The Power of One
Issue #2281
- WEALTHY: 51% of economists predict… (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: A "trick" that can help you drop more weight (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Oliver Wendell Holmes on new ideas
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Use the Rule of One to make your writing stronger (Michael Masterson)
- The wrong way to prevent spam (David Cross)
- It’s Good to Know… how to avoid credit card embarrassment
- Add "mibster" to your vocabulary
Celebrating Our Presidents - and Your Financial Independence - This Weekend
Along with Presidents’ Day, this weekend could mark the beginning of a financial windfall for you this year. While our presidents fought for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…” we want to do our small share to help you enjoy that freedom by showing you exactly how to make more money this year. A lot more, if you must know.
Join Early to Rise this spring for our “Profits in Paradise ” Wealth-Building Summit and we will hand you over a dozen different ways to make more money - faster, easier and with less work - than you might imagine…
To learn all about how this weekend can be the start of your real and lasting financial freedom, just click here to read the details.
The New Witch Doctors
Professionals in many fields over-promise or just plain mislead. They are the witch doctors of today - people who profess to practice an exacting craft but are amateurs and charlatans under their masks of authority and expertise.
Though the competition is fierce, the self-important group of pontificators known as "economists" makes the top of my list.
When have economists been right on any matter of import? Take, for example, the approach of a recession. You’d think they’d all see the red lights that I see flashing, wouldn’t you? But no. Just recently, The Wall Street Journal surveyed 52 Wall Street economists. And only 49 percent of them see one coming.
Fact is, these economists, as a group, have never correctly predicted a recession. NEVER.
You’d be far better served listening to people participating in the economy, not armchair scholars observing it from the outside. For example, when the real estate company Toll Brothers reported their latest quarterly earnings, they said the end of the housing crisis is nowhere in sight. This company lives and breathes housing. It’s their business to know what’s going on with the economy. And they do know… much more than most economists.
[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.]
"A mind that is stretched to a new idea never returns to its original dimension."
Oliver Wendell Holmes
The Power of One
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned about writing came to me after about a year of writing ETR. Like many writers, I often tried to put too much into each essay. I began with a main idea, but when that idea suggested a second one and then a third, I put those in too. That was a mistake. It made the essay too long and cumbersome. And instead of gaining power, the message weakened.
My strongest pieces - the ones that got the most positive responses from ETR readers - were those that focused on one good and helpful thought. By restricting myself that way, I managed to say more in fewer words.
Readers, I realized, didn’t want to hear everything I had to say about a particular topic every time I fired up my computer. They were looking for a single, useful idea that could make them more successful.
So I came up with a rule that I asked everyone writing for ETR to abide by. I called it "The Rule of One" - and it was very simple: Write about only one thing at a time. Because one good idea, clearly and convincingly presented, is better than a dozen so-so ideas strung together.
I truly believed that following this rule would always produce better writing… and it did.
Several years later, I introduced the Rule of One concept to Agora writers and copywriters at a creative retreat. Many of them have used it since then, to great effect. Then, last year, I divulged it to more than 600 people at the AWAI/ETR yearly Bootcamp in Delray Beach, FL. I’m sure that many of them, too, have used it to improve their writing.
This rule is not ironclad at ETR. That’s because some of our writers just don’t buy it and others can’t always reduce their pieces to a single idea. I occasionally violate it myself. (If I have six good reasons for this or 12 techniques for that, I sometimes can’t stop myself from including them all. The results are always disappointing.) But almost all of ETR’s best essays have followed this rule. If you are interested in looking at some of them, here are seven:
* How to Become a Chicken Entrepreneur
The idea: The best (and lowest-risk) way to start your own business is to keep your day job while working on your entrepreneurial venture at night and on weekends. You can quit when your new business is bringing in more than your regular income.
* Do You Own Your Business or Does It Own You?
The idea: Entrepreneurs who want to create a valuable business they can retire from some day must organize it so that it doesn’t require their constant presence to be profitable.
* How to Avoid the Conceit of Outside Knowledge
The idea: Just because you have been a longtime customer of a restaurant or another type of business doesn’t mean you are capable of running a similar one. There are many hidden "secrets" to every type of business - not visible to outsiders - that are critical to success.
The idea: Don’t wait for everything to be perfect before launching a new product or business. Put serious effort into getting it right, test it in the real world, and then you’ll know what improvements you need to make.
* The Best Way to Surpass Your Peers and Rise to the Top of Any Business
The idea: Working harder than your co-workers and competitors will guarantee your success.
* A Business Question You Must Be Able to Answer
The idea: Before you can sell a product, you need to find out if people will buy it.
* How to Become What You Want to Be
The idea: You can’t actually BE a writer unless you write - just as you can’t be a pilot if you don’t fly planes, a philanthropist if you don’t give away money, an entrepreneur if you don’t start a business… and so on.
Recently I have been thinking (and writing) about how best-selling books are crafted. Many of them seem to follow the Rule of One. Consider these classic business best-sellers:
* What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles
The idea: Finding a life-changing new job that you love is the key to happiness.
* The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The idea: There is a pattern to commercial and cultural trends. If you understand the pattern, you can use the knowledge to benefit yourself and others.
* Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins
The idea: The purpose of advertising is to sell, not entertain or win creative awards.
* The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
The idea: Extremely low storage and delivery costs for digital information products have made marketing niche products extremely profitable.
* Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton
The idea: The best way to motivate employees (and improve your business) is to focus on their strengths rather than correct their weaknesses.
* Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
The idea: Change is inevitable. So you must be prepared to change or you’ll be left behind.
And here’s a very recent example: Suzy Welch, a former editor of the Harvard Business Review (and the wife of Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric) was given a million-dollar contract by Scribner (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) to publish 10-10-10 , a book based on a variation of a single good idea that’s been around for years: Before you make a decision, consider the impact it will have on you in 10 minutes, 10 months, and 10 years.
We have taught ETR readers to think that way many times since we began publishing in 2000. But we never thought of turning the idea into a book. Shame on us.
If you are planning to write a book, you probably have lots of ideas that you want to include. Figure out which one is the strongest, and focus on it. That’s what I did with Ready, Fire, Aim. Though this book contains just about everything I know about starting and growing entrepreneurial businesses, the title zeros in on the one idea I thought was the strongest and most useful. And this may be the reason it got so many positive reviews. Most of the industry people we showed it to - professional businesspeople and writers - said it was the best book I’ve ever written. My other books have plenty of good ideas in them. But they were designed to be comprehensive and were titled that way. This one took better advantage of the Rule of One.
The best thing about the Rule of One is that it’s not just for writing books and articles. You can also apply it to your business goals.
Before you go into a meeting, for example, think about the one thing you’d like to accomplish. Make that one thing your priority, and hammer away at it. You’ll be amazed at how often you will end up leaving the meeting with that goal accomplished.
Use the Rule of One at business lunches, too, and even parties. Challenge yourself: "Who is the best person I can network with here?" And "What is the one best thing I can say to that person to capture his interest?"
Spend some time today looking at work you’ve done - ads you’ve written, products you’ve created, goals you’ve set. How could you make them stronger by applying the Rule of One?
[Ed. Note: Get Michael Masterson’s insights into becoming successful in your business and personal life, achieving financial independence, and accomplishing all your goals on his website. You’ll find updates on Michael’s books, news on upcoming ETR events, Michael’s blog, and room to send in your comments and questions. Check it out today.
Learn dozens more strategies for making your writing stronger with AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.]
You CAN learn to become wealthy!
Success is not encoded in an individual’s DNA and does not transfer from father to son or mother to daughter. It is a process - and learning the process is a major KEY to setting up for success.
Today I’d like to offer you two complimentary reports to help you get started: “How To Get What You Need To Succeed In Life" and "Simple Guidelines for Creating Abundance In Your Life."
There will be many steps you take towards your goals where it will feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back. You will have breakthroughs, triumphs, and opportunities to overcome adversity.
But to keep moving forward, you just might need a friendly kick-in-the-pants every once in a while. Here’s how to stay energized towards action and success every day of the year.
- Charlie Byrne
Reader Feedback: "Keep up the good work!"
"I read and enjoy ETR each morning - along with my cup of coffee. Keep up the good work! I hope to get to meet all of you someday."
- Jim Byard
Aurora, IN
[Ed. Note: Want to get your name and opinions published in ETR? Let us know how reading ETR has 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.]
How Programmers Can Make Life Difficult for Your Customers
By David Cross
Many online discussion forums have had problems with spammers posting ads for Viagra, etc., and so they’ve introduced a variety of ways to keep the spammers out. Some of them use "captcha" images (random text and numbers that you must type in correctly) to thwart the spammers’ automated spam "bots." More recently, some have begun asking users to answer simple math questions, like "What is 1+3?" Once the user types in the answer, 4, he can access the forum.
Well, yesterday, I found a forum that had taken the "keep spammers out" mentality to a ridiculous level.
Here’s the story: My cellphone synchronizes data with my computer through a software program. When the software started malfunctioning, I needed to contact technical support. Like many software companies, this one offers technical support to customers through its discussion forum. And here is the math problem I was presented with, exactly as it appeared, so that I could access the forum:
What is the result of the arithmetic problem in the 1. line?
(228-180) * 7=?
35+127=?
(44*4)+13=?
Only use numbers in your answer. e.g. If the result is five, enter the numeral 5.
Huh?! They want me to work out what is "228 minus 180 multiplied by 7"? (It’s 336.) This is just plain stupid. An automated spam bot is unable to answer "What is 1+1" (2) or "What color is grass, normally" (green). So why present the average customer, who is already frustrated by his malfunctioning software, with a complicated mathematical question?
The lesson here is simple. Yes, you should look into procedures that can help your business improve its efficiency or make the customer experience better (in this case, to prevent spam). But ALWAYS make sure that a "regular" person, not a programmer left to his own devices, tests new procedures by asking "Does this help or hinder our customers?"
[Ed. Note: David Cross is Senior Internet Consultant to Agora Inc. in Baltimore. You can meet all your marketing goals - and achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business dreams - with the help of ETR’s Total Success Achievement Program . Learn more by clicking here.]
A Business Secret That Works for Weight Loss
Goal setting is a guaranteed way to achieve more. And not just in business, but in weight loss too. It works even better if you don’t try to do it alone.
According to research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine , subjects who reviewed their nutrition and physical-activity goals with doctors were able to double the amount of exercise they did. They also lost more weight than subjects who did not participate in the goal-setting review.
Here’s what you need to do to make the combination of goal setting and social support work for you…
With the help of a family member, a friend, or a health and fitness professional, set three specific short-term and long-term goals for your weight-loss program. For example, a short-term goal could be to reduce your intake by 250 calories per day every day for the next week. A long-term goal would be to exercise 24 times over the next eight weeks (aiming for three sessions per week). Then - to improve your chances of meeting those goals - review your progress with your "supporter" on a weekly basis.
[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Craig Ballantyne is the creator of the Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system. For a free online source of information, motivation, and social support to help you improve your health, lose weight, and get fit, sign up for ETR’s free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Good to Know: Avoiding Credit Card Embarrassment
You’re buying an expensive piece of jewelry for your wife, and your credit card is rejected. You pay your bills on time and the price is well within your credit limit… so what happened? Well, your credit card company may be protecting you from possible fraud.
Card issuers monitor your usual spending habits. If a charge suddenly comes up for a big-ticket item in a store you don’t normally frequent, it could be denied. Same thing if you use your card overseas or in a different part of the country. To avoid having this happen, notify your credit card company ahead of time before making a big purchase or traveling.
(Source: Real Simple )
What If There Was A Way To Legally Beat A Traffic Ticket?
“When Attorneys Get Speeding Or Traffic Tickets, This Is What They Do… No Points, No Increased Premiums & Definitely No Stupid Driving School. These Tricks Work Like Magic.”
If you’re like me then the simple sight of a police car in your rear-view mirror is enough to send shivers down your spine, but…
When the lights start flashing…
There Goes That Safe Driver Discount… Right? Not anymore…
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Mibster
A "mibster" (MIB-ster) is a marble player. A lso, according to the Urban Dictionary , a marble addict, especially one collecting contemporary, huge, art-glass marbles.
Example (as used in The Atlantic Monthly ): "Though it’s customarily considered bad form to shoot marbles past noon on Good Friday, the rules [for this year’s British and World Marbles Championships, held annually on Good Friday] have been relaxed to accommodate all the mibsters."
[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