Issue #2344

• WEALTHY: A break in the climb – or an end to the growth of these countries? (Andrew Gordon)
• HEALTHY: "Protection" that could be damaging your health (Jon Herring)
• WISE: Paul Gauguin on productivity

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Increasing productivity is more than just working faster (Rich Schefren)
• What’s wrong with brand-new product ideas? (Michael Masterson)
• It’s Fun to Know… about contact lenses ready for battle
• Add "pervicacious" 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…

Emerging Markets Not Done Yet

By Andrew M. Gordon

Since 2002, foreign stocks have trounced U.S. stocks. Not this year. The European markets have done just as badly as the U.S. markets. Many of the emerging markets – India and China, for example – have done a lot worse.

Is the bloom finally off the rose? Some say the emerging market countries have great economic growth and fundamentals that are being ignored. Others say their markets are valued almost as high as the U.S. markets. They’re not a great buy anymore.

So, who to believe? Here’s my take. Many of these countries have economies that are still expected to grow two or three times faster (or more) than that of the U.S. or Europe. And companies in these countries are also expected to grow earnings much faster than American or European companies. At the same time, their economic and banking systems are becoming more open and transparent and increasingly subject to the rule of law.

Market growth is never smooth. There are bound to be breaks in the climb. We’re in one of those breaks now. It shouldn’t last. The emerging markets still have a greater upside than those in developed countries. And the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (EEM) ETF is probably the best way to invest in them.

[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.]

Click to comment on this article.

Cut to the Chase… Dammit!

By Rich Schefren

Do you ever end your day wondering, "Did I really get the important stuff done today?"

Most entrepreneurs, both online and off, often do. But today, I’ve got a quick strategy for you that’ll eradicate any lingering doubts you might possess about your productivity.

In my work coaching many of today’s top Internet marketers, these questions surface frequently:

• How can I stop wasting time?
• How can I get other people to stop wasting my time?
• How can I get more done in less time?
• At the end of the day, how can I feel good about what I accomplished?

Do any of these questions sound familiar? If so, you know that increasing productivity means more than just working faster. In fact, it’s about discipline and purpose. Two traits entrepreneurs often struggle with.

Let’s talk about discipline first.

If you find yourself struggling to accomplish what’s on your to-do list, or sticking to your schedule, these tactics often do the trick:

1. Take Advantage of a Powerful Part of Your Brain.

   Identify your most important outcomes for the next day before you go to bed. You don’t necessarily need to know exactly how you will spend the day when you hit the sack. But, while you’re sleeping, being sure of the results you want gives your subconscious mind a chance to figure out the best ways to get it all done. The next morning, when you plan your schedule for the day, you’ll be surprised by what you come up with.

2. Include Anchor Activities in Your Schedule.

   When planning your schedule for the day, make sure you include anchor activities to keep yourself on track. An anchor activity is a task that will force you to be disciplined.

   For example, left to my own devices when I am talking to a friend/peer, the conversation might go on for hours. But if I have an important call to make 30 minutes later, I know I won’t spend longer than 30 minutes on the first call. So the second call is an anchor activity.

   Anchor activities ensure that though you might lack discipline right now, it won’t interfere with what you must get done.

3. Do the Uncomfortable First.

   Attack your most important, most intense, and highest leverage activities first. Doing so generates momentum and confidence you can ride the rest of the day.

4. Look at Yourself and Learn.

   At the end of the day, evaluate your performance. If you did a good job, what, specifically, helped you get it done? If you got off track, what happened? And how can you prevent that from happening in the future? This step is frequently neglected… and that’s a shame. Because it’s the fastest path to ever-increasing productivity.

Now, let’s talk about being purposeful…

Far too many entrepreneurs don’t keep their eye on the prize. They go into meetings, make phone calls, talk to staff and contractors… without being clear about the specific outcome they want from each of these activities.

The solution? It’s simple. Get into the habit of asking yourself "What’s my outcome?" every time you transition into a new activity. To make asking this question a habit, put visual reminders where you can’t miss seeing them… until it becomes your default way of operating.

Write it in your daily schedule, on a Post-it on your desk, on an index card that you carry in your briefcase, and on a label on the bottom of your computer monitor. Having so many reminders makes it easy to be consistent when you’re trying to develop a new way of thinking. And anything you do consistently develops into a habit quickly.

So there you have it. You now have a four-part strategy to become more disciplined, more purposeful, and, ultimately, much more productive.

[Ed. Note: Rich Schefren's businesses have done over $35 million in sales. A renowned business strategist, Rich coaches many of today's top Internet gurus and service providers on streamlining their businesses while exploding their profits. Learn more at www.StrategicProfits.com.

Becoming more disciplined and more purposeful are two ways to make sure you accomplish your most important goals. You can learn dozens more strategies for achieving your dreams with ETR's Total Success Achievement program. Get the details here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

$3,012 in Online Income in Just An Hour?

If you are ever in a situation where you can’t wait weeks – and especially not months – before you see money coming in, then you’ll want to follow this easy, paint-by-the-numbers program for pulling in money FAST.

Now, to be fair, you may have to wait a few days or more in some cases to get paid. But the “work,” if you want to call it that, takes as little as an hour.

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!

Evolution, Not Revolution, for Business Growth

By Michael Masterson

Consumers aren’t looking for brand-new products. They are looking for clever new adaptations of products they already know and love.

What does this mean to you as an entrepreneur?

For one thing, it means that your goal is not to develop brand-new ideas, but to notice trends that are beginning and develop products that anticipate that trend by a little – just enough to catch your customers’ attention.

It also means that you must be humble. Innovation isn’t usually about genius. It is more often about trial and error. If you are always trying to come up with product ideas that are completely new and different, you will likely have a very poor success record.

Imitation – knocking off your competitors’ products – doesn’t work, because it is always too little and too late. But noticing what products are working and then creating new products with features that are somehow more advanced – that’s how you get the breakthroughs.

The secret, as we used to say in the 1960s, is evolution, not revolution.

And your job as your company’s innovation leader is to be sensitive to industry trends and to develop all sorts of new and better versions of products that are already trending upward.

[Ed. Note: The above was adapted from Michael Masterson's book, Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat, published with permission of John Wiley & Sons. The book has hit the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Business Week lists of business best-sellers.

Michael shows how veteran and rookie entrepreneurs alike can take their businesses to the next level. You'll learn how to identify and solve the problems that crop up during each stage of a company's growth... and how to take advantage of profit opportunities along the way. Order your copy of Ready, Fire, Aim now.]

Click to comment on this article.

Praise for Ready, Fire, Aim : "I knew this book would help me grow from a small company to a big company."

"I have been reading ETR every day for about a month now. I am an entrepreneur and decided to order Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson. Before I finished reading the second chapter, I knew this book was going to help me grow from a small company to a big company.

"Michael called me on a few things that entrepreneurs tend to get distracted by (details of my website, worrying about the details of my product). He made me realize that even though I am in the education business, I am first and foremost in the selling business. My business won’t start to grow until I focus my energy on selling. I have started to do so, and my business is starting to grow! Thanks, ETR, for introducing me to Ready, Fire, Aim!"

Bonnie Davison

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

singingenglish.com

Could Sunscreen Cause Skin Cancer? You Bet…

By Jon Herring

When sunscreen lotion first came on the market, it was marketed as a way to prevent sunburn. Over the years, however, the marketing angle changed when manufacturers realized there is more money to be made by claiming their products protect against dreaded skin cancer.

Only problem is that while sunscreen can protect you against sunburn, there is no evidence it will protect you from skin cancer. In fact, the evidence suggests the opposite – that sunscreens have partially caused an increase in skin cancer!

One of the most common ingredients in commercial sunscreens is a chemical known as PABA or padimate-O, which is known to produce genetic mutations that can lead to cancer. Even more incredibly, PABA becomes aggressively carcinogenic only when it is illuminated by UV light. In other words, exposure to sunlight is what causes this chemical to attack your DNA.

According to a study published in the journal Mutation Research :

"Any padimate-O in contact with the cells substantially increases indirect damage [to DNA]… We estimate that applying an SPF-15 sunscreen which contains padimate-O to human skin followed by exposure to only 5 minimum erythemal doses (MED) of sunlight could… increase [DNA] strand breaks in cells under the epidermis by at least 75-fold compared to exposure to 1 MED in the absence of sunscreen."

You should certainly think twice before slathering chemical sunscreens on your skin. Whenever possible, protect yourself from sunburn with clothing and shade. And when you do need to use sunscreen, use one with natural ingredients, with the physical barrier zinc oxide as its active ingredient.

[Ed. Note: Discover four more connections between sunscreen and skin cancer in Your Best Health Under the Sun, a book by Jon Herring and Dr. Al Sears. Plus, learn just how powerful the healing forces of sunlight are - and why this information is being kept from you. Get the details here.]

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It’s Fun to Know: Contact Lenses Ready for Battle

DARPA, the agency in charge of U.S. military innovation, has put out a call to researchers for help in designing special contact lenses to be worn by soldiers in battle. The lenses would give the solders magnified vision, as well as access to up-to-the-minute battlefield information, maps, and communications.

Similar capabilities are currently provided by bulky "monocles" that attach to the soldiers’ helmets. And pilots have had "heads up" displays on their helmet visors for years. But the new lenses would be easier to use and less cumbersome. DARPA hopes to deploy them within three to five years.

(Source: Wired and DARPA)

Click to comment on this article.

== Highly Recommended ==

How to Get the Heart of 370 Business Magazines in Just 30 Minutes a Month

Did that headline catch your eye?

How about this one:

"32 Ways to Save Time and Money From the Pages of Good Housekeeping."

Gene Schwartz knew the power of a compelling headline. He wrote those two – and went on to generate over $2 billion in advertising sales during his career.

Now you can find out, step-by-step, how to accomplish breakthrough marketing results no matter what you are selling, with our "accelerated marketing" program.

If you are involved in any form of sales, the benefits you’ll receive could be worth hundreds of thousands to you in future earnings. Click to continue…

Word to the Wise: Pervicacious

"Pervicacious" (pur-vih-KAY-shus) means stubborn or obstinate – refusing to change your ideas or behavior. The word is from the Latin for "to maintain one’s opinion."

Example (as used in the New York Law Journal): "The language of the bureaucrats and administrators must needs be recognized as an outgrowth of legal parlance. There is no other way to explain its pervading, pervicacious, and pernicious meanderings."

[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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This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 5:10 am and is filed under Daily Issues .