The Risks of "Idea Addiction"

by Early To Rise (02/1/2008)

Issue #2267

  • WEALTHY: What you must know if you decide to go into business (Michael Masterson)
  • HEALTHY: When you can’t enjoy the sun… (Jon Herring)
  • WISE: Carl Sagan on first things first

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

  • A surprising addiction that could be costing you big time (John Forde)
  • Wedding food and your marketing (Suzanne Richardson)
  • It’s Good to Know… about the musical road
  • Add "inculcate" 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: "Is it better to buy into an existing business or start one from scratch?"

"I enjoy reading the ETR newsletter. It was recommended to me by a successful entrepreneur. I’ve read about the cash flow quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. I understand the power of selling techniques and answering objections from the teachings of Brian Tracy. Currently, I am interested in the teachings of Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie. My question is connected with my future career goals.

"Is it better to buy into an existing business and start building from there? Or is it better to start one from scratch in the hope of franchising?"

- Johnny Nguyen

Portland , OR

Dear Johnny,

I can’t give you a definitive answer to that question. It depends.

It depends on your personality. Are you a self-starter? Can you handle a lot of stress? If so, you have the emotional capacity to run your own business. If you are more timid - as I was when I went into business - it may be better to join an existing business.

It also depends on the business you intend to join. Is it profitable? Is it fast-growing? Does it have the sort of leadership that will encourage you to advance quickly? If so, it might be the right business for you.

It depends, too, on the industry. Is it an expanding industry? Or is it mature? Or past mature and declining? Since you are starting out, you have a choice. That’s good. Choose an industry that is rising.

You have taken steps to educate yourself. That is a good thing. From what I can gather, you have learned some important principles about entrepreneurship and business management. But if you decide to go into your own business - or even if you want to join an existing business and get to the top quickly - you have to understand how entrepreneurial businesses grow. For that, I have to recommend Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, my latest book.

Ready, Fire, Aim will teach you:

  • The four stages of entrepreneurial growth and the primary obstacles, challenges, and opportunities that each stage presents. Following this path is how I’ve taken businesses I’ve been involved in from $0 to $100+ million.
  • The five "magic wands" of business genius that any ambitious person can - and must - learn to wield to be a successful entrepreneur.
  • Why selling is your first priority (for a new or existing company), and the one thing you should never stop doing.
  • How to generate innovative, tipping-point ideas on a regular basis. This is key to keeping your business growing.
  • Why your Plan B is as important as your Plan A, and when and how to create it.
  • The difference between pushers, thinkers, organizers, and sellers, and how to attract the ones you need for your business.
  • And much more.

That’s your answer. It depends on you. Judging from the energy in your writing, I’d say you are a good bet for success. Let us know how you do!

- Michael Masterson

[Ed. Note: Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe."

Carl Sagan

The Risks of "Idea Addiction"

By John Forde

Are you addicted to ideas?

I am. I admit it. I love the creative process. No, it’s not just that I love it. It’s that I can’t escape it. Seriously.

I carry an idea pad in my coat pocket in winter. In summer, no napkin within 20 feet is safe. I steal Post-its. At home, I fill one notebook after another.

I have files on my computer more than 700 pages long, filled with capsules of ideas. For novels. For New Yorker cartoons. For screenplays. For non-fiction books and business books.

Even the folder that keeps my "future Copywriter’s Roundtable" ideas, right now, holds 2,238 items. Many that I’ve never had a chance to glance at a second time.

In brainstorming meetings, I’m the guy you can’t shut up. (Though now I know to ask more questions than to force answers on people.)

Early in my career, I wrote two- to three-page memos filled with nothing but one bulleted idea after another. "Here’s a sales promotion we could do…" or "This is a possible new product…" and "We should set up this protocol to speed up the design process…"

Ad infinitum.

I don’t know if I impressed anybody else doing that, but I certainly must have impressed myself. Because I kept on doing it. Until I had a revelation: Ideas without execution aren’t worth much of anything at all.

And that’s the point I was just reminded of recently, after stumbling across the website for the Behance Group, a company that develops "organization tools" for creative types in every industry.

"Ideas," one of their senior execs had just explained to a new intern, "are our greatest cost. If anything, we have too MANY ideas."

Crushing news for the intern, who was bummed by not seeing many of her ideas light the rest of the company on fire. But just too true. Get engaged in anything, and the ideas will flow. What really tests your merits, though, is the ability to isolate the best of those ideas and actually make them happen.

Behance has a process for moving ideas from ether to reality. They call it the "action method."

It’s pretty simple.

First, at the end of every creative meeting, you need to decide which ideas are "action-worthy" and which are solid "backburner" projects. Fill up the backburner shelf, make a list, and save it somewhere. Now you’re ready to focus.

Second, you take the action-worthy ideas and - as a group - clarify and assign every single, relevant "action step" you can think of. Schedules, follow-up meetings, research, design. It all goes here. Culpability is the key. Get names and deadlines on paper.

Third and last, you don’t leave the room without creating or identifying your "reference materials." That is, you make a list, as a group, of what you’ll need to make a project happen. Then you identify where it will come from. Be thorough when you make this list. Don’t let a worthy project get derailed because you don’t have the materials you need to make it happen.

Do these three things, and you’ll be a lot more successful than any pure, otherwise-inert idea-generator could ever be.

[Ed Note: John Forde, a published writer and a direct-mail copywriter since 1992, is a featured expert in The Magic Button, ETR's step-by-step guide to starting a profitable Internet business. Applying John's proven techniques for writing promotional copy will make every customer contact an opportunity for a sale, whether it's your company's homepage, sales letters, emails, ads, and even editorial content.

As John reminded you today, good ideas aren't worth a penny if you don't put them into action. Learn how to apply this lesson to your business with Michael Masterson's Wall Street Journal best-seller, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat . Click here to get your copy.

Sign up for John's free weekly e-zine, The Copywriter's Roundtable.]

== Highly Recommended ==

The Greatest Medical Discovery of the Century

Scientists have discovered a remarkable substance that has the power to prevent diabetes, stop heart disease before it starts, and kill cancer cells on contact. In fact, this substance has been shown to prevent and treat more than 20 major diseases in all!

However, more than 85% of the population is deficient in this disease-killer at least part of the year. And believe it or not, medical professionals and health authorities actually advise people to avoid the single greatest source of this vital substance.

Click here to learn why you probably haven’t heard about this revolutionary discovery.

Let Them Eat S’Mores

By Suzanne Richardson

"And the piece de resistance… a s’mores station!"

The wedding planner was listing mouthwatering options for the reception: A mashed potato bar, where guests could add their own sour cream, chives, bacon bits, and butter. A table where guests could add fruit juices and flavorings to their Champagne. And now, a s’mores station outside, where guests could roast marshmallows over a fire and create their own gooey desserts.

The central theme? Guest participation. As the wedding planner explained, guests love to do some form of "work," especially if it’s fun or unique - like making s’mores. It makes the night more enjoyable - and more memorable.

But you shouldn’t limit guest participation to weddings. If you can get your customers to participate, your business can reap all kinds of rewards.

Here’s what Internet marketing expert Rich Schefren (StrategicProfits.com) says about customer participation: "In an attention deficit world, your prospects are multi-tasking continuously. Your goal should be to capture your prospect’s attention and quickly take their initial interest to a higher level, engagement. Engagement (posting comments to your blog, filling out a survey, etc.) puts an end to a prospect’s multitasking and forces their complete focus on you. You can’t make a sale until you have your prospect’s complete attention, which is why engagement is the 21st century’s equivalent to attention."

If you get your customers engaged…

… by having them participate in forums, blogs, and surveys, it will help you find ideas for products that will meet your customers’ needs. This is how the ETR team came up with the Internet Money Club, our comprehensive Internet-business-building program.

… by having them ask you questions, you can come up with new content for your site or for new information products - content that will help your customers and address their needs. Michael Masterson and the ETR team answer reader questions in ETR each week. This keeps us in touch with what our customers are looking for. And that helps us provide better, more targeted articles for them to read.

… by having them do a little "work," you can build buzz for a new product or service. This type of customer participation is also a lot of fun. Gmail asked customers to make videos showcasing the Gmail logo. Rich Schefren asked his readers to write a little blurb about why they should get a free copy of his Business Acceleration Program. And yes, we at ETR are asking you to make a video showcasing Michael Masterson’s new book. (The winner gets a free trip to Delray Beach , FL and a lunchtime pow-wow with Michael and MaryEllen Tribby.) These kinds of contests allow your customers to showcase their creative side while getting word out about you and your products.

Getting your customers involved makes them feel invested in you and your products. It gets them excited. It helps you learn how to please them. And it makes you memorable.

What are you doing to get your customers to participate?

How to Get Your Sunshine From a Bottle

By Jon Herring

Vitamin D is absolutely vital to your health - and it’s nearly impossible to get enough of it from your diet. Very few foods contain much vitamin D at all. That’s why I’ve said that cod liver oil is the "best and most concentrated food source" of this nutrient.

It is the best "food source." But I did not mean to suggest that cod liver oil is your best "supplemental" source of vitamin D. (Your primary source should always be the sun.) A question from ETR reader KC makes the point:

"Isn’t the amount of vitamin A in cod liver oil toxic if you were to take the recommended amount of vitamin D?"

Cod liver oil does contain both vitamin D and vitamin A. And while vitamin A plays an essential role in vision, bone health, and the immune system, too much of it can be harmful. The Institute of Medicine suggests that the tolerable upper intake level (UL) is 10,000 IU per day for an adult. I believe this number is grossly conservative. (It would take a lot more than that to harm you.) But the fact is that if you take enough cod liver oil to meet your daily requirements for vitamin D, you would exceed the UL for vitamin A.

So why take the risk, when it is so easy to supplement with vitamin D? Most supplements have only 400 IU, which makes it inconvenient to get the 3,000 to 5,000 units you need. But Carlson Labs makes gel caps with 2,000 IU or 4,000 IU. That’s what I recommend when you’re not able to enjoy as much sun as you need.

[Ed. Note: Jon Herring, a copywriter for Early to Rise, is co-author, with Dr. Al Sears, of the book Your Best Health Under the Sun. Discover how the healing power of sunlight can improve your mood, increase your fitness, and protect you against dozens of diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Click here to learn more about Your Best Health Under the Sun.]

It’s Good to Know: The Musical Road

Could iPods, CD players, and satellite radio be in danger of becoming obsolete? Probably not. But there’s a new way to get your music fix while driving. In Japan , so-called "melody roads" are specially designed with grooves and bumps. If you drive over them at the optimal speed of 28 mph, you will hear a series of music-like high and low notes resonating in your car.

So far, there are three of these music roads in Japan, including a stretch that plays 30 seconds of a Japanese pop song.

(Source: The Guardian )

== Highly Recommended ==

Give Yourself a Nice Pay Raise - And A Three Day Weekend, Every Weekend

By the end of this week, you can give yourself a pay raise. How does an extra $20/hr sound… and schedule a few days of vacation while you’re at it!

After a month or two, how about another raise… to $2,000 a week.

It’s happening everywhere. Ordinary people - including folks who never finished school — starting their own businesses… and making side incomes in the neighborhood of $40,000… $60,000… even $100,000 or more a year.

They’re living the American Dream. Now it’s time for you to start living it too. Click here to continue…

- Charlie Byrne

Word to the Wise: Inculcate

To "inculcate" (in-KUL-kate) is to teach and impress by frequent repetition or instruction. The word is from the Latin for "to force upon."

Example (as used by T.V. Rajan in an issue of The Scientist ): " It is difficult, if not impossible, to inculcate in those who do not want to know, the curiosity to know; I think it is also impossible to kill this need in those who really want to know."

[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.]

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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