- WEALTHY: 7 steps to a wealthier year (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: Don’t fall for this marketing ploy! (Jon Herring)
- WISE: Ted Williams on having goals
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 5 quick ways to improve your e-zine (Bob Bly)
- Feedback Friday: the pain and pleasure of giving
- Add "stripling" to your vocabulary
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
"A man has to have goals – for a day, for a lifetime – and that was mine, to have people say, ‘There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived.’"
Ted Williams
Kicking Off the New Year With ETR: Wealth AND Happiness in 2007, Part 1
By Michael Masterson
This week, while trying to write two New Year’s resolution articles for ETR – one on wealth and one on happiness – I found myself using new words to say the same old things.
I brought up my problem with JG, a close friend and former partner with whom I’ve enjoyed a 30-year conversation about life and how to live it. The subject matter of my articles was good and useful – but most ETR readers have heard it all before.
Although JG pointed out that the articles would be helpful despite the fact that they repeated ideas I’ve been discussing for years, I still wanted to write something new. I just didn’t know what "new" was.
"Here’s my take," said JG. "You’ve been working on two articles. One is about creating wealth. The other is about achieving happiness. Have you ever considered writing about the relationship between wealth and happiness? How to become rich and happy too?
"For most people, happiness seems like something that will come automatically once wealth is achieved. But you know that isn’t true. So you’ve been writing about wealth and happiness separately. You’ve been explaining what you know about making money and developing businesses and accumulating objects of wealth as if the pursuit of those things is not directly related to happiness. But the truth is, they are linked."
He was right. I had never attempted to write about how to achieve wealth and happiness simultaneously. But that is certainly something any ETR reader – whether a beginning or advanced wealth builder – would be interested in.
JG reminded me that I run dozens of multimillion-dollar businesses and make plenty of money. Better yet, I enjoy doing it. Plus, I’m lucky to have a full life outside of business too.
"But," he said. "I want you to consider one thing. You have several hundred thousand readers. Each is a unique person with unique qualities. You were born in the year of the Tiger, and it seems to me from observing you that you are a natural tiger. What is good for the tiger is not good for the horse or the pig or the snake.
"So you should write not only about the relationship between wealth and happiness, but also about how each individual must discover his own nature and find his own balance.
"What I mean by that is, instead of writing about achieving wealth or achieving happiness, consider writing about achieving the feeling of wealth. When people think about being wealthy, what they are really thinking about is the feeling of having those things they think money will buy them."
JG is particularly qualified to give such advice. When he was my business partner (and was earning a giant income and running a multimillion-dollar company), he was also a martial arts practitioner and a student of Chinese philosophy. One day, he came to me and said that he was going to leave the business world and spend his time teaching the Chinese internal systems and practicing them in his own life.
Instead of being shocked that JG would walk away from a huge business and giant income and opt for a life of simplicity instead, I was proud of him and eager to see where his path led him. He in turn was happy for me to pursue my own path. In the nearly 20 years since then, he’s taught me a lot about enjoying my life by balancing my natural "tiger" capacity for bigness with what I now know is an equally natural need for peace, happiness, and relaxation.
So this year, in addition to talking about how you can become wealthier and happier in 2007, I’m going to add a third, more "advanced" component to my New Year’s resolution articles for ETR: how to feel wealthier.
Today, let’s begin by talking about how you can be wealthier this year.
As I said in Automatic Wealth, you don’t have to be a genius to become wealthy. Acquiring a high net worth is possible for anyone who is willing to put in the time and follow a few simple rules. Here they are:
1. Wake up earlier.
Lots of people object to this rule. They tell me they are "night" people, and then give me 63 reasons why they do better work after the sun goes down. I understand how they feel. For many years, I felt the same way – and, to be truthful, I still managed to make a decent living. But when I was in my early 30s, I read a study that said successful entrepreneurs get to work, on average, about an hour earlier than the people who work for them. That was enough for me. I started getting to work earlier and discovered that it worked better for me. Don’t knock it. Try it.
2. Spend that extra hour on your most important wealth-building objective.
Ask yourself every morning: "What is the single most important thing I can do right now to increase my wealth before the end of the year?" Identify what that task is and start working on it immediately. Take no phone calls. Answer no e-mails. Don’t even turn on the radio. You want to treat this hour like it is sacred … because, from a productivity perspective, it is.
3. Educate yourself.
Spend at least a half-hour a day learning about wealth or practicing a wealth-building habit. If you aren’t sure what to read or practice, take a look at our website to see the various materials/programs that ETR has to offer.
4. Develop wealth-building partners.
Nothing will make your wealth-building journey faster and easier than having good people to support you. When I think back on my career, it is obvious to me that 80 percent of the success I had was due to picking great mentors, partners, and superstar employees. That’s what you need to do this year. Improve your list of partners. Who do you have? Who would you like to have? (See ETR #1626, #1873, and #1035 for strategies on how to develop a support network.)
5. Increase your income.
Income is not the most important aspect of wealth building, but it shouldn’t be ignored. Figure out how you can increase your income this year, and then do whatever is necessary to achieve that increase.
6. Increase your equity in a business and/or real estate.
Equity is the key to wealth. Figure out how much equity you acquired last year, and find some way to get more equity in 2007. (As Justin Ford pointed out on Tuesday, the golden rule for real estate investing is to find quality properties that you can buy at or below market prices. And there should be some very good real estate bargains opening up later in the year.)
7. Save more.
What did you sock away last year? How can you do better than that this year? There are only two ways to save more: by increasing your income (which you intend to do, right?) and by decreasing your spending (which is always a good idea).
If you make a commitment to follow these seven steps, your net worth will be larger – probably significantly larger – 12 months from now. It will take some discipline, but ETR will be in your e-mail box every morning with encouragement, tips, and practical advice to help you achieve this goal – and all your goals – for the year.
[Ed Note: On Monday, Michael will reveal a five-step plan for increasing your happiness in 2007.]
You Could Be Just One Deal From A Luxury Retirement
Worried you may have to work until you drop?
Fed-up with slaving for a pittance while others get wealthy all around you?
Here’s a PROVEN way to make enough money to retire as soon as you want, never work again and enjoy a fabulous income for life-all from doing just ONE DEAL in Commercial Real Estate.
- Kam Weiler
Sugar: The New Health Food (Not!)
By Jon Herring
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal highlights an effort by the Jones Soda Company – and a number of other companies – to appeal to health conscious consumers by switching to (drum roll, please) … sugar!
These companies are attempting to capitalize on the bad publicity that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been receiving by promoting their switch to "all natural" cane sugar. The CEO of Jones, Peter van Stolk, told the Journal that sweetening with cane sugar "provides the consumer with a healthier alternative." He added that cane sugar is a "natural ingredient with a positive perception in the consumer’s mind."
While sugar cane itself might be natural, cane sugar is not. It is a processed ingredient … and it is certainly not healthy. The difference between sugar and HFCS is trivial. Table sugar consists of 50 percent fructose and 50 percent glucose, while HFCS is about 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose. They both strongly contribute to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, among a host of other negative health consequences.
You’re going to be seeing a lot more products that tout the benefits of cane sugar, organic evaporated cane juice, organic sugar, and the like. But don’t fall for it. These ingredients are no healthier than ordinary sugar and present little advantage over high fructose corn syrup. It is a marketing angle, and nothing more.
Quick Internet Marketing Tip: How to Attract More Clients, Part 2
By Bob Bly
Sending out an electronic newsletter (e-zine) is not only an excellent way for a business to sell more of its products, it also works to help freelancers keep potential and current clients informed about their services.
Here are five ideas for making your e-zine a more effective self-promotional tool:
- Rather than using your e-zine to sell your services (and/or products) directly, use it to give your clients interesting, useable information that relates to improving their businesses. When they get this information, they will be grateful for it … and will associate you with that feeling of gratitude.
- Keep it short and keep the language simple. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to read.
- Send it as text and not HTML – unless, that is, you’re providing images as a functional part of your message (for instance, if you’re a designer).
- Establish a schedule you can keep. If you say your e-zine comes out every two weeks, make sure it does. Your ability to stick with this schedule reflects on your overall dependability.
- Develop alliances with other people in your industry and link to each others’ e-zines.
[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is the editor of ETR's Direct Marketing Masters Edition, a program to help you start your own successful direct-mail business.
Whether you're using your e-zine to promote your services or sell your products, we'll be giving you lots of ideas in ETR to help you make it work better for you ... starting with tomorrow's article by David Cross.]
Feedback Friday: "When Helping People Hurts"
In ETR #1909, Michael Masterson talked about some of the problems he’s run into when giving advice and money to friends and family members. Some of your fellow readers have had similar experiences. Here are a few of their responses to that article …
"Thank you so much for putting into words your advice on lending money. I have had some serious lessons to learn in my life from lending to people who simply resented me in return. Some years ago, I made the decision to no longer give loans. I now only give gifts. I felt that a loan caused resentment in the other person, there was always something hanging over their head. And yes, they rarely used the money wisely.
"In giving a gift, the act is complete. There is no future for the other person to dread, and I have no negative energy coming my way. But I think and feel carefully when giving gifts."
H.W.
Chicago, IL
"You may consider the money you give ‘wasted,’ but I would suggest you have reinvested it in yourself. You say you continue to give away money because you can’t help yourself. I would suggest that you give away money because it FEELS good and it makes you feel RICH to be able to do so. And the RICHER you feel, the RICHER you become! That is the rationale behind the spiritual law of tithing. The more you give, the more you receive. ‘Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’ (Luke 6:38)
"Just some additional thoughts in this spirit of giving …"
Donna Mosher
The Woodlands, TX
"I thank you for your insightful and extremely helpful guidelines for giving advice and money. Many times it is hard to know exactly how to respond to those you truly want to help. Giving is always something that gives life and fullness to my life, but many times I do not weigh the appropriate method and timing of giving. Your guidelines are now in my ‘Life Book’ and on my ‘Practices’ board. Thank you for being so honest and open about something so personal."
Becky Padgett
Chesapeake, VA
15 Minutes A Day To Personal Freedom…
Just think, reaching your goals this year could make the difference…
Between retiring with just enough to get by… or with a millionaire’s portfolio…
Between having a job you dread going to every day…. or the job you’ve always dreamed about…
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Stripling
A "stripling" (STRIP-ling) is a young man, just passing out of adolescence.
Example (as used by Pico Iyer in The New York Times): "There are precious few constants in the story of the yen. For a start, it is a stripling among the monies of the world, being not much more than a century old."
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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