- WEALTHY: The Philly Fed fesses up (Charles Delvalle)
- HEALTHY: Help your brain help you lose weight (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Admiral David G. Farragut’s famous quote
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The most profitable New Year’s resolution you can make (Bob Bly)
- Our clinic needs your help (Michael Masterson)
- Add "apercu" to your vocabulary
What is having the Secrets to a Lifetime of Automatic Income Worth to You?
Think about taking just one simple step today… and finding that in a few weeks, you have a chance for $3,000, $6,000, $12,000 or more (maybe MUCH more) to be dropped into your bank account each and every month… with almost zero effort on your part… and practically no costs.
The Real Cause of Inflation
By Charles Delvalle
Most people think the ongoing rise in inflation has been entirely due to higher energy costs. But though that’s definitely had an effect on prices, it’s not the only thing to blame.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, the cost of medical care has been rising at an annual rate of 4.2 percent … the cost of personal care products and services has been rising at an annual rate of 5.8 percent … and the cost of education has been rising at an annual rate of 6 percent.
The Philly Fed also admits: "We cannot rule out the possibility that the Fed’s stimulative monetary policy during the last five years may have contributed to the rise in core inflation."
As I said on Monday, inflation isn’t going to be a big concern this year – even though, in general, it has been on the rise since 2003. But there’s an investment move that can save your hard-earned savings from the ravages of inflation – no matter how severe it is or what’s causing it: Buy gold or silver. Both have historically gone up in value during inflationary times.
[Ed. Note: Charles Delvalle is a contributing editor to the Investor’s Daily Edge newsletter, and a regular contributor to INCOME, ETR’s new investment service. INCOME provides a slew of high-dividend-paying companies, with the goal of providing you with a total return (dividends plus capital gains) of at least 14 percent per year.]
"Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"
Admiral David G. Farragut
Kicking Off the New Year With ETR: The Best Business Advice You’ll Ever Get
By Bob Bly
I’ve known Joe Vitale, the rich and famous Internet marketing guru, for decades. During that time, we’ve talked a lot … and he’s given me lots of great advice and guidance.
But something he said a few months ago at ETR’s Bootcamp radically changed my life and financial situation for the better – and it can do the same for you.
During a terrific talk at the Bootcamp, Joe talked about the importance of taking swift action when you have a good business idea.
"Money loves speed," said Joe, repeating it several times.
This thought resonated strongly with me, because if I think about the mistake I’ve made that’s cost me the most money in my life, it’s clearly a failure to take swift action.
I have a lot of ideas. We all do. An idea has no value by itself, though. It only gains value when you put it into action. And too many of us, me included, are better at thinking about doing things that can make us money … than we are at actually doing them.
We get excited about the ideas, while, in reality, it’s the actions that make the real difference.
It reminds me of something the late science fiction and science writer Isaac Asimov said.
Asimov was one of the world’s most prolific writers. He wrote and published more than 475 books during his lifetime – which is even more amazing when you consider that he didn’t publish his first book until age 30 and passed away at age 72.
Asimov said he often received letters from people saying that they had a great idea for a science fiction story. They suggested to Asimov that if he would write a story based on their idea, they could split the money 50/50.
"I have a better idea," Asimov always replied. "I’ll give you the idea, you write it, and we’ll split it 50/50."
The point, of course, is that having the idea isn’t so hard – and, by itself, doesn’t generate a dime of profit. The hard work – and real payoff – is in writing and selling the story … or creating and marketing the product … or investing in the property or fund … or launching the business venture.
My colleague, best-selling self-help author Robert Ringer, thinks action is so important that he wrote an entire book (titled Action) to communicate that essential idea.
And it’s not just action, but FAST action that can really make you rich and famous.
Not only does fast action help you launch your product or marketing campaign before your competitors do … it also ensures that things actually get done and out the door, rather than sitting around on the back burner, withering away from age and inattention.
All really successful people act upon the belief that money loves speed – and, in return, that has made them rich.
Michael Masterson says it this way: "Ready, fire, aim!"
As Michael explains it, the ordinary businessperson is oriented toward planning rather than action. His approach is "Ready, aim, fire" … which translates into spending so much time planning, researching, taking surveys, doing market studies, and having meetings that the idea never gets off the ground.
Or, by the time the idea’s ready to launch, it’s already been done by someone else. Or the opportunity to profit from it has already passed.
Point is, the most important thing to do is simply … something. In business, that "something" is to actually create a product and run a test marketing campaign to prove that the market wants what you are selling and is willing to pay for it.
"Until you’ve done that, you don’t have a business," says Michael.
In other words, when you have an idea for a product, service, business, or promotion, don’t just talk about it or think about it or write a business plan. Go out and write it, create it, produce it, and test market it. Put it out there and find out whether people want what you are selling – at the price you want to charge.
Ready, fire, aim. Money loves speed. Take action.
So make a New Year’s resolution to move forward with one of your business or marketing ideas and test it during the first quarter of 2007.
No procrastination. No talk. No planning it to death. No excuses. As Nike says, "Just do it!"
One other thing: This article isn’t just a "pep talk" based on what I "think" sounds like a good idea. Since putting Joe Vitale’s "Money loves speed" idea into practical action, I have increased my personal income by $4,000 a week.
That works out to an extra $200,000 a year added to my bank account.
This may be "chump change" to rich guys like Michael, Robert, and Joe (and, who knows, maybe to you, too). But it’s not to me.
So I thank Joe Vitale from the bottom of my heart.
And I promise that you too will thank Joe Vitale for his "Money loves speed" idea. And I guarantee that putting it into action will be the most important – and profitable – New Year’s resolution you’ve ever made.
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.
Subscribe to Bob’s free monthly marketing e-zine, Direct Response Letter:.]
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Reader Feedback: "While I’m not quite where I want to be yet, I am well on my way."
"Please pass along my thanks to Mr. Masterson regarding his article in ETR #1878 about attorney marketing and wealth building. I am an attorney at a large law firm, and I can attest to the power of focusing on the business of a law firm as a path to success.
"While I’m not quite where I want to be yet, I am well on my way. ETR has certainly helped me think of new ways to use my skills to add to the profit center of the firm."
Jason Foster
Cleveland Ohio
Fill Up on Filling Foods
By Al Sears, MD
Last weekend, I went to a picnic at my son’s school. (The warm weather here in Florida allows us to barbeque during the winter.) As I stood in line to get my burger, I watched the other parents piling huge mounds of food onto their paper plates. Then I watched many go back for seconds of French fries, potato salad, and homemade brownies.
This made me think of a pair of studies I read recently.
In 1984, researchers from Penn State asked the students who were participating in their study to eat their meals in the school cafeteria … and to take as much food as they wanted. Then, in 2003, researchers from Rutgers did the same thing – and they found that their subjects put 20 percent to 50 percent more food on their plates than the Penn State students did in 1984.
Clearly, people are eating more than they used to. But why?
Here’s my take: It’s the kind of food we’re eating that makes us eat more. High-carb and highly processed foods lower sensitivity to a hormone called leptin. This is the messenger that tells your brain "I’m full." Without it, you keep eating and eating.
The easiest way to eat smaller portions is to eat foods that make you feel full sooner. So instead of trying to deny yourself, focus on foods high in protein – like lean meats, poultry, fish, and nuts. These foods trigger the leptin receptors in your brain and give you the feeling that you’ve "had enough."
Another winning strategy is to use the glycemic index. Foods that score below 40 keep your blood sugar and insulin at low levels. This is the key to preventing weight gain if you’re going to a party or out to dinner and expect to be eating a lot.
[Ed. Note: Get your copy of the glycemic index Dr. Sears gives his patients HERE.]
Notes From Michael Masterson’s Blog: Helping Thousands of Patients Start the Year Off Right
Julia Guth, Director of the Oxford Club and also of the non-profit foundation that supports the Roberto Clemente clinic in Nicaragua, is asking for help. The clinic needs money, supplies, and personal assistance to cope with the growing demand for its services.
When it was created five or six years ago, it treated only Rancho Santana employees, their families, and the local citizens of two small hamlets in the area. Nowadays, Julia tells me, it is working 24/7 to treat 48 area villages up and down Nicaragua’s Pacific coast, as well as tourists, workers, and residents of Rancho Santana. (In one recent month the clinic saw 1,270 patients!)
It’s inspiring to think that so much is being done now that was not possible before the clinic was built. For example:
[Ed. Note: Read the rest of this article on Michael Masterson's blog.]
- Michael Masterson
Are You Ready for a Thrilling, Positive Change In Your Life?
This may be the life-changing opportunity you’ve been waiting for. If you continue
doing everything the same way, you’re going to get the same results. You must make a change TODAY to see a change in 2007.
I’d like to show you how to dramatically increase the chances of making all your dreams – whatever they may be – come true this year.
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Apercu
"Apercu" (ah-per-SOO) – derived from the French for "to perceive" – is a short, quick insight.
Example (as used by Richard Schickel in a New York Times Book Review article of It Ain’t No Sin): "There were, to twist one of her more famous apercus, men in [Mae] West’s life, but not much life in her men."
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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