How to Gain the Confidence You Need to Do Practically Anything
Issue #2328
- WEALTHY: Am I a hypocrite? (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: 7 supplements you’d benefit from taking (Dr. Ray Sahelian)
- WISE: Sven Goran Eriksson on fear of failure
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to gain the confidence you need to do practically anything (Paul Lawrence)
- A word that almost everyone fumbles (Don Hauptman)
- It’s Fun to Know… why the early bird catches the worm
- Add "discursive" to your vocabulary
Confidential Report: Disillusioned Trader Opens "Money-Floodgates" to YOU…
Rob Banks Legally… With an Inside Job!
Are You Ready for a "Smash and Grab" on the World’s "Hidden" Money-Mountain?
Great! The getaway car’s leaving…
A Rumor I Bought Into
I have cautioned you before against investing in rumors, regardless of the source. But I recently bought into one myself. Before you call me a hypocrite, let me explain.
The stock in question is Office Depot (ODP). A local small-business owner who dabbles in the market told me he’d heard a rumor about ODP being the target of a hostile takeover. As I always do with any stock of interest, I checked three things:
- ODP’s chart (It looks like it has put in a double-bottom at the $10.80 level.)
- the sentiment indicators (Analysts don’t think very highly of this stock. All 10 are rating it as a "hold.")
- its fundamental stats (The fundamentals don’t look very good at this point, but it appears that all the company’s troubles may be out and on the table.)
So what did I do? I bought some long-term calls on ODP that don’t expire until January 2010. I only bought a few, but if the company is going to turn around it should be within the next 12 to 18 months. If they do get a hostile takeover bid, the stock could shoot up from $11.70 to $17 real quick.
So there you go. If you’re going to listen to a rumor, this is how you should play it.
ODP was brought to my attention by a takeover rumor. That’s what made me look at it twice. But that’s not what made me buy. In the end, I made a bullish play on the stock because of the same three things I always look at: technicals, sentiment, and fundamentals. I encourage you to do the same. Don’t buy into rumors. But if the stock happens to fit your investing criteria, go ahead and make the trade.
[Ed. Note: Rick Pendergraft is a professional trader and market analyst. In Rick’s new investment service, he gives easy-to-follow, step-by-step advice that you can use to create a consistent, automated income. Learn more about how he can help you produce explosive gains - no matter which way the market is trading - here]
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"The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure."
Sven Goran Eriksson
Learning How to Fall
When I found that I could earn college credits by taking judo, I jumped at the chance. I’d been taking karate for a couple of years and I was pretty good at it, if I do say so myself. I was used to getting punched and kicked, so I figured judo wouldn’t be any big deal.
As I entered the first class, I felt pretty confident. The instructor gave me a hearty welcome and explained that judo was basically like wrestling. I paired up with a guy about my size and the instructor said to "give it a go." My opponent quickly grabbed me and flipped me over his back and onto the mat. The pain was excruciating. All I could do was lie there in shock. This sure wasn’t karate!
If I hadn’t needed the credits to graduate, I may never have gone back. But I did need the credits, so back I went. And in the next class, my instructor taught me something that changed the way I have since thought about all challenges - physical or mental, personal or business. He taught me how to land.
Landing in judo involves twisting and absorbing the impact of the fall in your leg and hip while slapping the mat with your hand. Do that, and it doesn’t hurt at all.
Once I knew how to protect myself by landing right, I lost my fear of being flipped. A few weeks later - despite being such a novice - I agreed to participate in a judo tournament. And because I was no longer afraid of getting flipped, I actually won a few matches.
It’s amazing how much self-assurance you can suddenly have when you know how to negate the risk of something that had seemed frightening. Of course, learning how to "land" is different depending on the challenge you’re facing. But as long as you know how to minimize the potential "pain," you can take on almost anything.
Here’s another example. When I first began doing stand-up comedy, I was terrified that people wouldn’t laugh at my jokes. My fears, it turns out, were well founded. I bombed the first time I performed my act in front of an audience. I was so bad, the crowd booed me off the stage. And the agony of that experience dwarfed any physical pain I’d ever felt.
Shortly thereafter, I began training with professional comics in a weekly workshop. There I learned that when you tell a joke that bombs, you’ve got to acknowledge it to the audience. They will usually laugh and be happy to give you another chance. So if I told a joke that got zero response, all I had to say to keep the audience on my side was, "Wow, I guess that joke sucked! It sure seemed funnier when I wrote it."
The technique worked. No longer afraid of trying out jokes that might tank, I became fearless onstage. (And I still am.)
Learning how to fall in both judo and comedy gave me massive courage where I had once been apprehensive. And this confidence-building technique applies in almost any challenging situation. I call it "The Antidote Strategy."
Being self-confident can help you get a job, win a new client, or get other people on your side. It can help you try a new hobby, lose weight, or even get a date. By developing an "Antidote Strategy," you can guarantee that you’ll be at your best when attempting to succeed at just about anything.
Here is how to put The Antidote Strategy to work:
* Identify the possible negative outcome of the challenge.
Let’s face it. A lot of things you could do that might help you become more successful are risky. Let’s say you’ve been working on a new project idea. And to show your boss how creative and innovative you are, you want to present the idea at the company’s next staff meeting. But you’re afraid.
So Step One of The Antidote Strategy is to determine exactly what it is that you are afraid of. Will you feel stupid if your idea is rejected? Will you be disappointed? Will you be embarrassed?
* Create or find a way to prevent that negative result.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Do some research. Chances are many other people have struggled with the same type of challenge and have come up with a good way to deal with it.
Let’s go back to our example. The experts I polled suggest a method similar to the one I use as a comic: self-deprecation. If your new project idea is ridiculed by your boss and co-workers, brush it off. You really can win people over by being humble - maybe even getting a laugh. So just smile and say something like, "You’re right. I guess that wasn’t one of my brighter ideas. But I’ve got more. You’ll be hearing from me again."
* No matter how scary the challenge you are faced with, remind yourself that you have nothing to fear. You are prepared. If the worst happens, you have an antidote.
A lack of confidence prevents many people from achieving their full potential and reaching their goals. But with your safety net in place, you’ll have a winning edge - the inner strength to take a chance and boldly "jump off buildings"… because you know you won’t get hurt.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is the creator of the Quick and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR’s program for starting a business for under $100. He is also the publisher of the Confidence: The Key to Riches program. Check out the details here.
You can achieve all your personal, social, financial, and business dreams with the help of ETR’s Total Success Achievement program . Learn more here.]
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If you are in the same boat and need money quickly, then head on over and check out all the exciting details for getting started today!
Reader Feedback: "I feel urged on by ETR to participate… and very supported in doing so."
"You are clearly passionate people who understand - as I am coming to understand - that real wealth has little to do with money. It’s becoming more and more clear that, as a person raised in abject poverty, I am focusing on ‘wealth’ in an ineffective manner: I give too much energy to worrying about having enough money.
"I feel urged on by ETR to actively participate in the Total Success Achievement program, and very supported in doing so. I have spent very little time in my life surrounded by people who have known success on the levels that you do. Don’t get me wrong. I am blessed with a loving circle of friends and always have been. It’s just that pretty much every one of us seems caught up in ’survival mode,’ as I imagine most folks are. Your influence will assist me in rising above that, and, in turn, I am feeling empowered to pass that along to my friends who are ready to receive it.
"Thanks so much for your wisdom. It means a lot."
Tom Welsh
Portland, OR
[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.]
Do You Need More Lycopene?
Lycopene - found in tomatoes, watermelon, pink grapefruit, apricots, papaya, and guava - is a powerful antioxidant. Numerous studies indicate that lycopene may lower the risk of heart disease, atherosclerosis, and macular degeneration. It may even play an important role in reducing risks of prostate cancer and breast cancer. And it can lower your blood pressure too.
With all these health benefits, it might seem like a no-brainer to start taking a lycopene supplement. But before you stock up, read on.
It seems to me that Americans consume far more tomatoes (and tomato-based products) than other fruits and vegetables. In other words, we may be consuming enough lycopene in our diet without needing a supplement. On the downside, we may not be getting enough of the healthy substances found in all those other fruits and vegetables.
Therefore, I am not convinced that taking a lycopene supplement will provide benefits to most people. Those who consume adequate or large amounts of tomato-based products may be better off with other types of supplements, such as acai, goji, noni, pomegranate, curcumin, and barley grass.
The point is, if you plan to take supplements, it’s better to take nutrients that you don’t normally consume in your diet.
[Ed. Note: Ray Sahelian, M.D., the author of Mind Boosters, is internationally recognized as a moderate voice in the evaluation of natural supplements. Visit Dr. Sahelian’s website at www.RaySahelian.com, and read more of his articles about the supplements you should and shouldn’t be taking at ETR’s free natural health e-letter free natural health e-letter.]
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The Language Perfectionist: Don’t Take this "Chance"
By Don Hauptman
The word fortuitous is regularly misused. Because of its similarity to fortunate, people assume that it means the same thing. Examples:
- "As members of the Writers Guild of America strike… the timing of today’s debut could be fortuitous."
- "A sudden knee pain near the end of an 18-mile run turned out to mean that I wouldn’t be racing as planned in a coming marathon. ‘Nothing but swimming,’ said the doctor. But I had no idea how fortuitous his prescription would turn out to be."
Writers of the above are using the word as if it means favorable, fortunate, lucky. But the correct definition is "occurring by accident or chance." A chance event can be good, but it can also be neutral or even tragic.
Sometimes the context is ambiguous enough to allow the misinformed writer to get away with it. In such cases, the word could plausibly have either meaning. ("Fortuitously, we were asked earlier this year to join the Committee on Broadcast Arts.") But at least some readers will be left wondering what the writer is trying to say. Moreover, this sort of weaseling is no way to write.
Because the confusion is so widespread, it’s probably best to avoid using the word. But if you choose to use it, be sure you understand its meaning.
[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was a direct-response copywriter. He is author of the wordplay books Cruel and Unusual Puns and Acronymania, and is now writing a new book that also blends language and humor.]
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It’s Fun to Know: Why the Early Bird Catches the Worm
Why are "early birds" able to feast on earthworms after a rainstorm?
Worms usually hate coming to the surface. (The sun’s rays dry them out.) They get oxygen from the soil. But when it rains, their home becomes more water than air. To breathe, they must surface… which exposes them to hungry predators.
(Source: Popular Science )
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. Read on…
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Discursive
"Discursive" (dis-KUR-siv) - from the Latin for "to run in different directions" - means digressive or rambling.
Example (as used by Dan Balz in The Washington Post): "[Bill Clinton] is in general a discursive politician: Start him talking and you cannot get him to stop."
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
I was glad to learn this.
Thank you!
Thanks for your Words to the Wise segment! I am especially enamored of the word “discursive”, it almost sounds like it could be a compliment, since it is similar to “discourse”. I am going to apply it (in a vague way, of course) to an overly chatty and infinitely annoying colleague soon. Who knows, she may get the hint sometime in the future, after the comment passes through the corporate gossip mill. Or maybe not…but it will make me feel better.