings are lost; what remains from the works of Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus (ca. 190- ca.120 BC) and Aristarchus of Samos (around 280 BC) is suggestive of their expertise and insights. But we cannot tell more.

However, we do know about Benjamin Franklin, jack of all trades, master of all.

Franklin, with his unstoppable curiosity, wanted what only God could deliver: more time. It is easy to see why he desired it so: he, long before Edna St. Vincent Millay, burnt the candle at both ends, and not in purely scientific endeavors, either. At the Court of the Bourbons of France there were any number of elegantes who found Franklin, American minister, worthy of closer study. There was never enough time to gratify them all...

And so Franklin advanced the suggestion that became daylight savings. It was a quintessentially American proposal -- bold, audacious, practical, based on science, not theology. Sadly, it is still not clear that it actually works... and each American state, every single one, is by law entitled to adopt it, or not. For God and His equinox time is simple, majestic; humans muddle the matter, to general grumbling and consternation.

But not poets...

All poets worth their salt weigh in with a will on one of their signature topics: the advent of light, of Sun, of spring. So excited are they by this topic, that they are severely prone to skip over the residue of winter that comes in the first spring days of March, concentrating on the riotous, unrestrained days of April and May. This is wrong, and Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) rightly noted in "Fisherman's Luck" (1899).

"The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is as great as a month."

Having said this, I confess I, too, want immediate egress from the grim, cold, muddy days of March spring. I am impatient, like Walt Whiteman:

"Give me the splendid silent sun with all his beams full-dazzling."

(1819-1892) From "Leaves of Grass" (1855; 1891-92.)

Patient through long, drear winters we can be but as we see relief near at hand, we can be patient no longer, for we know, we all know, what is coming and we cannot longer wait. Still liable to be tripped up by winter... we are adamant that the spring is coming.

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill. You know how it is with an April day When the sun is out and the wind is still, You're one month on in the middle of May. But if you so much as dare to speak, A cloud comes over the sunlit arch, A wind comes off a frozen peak, And you're two months back in the middle of March."

Robert Frost (1874-1963) "Two Tramps in Mud Time" (1936).

But I cannot better end than by urging you to find in any search engine your favorite recording of Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring" (premiered 1944).... It will seize you, uplift you, refresh you... and perfectly position you, in reverence, as you walk into this springtime of your life, whatever your age or circumstances. We are all young again in springtime... such is the magic of the vernal equinox.

About the Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc. providing a wide range of online services for small and-home based businesses. He is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Rapid Cash Tactics -> http://jozsef.agough.hop.clickbank.net

Facebook going out of business ? -- Details Inside --

2011-03-20T12:27:00.000-05:00

Could Facebook go out of business if they stopped
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Talk soon,

Joseph Szanati
Webmaster
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Follow me on Twitter!
> http://www.twitter.com/joesza

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

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2011-03-20T12:13:00.001-05:00

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Follow me on Twitter!
>http://www.twitter.com/joesza

Follow me on Twitter!
> http://twitter.com/joesz

What’s Going on with Facebook Marketing Right Now?

2011-03-17T15:27:00.000-05:00

Facebook marketing is the new trend that is sweeping the world right now. With morethan half a billion active users of this website, it has become more than just a social networking website. Today, this is an entire market that online entrepreneurs are tapping into for seeking their business profits.

However, even within the arena of Facebook marketing, there has been a sea of change recently. People are using newer and different methods of bringing their products out into the open through this social networking portal, and this is only facilitated more because of applications such as FB Maxed 2011. These applications give people several options to effectively showcase their businesses to their group of people on Facebook and even attract other people from their target niche to their business profiles.

One of the recent trends that entrepreneurs are involved in right now is posting theirbusiness websites on their Facebook profiles. This was not possible until lately, but nowby using new iMarket features, applications like FB Maxed are making that possible.You can post your website on your Facebook profile now, and make it interactive aswell.

This applies to webpages of considerable lengths. The entire webpage is taken in and displayed on the profile. People are able to embed videos and add some ecommerce features as well.

The biggest potential of Facebook is that people can build networks. For business persons, it means that they can build their list of leads, which they can look upon as prospects for furthering their business. Now, these new Facebook profile pages that allow websites also allow all those opt-in features that help people to build their lists.

You can convert all your Facebook visitors into a potential lead database that you can promote your product to if you so wanted.

Earlier, with the Facebook Markup Language that was used, there were several restrictions on how Facebook could be used by entrepreneurs. Recently, this markup language has taken a backseat and people are using new options like HTML5, which isgiving a new leash to the limits that people can use their Facebook profiles to.

It is a wonderful world of opportunities that has been created. At present, more than 50% of the people who shop online regularly have Facebook profiles. Hence, it is only but logical that entrepreneurs use this platform to give the boost to their business that they are looking for. Recent trends indicate that entrepreneurs are not allowing any such opportunity pass.

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out The Money Tree -> http://jozsef.iamp8958.hop.clickbank.net

How to live like a sovereign or celebrity. The art of winning at the great international auctions without breaking your budget.

2011-03-03T14:04:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

What do you do when you have a) stuff you don't want anymore and when you need b) some extra cash? Why, you have a garage or lawn sale.

Such is also the fate of kings and celebrities. These folks have an unimaginable abundance of things and often a decided lack of the ready.

Like you, these mortals also die in due course; uninterested heirs take over, and they never liked Grannie the Queen's china pattern; (though it was given by HRH your cousin the Grand Duke). They can also use the money and have been waiting a lifetime to get their white-gloved hands on it.

For such exalted folks, a table laden with old copies of "Mad Magazine" and the mitt your brother will be furious you sold (he never helped, so there) won't do. These exalted ones have their own way of dispossessing and reaping. And the most famous auction houses on earth, starting with Sotheby's (founded 1744) and Christies (founded 1766 ) help them do it... tastefully, efficiently, with pages of catalog provenance and always above all else, the History that doth hedge the royals (and the film stars, too); no less after their prime and power than during. Thus you, should you wish to possess the very goods and chattels of some of the most famous personages on earth must deal with the auction houses, too. This article ensures you will do so with confidence, efficiency and without a trace or suspicion that you are not either to the manner or the manor born.

Rule 1. Get all the catalogs for sale in your chosen field(s).

One mistake that way too many people make is to start their familiarization program with the grand sales. Error! These sales are too crowded; too much is going on; the staffs are pressed with too much to do and only a short window to do it. Thus to commence your education here is to prove how unready you are to attend such sales at all.

Instead start your crucial education with the auction houses' standard sales in your field. Learn auction art and craft first from the unhyped auctions. Starting here will stand you in good stead.

Note: it should go without saying (but cannot) that you should retain these catalogs for your records; they will take a lot of space, but the information they provide is invaluable.

Rule 2. Make it a point to meet the auction house experts in your field.

These people are all knowledgeable, and constitute a vast treasure of useful information, not least for guidelines on what to pay for a lot and candid (though not always complete) condition reports. Such people, their knowledge, their familiarity with the various lot items is crucial to your success.

Rule 3. Create your own stable of advisors, including conservators and restorers.

While the auction house personnel are usually (but not invariably) excellent and most helpful, you will also need your own experts. Remember, at the end of the day, auction house personnel serve two masters, the auction house itself -- and you. And you know what the Good Book says about that...

... which is why you need to have your own advisors. This will happen by referral... with the auction houses making the referral, if and only if you request it. Such recommendations are not given spontaneously. Thus you see how incestuous this industry is, with personnel jumping from one camp to the other. That's why in the final analysis the expert you consult most often is Caveat Emptor.

Still other experts will come by referral from the various conservators and experts you consult -- and pay for their work. These people, your crucial specialists will, in my estimation, give you appreciably better advice about the condition of any item and problem(s) you may acquire along with the lot itself. Like the auction houses, these folks should never give you advice and the benefit of their expertise sotto voce. Request and always get it in writing; e-mail, of course, has expedited this process.

Rule 4. Always be acquiring.

Having a collection means, among other things, never stopping the collection of the rare, the fantastical, the previously unobtainable. It means finding these scarcities, scrutinizing them well -- before you purchase -- and playing the poker of auctions better than the inveterate cognoscenti. What fun!

To collect a piece now and the next 5 or even 10 years later instantly drops you from connoisseur to duffer. People who create collections of note are indefatigable, always having something new to show and something "about to happen," about which mum's the word before the auction... becoming a tale of triumph immediately thereafter.

Rule 5. Set your limit and stick to it, yes, up to and bidding the highly desirable object au revoir.

The grand auctions, the auctions of house-hold names and illustrious dynasties, always cause ingenues and the out-of-control to overbid... and lament. You, however, are a collector, not a bank; this means you must always maintain a sense of good value... and fatal overpayment. This is not always easy to do.

Thus, with the assistance of your team of experts, set the top bid you will make. Then make sure you are either present to bid in person... or on the telephone. Keep your highest bid in front of you and bite your tongue if necessary to stay faithful to your (never sufficient) fund for purchases. Develop a philosophical attitude if you lose... because even this loss is not necessarily forever. The more familiar with your field; the more you see many objects auctioned... are re-auctioned later.

Start today

The catalogs are now available online and in paper for the next grand sale, items from the estate of the late Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. (Died 30 April, 1980). March 14-17, 2011 are the sale dates.

Her royal daughters are auctioning over 1,700 items, the proceeds to go to the Red Cross. While this is not as grand a sale as those recently held by other princes (Queen Juliana, as is well known, had simple tastes); still a royal sale is a royal sale, and there are some things which every royal collector will crave. I know. I'm one... and perhaps I shall see you there, implementing the very recommendations I have just given... you! Bonne chance!

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is an avid art collector, and author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Rapid Cash Tactics -> http://jozsef.agough.hop.clickbank.net

The red, red robin came bob bob bobbin' along, March 1.

2011-03-03T13:46:00.002-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's note. To get the most from this article, add the right music. Of course, it must be "When the red, red robin comes bob bob bobbin' along." Written by Harry Woods, it was sung in his inimitable way by Al Jolson in the 1926 musical "Don't forget the doughnuts." Use any search engine to find it along with a host of other renditions... all peppy, upbeat, quintessentially American.

This morning... just moments ago... the world smiled and became a better place....

All of a sudden, I heard my name being called and an excited little fella, full of his news and lookin' good, flew onto a branch right in front of me. He said, and he jumped up and down as he said it, "I'm back! I'm back! And I know you're glad to see me!"

I know that's what he was saying, and he was so energetic, so happy, so ecstatic that I couldn't help reciprocating. I smiled. I grinned. I laughed aloud.

This was the sure-fire harbinger of spring, and he was letting me know, personally and in no uncertain terms. that he had returned from his winter sojourn... and wasn't I glad?

Then he sang me just a bit of his trilling tune, just to let me know he hadn't forgotten how much I like it... and then, with a bow and native civility, suitably spruce for his high business, he flew on, knowing I would understand that he had many more stops to make; where so many people would, in their turn, look up, smile, and be cheered, to go inside and spread the joy. The red, red robin was home, and not a minute too soon.

The world's most popular bird? A distinct possibility.

The American Robin also called the North American Robin (turdus migratorius) is a migratory songbird of the thrush family. It is named after the European Robin because of its reddish-orange breast, though the two species are not closely related, with the European robin belonging to the flycatcher family.

The American Robin is widely distributed throughout North America, wintering south of Canada from Florida to central Mexico and along the Pacific Coast. Three states think so well of this bird and its cheering song -- Connecticut, Michigan, and Wisconsin -- that they have made it their official bird. It has seven subspecies, but only T.m. confinis, in the southwest, is distinctive, with pale gray-brown underparts.

Some habits

What child, or adult, too, in the robin's territory has not seen this completely characteristic sight: our tenacious friend, legs firmly planted, tugging, lugging, pulling worms from the ground? Humans like this purposeful sight; it reminds us robins are just like us: industrious, focused, glad to be up and at their work. Yes, we like that.

The American Robin is active mostly during the day and assembles in large flocks at night. Its diet consists of invertebrates (such as beetle grubs and caterpillars), fruits and berries.

It is one of the earliest bird species to lay eggs, beginning to breed shortly after returning to its summer range from its winter range. Its nest is so well constructed that with necessary refurbishing it lasts for years. Robins know just so how to use long coarse grass, twigs, paper and feathers, all smeared with mud, to give them the look and feel they desire. It is a seasonal delight for us, and perhaps for the robins too, to see them at this work. It gives both satisfaction.

Predators

Sadly, robins are not immune from troublesome predators, who see in the well-fed and always well groomed robin, a movable feast, tasty for hawks, squirrels, cats, and larger snakes. When feeding in flocks, robins have developed vigilance and a team approach to danger, which stands them in good stead. The benefits of community work for them... as for us.

A word on robin vocalization

It is the male robins who grab the spot light with their complex and almost continuous sound. This song is called cheerily carol, made up of discrete units, often repeated, and spliced together into a string with brief pauses in between. Robins in different areas have developed regional variations and different delivery times. Artists, they do not like to copy, but enjoy their unique approach to the serious business of song. They sing what they like and render it with style.

Robins in human songs and poems

It seems we humans early became infatuated with robins, who delight in cocking their heads at us, bold, curious, sympathetic to our plight, though we did, for a time, eat them. But they have forgiven us for that lapse in judgement.

Robins feature in literature since at least the 15th century and have attracted notable singers and poets to expound upon their virtues and take off on extended flights of fancy.

The best known of the several songs featuring robins is "When the red, red robin comes bob bob bobbin' along." It was the perfect vehicle for the not-quite-yet famous Al Jolson, and he belted it out of the theatre into musical history. Bobby Day in 1958 gave us an entirely different sound in "Rockin' Robin"; the robins were pleased. They delight in their diverse approaches and are sorry Day is hardly remembered today, though his lively tune is.

Poets, too, write frequently about robins, but not always so upbeat as in song.

William Allingham (1824-1889) is maudlin.

""Robin, Robin Redbreast, O Robin dear! And a crumb of bread for Robin, His little heart to cheer."

Robins tell me the pathetic imagery is not to their liking.

They are baffled by Emily Dickinson's poem "I dreaded that first Robin, so." (Her dates 1830-1886).

"I dreaded that first Robin so, But He is mastered now, I'm accustomed to Him grown, He hurts a little, though ---"

However, they have accepted the human explanation that no one really understands her poetry. And so the matter rests.

One poet, however, and one poem every robin knows, and wishes you to know. It is this resounding truth from William Blake's (1757-1827) "Auguries of Innocence."

"A Robin Red breast in a Cage Puts all Heaven in a Rage."

However, let's end as we began, with Jolson. He matches the soaring optimism of the robins themselves, all great American voices:

"They'll be no more sobbin' when He starts throbbin' his old, sweet song."

And I believe that's true.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out UTube Plays -> http://jozsef.utubeplays.hop.clickbank.net

Rhubarb... of my grandmother, her pies, and this ancient vegetable(or in New York State, fruit).

2011-02-24T13:15:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Some of my grandmother's possessions arrived here the other day. They have been in storage a long, long time and, at last, my brother and sister decided (no surprise this) that I, as an historian, should store these things until they (or my sister's 2 children) should be ready to take on the task of dealing with items that are valuable but which no one really wants... the trouble with "heirlooms".

Anyway, one box of the many boxes received here contained my grandmother's best china. It's Lusterware, made in Japan, highly decorative, but very thin and fragile. Irritatingly, two cups were broken, thanks to UPS; that is, however, another story...

What is the story (as you'll see) is that grammie's desert plates all arrived intact... carrying with them a host of memories which seized me the minute my helper Mr. Joseph opened the box.

This china, you see, was only used on the Most Important Occasions. And children were not allowed to use it, or even touch it, for Any Reason. I wasn't allowed to eat off it until I was in college, and even then the idea seemed unduly fast, even heretical. Where china was concerned, no rushing was the way it was; other things, too.

I don't remember how many times I was allowed to eat off one of these honored desert plates; not often. But one of those rare occasions was when grammie, Victoria Burgess Lauing, served one of her entirely memorable, joy to behold, more joy to devour, pies you never forget. And if (as was common) the conversation was all the usual family-get-together type (dull as dishwater) until someone (could have been me) "mistakenly" mentioned one of the (numerous) forbidden subjects which even when whispered was sure to lead to the desired altercation, hot words, family entertainment...

but I digress.

With grammie (we never thought of her as "Vic" though that was what her friends called her... we were shocked by this... but never said so)... with grammie I want to make perfectly clear, it was always about the pie, the whole pie, and nothing but the pie... and when the Lusterware was added, it was,quite simply, the stuff of family lore.

Grammie was a renowned cook, so renowned that all her children (including my mother) could hardly boil water; I like to think they were in awe of her abilities and never ventured to outdo her. That was inconceivable. Or perhaps, like the children of so many celebrated people the talent couldn't be passed on.

In any event I feel bound to tell you that every single pie grammie ever produced was delicious; it was a matter of pride, as I daresay it was with every other Illinois housewife of the period. But the plain, irrefutable truth is that grammie never baked a mediocre, second-rate pie with any deformity whatsoever. We'd all rather have a hand cut off than say otherwise. So her cherry pies, her blueberry pies, her show-stopping pumpkin pies, her peach pies... but you get the idea... were, each and every crumb of them, astonishing.

But the pie that took the cake was her rhubarb pie... and as her "helper" from an early age with this important project, I feel it only fitting and proper to tell you about my pivotal role... and about the rhubarb, too, which always rose to the occasion whenever my magic grannie summoned its potential and turned its bitterness into poetry.

A minute's walk from her kitchen, always spruce and never out of control, was the kitchen garden, mostly vegetables, some fruits, always flowers, too, for grammie had an eye for color and arrangement; here, too, I was her "little helper" because I liked vegetables and adored flowers. Those were sufficient passport into the significant zones of her influence. My grandfather was per force allowed in; he loved using his tractor in the largish garden; it was his special task. I was a card-carrying adult before I realized that the apple-pie ordered garden was not only testament to his very Teutonic traits... but also to the fact that he loved her so and took this entirely personal, and useful, too, way to show it. Young people, as we know when we aren't one, see much but the meaning often follows years behind.

As the designated "helper" (interestingly enough and to their complete irritation not another of her numerous grand children received this high accolade); it was mine and mine alone. These things can happen when you are the first born son and grandson, you know what I mean if you are one and probably take umbrage if you're not.

As helper, I say, I was given the task of selecting just the right rhubarb stalks, for you may very well imagine grammie was precise and unyielding about ingredients. They must be just so.

I may imagine, for I can no longer recall, how she took me by the hand (for she believed in education and knew when to do her part) and showed me the rhubarb patch. She would have shown me, daughter of England that she was, sharing the great queen's name, too, how a garden is fashioned and what must be done; in this case regarding the all-important rhubarb stalks. If they were poorly chosen, they might get into and threaten perfection. (She never told me, but I know now, that would never have happened; she had a keen eye for such things and she never overlooked the crucial fundamentals. Substandard stalks, or anything else inferior and not quite good enough for her cuisine and her family, they would have been promptly removed and sent to the compost heap.

In due course, I learned the key facts about rhubarb. First, the leaves are toxic and could quickly and forever end your pie-eating career. She made it plain that testing her on this matter would result in any number of demerits.

She made it clear just which stalks were desirable; which ones might be down the road apiece (but not yet); which ones were too old and past consideration, which ones needed to be picked, and picked at once. It was rhubarb 101 and in my mind's eye, I still see us as we were these 60 years and the high importance of the task in time I did alone, without supervision, knowledgeable myself and reliable. She had selected, as she knew, just the right "helper".

Once the stalks were brought inside (with the poisonous leaves removed), she perused my work and made appropriate comments, with a courtesy that was all her own. Then she said I could run along, and it was seldom, if ever, that I left without a tip, for she knew, too, having had such days herself, that no child should ever feel impoverished or neglected when so very little could make such a difference.

I doubt that she kept up with the latest news about rhubarb and its uses; she had a system that met the needs and garnered unceasing, universal approbation. Who could improve on perfection?

But perhaps in 1947, the year that brought her in February, her first grand child, and a son to boot, she saw this bit of news about the plant she knew so very well, its secrets, uses, deficiencies, and the way to wend them all to her will... Perhaps in 1947, she noticed that a court in New York State made a significant ruling about rhubarb. The court noted that rhubarb is not a fruit but a vegetable. However, it also noted that Americans in common usage regarded rhubarb as a fruit. And so the court ruled that rhubarb for purposes of regulation and duties must be regarded as a fruit. A side effect was an immediate reduction in taxes paid.

Her comment might well have been of the down-home common sense variety, thinking the court had done the right thing, recognizing the reality and using their noggins. Then, with the certainty that she was sharing a masterpiece, she would have offered you some pie; rhubarb if you were lucky.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out UTube Plays -> http://jozsef.utubeplays.hop.clickbank.net

How to get thousands and thousands of responses to yourblog... and what to do when you get 'em.

2011-02-24T13:01:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Of course you already have a blog, right? You are, I mean, on the cutting edge of the Internet, yes?

Well, if you are still blog-less today is indeed your lucky day, because I am going to show you right here, right now how to use your blog to get not a few but a positive avalanche of the best prospect leads on earth. And the great thing is, you can start today, this very minute.

Now affirm and reaffirm this: when you're in business, running a business blog, the objective is and always will be to generate terrific prospect leads... and follow them up to make money.

It's easy to forget the objective when you're publishing a blog which can all too easily be seized by the shear joy and vanity of seeing your name in print. Folks, if you need lovin' and crave adulation get a dog. They give unqualified affection. But don't subvert the purpose of your blog.

Nothing sells itself, absolutely nothing.

I have amongst my marketing students some of the very brightest people around... and when they make a mistake, I know the pedestrian run of mankind and marketers are making it, too, in spades.

One of the most rooted errors of these folks is the pernicious, invidious notion that their blog and its contents will sell themselves; that what they are promoting and selling in their blogs needs no introduction, nor powerful words of recommendation; it's good enough on its lonesome.

In a word: rubbish! In two words: complete rubbish!

Dear friend, there is nothing in this world, not the policies and messages of presidents, popes, and sovereign kings; not the very finest example of the most potent of salubrious medications; not the safest swiftest modes of transportation.... absolutely nothing sells itself.

Once you have realized this essential truth of business, you enter a new, higher level of commerce and marketing... for you are now a puffer in the Great Age of Puffery.... and your daily objective is clear: to puff better, more artfully, more carefully, more successfully than any other puffers on this planet. He (or she) who puffs the most, the best, reaps the most.

Thus, say you intend tomorrow to publish a jim dandy article on some subject of note and significance. The duffer puffer, the one on the bottom of the marketing heap, merely publishes the article, with this unvoiced sentiment: "Here's the article. Make of it what you will. I can't be bothered to tell you why you should read it... perhaps I don't even know."

And some dare call this marketing.

Now, try this instead...

(puff the day before you publish the article.)

Tomorrow, you readers have an incredible gift coming. I persuaded internationally known author and commentator Dr. Jeffrey Lant to let me have, in advance of publication, his latest article. It details the truth about the relationship of Snow White with those with-it guys, the 7 Dwarfs. You won't believe what one of the most perceptive commentators around has discovered about Snow... and those Dwarfs. Can you say 'Happy.' You certainly will tomorrow...."

With these fast-moving words, you are keeping your audience, your present and future customers all, on the very edge of their seats. You want them in a pother of anticipation and excitement about What Happens Next. You, cleverkins, are ascending in the crucial business of puffery; selling the sizzle, not the steak. And you're frolicking all the way to the bank.

Remember, puffing is not something occasional or episodic. It is not merely one essential thing in marketing; it is the essential thing and it must be regarded accordingly... from this moment on. Let me make this point absolutely, crystal clear:

If you want to sell a product, you must puff it.

If you want to sell your service, you must puff it.

If you want a person to read your blog, you must puff it.

If you want that same person to read an article in that blog, you must puff it.

Get the picture?

A few more hints

Your puffs must appear prominently in your blog, at least 1 at the top of the first page.

They must be short, enticing, action oriented. They must radiate a single imperative message: Look at all you get, look how delicious it is, grab it, grab it now...'

Here's another example.

"Wow! I'm ecstatic to tell you that I've snagged another one of Dr. Lant's superb articles. Yesterday nearly 400 of you smarties emailed me with your thanks, congratulations, and sincere appreciation for his last insightful article. Now I've got another for you. Stay tuned... you'll have it in just HOURS. Make sure to email me at once with your reactions and compliments... it's another winner!!! You can reach me by email (email address here); cell phone (number here)... or land line (number here.) And I want to hear from each and EVERY one of you!"

You must get on with the essential business of puffing each and every day, without exception, that you want money.

And, I guarantee you, that as you improve in your puffery, you will improve your prospect responses, dramatically.

And your bottom line? Why that will improve, too, and dramatically so if and only if you follow up each and every response, as quickly as possible, with a special offer. In other words, thank the respondents, thank them as soon as possible... and always give them a thing (or two) which makes you money. Thus are you benefited as you benefit your fast-responding prospects.

There are many things, of course, which factor into consummate blog success. They include

* having good content, interesting, practical, timely;

* publishing according to a schedule, never missing a deadline;

* writing directly to your readers, always using "you";

* keeping every word of text short, peppy, upbeat,

* and, always and forever, every single day, puffing.

Because if you don't puff, if you do not encourage, recommend, admonish, excite, and motivate you are leaving the crucial act of marketing in the hands of those least able to discern for themselves what to do. That decision must be yours. You and only you must advance the necessary reasons for acting as you want them to act. That crucial aspect of marketing belongs to you... and you must do this every time you want results. Like today.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Clickbank Traffic Warrior -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=mv8YWs2Q

And I am telling you... knock 'em dead diva Jennifer Hudsonneeds better material than 'Where you at?', and she needs it now!

2011-02-22T12:24:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

This is the story of a woman of rare talent, a woman with the ability to engross us, envelope us, touch our lives with searing emotion, pain, anguish and the cross currents of love. This is the story of a woman who rose to the very pinnacle of her profession on this ability... whose music forced itself into our hearts...

It is the story, too, of the woman who has been badly advised in her subsequent career moves... who has gone from giving listeners goose bumps, chills, and involuntary tears ... to giving them next to nothing.

Once she delivered transcendence. Now, chic and svelte with just the right lip gloss, she delivers next to nothing at all, just smooth predictabilities.

This is the story of blow 'em out diva Jennifer Hudson... of her highs and lows, of the truth and sincerity she has given us... and what she needs from us right now so she can deliver it again.

Author's note: To get the most from this article, you need to listen to two Jennifer Hudson tunes. The first is the one that made her, "And I am telling you I'm not going" and the second, her latest, "Where you at?" You can easily find both in any search engine. Listen to them now... then return to continue...

How Jennifer Hudson got started

Born September 12, 1981 in Chicago, Hudson was raised as a Baptist and graduated from Dunbar Vocational High School in 1999. She didn't need a vocational school to tell her what she wanted to do. She wanted to sing, to perform, to rouse an audience, to get them out of their seats, cheering. She had as her particular icons Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, all capable of shredding our reserve and allowing the diva in, to do with us what she would, chaos, turbulence, mayhem... and most of all, love... so that we would always remember her and the never-to-be-forgotten moments we spent together.

(Not quite) the American Idol

Hudson, who had been singing on Disney Cruise Lines for several months, auditioned for the third season of "American Idol." She said, en passant, during her audition that she'd been doing so. Contestant judge Randy Jackson, the most grounded of the reviewers, said "We're expecting more than a cruise ship performance from you." They got it... but it wasn't quite enough to win the title for her. Two other would be divas, Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London, powerful vocalists both, helped push Hudson to an entirely forgettable seventh place. But this was a woman determined to succeed... and so she, along with hundreds of professional singers and performers showed up in November, 2005 to audition for the film adaptation of the musical "Dreamgirls." Raven-Symond and Fantasia Barrino, her more successful competitor on "American Idol", wanted the plum role of Effie White, too, in this most lavish all-black film ever (budget $80 million.)

Hudson got the role... and she ran with it into musical history.

The song that did it is titled "And I am telling you I'm not going." It is the kind of song each of us wants to have sung to us at least once in our lives, to validate that we are alive and profoundly loved.

When you listen to this pulsating number, in an instant you are, in your mind, beyond Effie and her unceasingly turbulent life. You are thinking of yourself... of your life.... of people you have loved...and the ones who have loved you, perhaps unwisely. You are drowning in this music...and the singer, Hudson, won't let you go.

There's no way I can ever go. No, no, there's no way. No, no, no, no way I'm living without you. I'm not living without you. I don't want to be free. I'm staying. I'm staying. And you, and you You're gonna love me, oh ooh mm mmm You're gonna love me.

It was beyond bravura... it was a kick to the solar plexus!. It was pain! Life! Love!

It was glorious!

And you felt all of it... every single note and syllable...

... and so did the critics, pundits, and prognosticators of the world. All too often carping, captious, this time they rained unceasing praise... and every honor the lady could ever imagine, much less possess... including the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and 28 additional awards; the Golden Globe Award as Best Actress in a Supporting Role, the same from the Broadcast Critics... and the same again from the Screen Actors Guild. Touching our lives had taken her from an undistinguished seventh place finish on "American Idol" into history. Dazed, in awe, astonished she accepted it all with graciousness and sincere appreciation. She was a woman one delighted to honor.

Then tragedy struck, life mirroring art.

On October 24, 2008 Hudson's 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donnerson and the singer's 29-year-old brother Jason were found shot to death inside their Chicago home. Missing was Hudson's 7-year-old nephew, Julian King; soon his body was found. It was all the work of William Balfour, 27, estranged husband of Hudson's sister Julia.

Now Hudson's life had more turbulence and mayhem than Effie's. She took time to pause, reflect, regroup. The world, shocked, mourned with her... standing by to see What Happened Next. And that was less, much less that we knew so well the lady could deliver.

The problem with great Talent of the kind exhibited by Hudson in her astonishing moment is that it makes what follows seem uninspired, second rate, mediocre. In short, after a great event, that moment of high significance one needs more help than ever; it is easy, you see, to get off track. It's easy merely to go through the motions... rather than do what's necessary to outdo your greatest moment; this always means hard work, dedication, boldness, risk without the certainty of success. Talent demands this... being glibly second rate never does.

Sadly, Hudson's career showed every evidence that she had lost her way and was listening to the wrong people. They told her to lose weight (she did), go glam (she did), cultivate a sexy black chanteuse image (she did)... but it all looked contrived, crafting an image by the numbers... instead of using her God-given voice to maximum effect, touching all our lives.

Her latest tune, "Where you at?" (released January, 2011) shows the dangers of her path. It takes her patented "wronged woman" theme... and, with insipid music and verse, dilutes it until it might as well be a cocktail lounge tune about a missed date. Hudson's talent is not shown... only the fact that she is listening to the wrong handlers... and needs to get rid of them... fast.

Jennifer: yours has been a life of determination, of some success, then astonishing success and worldwide acclaim, followed by great tragedy, then peace with boyfriend David Otunga, with his unlikely careers as Harvard Law School grad and pro wrestler. Pour all this into your next records. Give us everything you've got... and that is so very much, indeed.

Shuck off the handlers and did deep into yourself, bringing it all up, using it all, giving it your own signature sound and energy. You can do this, Jennifer. Do it now, for our sake, for your own... and we're gonna love you!!!

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out UTube Plays -> http://jozsef.utubeplays.hop.clickbank.net

New Orleans' Sidney Bechet house demolished; Baltimore'sEdgar Allan Poe House and Museum slated to be closed.Such is our heritage destroyed... one unc

2011-02-22T12:22:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

This is a story about stupidity, shortsightedness, carelessness, neglect and the ongoing destruction of our culture, one brick at a time.

Today's examples are taken from the cities of New Orleans, Louisiana and Baltimore, Maryland... but the sad thing is, without breaking a sweat, one could easily see them replicated in all America's great cities...and throughout the countryside, too.

Ask officials in these locations if they value historic preservation and without dropping a stitch they'll tell you how important it is and how much, how very much, they appreciate, nay venerate the special history of their special place.

Then having mouthed such hollow shibboleths... they go back to their true vocation... saving a penny here and there by ravishing the patrimony which should have been their fierce honor to protect, save, preserve, maintain, and to pass on to the next generation in better shape than they found it.

Sidney Bechet

Sidney Bechet (pronounced BAH-shay, 1897-1959) was the very quintessence of the signature sound New Orleans has made its own. Saxiphonist, clarinetist, composer, Bechet delivered the champagne of jazz.

His was a distinctive beat with wide vibrato, insistent, proud, irresistible... every note the note of a master. He delivered it with grace, style, just a touch of arrogance but always, always with surety and confidence. The people in the Quarter knew a good thing when they heard it and they demanded Bechet... who preceded cornetist and trumpeter (and friend) Louis Armstrong into the recording studio by several months. In such a way, carried on a wave of music, Bechet sent the essence of la Novelle Orleans worldwide.

It was sultry, languid, it was the sound of love's longing, and the wrong man (or woman) loved deeply, disastrously, without hope or escape. And if Bechet and his lively rhythm decided you would get up and dance... you did, and riotously so, for he was the man, laissez les bon temps roulez.

It was Bechet... who was discovered at age 6, when he lived with his wealthy Creole family in the 7th Ward.

Now that house and what was left of its contents are a heap of dust and rubble, gone forever, another testament, if one were needed, to the folly of empowering vandals to preserve that which they cannot understand and will not protect.

The folks in slow-moving New Orleans are mad-keen now to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina. And as they engage in this herculean task, they have made herculean errors, including the complete demolition of Bechet's home. The city sanctioned marauders pulled up to the home of this jazz great and, without a word, set about their destructive task. "They pulled up and went about tearing it down. The roof had fallen down, but it could have been fixed," reported neighbor and appalled onlooker Charles Spencer.

And so New Orleans, giving lip service to the value of its history and its irreplaceable artifacts, has with this attack impoverished itself, a situation calling for a saxophone's lament Bechet knew so well how to deliver and move us. Where can his shade call home now...?

Edgar Allan Poe

If the family home of Sidney Bechet is now gone forever, the family residence of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849), the master of cerebral terror and the macabre, is still extant, just.

Located in the worst of Baltimore's many distressed neighborhoods, this small row house on North Amity Street once housed the family Poe, dysfunctional, inbred, dipsomaniacal, incestuous. Here, on top of each other, lived Poe's aunt Maria (Poe) Clemm, youngest sister of Poe's father David and, too, Maria's ailing mother Elizabeth Cairnes; Maria's son Henry, her daughter Virginia (soon to be Poe's 13-year-old child wife), and for a short time, but only for a short time, his older brother William Henry... about to die, pickled with alcohol.

Poe had just been dismissed from West Point (1831) and needed the ministrations of his family which, in time approved fashion, fought fiercely for its tenuous gentility. Here an unprecedented, unexampled American master was about to be born.

Just where Poe wrote in this warren can only be imagined... but write he did; those with the need to write will always find a way. And, so, here on North Amity Street, where he resided from 1832-1835, Poe's genius began to find its way, lurid, unsettling, threatening, terrible. Perhaps the best work he wrote there is the "MS Found In a Bottle" (1833)

In it is the genius of Poe struggling against the tendency of young writers to overwrite, too many words, the prose carried by too lush adjectives, not nouns and verbs. I'll quote from the beginning, so you can see for yourself:

"Of my country and of my family I have little to say. Ill usage and length of years have driven me from the one, and estranged me from the other. Hereditary wealth afforded me an education of no common order, and a contemplative turn of mind enabled me to methodize the stores which early study very diligently garnered up." Such effusions are good to see; the better to learn how genius shapes itself.

Now the City of Baltimore, priding itself that this American original lived amongst them, wishes to save itself the bother of preserving the reality, comfortable in its lip service alone to the great man.

Though it costs the municipality a paltry $80,000 or so each year, most for the modest salary of its one-person staff, curator Jeff Jerome, this same municipality has announced its munificence stops forever by mid-2012. Then the axe will fall, on the curator Jerome, who has kept the faith alone... and on Poe, too.

This result, though likely, is not inevitable. The city fathers, though unlikely, could with stroke of pen write another conclusion, at least a stay of execution. The great genius of Poe is worth this, and more. What's more, he's already written le mot juste: "By what miracle I escaped destruction, it is impossible to say." That is his manuscript found in a bottle, and we need to heed it.

And if they do nothing, these pettifogging clerks and picayune economizers, then what? Then shall this place, too, be gone forever, to live again never more.

Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum 203 North Amity Street, Baltimore, MD 21233-2501 (410) 396-7932.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is a noted historian and also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Auto Coupon Cash -> http://jozsef.autocoup.hop.clickbank.net

Ali Khamenei's cur. The rise and ultimate fall of Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

2011-02-17T09:46:00.001-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Imagine that you are Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the elect of God and the Prophet. You are a man of decided views, regarding the theocracy that masquerades as the Islamic Republic of Iran as the dernier mot in acceptable governance.

You are the Anointed One; you are a man of discernment, learning, sternness because sternness is demanded by God, the ultimate authority on belief, the faith, right and wrong, and who shall live or die.

You are accustomed to giving directives... but need others kow-towing to your powers derived from God to implement them. You will not soil your hands... but your work is pressing. You must stay remote, unapproachable by mere mortals, never by infidels.

Such a man needs, as such men throughout history have needed, a cur of his own, a loyal, unquestioning mongrel, useful not least because he can, in an instant, for whatever reason, be disposed of without difficulty or remorse.

The man you have chosen is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 6th and current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. You imagined him, you have chosen him, you give him his daily orders... and he gives you obedience. But the winds of change started in Egypt are now blowing in Iran, and the whole world is watching your dangerous regime to see what you and your hand-picked president will do.

Tehran situation report

Valentine's Day to the rest of the world, February 14, 2011, was a day of massive anti government demonstrations in the Iranian capital. Just how massive we may never know, since the first thing this controlling regime did (learning from Cairo) was to curtail the Internet as much as possible and drastically limit where foreign journalists could go and under what circumstances. Limiting, restricting Internet access is the first thing threatened autocratic regimes do, making it abundantly clear that freedom of information is the early casualty of the insurrection. Despite such measures, dozens of home videos have appeared on Youtube, and these have given the world a very clear sign about what is going on.

Still, reports have varied on how many demonstrators made the boldest statement of their lives by standing tall for the kind of freedom in Iran that the fall of the Mubarak regime makes possible in Egypt. Whether those appearing measured tens or hundreds of thousands wasn't the point; it was the fact that massive demonstrations were happening at all in a land where the power emanates from the Supreme Leader, never from the people, who are viewed as obstreperous, dangerous, in need of constant chastisement, and always maximum control.

Demonstrations have occurred in Tehran before, of course; the latest happening in 2009, stemming from widespread public dissatisfaction and disgust at Ahmadinejad's hotly contested re-election, generally viewed as rigged. But this new round of protests is already fundamentally different from those taking place in 2009. Then the protests largely concerned the re-election of Ahmadinejad. This time they have significantly broadened; they are not merely about the president. They are also aimed at the very idea of an Islamic Republic and thus the rule of the Muslim conservative establishment epitomized by Khamenei.

Obviously both the Iranian president and Supreme Leader view this transformation with alarm, particularly given the huge number of demonstrators. But, this time round, they faced a tactical difficulty: they could hardly respond with the massive police and special forces presence which is the regime's knee-jerk reaction to any popular unrest). After all, they had just praised the way matters had been handled in Cairo (not least because of the opening for the previously outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which always looked to the Islamic Republic for inspiration and support.)

Having so praised Egypt for its "gentle revolution", Khamenei and his man were forced to limit the number of police (and thus the stream of violent, bloody images hurtful to the regime) and take other measures.

Thus, February 15, while Ahmadinejad was claiming the protests were not home grown but inspired by foreigners inimical to the regime (Israel implied but not mentioned), members of Iran's tame Parliament urged immediate death sentences (with decapitation or hanging always possible) for at least three of the most prominent demonstrators and regime opponents, Mir Hussein Moussavi, Mehdi Karroubi, and former president Mohammed Khatami.

At the same time the ghastly means available to all autocracies (including mass arrests, detentions, beatings and official brutalities of every kind) were begun, the better to dishearten and dismay the demonstrators and every freedom loving Iranian.

In the past such actions worked and worked relatively fast. This time such sustained suppression by the regime may well work, too. Or not.

Ahmadinejad has been living on borrowed time since the nation erupted in demonstrations not merely because he was re-elected but because the re-election (however dubious) was certified by the Supreme Leader. Khamenei might well have reckoned that such a move, while saving his cur, ultimately threatened him and the entire regime. So necessary to the fastidious, cloistered Supreme Leader is Ahmadinejad that Khamenei risked everything by standing by his man -- then.

And now, for an instant, we must consider that man, discovered, crafted, owned by Khamenei. Ahmadinejad was raised in poverty rising to become an engineer and teacher. Pliant when it counted, he could be the seeming pit bull the reclusive Supreme Leader needed. He rose, like so many before him, by doing what he was told, while providing complete cover for the real decision maker, a true asset for a reclusive cleric with a taste for classical Persian poetry.

Under this arrangement, Ahmadinejad blustered about Israel, the United Kingdom and United States; made reckless statements on many subjects (not least denying the very existence of the Holocaust), and made himself quite clear on Iran's right to nuclear power (and by implication The Bomb). At first his presidency was applauded, not least because of his lavish social programs, sustained by Iran's ace in the hole, oil.

But Ahmadinejad's position since his disputed re-election has noticeably deteriorated. His bluster, once arousing, is now seen as hackneyed and contrived. His economic missteps have been notable, with social programs slashed because of the poor financial condition of the country. His reputation amongst the poor has plummeted accordingly, and it bears mentioning that for the first time, anti-government demonstrators came from these districts, an ominous development.

The Supreme Leader may now have concluded that the cost of his cur is greater than his utility. If so, Ahmadinejad, the president who was never presidential, will fall fast, just as he rose. Khamenei will see to that. For after all, such a cipher as Ahmadinejad, no matter how helpful, can always be replaced by another, suitable cur. But to replace one Anointed by God and regularly in contact with Him is unthinkable.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books.

Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Copy Paste Traffic -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=sx8bu7B6

'Will you still need me, will you still feed me...?' Dr. Lant turns 64,and at last knows the answer to the Beatles' plaintive question.

2011-02-16T08:51:00.001-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Today I turn 64, having entered this life February 16, 1947. That makes me a certified Baby Boomer, a member in good standing of a petted generation that has touched, for good and ill, virtually everything on this planet, incising its deep mark far and wide.

We started life as heirs to creation; now we are the hair thinning, pounds packing, "I can beat the age rap and live forever" folks for whom the motto "been there, done that" pretty much summarizes things.

We have known everything (until we discovered that we didn't); loved many (until we discovered, later than our parents, the virtue of loving one); traveled everywhere, only to discover the beauties of the place and people we left behind... and now crave.

We have known many identities, many loyalties, many styles, more sounds, and often tragic insights into the human condition, sufficient to beat every band but one.... Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Released June 1, 1967).

I remember the day this album hit the streets. I was in Santa Barbara, California and my friends, each selected with a connoisseur's eye, had waited in an overnight line so that could be amongst the first million or so who purchased this latest effusion from the group to which we gave (mostly) unqualified allegiance.

As the happy possessors of this album made their excited way back to their ocean-side apartments, always more resort than dormitory, from now this window, now that emerged the sounds of the new rhythms we were hearing for the first time, assessing each tune with care, deliberation, and a practised ear.

At that moment I first heard the questions that compose "When I'm Sixty Four."

When I get older losing my hair Many years from now. Will you still be sending me a Valentine Birthday greetings bottle of wine... Will you still need me, will you still feed me....

The tune, as you must know if you are a member of my generation, is about a young man posing the question every young person in the grip of an early, unrelenting passion insists on knowing about his incomparable Significant Other: is what we have True, The Real Thing, Forever?

To find out, the young man queries his beloved, sketching out in the process a life lived in the backwater, with only the simplest challenges, joys, and triumphs:

I could be handy, mending a fuse When your lights have gone. You can knit a sweater by the fireside Sunday morning go for a ride.

The young man, still very much a boy for all his raging hormones, figures that if he offers so little to his equally youthful beloved and she accepts... why, then, she really does love him. So he sings of a vision of little joys, picayune pleasures, minor challenges... all redeemed, however, by... you., the inamorata of this catchy little number.

Sir Paul McCartney wrote this song at age 16, before there were Beatles, millions of screaming fans, and royal honors. He, like me, had to imagine that condition of life... and for him, like me, it was "many years from now."

Now "many years from now" has arrived... and the condition I could hardly imagine is the reality of my life. Having lived, I shall now exercise the privilege of age, sharing insights with you.

* Never forget the people who love you. They are the most important people of all.

Denizens of my generation were what my very stay-at-home grannie called "gad-abouts", going everywhere but to the people who counted. Recognize the importance of such people as early as you can; then hold them fast to you. They matter.

* Make each day a learning day.

Learning, as I may not have gleaned in the days I was ordered into the classroom, is the consummate privilege; an exercise subsidized by the community to turn you into a better person.

Now I am voracious in pursuit of my education, in love with knowledge and the thoughts and ideas of others who excite, inspire, and move me more the older I get.

* Make money early... then focus on more important things.

Money is important, desirable, useful. Thus, when young and in possession of your utmost energy, lunge for it with all your might. Then, having achieved life securing success, turn your energies to other, more significant things. For while money is necessary, it never defines the truly well lived life.

* Never allow yourself to be the sum total of your disabilities, defeats, disillusions and nothing more.

Life is punctuated by injuries, crises, losses, mayhem. But life, being life, is always more than these. Remind carping people around you; remind yourself to stop and perceive the amenities and benefits all around you, if you but take the trouble to perceive them.

I take that trouble, and grateful, too.

* Remember, no person is "self made". We all owe whatever success we have had to the assistance of others -- many others. Recognize them.

The words "self made" are regularly trotted out like a Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, thereby suggesting that the individual rose alone, majestic. But the truth is, no one rises alone. We rise because of the sustained help and assistance of others, many others.

Take time to remember these "others", to thank and to venerate them, for they are the people who helped shape you.

* Take time to remember and savor the wonder of -- you.

It is easy to forget, and crucial to remember, that there has never been anyone like you before... and upon your passing, there will never be another to come.

Thus from time to time, upon such an occasion as this, pause and contemplate yourself, with wonder, bliss, awe. For you have helped shape not only yourself but a world of others. And you deserve all credit arising therefrom.

Today I shall allow myself the luxury of exulting in the marvelous creature I, along with so many others, have crafted. No false modesty, nothing abashed... just pure, unadulterated joy. For that is what turning 64 entitles you to and completely justifies, and I intend to make the most of it!

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Copy Paste Traffic -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=sx8bu7B6

No valentines today? What did you do to deserve them?Two penguins have some advice for you... and so do I!

2011-02-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Today, February 14, 2011, is Valentine's Day. Millions of people worldwide will participate in this essential rite of love which usually involves men standing in lines for hours at expensive candy shops and florists with overburdened, surly help... then trekking their purchases home, very self- consciously, with more hope than expectation that She Who Must Be Obeyed will be, for an instant, completely satisfied with him.

Millions of people today will get some such token of affection, usually of the hackneyed chocolate or red rose variety. But the sad fact is, millions more will get no affectionate sentiment or token of any kind today... and they will deserve the slight.

To deal with this irritating, indeed humiliating situation, of the "what a revolting development this is" variety, I have called upon two love birds of my acquaintance, Penguins Ishaboe and Spheniscus, inhabitants at the New England Aquarium, Boston, Massachusetts. They know a thing or two on the subject of love and affection... and being helpful critters they are happy to share what they know...

Ishaboe (male) and Spheniscus (female) are a mating pair of African penguins, a bird so rare that it may well become extinct in the next 15 years. Concerned researchers at institutions worldwide are engaged in a strenuous effort to save the breed while they still can. This means taking an obsessive interest in their amatory habits. What they've learned is instructive... not just for the penguins but for their love-challenged human keepers as well.

First of all, they like each other... and they're never afraid to show it, even with hundreds of prying eyes looking at them.

Ol' Blue Eyes, crooning Sinatra, the chairman of the board, knew just how exciting Total Focus on your love interest can be:

Are the stars out tonight? I don't know if it's cloudy or bright. 'Cause I only have eyes for you, dear. (Release date 1949).

Or, if you prefer a more insistent beat, try this punchy line from the Miracles...

I'm just a love machine... and I won't work for nobody but YOU! (Released 1975.)

These smart penguins practice what they preach. Why just the other day, marooned together on their high-class desert island (scrubbed clean every single day), splashing care-free in the 150,000 gallons of Boston Harbor water, constantly filtered, they literally couldn't take their eyes off each other... and didn't. Even experienced researchers, used to penguin fidelity, found this total attention worthy of note.

When was the last time, you gave your love interest your total, unqualified focus? Stumped? Can't remember? That's where your problems begin... and it doesn't matter how old you are, either.

Why, in my Harvard Square neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts the students at the World's Greatest University think nothing of holding hands with Love Interest #1, while furiously text messaging Love Interest #2. Thus they always have a back-up when their togetherness shreds, a thing they anticipate, expect, and plan for. And some dare call this love!

So, Rule #1 to make this day special... don't just give a card with printed sentiments written for the poetically destitute. Don't merely plunk down a few bucks for a box of Fannie May or Whitman's quaint Sampler and think it's "good enough". As that wag Sir Percy Blakeney, baronet, said in "The Scarlet Pimpernel" (published 1905) "There is nothing that is quite so bad as that which is good enough."

Exactly.

You selected your would-be Valentine for a reason. Recall that reason now...

Then move out of the dull and dreary to the new, energized, alluring you, the fountainhead of dreams, seductions, shared pleasures.

Instead of the unexciting red rose, lay down a trail of rose petals that lead to a pulsating, provocative......... YOU!

Or do a Hansel and Gretel number (from the story by the Brothers Grimm published 1812). Lay down one tell-tale chocolate after another, until X marks the spot where your one and only finds.....YOU and nothing but you, exciting, uninhibited, memorable....

If you've let your relationship grow stale, shame on you when just a little such inventiveness is required to revivify and re-ignite.

Our penguin pair knows this. When one is away for a moment, they tenderly call a la Jeanette McDonald. Upon returning, they bow to each other, polite, thrilled to be rejoined. To make clear their interest, they preen, they posture, they give food to demonstrate affection... they are assiduous, inventive, playful... and from their unceasing inventiveness comes a helluva good time; they enjoy seeing how they can top their own creative efforts and show the profound affection they so obviously feel for each other.

Our penguin pair knows, too, that the secret of this day is the line from "My Funny Valentine" (from the musical "Babes in Arms," Rodgers and Hart, 1937.)

Each day is Valentine's Day.

Here the penguins excel. Today they will act towards each other, the way they act every day. They will neither note nor care that this is a day dedicated to the arts of love. Should someone say so, they would laugh, wondering why any creature, any place limit to a single day the fond sentiments and delights which are best given every day, in all places. They will then go back to their tried and true ways of love, oblivious to you and me.

It is more than sad that such creatures are imperiled, the victims of over fishing and changes in ocean currents which remove the penguins from their foods. Catastrophe looms as their once vast numbers plummet. If these are, indeed, their last days (though human friends are helping), they mean to go out as they have lived these generations past, engrossed in each other, loving as if there was no tomorrow. And so should we all.

About The Author

Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Dr. Lant is also the author of 18 best-selling business books. Republished with author's permission by Joseph Szanati http://SmartWealthSolutions.com. Check out Push Button Money -> http://www.SmartWealthSolutions.com/?rd=xl4MRpEi