Issue #2260

• WEALTHY: How to go about buying ETFs (Rick Pendergraft)
• HEALTHY: Happy to be fit? (Jon Benson)
• WISE: Douglas H. Everett on dreams vs. reality

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Are you living in a dream world? (Robert Ringer)
• Don’t write to impress (Bob Bly)
• It’s Fun to Know… about weird alternatives to six feet under
• Add "quietus" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended ==

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…

Dear ETR: "How do I go about buying ETFs and other options?"

"I think you are doing a great job, and your articles and features are brilliant."

"My question is: How do I go about buying ETF’s and other options? (I live in Canada .) Is there a step-by-step/procedure list? Besides having a bank account (or trading account), what else do I need? How do I avoid the pitfalls? Besides doing my due diligence of researching on the Net, how do I know if the ‘program, software, course, CD, DVD,’ etc. is what it says it is and honestly does what it says?

"I will appreciate your answers. Thank you very much."

- Michael T.

Toronto , Ontario

Dear Michael,

The best way to approach investing in anything is to hold off until you have learned more, and ETFs are no exception. Not all ETFs are created equal.

To buy ETFs and/or any other U.S. investments, you may have to have an account with a U.S. broker. And if you are getting into options, you need to make sure you get the proper permission. Some U.S. brokerage firms will open accounts for Canadian citizens, which allows them to trade U.S. securities. Here are a few firms you can check with:

Besides having a bank account (or trading account), you need a good analyst to tell you which ETFs and options to buy. There are several steps to finding a good analyst. First, you want to look at longer-term track records rather than just a few months’ worth of records. Second, you want to make sure the analyst’s investing style is suitable to your investing style. You don’t want to follow an analyst who is overly aggressive if you are risk-averse, and you don’t want to follow a risk-averse analyst if you are more aggressive.

We discuss ETFs and options in Investor’s Daily Edge. And ETF Edge is one service that uses ETFs as its main investment vehicle. You might consider subscribing to these services. They will not only give you investment recommendations, but will also help you become more educated about ETFs.

There’s no way to know whether a trading service or course is legitimate or useful right off the bat. The best thing to do is try the service for 30 or 60 days. Just follow the trades without investing any money. If the trades are working, start trading alongside that person. Of course, if the service is monthly, you may be able to follow only one trade during that 30- or 60-day "trial" period. And that’s not enough to know whether the service works. You need to follow a minimum of five trades.

As for trading courses, we have a new one coming out in the very near future that you may want to get. It is a basic educational product that will introduce you to options and short-term trading principles.

There are many ways to learn about investing, but the best thing to do is to go with a trusted source and follow their program for a while to see if it works for you.

- Rick Pendergraft

"There are some people who live in a dream world , and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other."

Douglas H. Everett

Charades

By Robert Ringer

I recently received an e-mail from Wayne Holt of Houston, TX . It stated, in part:

"I am stunned by the indifference to practical living skills that so many in our society exhibit. How can so many be so wrong for so long, and still the charade continues? It’s as if we deliberately dove off a building laughing and were miraculously saved by an awning. At times, I’m tempted to believe we can’t fatally harm ourselves even if we try with all our might."

Mr. Holt gives us a lot to think about. I believe the reason so many can be so wrong for so long – without seeing through the charades (plural, not singular) that are served up to them day in and day out – is because conventional wisdom, myths, and fairytales tend to gain strength with age. After all, if something has been around for a long time, it must be true. Right?

Not so fast. What really happens is that when a preposterous tale – or even an outright lie – is repeated often enough, it acquires "legs." Meaning it becomes self-sustaining. And if it attracts enough adherents, it spreads exponentially. This is how dogma evolves into "fact." Through repetition, a lie can be transformed into truth, and often is.

The dictionary defines charade as "a blatant pretense or deception." Which means that most of what we see and hear are charades.

In the 1963 classic film Charade, Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) asks Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) why people lie. Joshua answers, "Usually it’s because they want something. They are afraid the truth won’t get it for them."

As the Republican and Democratic caucuses so clearly demonstrate, politicians are a great example of relentless purveyors of charades… constantly calling for increases in the "minimum wage" (even though it affects only two percent of the population)… incessantly babbling about Social Security "reform" (even though Social Security is a pyramid scam that is mathematically impossible to "fix")… acting as though they are serious about putting an end to illegal immigration (even though every rational adult recognizes that it is years too late to do anything about it).

What do politicians hope to gain from such charades? The same things they are always after: First, our votes. Second, as a result of our votes, power. Third, adulation. And fourth, the congressional perks that allow them to live like multimillionaires.

How, Mr. Holt wonders, is it possible for the charades to continue? Because just as people get the governments they deserve, they also get the charades they deserve – and want . People love to be deluded. It feels so warm and fuzzy compared to the harshness of reality.

But what about Mr. Holt’s speculation that we are somehow immune to the consequences of the self-destructive tendencies so many of us exhibit? Would that it were so, but the evidence suggests that we irreversibly damage ourselves all the time. In case you hadn’t noticed, the Greek and Roman Empires are not around anymore. Neither is the Soviet Union . All of them fell under the weight of their own charades.

It is therefore not surprising that the sun is rapidly setting on Western civilization. We continue to accept the charade that freedom and equality can coexist… The charade that everything in life is relative and that there is no such thing as right and wrong… The charade that the most heinous criminals – even those from other countries who are here illegally – have the same rights as law-abiding citizens.

All noble thoughts, I guess. But, unfortunately, not good for maintaining a civilization. For better or for worse, civilization cannot exist without a generally accepted code of conduct. Sorry, but that’s just the way it is.

Make no mistake about it, the resilience of the human race is remarkable. We have survived the Dark Ages, tyrants, slavery, and worse. But I do not agree that there is always an awning to catch us. For example, the six million Jews who bought into the charade that Germany was a safe and cultured nation – and that Adolf Hitler was a harmless nutcase – fell through the awning and landed in the gas chambers.

In closing, I am reminded of the tiniest of all mammals, the shrew, which weighs less than a dime. The shrew is a voracious eater who will not hesitate to devour other shrews. And when it’s hungry enough, and there’s no other prey around, it is capable of eating itself to death – literally – beginning with its own tail.

I believe that if a person tries hard enough, like the shrew, he can fatally harm himself. Man, of course, does not engage in self-cannibalism. Instead, he relies on the charade. Kind of analogous to a person who commits suicide by forcing the police to kill him.

I say forget about relying on the awning to save you. Focus, instead, on trying not to fall. And a good way to do that is to monitor your personal reality so you avoid buying into too many charades. If you are too wrong too often, for too long – if you continue to buy into the charades promulgated by government, Madison Avenue, and the media – sooner or later, the awning won’t be there to catch you.

[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.]

== Highly Recommended ==

Fast, Fun, Easy Cash: Pocket an Extra $1,000 a Month with Your Everyday Snapshots

If you can click a camera and you can spare a couple of hours on a Saturday or Sunday now and then, you can easily snag a tidy $1,000 a month taking snap shots in your own backyard… on your family vacations… or anywhere in the world you care to travel.

It’s simple. It pays well. And best of all… it’s A TON OF FUN!

You don’t need fancy equipment. And you don’t need to know a thing about photography to get started. You don’t even have to quit your day job (if you don’t want to, that is). Most photographers I know are turning a picture here and a snapshot there into cash in their spare time.

Here’s everything you need to know about this fun and lucrative side-business.

Praise for Ready, Fire, Aim : "A Three-Step Process That Entrepreneurs Should Follow"

"In Ready, Fire, Aim, Michael Masterson gives a three-step process that entrepreneurs should follow in order to have a successful business. Unfortunately, most do not. I’ve seen this firsthand in my own consulting business. Entrepreneurs tend to put their values and their money on all the wrong things – and this leads to certain failure.

"Here are the steps according to Masterson:

"Step one: Get the product ready enough to sell, but don’t worry about perfecting it. Step two: Sell it. Step three: If it sells, make it better. While this all sounds fairly easy, it’s not.

"’Selling can be terrifying,’ Masterson says. ‘It can be tough, gritty, unglamorous work. But when you make that first big sale, you realize it’s also exhilarating. And like it or not, you probably won’t become a successful entrepreneur until you can sell your product or service in your sleep.’

"When your business is new, you should begin to build a base of customers or clients – that means you have to sell. Online, that would mean you have to have a powerful sales message on your website and in all of your online advertising.

"Masterson writes in an engaging style. This material should help those starting their own business and even those already in business."

- Susanna K. Hutcheson

Executive Creative Director of Power Communications LLC

powerwriting.com

[Ed. Note: What can you do with Ready, Fire, Aim besides read it?]

The Bad Copy Police Write a Ticket

By Bob Bly

If I were the Bad Copy Police, I’d have to write a ticket to the local BMW dealer whose radio commercial I recently heard. The spot, announcing a sale on preowned BMWs, said the dealership was "making an offer even a Dickensian miser couldn’t resist."

Huh? A "Dickensian miser"?

You and I know the copywriter is referring to Ebeneazor Scrooge in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. But many listeners will hear the phrase "Dickensian miser" and think: "What does THAT mean?" And the point will be lost.

My rewrite: "making an offer even Ebeneazor Scrooge couldn’t resist."

Even better: Have a character identify himself as Scrooge and say he is rushing down to the dealer because even he can’t resist the offer.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter, the author of more than 70 books, and co-creator of ETR's Direct Marketing Masters Edition program.]

How Mindset Affects Your Waistline

By Jon Benson

When it comes to being fit, you should focus on being happy first.

This may seem like putting the cart before the horse. However, new research on the brain shows us that simple meditation – for as little as five minutes – can alter brain chemistry in a way that improves both athletic and work performance and increases our own experience of happiness and well-being.

Numerous studies on why diets fail demonstrate that a happy person is more prone to follow through on a diet or exercise program than one who is merely going through the motions of life. Depression is often cited as the number one reason people give up on a diet. It makes sense to make yourself truly happy… and science shows us you can.

Give meditation a try. Just take five minutes in solitude, and focus on two simple things: Kindness and compassion. This is a great start. See if you can work your way up to 30 minutes a day. Changes in brain chemistry occur in as little as two weeks, according to Harvard University researcher Olivia Carter, Ph.D.

[Ed. Note: Jon Benson, a lifecoach and nutrition counselor who specializes in helping individuals discover a life-altering mind/body connection, is a contributing writer for ETR 's free natural health e-letter. His work in the field of post-40 fitness and mental empowerment has helped countless thousands. Learn how you can do the same at www.fitover40.com or www.mpowerfitness.com.]

It’s Fun to Know: Weird Alternatives to Six Feet Under

For centuries, burial has been the preferred method in the U.S. for disposing of earthly remains. Not so in other cultures. Indigenous peoples in many parts of the world – including Australia , Western Canada, the American Southwest, and Siberia – once practiced tree burial, putting the deceased in the crook of a tree to decompose. In the Middle Ages, wealthy Vikings placed their dead in ships filled with food, weapons, and treasure. They would then bury or burn the ships or set them adrift in the ocean. In Tibetan sky burial rituals, the dead would be placed on top of mountains to be eaten by scavenging vultures.

(Source: LiveScience )

== Highly Recommended ==

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 2008.

I’d like to show you how to dramatically increase the chances of making all your dreams – whatever they may be – come true in 2008.

- Charlie Byrne

Word to the Wise: Quietus

"Quietus" (kwy-EE-tus) – from the Latin – is rest; a removal from activity. The word is also a euphemism for death.

Example (as used by Herman Melville in his short story "The Apple-Tree Table"): "I have put a quietus upon that ticking. Depend upon it, the ticking will trouble you no more. "

[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, 2008

Similar Articles:

• Worth Their Weight in Gold – Everyone’s heard about oil going over $100 a barrel recently. Getting less publicity is the dramatic…
• The Weak Dollar and Global ETFs – We received a query from a reader on ETR’s Speak Out forum regarding global ETFs. Because many of ou…
• Add Some Leverage to Your Portfolio the Easy Way – You can find ETFs that cover just about any market ("spiders" cover the S&P) or sector…
• An Unhealthy Sector That Could Make Your Portfolio Sick – As a result of the legal issues big-name companies like Pfizer (PFE) and Merck (MRK) have been deali…
• The Market Won’t Change for You – Unusual markets call for unusual thinking. What do I mean by that? Over the course of the last few w…
• The Last Frontier – To make money on stocks, go where the growth is. Right now, the so-called frontier markets are hoggi…
• How to Play the Market Right Now – Since the market turned around and started doing its rocket imitation, most people I have spoken to …

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 24th, 2008 at 5:30 am and is filed under Daily Issues .