Issue #2275
- WEALTHY: Building a recession-proof portfolio (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: Why you should ask for lemon with your tea (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Ayn Rand on happiness
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How a peek into the future can help you set your goals (Michael Masterson)
- A 2,600-year-old lesson that still works today (Alex Mandossian)
- It’s Good to Know… how to find a public restroom in London
- Add "fillip" to your vocabulary
Are Recession-Proof Profits Really Possible?
While many are worried about what happens next with the economy, here at ETR we are very excited about the potentially massive profit opportunities you can take advantage of right now. May we share them with you?
This April, Early to Rise invites you to join us in sunny Orlando, Florida for a 3 day wealth-building summit we’ve somewhat playfully but accurately named “ Profits in Paradise ”.
We intend to hand you everything you need to set up and reap the rewards of passive income streams. You will get some of the SAFEST and yet most PROFITABLE business-building, income-generating and entrepreneurial opportunities available today!
And this isn’t speculation or pie-in-the-sky theory, but proven methods that WORK.
Our select team of experts will show you detailed, step by step “how to” for quickly creating income streams that throw off cash like crazy.
Even better, it doesn’t matter what shape the economy is in. You can consistently profit whether the markets are up or down. Isn’t it time you get your fair share of the profits available today ?
Join us and you can be on your way to shockingly high profits from a variety of passive income streams. Register today and you will lock in the lowest possible rate for early bird registration.
One Indicator Sounds the Recession Alarm
With headlines screaming recession, it’s hard not to worry.
One recession alarm sounded loud and clear on January 18, when the Leading Indicators report for December showed a negative reading for the third straight month. That bad news followed a November report showing a six-month cumulative total that had reached negative one percent.
This indicator has a few flaws, so don’t take it as gospel. But don’t take it lightly either: It has successfully predicted every recession since 1950. Then again, it has predicted five recessions that never happened.
Rather than jumping out of the market completely, simply make investments that protect your portfolio whatever the market does. You can do that by investing in recession-resistant industries.
Sectors that hold up during slow economic periods are tobacco, utilities, and pharmaceuticals. Another sector to consider is waste management sector.
[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft, a two-time winner of the "Top Trader" award at Schaeffer's Investment Research, is a contributor to ETR's free e-zine, Investor's Daily Edge . Learn how to protect your portfolio and multiply your money - in any market - by clicking here.
You can meet Rick Pendergraft in person - and learn the SAFEST and most PROFITABLE income-generating and entrepreneurial opportunities you've never heard of - at our 72-hour wealth-building summit this April. Learn more here.]
"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one’s values."
Ayn Rand
One More Thing Before Setting Your Long-Term Goals: Figure Out Your Core Values
This is the fourth in a series of essays I’m writing on "master planning your new life." So far, we’ve looked at what you need to do to make a major life change.
I started by suggesting that you have to take full responsibility for your life, admit that you want more, and make a deep and public commitment to change. I even asked you to commit to that change in writing. Next, we discussed why you need to follow a specific, proven master plan in order to achieve success. And last week, we talked about how you could turn your dearest dreams into specific, actionable, time-oriented, realistic goals.
Now, before you can jump feet first into master planning your life, you have one more job to do: Figure out what’s really important to you.
Most people you meet on the street don’t like their jobs, are unhappy with their family life, and want more money. They believe that if they could just do this or that, everything would be better.
Winning the lottery would make it all okay. At least that’s what they think. But the truth is otherwise. Unless you live your life according to your core values, no success will be enough to bring you joy.
So before you attempt to set your goals, you have to spend 15 minutes figuring out your core values. What do I mean by core values? I mean the feelings you have about good and evil that are buried deep within your heart.
What does goal setting have to do with core values? It’s all about insuring your long-term happiness. If you set goals that contradict your core values, you will wake up one day and say, "I did everything I said I wanted to do. But so what?"
You don’t want to end up being yet another highly successful but fundamentally miserable person – a fate so common it’s become a cliche. Here’s how to make sure that doesn’t happen…
Begin by imagining a funeral. It is taking place in an elegantly appointed room. The room is full of friends and family members who have assembled to talk about the deceased. You look around. You begin to recognize faces. "Who is the deceased?" you wonder. You look at the casket. Good God, it’s you!
So what are the people at your funeral saying about you?
Imagine specific people: a parent, a sibling, a neighbor, a business associate, and even a stranger. Don’t be vague about this. Think about individual, real people. And imagine them making very specific statements.
It’s not enough to imagine your nephew saying something like, "She was a generous woman." You need to imagine a second, qualifying sentence, such as, "She always sent me expensive birthday presents."
And be honest. Don’t sugarcoat the pill. Say it like it is. For example, your next door neighbor might be saying, "I thought he was a very inconsiderate person. He never picked up the mess when his dog crapped on my lawn."
Imagine everything the people at your funeral could truthfully say about you – and then think about the way their words make you feel.
If you don’t feel good, it means that, in those relationships at least, you are not living your life according to your core values.
Now, for every negative statement you just imagined, ask yourself, "What would I like this person to be saying about me?" The answer to that question will reveal your core values for that particular relationship.
The goal of this exercise is to create a set of about a dozen sentences. Each sentence will be a statement that indicates what you think is important in a particular area of your life.
Let’s say you imagined someone saying, "He was always struggling to make ends meet." That statement would make you feel bad, right? So then you imagine what you would like that person to say about you, and you might come up with, "He struggled for a while and then everything changed. He became very successful and died a wealthy person." If that statement makes you feel good, it’s reasonable to say that acquiring wealth is a core value for you. And you would write it down like this: "I believe that financial success is a valuable and admirable accomplishment."
Got it?
Negative Statement: "He was always struggling to make ends meet."
Positive Statement: "He struggled for a while and then everything changed. He became very successful and died a wealthy person."
Core Value: "I believe that financial success is a valuable and admirable accomplishment."
I recommend that you shoot for about a dozen statements, because you want to address all the major areas of your life:
- Your health values
- Your wealth values
- Your self-improvement (personal) values
- Your social happiness values
Why?
Because your core values should determine your goals. And your goals have to be comprehensive.
Most goal-setting programs are not comprehensive. They focus on just one thing. Making more money. Or losing weight. Or being happy (whatever that means). Setting such singular goals can sometimes be effective if you have the flexibility in your schedule to focus on them. But most people don’t. And that creates a problem. They start out enthusiastically and make progress for a while. But before long, life’s many urgencies push their way in. Good habits are neglected. Bad habits return. Before long, the goal is abandoned.
You are going to avoid that very common problem by considering the full spectrum of your life – not just your health or your wealth but also your hobbies, personal relations, social obligations, and so on.
Here’s what you should do now:
- Take out a piece of paper and divide it into four boxes.
- At the top of those boxes, write Health, Wealth, Self-Improvement, and Social Happiness.
- Inside each box, write down statements in that category that you would like to have said about you at your funeral.
For example…
Under Health:
- "He was the fittest 80-year-old I ever saw."
- "He could run a mile in eight minutes."
- "I once saw him lift up a car by its bumper."
Under Wealth:
- "Of all the people who graduated from Riverdale High School in 1972, she turned out to be the wealthiest."
- "She had a huge mansion in Laguna Beach."
- "She left $4 million to charity when she died."
Under Self-Improvement:
- "He was the best chess player I ever knew."
- "He was also a published poet."
- "He knew more about home decorating than Martha Stewart."
Under Social Happiness:
- "She was the world’s kindest mom."
- "She was also a very generous friend."
- "She was a strong supporter of breast cancer research."
Write down at least two such statements in each of the four categories. The purpose of writing them down is twofold: to fix them in your mind, and to have something specific you can refer to later.
You will be referring to these core values many times in the coming years. They should be a source of continuous inspiration. Treat them seriously. They are the crux of your master plan.
[Ed. Note: You CAN get out of debt... lose 10 pounds... start a profitable business... or achieve any goal you set your mind to. Take your first step toward success by signing up for ETR's Total Success Achievement program. We'll provide you with weekly motivational e-mail messages, twice-monthly goal-setting teleseminars, and proven strategies for bypassing common obstacles along the way. Learn more by clicking here.]
“The Broke, Lazy Man’s Way to Quick and Easy Internet Riches…”
Today, it seems there’s no shortage of ways to make money online. Problem is, some of these programs can be pretty complicated.
I hate complicated… I like quick and easy.
Well, right now… this very minute… there are 3 people in the world using an almost secret method that is just raking in the dough, day in and day out.
They’ve allowed us to take a peek, and we’re gonna spill the beans on what we saw.
For example, how one fellow took $10 and turned into a $500,000 empire.
This method is so simple and so effective, it’s almost scary.
- Patrick Coffey
Reader Feedback: "2008 will be different for me, thanks to Early to Rise ."
"I just recently got introduced to Early to Rise , and I am so drawn to it. I am guilty of a lot of things you talk about – like watching too much TV, being lazy, etc. And now I am telling myself that 2008 will be different for me, thanks to Early to Rise .
"Hopefully, I can do something positive about my life – like paying off my mortgage, staying away from friends who pull me down, and accomplishing my lifelong dream – writing a romance novel, or maybe, for starters, writing a feature for a magazine.
"Seems impossible. But with hard work, discipline, and a positive, winning attitude, I can make this work. And, yes, I am starting today, not tomorrow. With your help, I can accomplish my goals this year.
"Thank you for letting me be a part of Early to Rise . I need all the confidence and help I can get."
- M.F.
Pacifica, CA
[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.]
Strike While the Iron Is Hot
One of Aseop’s fables has a priceless lesson for marketers…
A hungry wolf stalked a flock of sheep, but couldn’t grab one as his next meal because the shepherd was vigilantly watching over them. So the wolf disguised himself with a discarded sheepskin, and managed to mingle with the flock without the shepherd noticing.
Instead of pouncing on the nearest lamb and making his escape, the wolf decided to wait until nighttime when the shepherd was eating supper. He thought he’d get the pick of the flock, enjoy a delicious meal at his leisure, and slip away unseen.
But that evening, the shepherd decided to treat some friends from the neighboring village to a feast. He went to the sheep pen in the dark, reached in, and grabbed and butchered the first animal he could put his hands on: the wolf.
The moral of this fable: Strike while the iron is hot.
A good marketing plan executed today – not tomorrow, not next month, not next year – is better than a perfect plan that’s too late. (Or, worse, a "perfect" plan that never gets executed.) As Michael Masterson would say, "Ready, Fire, Aim."
Good marketing is about making progress, not trying to achieve perfection.
One way to focus on progress is to make sure you take at least one step in your marketing plan each day. It doesn’t have to be a big step, and it doesn’t have to be more than one. If you can do more than that, great. But all you have to take is one small step a day to keep making progress.
[Ed. Note: Alex Mandossian, CEO of Heritage House Publishing Inc., has generated over $233 million in sales and profits for his clients and partners since 1991. To learn more about Alex's teleseminar marketing strategies, please click here.]
Boost the Power of Your Tea With a Squeeze
If you frequently enjoy a splash of citrus in your green tea, you’re doing your body a favor.
New research from Purdue University, published in the journal Molecular Nutrition and Food Research , shows that catechins – the primary antioxidants in green tea – are destroyed by digestion. In fact, less than 20 percent of these free-radical fighters remain by the time they’ve traversed your tract. But the researchers also found that citrus juice boosted catechin levels by more than five times. The most potent juice was lemon, causing 80 percent of the tea’s catechins to remain, followed by orange, lime, and grapefruit.
So don’t let the healthy benefits of green tea go down the drain. Give it a squeeze of zesty lemon, sweet orange, fresh lime, or tangy grapefruit. You’ll deliver pleasure to your senses and pack more potency into your cup.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Good to Know: How to Find a Public Restroom in London
You’re sightseeing in an unfamiliar city, you feel nature’s call… and there is no restroom in sight. Travelers in London, at least, can rest easy. The Westminster City Council, which governs the part of the city with such popular tourist attractions as Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, has launched a mobile phone text message service. Texting the word "toilet" to the number 80097 yields directions to the nearest public convenience.
(Source: Reuters)
What Does Your Mother In-Law Really Think About You?
AHH, In-Laws…Can’t Live With ‘em… Can’t Kill ‘em! Is There Anything You Can Do to Salvage This “Wonderful” Relationship?
Tired of Your Mother In-Law Thinking You’re Not Good Enough for Her Boy?
I bet when you got married you thought it was just the two of you… right? Never thought for a moment you’d get the whole family, did you? My grandmother used to have a saying that is perfect for this occasion. Here goes…
“If you’re given lemons, make lemonade.”
Let’s face it, your mother in-law (has she driven you COMPLTETLY crazy yet?) isn’t suddenly going to fall off the face of the earth, no matter how much you pray for it at night. But what else, short of hiring kidnappers, can you do? No need to fear, we’ve got you covered. We’ll show you how to control your in-laws without giving in to them. Click here for more info.
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Fillip
A "fillip" (FIL-up) is a snap made by pressing a fingertip against the thumb and suddenly releasing it. We also use the word for an embellishment that excites, revives, or stimulates.
Example (as used in Sify News ): " Giving a big fillip to cooperation in the field of education, Britain today announced an 825 million pound grant for India, a major chunk of which will be spent on improving the educational infrastructure in the country."
[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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