Your Hidden Genius
Issue #2146
- WEALTHY: 4 steps to finding resilient stocks to stow your money (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Is there such a thing as too many supplements? (Dr. Ray Sahelian)
- WISE: Anne Frank on your potential as a human being
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The Sylvester Stallone method of getting ahead (Robert Ringer)
- Your top priority for your brand-new business (Michael Masterson)
- It’s Fun to Know… about Google Sky
- Add "pukka" to your vocabulary
Revealed: Probably the Biggest Red Herring in History!
While the world’s been stock watching (and losing!), the elite quietly play a different game with different rules…
Feeling cheated and disillusioned by the stock market? Sure, you may have made a good trade here… but then lost on another. The people dutifully pour their hard-earned cash into investment banks to put into the stock market for them… and those investment banks gladly oblige, for a fat fee… which they invest somewhere else! I’m no conspiracy theorist, but in my opinion the stock market is really a diversion for the masses… a distraction from where the BIG and consistent money is made… in the world’s money mountain. And when I say “Money Mountain,” I speak quite literally… the BIGGEST mountain of money on the planet. Click here to read more…
The Investing Strategy for All Seasons
Value companies carry low price tags when compared to their assets and the level of their cash earnings. When you invest in them, you don’t have to worry about revising your investing strategy whenever the market enters a new phase. They’re particularly adept at absorbing downshifts in the market.
So how do you find them? Go to a financial site (like finance.yahoo.com) and click on their screener link (under "stock research"). Then select the price-to-earnings (P/E) criterion (under "valuation") and put in a value of 12 or less. Then select the enterprise value to operating cash flow criterion (under "valuation") and put in a value of 10 or less. To make sure these companies are growing their sales, now select sales growth estimates for this year (under "growth") and put in the value of five percent or more.
If you stay away from companies in deadbeat sectors (like newspapers) and risky sectors (like financials) and carefully check out the ones that interest you the most, you’re sure to come up with some fine investment choices. With the market lurching like a drunken sailor, you won’t have to worry if your investments match the current "mood" of the market. And what a relief that is.
[Ed. Note: ETR’s Investment Director Andrew Gordon is the author of about a dozen books on energy markets, global countertrade practices, and the hot growth sectors of China and Russia. He’s the editor of INCOME, a monthly financial advisory service that uncovers income-generating stocks that promise safety (first and foremost), along with much-higher-than-average profit potential.]
"Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!"
Anne Frank
Your Hidden Genius
I’ve had an emotional attachment to Sylvester Stallone and his Rocky films since 1977. It all began when my then secretary told me she had seen a movie over the weekend that was a "must see" for me. She went on to say that Sylvester Stallone’s success with that first Rocky closely paralleled my own success with my first book.
She explained that Stallone had done it all. He wrote the script, raised the money, played the lead character, and produced the film. Unfortunately, there has been a several-hundred-million-dollar disparity between our respective returns on invested time and energy over the years, but I’m used to such inequities.
I’m still fascinated by Stallone’s amazing rise from troubled teenager to wealthy, famous superstar. Injured at birth, he has had a droopy lip and slurred speech throughout his life, making him as unlikely a movie star as a weightlifter with an Austrian accent and a name most people can’t pronounce.
At 15, his classmates voted him "most likely to end up in the electric chair." Then, after stumbling from one job to another for several years, Stallone came upon the mother of all stumbles: acting. This happened while he was coaching women’s athletics at the American College of Switzerland.
After some bit parts and a "light" porn film, he wrote his first script, The Lords of Flatbush, in which he cast himself as one of the four main characters. Believe it or not, I actually saw that film back in 1974 - an abysmal piece of work - and I remember Stallone well.
He played a somewhat blubbery hoodlum in a leather jacket - not exactly a matinee idol. At the time, no one could have convinced me that the pudgy guy with the speech impediment would soon become the most famous actor in Hollywood.
What’s so inspiring about Stallone is that his real-life success bears such a close resemblance to the success of his Rocky character. We’ve all read and heard much over the years about how every individual possesses a "hidden genius," and Stallone’s life is an archetypal example of this. He wrote his first Rocky script in just three days! That is genius - hidden genius, because he had never written a movie script prior to the incredibly bad The Lords of Flatbush, and he had limited experience with acting.
Had Stallone not stumbled onto acting in Switzerland, it’s quite possible he never would have discovered his hidden genius. Just think about that for a second. There would have been no Rocky series, no Rambo series, no Hollywood legend by the name of Sylvester Stallone.
So, clearly, the public at large stands to benefit when someone discovers his hidden genius. That being the case, if you would really like to do something for "society," you would do well to make a serious effort to discover your hidden genius - then exploit it to the max.
More recently, another hard-case-turned-success has fascinated me. He’s a television personality who discovered his hidden genius only after overcoming the twin demons of drug addiction and alcoholism.
The television personality I am referring to is the ultra-likeable Glenn Beck. There is no television commentator quite like him. He’s funny, knowledgeable, outrageous, polite, self-deprecating, well-spoken, folksy, and, above all, entertaining.
Beck has a nightly show on CNN Headline News, with many reruns throughout the evening and early morning hours. You heard right. CNN, the voice of socialist America, apparently made the decision to throw in the towel and go for ratings instead by bringing a hard-core conservative on board.
What’s amazing about Glenn Beck is that not only has he survived alcoholism and drug addiction, he’s also been through a divorce and, among other things, managed to go relatively unnoticed by the general public for more than two decades.
When Beck’s life was in a shambles, could anyone possibly have imagined that he would some day be a wildly successful television personality? Hardly. On the contrary, I’m sure people saw him as the bum he was.
Yet, beneath his bum exterior was a hidden genius - a genius Beck probably didn’t even know he possessed. His is a natural talent that started to come to the fore when he was exposed to talk radio at an early age, but it did not fully surface until he reached his forties.
All this begs the question: If a guy with a troubled childhood, slurred speech, and a droopy lip could become a film mega-star… and a former alcoholic and drug addict could become a major television personality… what could you accomplish if you could only uncover your hidden genius?
Given that the rewards are so high - not just monetarily, but, even more important, from the standpoint of leading a fulfilling life - isn’t the pursuit of your hidden genius a worthwhile undertaking?
Which brings about the second question: How do you go about such a pursuit?
The short answer is that you need to get out, do things, try things, make calls, network with people - take action. The odds against a person’s finding his hidden genius are overwhelming so long as he chooses to lead a mentally and physically sedentary life.
Remember that when it comes to finding a meaningful purpose in life, the first two questions you should ask yourself are: (1) What do I enjoy? and (2) What am I good at? And the answers to these two questions are also likely to lead you to your hidden genius.
Why? Because if you can find something you both enjoy and are good at, it would appear self-evident that you could accomplish great things by focusing intensely on whatever that one "thing" is.
I recognize that it’s much easier to talk about than actually do. However, the effort is worth it, because it could very well result in your hidden genius coming to the surface… and bringing you all you want in life.
[Ed. Note: Take a gigantic step toward achieving all your personal and professional goals - faster than you ever imagined - with Robert Ringer’s best-selling personal-development program. And sign up for his Voice of Sanity e-letter here.
Correction: Robert Ringer’s article, originally published on 9/13, incorrectly stated that Sylvester Stallone directed Rocky. John Avildson directed Rocky and Rocky V. Stallone directed Rocky sequels II, III, IV and Rocky Balboa. ]
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Pet Psychic Asks Wrong Question
I received a package of pet products this morning from Erika Alexander, an ETR reader who makes a living communicating with pets - dead or alive. Along with the bag of first-aid items and toys was a handwritten letter thanking me for ETR and asking for advice.
Erika’s problem, according to her letter, is that she is looking for an organization to "fund" a building in which she and her fellow pet psychics/trainers can work. "If the classroom is paid for, or would be less expensive, we could continue our lessons… or pay it forward for others, as a tax write-off for a non-profit organization."
Erika’s concern betrays a serious flaw. Instead of asking how to increase sales, she is looking for advice on how to reduce costs. It doesn’t matter that what she is suggesting is highly improbable - that an organization would fund her business in any way. What matters is that Erika doesn’t seem to understand that her top priority as a small-business owner of a start-up business is to sell more products.
Erika says she can do psychic readings of pets over the telephone. If that’s true, what does she need the classroom for?
I think talking to pets is nutty, but there are millions of people who are taking their pets to psychics and therapists and astrologers. Millions of nutty (okay, enthusiastic) people constitutes an active, viable market.
Erika should forget about the classroom and forget about funding. She should read my next book, Ready, Fire, Aim, buy one of ETR’s recommended business-building programs, or attend one of our seminars. She should pay particular attention to Internet marketing, because that’s where her future lies.
Erika should spend 80 percent of her time and money selling psychic readings on the Internet. She should build up a file of satisfied customers. When that list reaches 1,000, she should start hiring pet psychics and astrologers and whatnot to work for her and start producing and marketing back-end products to her customers. At that point, her business should be making between $200,000 and $500,000.
By expanding her product line, sales will continue to grow. Most of the products she comes up with will work only to the back end (her existing customers), but some will be profitable as front-end vehicles (to attract new customers). Eventually, one of those front-end products will explode and sales will soar. After that happens, Erika’s business will jump quickly to a million dollars a year and then two million and then four million, doubling every year for a while. At that point, she’ll be a wealthy woman and won’t need to borrow money to build anything.
You may be wondering how I know this will happen. Maybe I’m psychic…
By the way, if you’d like a reading from Erika, you can contact her at 714-PET TALK.
[Ed. Note: Michael Masterson and his team of business-building and marketing experts will be revealing their strategies for getting a brand-new business off the ground… and making an existing business grow like crazy. Reserve your spot at this fall’s Info Marketing Bootcamp - Making a Fast Fortune on the "Other Side" of the Internet - today.]
Don’t Overdo It
A friend of mine called me recently for advice. He is 53 years old, very healthy, and wanted to know what I thought about his supplement regimen. I was shocked when he read off 15 different supplements that he was taking every day.
I’m a strong believer in supplements, and truly feel that they are underused by the medical profession. But sometimes people think that the more they ingest, the healthier they will be. I don’t think there is any evidence to support this. In fact, I believe that a certain amount of supplements can be helpful, but after a point they could interfere with optimal health and lead to unexpected or unforeseen health problems. As a general rule, there should be a good reason (e.g., taking them to treat a medical condition) for taking more than six to 10 supplements each day.
The advice I gave my friend was to take five or six of his 15 supplements a day. That way, he would get all of them every three days. I also told him that I have no proof that taking more would not be helpful, and that what he takes is ultimately up to him and his health care provider.
Think of supplements the same way as you think of the produce section of your grocery store. Dozens of vegetables and fruits are available, and each one of them has a unique set of vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other beneficial substances. However, this does not mean you should eat them all every day. Same with supplements. There are literally hundreds of products with potential health-benefiting properties. But it is not reasonable to take them all every day.
You may be taking too many pills if you notice your heart rate increasing or your body temperature rising… if you feel overstimulated, restless, or anxious… or if your sleep is disturbed. Many herbs (including ginseng) and nutrients (like B vitamins) can make you feel unnaturally alert. So if you have trouble falling asleep, experience shallow sleep, or wake up an hour or two earlier than usual, take a break from any supplements that increase energy. Start taking them again a few days later, but take less than you were taking before.
And keep in mind that the effects of supplements accumulate over time. In other words, when you take a pill on the second day, you are adding on to some of the remnants of the same pill you took on the first day.
[Ed. Note: Ray Sahelian, M.D., the author of Mind Boosters, is internationally recognized as a moderate voice in the evaluation of natural supplements. Visit Dr. Sahelian’s website at www.RaySahelian.com, and read more of his articles about the supplements you should and shouldn’t be taking at ETR’s new natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: Google Sky
Not content with offering Web surfers an astronaut’s eye view of the planet through Google Earth, Google is now offering Sky, a virtual tour of the heavens, as part of the newest version of its popular software. Users are able to zoom in on more than 100 million stars, 200 million galaxies, our solar system’s planets, and our moon. They can also see constellations and high-resolution images from the Hubble Telescope. And a search function allows instant viewing of specific astronomical features.
(Source: Google)
The Ideal Vehicle For Getting Wealthy In The 21st Century?
Today you have a rare and exciting opportunity to take advantage of one of the largest industries on earth. And it is - most experts agree - the one that has the greatest growth potential.
I am referring to the Information Publishing industry.
Now don’t be intimidated by that phrase. You won’t need a printing press, typesetting equipment or even employees.
Information Publishing is simply about marketing products based on ideas (e-letters, teleconferences, special reports, etc) instead of hard goods (flowers, jewelry, computers, etc). And now, with the explosion of the Internet, it has the lowest production costs of any industry in today’s world.
Because of that low cost-of-entry and growth potential, it is the ideal vehicle for getting wealthy in the 21st century. Whether you intend to make your fortune on your own (as an entrepreneur) or within the context of a corporate environment (as an intrapreneur), taking advantage of these forces is the best and easiest way to achieve fast success and acquire great wealth.
Come to ETR’s October Bootcamp and we’ll show you how to build your own Information Publishing company that could make from $1 million to $100 million a year.
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Pukka
Something that’s "pukka" (PUK-uh) - an Anglo-Indian word from the Hindi for "cooked/ripe" - is first-class.
Example (as used by Salman Rushdie in The Ground Beneath Her Feet): "If he does not have a house, the government gives him a pukka residence, not a… shack on the pavement but a solid construction."
[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 new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007