Issue #2205
- WEALTHY: Which investment advisor should you choose? (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Why you should skip the canned cranberry sauce (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Winston Churchill on Americans
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Wanna be rich and famous without busting your buns? (Robert Ringer)
- 10 little things Ricardo’s thankful for
- It’s Fun to Know… Thanksgiving by the numbers
- Add "propitiate" to your vocabulary
The Early to Rise 2007 “Giving Thanks” Sales Event
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, today I’d like to offer you savings of up to 64% on many of ETR’s top programs… some discounted by as much as $298!
It’s our way of saying "Thank You" as we enter the holiday season… and giving you extra-special incentive to try one of our life-changing programs.
Just think about it… suppose just one of these products helps you…
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Make an extra $25,000… $50,000… or even $100,000 next year by radically increasing the pay from your current area of expertise….
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Wouldn’t it be a mistake to NOT try it today, when it can be in your hands at the best value ever?
And keep in mind, all have a full, no-gimmick 100% money-back guarantee. So if you’ve ever considered trying one of our life changing programs, there’s no better time than now.
Please take a moment to look at the VERY deep discounts we’re offering you, our loyal reader, over this Thanksgiving weekend.
But do act now, because there’s a very special deal for the first 17 people who take advantage of one particular offering. Orders will be time-stamped so please check it out right now.
It’s Not What You Don’t Know
Who’d you rather have as your investment advisor: a groundhog or a fox?
A groundhog knows only one thing: the pad of dirt he calls home. But he knows every square inch of it. The fox likes to roam. His territory isn’t very defined. He learns quickly, figures things out, adapts. He knows a little about a lot.
The fox could give you decent advice about a dozen sectors across a dozen countries. A groundhog could give you the inside scoop on only the one sector he knows. If it’s tech, for example, he could tell you exactly why those dozen companies will fail and why this one will do extraordinarily well.
Emerging market mutual funds are foxes. They cover a dozen countries and invest in a few dozen companies at any one time. But not all of those investments will pan out. Give me the plodding groundhog. All you need is one great investment that you’re absolutely sure about. The groundhog can give it to you.
Instead of getting 12 recommendations for tech stocks all over the world, wouldn’t you rather know the best damn solar stock China has to offer? Well, it’s Suntech – and it’s up 60 percent so far this year with lots of room to grow. If giving you this advice makes me a groundhog, so be it. I’ve been called worse.
[Ed. Note: ETR's Investment Director Andrew Gordon is 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.]
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else."
Winston Churchill
America, Land of Shtick
The latest in an endless stream of non-events elevated to the status of sensationalistic national news is bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman’s getting caught in the N-Word Trap. Can we learn anything worthwhile from this spectacle?
For me, it was just another reminder of how many people in America, Land of Shtick, become rich and famous without ever producing anything of real value.
Case in Point:
John Basedow is the front guy for TV’s Fitness Made Simple infomercials. For years, I assumed Basedow was a deaf mute, because as we watched him posing and flexing, all we heard was an actor doing the voice-over for the ad. But then, at the end of one of his infomercials, I heard Basedow himself say, "Real results for real people." Wow! Not just any old results, but real results.
Case in Point:
Japan’s Takeru Kobayashi is one of the most talked about athletes of our time. What’s that? You don’t know what sport he’s in? Shame on you. Kobayashi is a competitive eater – the six-time winner of Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Sadly, he was defeated by California’s Joey Chestnut in the 2007 event.
But give the guy a break. He had an injured jaw. Even so, he managed to make it a close race against Chestnut, who set a new world record by downing 63 hot dogs and buns in 12 minutes. With such natural athletic ability, why work for a living?
Case in Point:
John Edward – "international psychic medium" – is perhaps my favorite. Don’t confuse him with the John Edwards of $500-haircut fame. The John Edward I’m talking about deals in the ultimate shtick-instead-of-work scheme: talking to the dead.
Based on the few times I’ve seen Edward perform on television, I can say with confidence that if he can talk to the dead, I can sing opera. You’d think Edward, as a result of the law of averages, would occasionally get lucky and make a right guess. But I’ve never seen him make even one.
In all fairness, however, I have to admit that he’s fabulous at talking fast and cleverly getting his subjects to provide him with personal information – information that he then appropriates for his own use. "I’m getting a P name. Who is this, please?" This is known in the trade as a "cold reading," and some so-called psychics are pretty darn good at it. Unfortunately, Edward isn’t one of them.
Case in Point:
The other night, I flicked the channel to see who was on Larry King Live. I quickly regretted it. Something called "Criss Angel" – that refers to itself as a "mindfreak" – was King’s exalted guest. Angel looked 16 years old, though I later discovered that he is actually 39.
My jaw froze in the open position as I watched with awe… black baseball cap sitting sideways on his head… gaudy rings on every finger except his right thumb… while he explained how he’d had fishhooks inserted into his back, then hung from a helicopter 1,000 feet above the ground. Now that is what you call SHTICK! I’ve always admired grown men who have fishhooks inserted in their backs.
The list challenges infinity. Richard Simmons flitting around in pink exercise outfits. "Skateboard champion" Tony Hawk endorsing products as though he were a big-name athlete. Guys fitted with harnesses and pulling semi-trailer trucks behind them. And a long list of experts in fields that don’t exist. ("Workplace culture expert," for example.)
Which brings me back to bounty hunter Dog Chapman’s latest dilemma.
Dog realized early on that he was born under a lucky star when, in the 1970s, he was convicted of murder but got only a five-year prison sentence for his little misstep. Then, after being released from the slammer, the newly rehabilitated Dog made the decision to jump sides and go after the bad guys.
Dog Chapman, Bounty Hunter! Flowing blond hair… fashion-designer bands around his biceps… scrubby beard… lots of leather. Every prop one could imagine. This is as good as it gets in Land-of-Shtick America.
So, can we learn anything from the blizzard of shtick that relentlessly comes at us from our television sets every day? What should we tell our kids? That shtick is better than working for a living? What should we tell ourselves? To stop busting our buns to produce value in the marketplace and, instead, find a gimmick that has fame-and-fortune potential?
Tempting, to be sure… but I think not. The problem is that no matter how many people you fool, you can never fool all of the people all of the time. Worse, you’ll never totally fool yourself, no matter how hard you try to buy into your own BS
There are, after all, some things that really are more important than fame and fortune. Little abstract concepts such as integrity, for example. Integrity is adherence to one’s code of moral values. Meaning that if, in your mind, you know what’s right, what’s sound, what’s moral, what’s of real value to yourself and to the world, do it.
When the unpayable U.S. debt finally comes home to roost, people may be too busy earning a living to watch shtick on TV. And that’s when you’ll be thankful that you’re a creator of wealth rather than a purveyor of shtick. That’s when it will become obvious to those who once applauded shtick artists that it’s guys like you who are stoking the badly crippled U.S. economy.
So I say, ignore the temptation to deal in shtick. Instead, be persistent about staying the course that leads to wealth creation. It’s a great insurance policy if shtick should go out of style.
[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.]
Wanted: Investors Who Want to Grow Rich the "Lazy" Way
It doesn’t take a lot of time. You don’t need a lot of money to get started. It doesn’t require a lot of work. Best of all, the returns you’ll pocket will shock you (how does 724% sound?).
Get all the facts right now here.
Enjoy These Antioxidant-Packed Parcels, "Sans Sugar"
It’s too bad that most people enjoy cranberries only at this time of year. And when the cranberries finally make their appearance, they’re little more than sugar dressed up in holiday style.
In fact, a single serving of sweetened canned cranberry sauce (at eight servings per can) has 22 grams of sugar! To put that into perspective, a regular size (two-ounce) Snickers bar has 29 grams of sugar.
With their bevy of antioxidants, cranberries deserve a more frequent – and less adulterated – seat at your dinner table. According to a study published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, cranberries pack a bigger antioxidant punch than 19 commonly eaten fruits. They have also been found to significantly reduce the inflammation associated with chronic disease. Plus, they are known for their ability to reduce the risk of urinary tract infections and kidney stones.
So why go and ruin a good thing with sugar? Buy fresh cranberries and make a simple sauce. Simmer with a little orange juice, grated orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and erythritol. (Erythritol is the newest all-natural, zero-calorie, zero-glycemic sweetener. Use it cup for cup as you would sugar.) You’ll get the nutritional benefit of cranberries without sacrificing flavor or spiking your blood sugar. Look for erythritol at Whole Foods Market under the name ZSweet.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet and the author of the new e-book, Guilt-Free Desserts: 20 All-Natural, Fail-Proof, Low-Glycemic Desserts Just in Time for the Holidays, which shows just how easy it can be to make delicious, healthy desserts in 30 minutes or less. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
10 Little Things I’m Thankful For
By Ricardo Lugo, one of ETR’s Customer Service Agents
1. November (It’s the month of my birthday, and the month when everyone eats STUFFING!!)
2. The New Year, which always brings new changes
3. ROCK AND ROLL
4. Christmas (This year, I’m getting a NEW GUITAR.)
5. Winter, which will finally bring some cool weather to us here in South Florida
6. Beowulf (At last, my favorite epic poem has been made into a movie.)
7. Sushi
8. Sam Ash Guitar Warehouse, where I get to play with guitars that cost thousands of dollars
9. Scrubs (the television show)
10. Comedy clubs – because everyone needs to laugh
It’s Fun to Know: Thanksgiving by the Numbers
How much food will we polish off tomorrow? Too much, of course. Just take a look at the following numbers (the most recent available for some of our favorite Thanksgiving foods):
- 256 million: the approximate number of turkeys raised in the United States in 2005
- 649 million: the amount, in pounds, of cranberries produced in the U.S. in 2005
- 1.6 billion: the total weight, in pounds, of sweet potatoes grown in the United States in 2004
- 998 million: the total weight, in pounds, of pumpkins produced in 2004
Burp!
(Source: Fact Monster and U.S. Census Bureau)
The Only Three Ways to Grow a Business
Did you know that there are only three ways to grow a business?
1. Increase the number of customers.
2. Increase the average transaction value.
3. Increase the frequency of repurchase.
Find a way to maximize each one, and your business will experience an astonishing rate of growth.
In his "9 Pillars of Business Growth" program, acclaimed consultant Jay Abraham outlines hundreds of proven, frequently unrecognized, and almost totally underutilized ways to grow these three key areas of your business. If you own a business (or would like to), be sure to take a look at Jay’s program.
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Propitiate
To "propitiate" (pro-PISH-ee-ate) is to appease. The word is derived from the Latin for "favorable."
Example (as used by Anton Chekhov in his story "Lights"): "Azorka, a black house-dog, probably conscious of his guilt in barking for nothing and anxious to propitiate us, approached us, diffidently wagging his tail."
[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
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