How to Recover 3 Months of “Wasted” Time

Issue #2359

• WEALTHY: The money’s in products that need replacing (Christian Hill)
• HEALTHY: How to pack more benefits into each bite (Kelley Herring)
• WISE: Doug Larson on time

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• More time to invest in your health, wealth, and happiness (Michael Masterson)
• How to hit a home run with any audience (Peter Fogel)
• It’s Good to Know… about high-quality photos you can use for free
• Add "epigone" to your vocabulary

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Keep On Rolling 

By Christian Hill

One thing to keep in mind when buying a company’s stock is the lifespan of its product. In other words, keep an eye on how often consumers have to buy replacements. If people have to buy your product only once, you are on a constant search for new customers. Unless, that is, you’re satisfied with sporadic sales. 

And that is the beauty of Goodyear Tire and Rubber (GT) - a company that has been based in Akron, OH since 1898, when Frank Seiberling started producing bicycle and carriage tires, horseshoe pads, and poker chips. 

Goodyear’s product wears out and needs to be replaced - as often as every year in some cases, and every few years in almost all cases. If you drive a car, at some point you will need new tires. And in a country that loves to drive (even with gas hitting $4 a gallon), that is a lot of tires that need replacing. 

Looking at Goodyear’s chart, it appears the stock has found a support level at around $26, which makes a nice entry point. My recommendation: Buy Goodyear Tire and Rubber up to $30/share.

[Ed. Note: Christian Hill is the resident Research Analyst for Investor's Daily Edge (IDE). Get more clear recommendations and practical strategies for protecting your portfolio and multiplying your money from Christian and the rest of the IDE team. Sign up here.]

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"For disappearing acts, it’s hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work."

Doug Larson

4 Things You Can Do to Give Yourself Lots More Time to Be Lots More Successful

By Michael Masterson

Of all the ETR essays I’ve written about self-improvement, the ones that get the most response - both positive and negative - are those that have to do with saving time. I don’t know why that is. You would think ETR readers would be very happy to get advice about how to be more productive by spending less time doing routine tasks. You would think.

The biggest fracas was in February of 2005. That’s when I suggested that ETR readers could save time by spending less time in the shower. I have friends, I told them, who spend a half-hour in the shower every day. That’s crazy, I said. Two minutes is usually plenty for me. Five minutes tops.
 
Readers were outraged by this. They scolded me for my insensitivity. They accused me of being arrogant, sexist, and downright dirty.

Many people are apparently quite attached to their showers. For someone to even suggest they limit their time under the hot water puts them into a rage.

But that’s not what this article is about. It’s about stealing time for yourself. So I am going to make a number of suggestions to help you find more time to invest in your future health, wealth, and happiness… if you are willing.

Limiting Your Shower to Two-Minutes

I know how much you like to stand under the hot water and soak. I know how it relaxes you. But spending 15 to 30 minutes a day in the shower (as many people do) wastes a ton of water and time.

Save the planet. Improve yourself. Take shorter showers.

Amount of time you will save by taking short showers: 79 to 170 hours a year

Eating at Your Desk

I used to like hour-long business lunches. Then I got smart and started eating at my desk. I eat lunch at a restaurant two or three times a month. That’s it. And it’s always social. Never business.

Instead of letting vendors treat you to a fancy meal, let them spend their lunch money on giving you better prices.

Bottom line: Business lunches don’t save time. They waste time! And money. Eat at your desk.

Amount of time you will save by eating at your desk: 250 hours a year

Insisting on Very Short Meetings

I figure about 80 percent of all the hour-long business meetings I have ever had need not have taken more than 15 minutes. Moreover, 50 percent of the multi-day business retreats I’ve attended could have been done in a day or a half-day.

Business meetings are like basketball games. Players spend most of the time throwing the ball back and forth while the score stays close. It’s only in the last 10 minutes that they get serious and really play to win.

If you plan them well, you can significantly reduce the time you spend in meetings. Well-planned meetings have the following characteristics:

• They focus on a single topic.
• That topic is expressed concisely before the meeting in a short memo.
• The meeting is conducted by someone who encourages ideas but cuts off digressions and pushes toward solutions.
• The right people are there - never more than seven.

Time you will save with 15-minute meetings: 75 hours (assuming 100 meetings a year)

Answering E-Mails Efficiently

I answer e-mails only once a day - at the end of the day. This saves me tons of hassles and passels of time. Why? Because three-quarters of the 100 e-mails I get every day are other peoples’ concerns. It’s much better for them, and more time-efficient for me, if I let them solve their own problems.

When I do answer e-mails, I make my answers short and to the point. When I have something difficult or negative to say, I don’t use e-mail because it can cause confusion that results in lots of extra e-mails to clear up. Positive comments can be made very quickly. And if something can’t be explained quickly, I do it in person or on the phone.

Every once in a while - maybe twice a year - I ignore my rule and start the day by doing e-mail. And I have noticed that when I do that, it takes a lot longer. That’s because in the morning I feel like I have plenty of time and tend to write longer answers when shorter ones will do. I have actually tracked the time it takes me to do e-mail both ways. When I start in the morning, it takes about 90 minutes to get through 100 e-mails. When I wait till the end of the day, it takes between 45 and 60 minutes.

Time you will save by answering e-mails for only 45 minutes a day: 185 hours (assuming you check e-mail 250 days of the year)

The Impressive Total

Tally it up. I’ve just shown you how you can save 589 hours a year, at the very least. That is the equivalent of more than 14 40-hour work weeks!

Think of all the things you could accomplish with an extra 589 hours each year. Then make the changes and get going.

[Ed. Note: Simply tweaking your schedule can give you loads of extra time. Get dozens of equally simple yet powerful strategies for accomplishing your goals with ETR's Total Success Achievement Program. Learn the details here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

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3 Ways to Make Your Presentations More Specific

By Peter "The Humorator" Fogel

If you’ve been following Michael Masterson’s tips on marketing/copywriting, you know this "law": To boost sales, you should make specific claims for your product. Specificity always sells better. It’s more truthful and more interesting. And you can use the same strategy when giving a speech/presentation to your colleagues, board of directors, or employer… and especially when trying to impress a new client.

Instead of making broad, sweeping statements, spice up your presentations with lots of details.

• Use concrete examples.

Let’s say you’re giving a sexual harassment seminar for your employees. Come up with real-life or hypothetical examples of what constitutes harassment - and what doesn’t.

• Use facts and figures.

Telling a prospective client that you’ll make her company "more money in the long run" will make her eyes glaze over. Instead, explain exactly how you can increase her bottom line by 62 percent over the next three years.

• Use visual aids.

Visual aids can get your audience’s attention and stick your message in their minds - especially if you’re talking about something abstract or complex. Trying to explain to your employer how much better you could do your job if you worked from home? Show him graphs illustrating the rise in productivity of other telecommuters. Throw in a chart showing how his expenses will drop, and your words will have a much stronger impact.

Making any speech or presentation more specific will make it really hit home with your audience. They’ll remember you and what you talked about. And isn’t that the point?

[Ed. Note: Peter Fogel is a copywriter, speaker, author, and creator of Peter "The Humorator" Fogel's Guide to Effective Public Speaking. For more information on it or his free 7 Days to Effective Public Speaking e-course, click here.]

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Organics Pack 25% More Antioxidants

By Kelley Herring
 
At every meal or snack, I aim to pack the most benefits into every bite. This means choosing lean, organic sources of protein… fiber-rich legumes and whole grains… and a base of phytonutrient-rich fruits and veggies that are full of age-defying and disease-fighting antioxidants. You probably know them best as "superfoods."

In our household, we have made the decision to exclusively enjoy S.O.L.E. foods (Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Eco-conscious). And I encourage you to do the same. Here’s a good reason why.

A recent comprehensive review of more than 97 studies evaluated the benefits of organics. In the report, "New Evidence Confirms the Nutritional Superiority of Plant-Based Organic Foods," researchers found that organic, plant-based foods contain higher levels of eight out of 11 nutrients studied. That includes significantly greater concentrations of health-promoting antioxidants and polyphenols. But what’s more, researchers concluded that organically grown plant foods are 25 percent more nutrient-dense. That means they deliver more nutrition - calorie for calorie - than their conventional counterparts.

Fill your plate with an organic superfood smorgasbord to maximize the health benefits of every bite. You can go green - without spending too much green - by choosing organic foods that are grown locally. Find a farmers’ market near you by visiting localharvest.com and savor the best nutrition nature has to offer.

[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.]

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It’s Good to Know: High-Quality Photos You Can Use for Free

When you need high-quality photos for business presentations, websites, blogs, or brochures and other documents, check out Flickr, one of the most popular photo-sharing sites on the Web. Lots of photographers have made their work available on Flickr through the Creative Commons Commercial license. And you can use those photos free of charge as long as you attribute them to the people who took them.

Go to flickr.com/search/advanced/. Check the Creative Commons box near the bottom of the page. Then enter a search term in the box at the top of the page to find the type of image you are looking for.

(Source: Seth Godin and Creativecommons.org)

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 == Highly Recommended ==

The Only Three Ways to Grow a Business

Did you know that there are only three ways to grow a business?

1. Increase the number of customers.
2. Increase the average transaction value.
3. Increase the frequency of repurchase.

Find a way to maximize each one, and your business will experience an astonishing rate of growth.

In his "9 Pillars of Business Growth" program, acclaimed consultant Jay Abraham outlines hundreds of proven, frequently unrecognized, and almost totally underutilized ways to grow these three key areas of your business. If you own a business (or would like to), be sure to take a look at Jay’s program.

- Charlie Byrne

Word to the Wise: Epigone

An "epigone" (EP-uh-gohn) - from the Greek for "to be born after" - is an inferior imitator, especially of a distinguished writer, artist, musician, or philosopher.

Example (as used by Milan Kundera in Immortality): "No novelist is dearer to me than Robert Musil. He died one morning while lifting weights. When I lift them myself, I keep anxiously checking my pulse, and I am afraid of dropping dead, for to die with a weight in my hand like my revered author would make me an epigone so unbelievable, frenetic, and fanatical as immediately to assure me of ridiculous immortality."

[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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