How to Handle Being Badmouthed at Work
Issue #2015
- WEALTHY: 49% gains in 6 months (Charles Delvalle) .
- HEALTHY: Improve your cholesterol with no dangerous side effects (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Tacitus on being offended
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Should you care what people are saying behind your back? (Michael Masterson)
- Picture-perfect mail from around the globe (Lori Appling)
- It’s Good to Know… about Caesar salad
- Add "progeny" to your vocabulary
He’d Have Called Them Crazy - Or Worse!
With the Internet, it’s now possible to spend no more than a few dollars, write a couple of very basic ads, and have instant access to millions of potential customers all in a matter of minutes.
If anyone had told Jim Sheridan he could bank thousands in just 24 hours. . . without any product of his own. . . without spending a penny on getting it or promoting it, he’d have justifiably said they were nuts.
But Jim made a decision that he would overcome his skeptical nature and give it a go. Boy, is he glad he did! That one deal alone banked him $187,296 in one day.
The great news is - you can copy Jim’s plan exactly. The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it does exactly what it says it does.
Take a look at how Jim brought in over $187,000 in a single day!
- Patrick Coffey
The Natural Cycle of Natural Gas
By Charles Delvalle
One of the best ways to make money in the commodities world is to use cycles to time your buy and sell points. When it comes to natural gas, there is a cycle that can predictably make you money nearly every year.
The cycle goes like this: During October/November, natural gas prices go up (though not in a straight line) as refineries begin to buy and store natural gas in anticipation of the increased demand for heat during the winter. As an investor, you would want to buy natural gas futures or stock in a strong natural gas company like Chesapeake Energy (NYSE:CHK) at the start of fall (late September) and hold on until the beginning of spring.
During the most recent cycle, natural gas prices shot up by 49 percent. If you had used this strategy, you’d be sitting on a healthy gain.
[Ed. Note: Charles Delvalle is a contributing editor to ETR's Investor's Daily Edge newsletter and a regular contributor to INCOME. INCOME lets you in on the safest 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.]
"To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it."
Tacitus
How to Handle Being Badmouthed at Work
By Michael Masterson
What do you do when you discover that an employee or colleague has been badmouthing you?
An example:
Several years ago (over the course of six months), I reduced Ellen’s responsibilities (and job title). Although she had many excellent qualities, she was someone who saw business as a struggle for personal power rather than a struggle toward a common goal - which is not the way a good leader should think. On top of that, we had different ideas about the way a major project should be handled.
But since Ellen was very strong in some ways (a hard worker, passionate, tough, and motivated), I didn’t want to fire her. Instead, I figured out a way to create an important job that she could excel at.
Although we never talked about it, I felt that she understood what I tried to do. That seemed like a reasonable expectation, since I had simplified her job, focused her attention on work she could do well, and maintained her income level even though her work load was considerably reduced. All subsequent communications from her were as positive as ever, so I decided that the transition had, indeed, gone well.
I was wrong. As it turned out, she didn’t like it at all. And she expressed her bad feelings in very strong terms in several memos sent to a few colleagues.
Those memos made their way back to me, and I was shocked to see how she felt.
My first reaction was, "After all the time and effort I spent trying to find a new job for her! I should have just fired her!"
But I got over that and eventually came back to the idea that I always come to when I hear that someone’s been talking negatively about me behind my back: You can’t pay attention to what people say about you when you are not present.
There are three reasons:
- They are venting - so much of what they are saying is exaggerated. (Haven’t you ever said something about someone that was an exaggeration?)
- The feelings they are expressing in the heat of the moment may be temporary. (Think about how your opinion of certain colleagues has changed over the years.)
- Most of the negative feelings that turn out to be permanent really won’t affect you. It’s just talk.
So don’t worry about what people say behind your back. It is mostly a reflection of how powerless they feel. Focus on doing what you think is best, and hope that your detractors will come around to seeing the wisdom of your ways.
If you want to succeed, you must learn to be a leader. Leadership implies change. Change involves fear and loss. When fear and loss are present, resentment is commonplace. Blame too.
So steel yourself against resentment, because it is the price you pay for making things better.
If you do get word that there are grumblings against you, pay them no mind. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it might be better to confront the offender. You’ll only make matters worse. Instead, continue focusing on your common business goal, as opposed to your relationship, and hope the emotional bruises heal.
If the grumbler’s productivity decreases measurably, you can probably conclude things will go from bad to worse. In such a situation, it’s advisable to dismiss him. But if you can get the relationship back on track, chances are it will be a good one.
What is said about you behind your back usually means nothing, and it always says more about the speaker than it does about you. Ignore it. Pay attention to what people say to your face. Expect to be treated with respect - and demand it if it doesn’t come. Focus on the work and not the personal drama.
[Ed. Note: Get Michael Masterson's top strategies for becoming a more effective, influential leader in his book Power and Persuasion.]
Why Are Most Real Estate ‘Investors’ Still Going to Work Every Morning?
If you want to collect an automatic monthly income of $10,000 or more - without having to get up every morning and "go to work" - most real estate experts are giving you the wrong advice. They rave about buying and selling single family homes. But… they don’t admit that single family homes are difficult investments for instant passive income… for attaining real financial freedom by not having to get up and go to work every morning.
Dave Lindahl makes $27,000+ in passive income month after month… and can easily show you how to reap huge positive cash flows from real estate - with less risk and less money down than single family homes.
Kam Weiler
Contributing Editor, Main Street Millionaire
Reader Feedback: "Masterson’s distilled wisdom from life’s experiences never fails to strike an inner chord in me."
"I owe it to you to send feedback on the content and presentation of the ETR newsletter. I am also happy to see the changes you have made to the format of the letter and the restyling of the presentation.
"My present comment arises from Mr. Masterson’s ‘Advice on Giving Advice‘ article. His distilled wisdom from life’s experiences never fails to strike an inner chord in me.
"In my life of 64 years, I have been available to those who seek advice, at great personal costs at times. I have also been a paid consultant for a short while, and had to discontinue the practice for family reasons.
"I have had the very rewarding experience of those who ignored my advice initially coming back to me much later to acknowledge how much they benefited after they finally implemented the advice.
"I recommend the ETR approach to our youth. You have the perfect blend of drive for progress coupled with social responsibility. Michael’s gems of wisdom are collected by me in a manuscript handbook and periodically given out to some promising youth on Indian campuses, duly acknowledging ETR and Michael as the sources. I find this to be a rewarding pastime.
"Many thanks to ETR and the dedicated team bringing it out."
C.S.Radhakrishnan
Goa, India
[Ed. Note: How has reading ETR helped you - maybe even changed your life? Send your comments to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your name and hometown ... and we may print your e-mail in a future issue.]
You Don’t Need Drugs for a Healthy Heart
By Al Sears, MD
Last month marked the failure of another drug.
Pfizer pulled its much-touted new cholesterol drug torcetrapib after trials revealed an increased risk of heart complications and death. This was the first drug designed to raise levels of HDL (good cholesterol) instead of lowering levels of LDL (bad cholesterol).
While the new drug stimulated scientists and researchers to recognize the importance of HDL in heart health, keep in mind that relying on toxic drugs to boost HDL is unnecessary.
Niacin - a simple B vitamin - raises HDL better than any drug, boosting it by as much as 35 percent. This usually requires a higher dose - about 2,000 milligrams per day. It also lowers LDL and reduces artery-clogging triglycerides by as much as 50 percent.
Decades after the first clinical tests linked niacin and heart health, the medical establishment is finally giving it the recognition it deserves. Niacin is completely natural and has no dangerous side effects. It can occasionally cause a flush when the blood vessels dilate, but this is not serious.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
Travel Tip: Turn Your Pictures Into Postcards
By Lori Appling
I’ll never buy another postcard.
The United States Postal Service has a cool feature you might not know about. If you go to the USPS website, you can upload an image (your own or one that they provide) and they’ll create, print, and mail a postcard for you.
Go to usps.com/netpost and click on Stay in Touch With Family & Friends. Then click on Premium Postcards.
I used to use the NetPost service a lot when I lived in Paris. It allowed me to make postcards out of my own photos as well as avoid the international postage rates. For a premium postcard, it’s only $.84.
[Ed. Note: Lori Appling is Director of AWAI's Travel Division. For more tips, sign up for AWAI Travel's free e-letter, The Right Way to Travel.]
It’s Good to Know: About Caesar Salad
No, it wasn’t invented by Julius Caesar or at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. The ever-popular Caesar salad was created by Italian chef Caesar Cardini at the Hotel Caesar in Tijuana, Mexico in 1924.
Despite the inclusion of anchovies in some modern versions, there were none in the original recipe. It used Worcestershire sauce, which has anchovies as one of its ingredients.
(Source: Wikipedia)
The IRS Only Wants One Thing - Everything You Own…
So wouldn’t you like to tell your boss - and all the others…
“Get Your Stinkin’ Hand Out Of My Wallet!”
If you’re serious about getting out from under the 9 to 5 daily grind, I’d like to introduce you to a man who’s been helping people…
He’ll tell you exactly what to do… so you can tell all of them to shove it!
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Progeny
"Progeny" (PRAHJ-uh-nee) - from the Latin for "beget" - are the immediate descendents of a person, animal, or plant.
Example (as used by Liesl Schillinger in a New York Times review of Walking on Eggshells by Jane Isay): "We could perhaps learn something from the female leatherback turtle. She lays her clutch of eggs then departs forever, never to discover how her progeny fared for the rest of her long life."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007