- WEALTHY: Driving a hard bargain (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: The osteoporosis/iron connection (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Wade Boggs on having a positive attitude
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Go A.P.E. (Paul Lawrence)
- How much can a writer legally "borrow"? (Matt Turner)
- Add "panache" to your vocabulary
The Early to Rise 2006 End-of-Year Blowout Sale
What are your resolutions for 2007?
To increase your salary by $15,000? To finally start your own profitable online side-business? To locate an incredible real estate deal?
Whatever your dreams, hopes and aspirations may be… ETR is here to help!
As 2006 comes to a close, we’ve compiled a dozen of our best success programs into a year-end blowout sale with our lowest prices ever… so there’s no better time for you to start making your dreams come true in 2007 than right now.
This offer ends when the New Year begins, so don’t put it off and risk paying more a few days from now. Act today and you’ll get the best deal we’ve ever offered, guaranteed.
Stop by our ETR 2006 End-of-Year Blowout Sale now.
- MaryEllen Tribby
Notes From Michael Masterson’s Blog: Real Estate Negotiations
Yesterday, my neighbor Brian and I argued over a little piece of oceanfront land he wants to sell. I’d made an offer of $1.4 million a week or so ago, which he’d accepted. But yesterday he decided he could sell it for a higher price – and when K and I wouldn’t raise our offer, he backed out.
When I went outside this morning, Brian was seated on his porch.
"I have an offer now. A firm offer of $1.5 million," he informed me.
"Like hell you do," I thought. What I said was, "You know, Brian, when our offer fell through and you told me you wanted $1.8 million for the property – well, it upset me. Because I ran all the numbers, and I’m sure $1.4 million is right.
"If you build a 5,500-square-foot house on this property, even at $200 a square foot – which is very cheap for a beachfront house – you’d be at $2.5 million. Right now, I think that’s more than the current market will bear. If things improve in a few years, it will be a good price. But it’s not a good price now.
"1.4 million is the right price. It’s good for me. And it’s good for you."
[Ed. Note: Read the rest of this article on Michael Masterson's blog.]
"A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results."
Wade Boggs
Living on the Positive Tip
By Paul Lawrence
DM was in a foul mood. To be fair, his bad mood was understandable. You see, he’d been in a car accident about six months before. He was stopped at a red light when another driver plowed into his car from behind at 60 miles an hour.
Amazingly, although DM’s car was destroyed, he was not killed. But his back was wrenched so severely that he could barely get out of bed the next morning. To make matters worse, his doctor wasn’t optimistic about the injury improving without risky surgery. DM consulted two other doctors, but they had the same diagnosis.
DM’s frustration grew when he met with some lawyers. They all agreed that he had a legitimate case for damages, but that he would be unlikely to collect more than $30,000. Considering DM had a business that made him about $200,000 a year, this amount of money seemed outrageously small.
Now, don’t get me wrong. DM knew he was lucky not to be in a wheelchair … or dead. But he was still unhappy. He’d always been an athletic guy – lifting weights, wrestling, jogging, swimming. He really missed being able to do those things … probably forever.
I sympathized with DM. I had a similarly life-changing experience about 13 years ago, when the cartilage in both of my big toe joints was destroyed. In the blink of an eye, I became almost crippled. To make matters worse, ballroom dancing was my sole means of earning a living at the time. Not only was I in pain, I was facing a career disaster.
Fortunately, I found a way to get over this major hurdle.
You may have heard the expression "living on a positive tip." It means having an extremely positive outlook on life. Well, I borrowed this term and redefined it to apply to a practical system for positive living.
After my injury, like DM, I told myself that at least I wasn’t in a wheelchair … or blind … or dead. But, as DM discovered, that didn’t help much. Because it’s one thing to say that you’ll look at the positive side of things … have your glass half full rather than half empty. But it’s another thing to truly feel that way.
What did help was a process that I labeled with the acronym A.P.E. (Accept, Plan, Execute). By implementing it, I was able to start developing a new life based on my new circumstances. Here are the steps I took:
1. Accept
I not only accepted that something bad had happened to me and that life isn’t always fair, I also accepted that it was okay for me to be upset about it. Sure, my luck could’ve been worse – but this was still lousy luck, and being sad about it didn’t make me weak or selfish.
2. Plan
Once I’d gotten past acceptance, I needed to figure out how to overcome my problem and continue to thrive. I took a two-pronged approach. Part one of my plan was to continue to seek out the best possible medical attention. This included doing research and locating specialized sports physicians. Part two of my plan was to develop a career as a writer … a career that I could pursue even if my feet never improved.
3. Execute
Once I had a plan, I was invigorated and full of hope. I relentlessly sought out medical treatment – almost every type of therapy you can think of, from ice packs to acupuncture to anti-inflammatory medicines. Eventually, I underwent several surgeries. Although that didn’t cure the problem, it improved to the point where I was able to resume a light dance instruction schedule. All the while, I continued to work on becoming a writer – both a copywriter and a screenplay author.
When I told DM about my A.P.E. strategy, his eyes lit up. He started thinking about things he could do – even with his bad back – to resume enjoying his life. He decided to buy a new sports car … get involved in a few charities that he believed in … and spend more time building his art and coin collections.
The A.P.E. strategy worked for LB, too.
LB had been working as a freelancer in the legal field for 20 years. While she wasn’t getting rich from her job, she was financially comfortable. By shrewdly saving and investing her money, she was well on her way to being able to enjoy a secure retirement in only a few short years.
Then LB’s main client had a turn of fortune. Business plummeted – and they were doling out fewer assignments. LB suddenly found herself in quite a predicament.
Now, through no fault of her own, she had reason to worry about her retirement. Sure, she could dip into her savings to help pay some bills in the short term … but she needed to add to those funds, not deplete them. Yes, she was lucky that she had been smart enough to put that money away. But that didn’t change the fact that she was nervous about her future.
Like DM, LB used the A.P.E. system to dig herself out of this hole of negativity.
First, she accepted her rotten luck as just that – rotten luck. She accepted her situation and faced the responsibility of dealing with it.
Next, LB put together a plan to work as much as she could for her current main client … and, at the same time, approach other people she’d worked with throughout the years to pick up additional assignments.
With this plan in hand, she moved on to its execution. And it was easier than she expected. The work started rolling in.
It’s been a couple of years since LB overcame her career obstacle … and she’s only one year away from retiring the way she wants to. She’ll have met all her financial goals, and will never have to worry about paying the bills. She has already moved into a very nice community that has many amenities she will continue to enjoy in retirement – and she will soon have plenty of time for international travel (which is her passion).
As DM and LB learned, when you find yourself in a bad situation, "positive thinking" doesn’t get you out of it. Telling yourself you’re lucky it wasn’t worse isn’t a practical solution. But the A.P.E. strategy – which calls for adopting a positive outlook AND a specific action plan – is.
[Ed. Note: Learn about Paul's A.P.E. system - and the other strategies in his "Positive Tip" program - on his website.]
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Reader Feedback: "A terrific way to start my day …"
"Reading Early to Rise is a priority for me every morning. It is informative and positive – a terrific way to start my day. Thanks so much for all your work in putting it together."
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Parma, ID
Iron Deficiency and Bone Loss
By Al Sears, MD
Aside from the misguided notion that cholesterol causes heart disease, the most common myth I debunk with my patients is the calcium/osteoporosis connection. In Message #1881, I showed you why calcium supplements may actually work against you. But there’s more to the osteoporosis problem. New evidence reveals that an iron deficiency – common here in the U.S. – contributes to bone loss.
Researchers in Japan tested this theory by feeding one group of mice a control diet, and another group of mice an iron-deficient diet. After just four weeks, the mice with an iron-deficient diet showed:
- loss of bone mineral content
- loss of bone density
- loss of mechanical strength in their bones
One reason for our chronic iron deficiency has been the result of a change in our food supply. Industrial fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides have sterilized the soil used to grow our vegetables. As a result, the plants don’t have the microbial help to absorb minerals – like iron – that they would have under more natural circumstances. To give you an idea of how bad it’s become, you’d have to eat 40 bowls of today’s spinach to get the same amount of iron as you would have gotten from just one bowl 60 years ago.
So should you take an iron supplement? For most people, the answer is no. Iron supplements are an incomplete fix, cause constipation and bad breath, are inconvenient, and may interfere with other minerals you need.
To boost your iron intake, switch to organic veggies – especially broccoli, green beans, and leafy greens. Their mineral content is higher. And the very best source of iron is still red meat, especially organ meats. If you choose this option, go the extra mile and search out grass-fed meat or wild game.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure and 12 Secrets to Virility, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
It’s Good to Know: The Difference Between Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
By Matt Turner
Yesterday, Michael Masterson asked me if I could answer some questions about plagiarism – an issue that’s especially of concern for those of you who are making a career of copywriting: "What’s the difference between plagiarism and copyright infringement?" "How much can I ‘borrow’?" "As a copywriter, what do I need to know to protect myself?"
Believe it or not, plagiarism is not illegal. Your high school English teacher may have been able to fail you if you plagiarized something, but a judge cannot hold you legally accountable. Copyright infringement, though, is illegal.
What’s the difference? Simple.
You are guilty of copyright infringement if you use the EXACT WORDS (or enough of the exact words) of another author. On the other hand, plagiarism is essentially when you take an IDEA from another author and re-work his actual words to express the same idea. So long as you rework his idea with your own original words, you are not liable for copyright infringement. And since plagiarism is a state law concept and the federal 1976 Copyright Act pre-empts all state law, plagiarism is no longer a legal action. You’re free and clear to re-work another author’s ideas into your own words. Ideas are owned by no one.
Now, if you wish to actually quote from another author’s work, that’s a little different. Quoting too much can make you liable for copyright infringement. However, we also have the doctrine of "fair use." This means that it’s okay for you to take a little from another author’s big work and put it in your medium-to-big work. But you can’t take another author’s big work and put it in your little work – because that makes your work a lot of their work.
Get it? If not, re-read what I just said … very slowly. That’s the best way I can put it. If I were to quote the law, I would confuse you even more.
You also need to know that when you use research in sales letters, you are operating in the "commercial speech" world. (Sales letters = commercial speech, and editorial = non-commercial speech.) This distinction is important, because the commercial speech world gets less First Amendment protection and gets away with a lot less. (For example, in commercial speech the "fair use" doctrine [see above] can be used but not as much as in non-commercial speech.)
By the way, this brings up another, more subtle, point …
Copywriters often like to quote their sources in such a way that it almost implies an endorsement. For example, "And even The Wall Street Journal agrees, as they wrote …" Be careful! There is no hard and fast rule here – and each case is looked at on its facts. But don’t leave yourself open to a claim that your sales letter is "trading off" the reputation of another entity. Citing an authoritative source is fine, but using the source’s material and reputation in a manner that is too glaring can be risky.
[Ed. Note: Attorney Matt Turner is Agora's in-house counsel.]
How Much Money Can YOU Make By Copying This "Mistake"?
How did Vicki Smith accidentally ‘hotwire’ the Internet and turn it into the goose that laid the golden egg?
Well, imagine a huge fortress with steep, heavily defended walls and a great big, drawbridge to get through. Inside that fortress is the huge pile of wealth there is to be made on the Internet. Now imagine trying to scale those walls with no equipment and never having done anything like it before. That is what many people try to do…
But what did Vicki do? By mistake, she got ‘lost’ and wandered around the back of that fortress and found a ‘hidden’ door which lead straight in. A solid gold door which opened up a gateway to riches…
It’s an opportunity which really does work, that anyone can follow and put into practice quickly in just an hour of your spare time from home.
Read about Vicki’s good fortune…
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Panache
"Panache" (puh-NASH) – a French word derived from the Latin for "feather" – is a flamboyant manner or style.
Example (as used by Eric Asimov in The New York Times): "Dessert included a marvelous bread pudding and a fair bananas Foster, the old-time New Orleans dish, which was prepared with great panache tableside, complete with a flambe moment."
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2006
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