Lessons on Living Your Life From a TV Legend

Issue #2403

• WEALTHY: The best way to beat a downed economy (Michael Masterson)
• HEALTHY: A snack that truly fills you up (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Tolstoy on greatness

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Lessons on living your life from a TV legend (Robert Ringer)
• Transport yourself to another time and place with music (Jason Holland)
• It’s Good to Know … about in-flight, terrorist-detecting cameras
• Add "jejune" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended ==

You Could Be Just Hours Away From Instant Internet Income

All you have to do is watch a simple video, and I’ll show you one of the most startling ways I’ve ever seen to make money in the shortest amount of time… within a few short hours of watching the presentation.

You will learn the exact plan that banked $187,296 in 24 hours for one man.  And you can copy it step for step.  And the best part is, once you put in just a few hours, you need not do any additional work.  You could very quickly have an “automatic” monthly income stream flowing into your bank account.  

This new program is appropriately called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it does exactly what I promise.  Take a look and discover how Jim Sheridan made this money so quickly.

Are You Better Off than Your Parents Were? Really?

By Michael Masterson

"There is less social mobility in England," Gordon Brown, England’s prime minister, said, "than at any time in the past 50 years."

It was a political speech. Normally I pay no attention to political speeches, but this caught my attention. Less social mobility. That means a statistically lower chance for people to better themselves financially. Fifty years? Where’s the progress?

I remember something Bill Bonner, founder of Agora, wrote about the U.S. economy in The Daily Reckoning. He said the average wage earner is poorer now - on an inflation-adjusted basis - than he’s been in 30-odd years.

We are supposed to be living in a world where things are gradually getting better. But for most people, things are stalled or getting worse.

I mentioned Brown’s remark to one of the people who write for Agora’s newsletters in England. He dismissed it. "It’s just political pandering," he said. "Something the Tories say to get the working class behind them."

Politicians do pander. But in this case - and in the case that Bill Bonner made - my experience corroborates the data. It seems as hard, or perhaps harder, to get ahead today than at any point in my lifetime.

And that’s not how it should be.

Of course, there are plenty of good reasons why it’s tough to get ahead. Right-leaning politicians tell us that competition from China and India is high on the list. The common complaint from leftward-postured pols is that the government spends too much money on helping the rich get richer and practically ignores the wage earner.

You can’t avoid - and shouldn’t rue - globalization. It’s the inevitable consequence of a linked, 21st century world and will eventually bring a better future for everyone. What you have to worry about is all the laws that politicians pass - pols from both sides of the aisle - to fix social immobility. Most of those regulations simply clog things up and make it more, not less, difficult for ambitious people to move up the social scale.

At ETR, we don’t see any significant obstacles on the road to success. Yes, there are fallen trees and boulders to get around. But if you are willing to take a running jump every once in a while, you can move along at a satisfactory speed.

In other words, we believe that any individual can beat the odds and get ahead. And that’s what we help you do.

Are you ready for that? Are you prepared to be the one person in 10 who steadily gets wealthier while his friends, colleagues, and neighbors sit back and do nothing but vote for pandering politicians whose job it is to put the blame where it doesn’t belong and make promises they can’t possibly keep?

Yes, Gordon Brown is right that most people in England are financially stalled. And, yes, it’s also true that most U.S. citizens are poorer than they were in the 1970s. But we are living at the dawn of a brand-new century, and everything is very different than it was 50 years ago. The whole world is connected through wireless communications and the Internet. We are very lucky to be alive right now. In fact, this is probably the best time to have wealth-building ambitions in more than a hundred years.

Most of your friends and colleagues and neighbors won’t do anything about it. But you can be the exception that gets plugged in and starts an Internet-based business. In the 21st century, millions of new millionaires will be made - and most of them will start with nothing but a small bank account, some good advice, and the wisdom to see the writing on the wall.

[Ed. Note: The Internet is flush with money. All you have to do is take action and grab your share of the profits. The best way to do it is by starting your own Internet business. And it doesn't have to be difficult. ETR's team of marketing and business-building experts can walk you through each and every step. Learn how to build a full-fledged business quickly - without a lot of risk - right here.]

Click to comment on this article.

"There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth."

Leo Tolstoy

Tim Russert Knew What Really Mattered

By Robert Ringer

It’s hard to believe that Tim Russert has been dead nearly a month. I try to learn from everyone, and the main thing I learned from Russert is that you can have strong opinions, yet be respectful in your discussions with those of opposing views.

When I was young, I was convinced that all so-called liberals were evil. It was an immature assumption on my part. Over the years, I came to realize that there are millions of liberals who, while they may be confused or uninformed, have good intentions.

Unfortunately, there are many liberal newscasters whose ideology is deeply rooted in the soil of guiltism and angerism. Fortunately, however, there are many other liberal commentators who really do mean well, and who show it by being both reasonable and civil on the air. I would include in this group Juan Williams, Kirsten Powers, Lanny Davis, Marc Ginsberg, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Mike Wallace.

Which brings me to Tim Russert. They say the camera never lies, and, based on my experience, I have always believed that to be true. So much so that I am convinced that most Americans "know" TV commentators on an almost personal level.

I can say without exception that I have never been surprised by the personality of anyone who has interviewed me on TV. I was fortunate enough to appear on The Merv Griffin Show twice, and Merv was the same kind and gracious guy in person that you saw on your television screen. I found the same to be true of Mike Douglas and David Hartman, among others.

On the other side of the coin, based on what I had seen of him on TV over the years, I felt like I was going to an execution (mine!) when led into Tom Brokaw’s office for a "pre-interview" discussion many years ago. I said hello to Brokaw, but he pretended not to hear me (or see me), didn’t look up, and continued to work (or pretend to work) on some papers on his desk.

The interview itself was short and ugly. He had obviously never even bothered to thumb through my book, and he was clearly agitated by the fact that he had to lower himself to being on camera with me. Needless to say, when it was over, we didn’t shake hands or share goodbyes.

In fairness to Brokaw, I will say that he not only was a master at his craft, I also believe he mellowed over the years and tried to become more evenhanded in his approach to interviews. If you read his book The Greatest Generation, you could tell that the man had matured a great deal and changed for the better. And Brokaw handled the tribute that NBC aired for Tim Russert the Friday after he passed away in a superb and touching manner.

As to Russert, like everyone else, I was stunned that he checked out so suddenly, without warning, at such a young age. In that respect, I rank the shock of his death right up there with Princess Diana’s and John F. Kennedy Jr.’s. The difference was that you felt, unlike Princess Diana and Kennedy, that you kind of knew Tim Russert, because he was on television every week, much of the time talking directly to you.

I always thought I would like to be interviewed by Russert, even knowing that he would be tough as nails. But I also knew he would be fair. That was his trademark. I admired him for being a lifelong liberal who was fair and polite even with the hardest of the hard-line conservatives who appeared on Meet the Press.

What really won me over to Tim Russert, however, was his unabashed love for his father and son. He never concealed his devotion to his wife, but it was the way he magnified the special bond between grandfather, son, and grandson that became a hallmark for him after the success of his book Big Russ & Me. When he said on the air (to his son), "I love you, Luke," every father had to be moved by it. I’ve always been turned off by celebrities who act as though they don’t have a family.

I never had the pleasure of meeting Tim Russert, but I can honestly say that I’m one of the millions whose lives he touched - with the way he handled himself on television, with his outward affection for his father and son, and with the memories of all that he stood for as a man. It makes the silliness over such abstracts as "conservatism" and liberalism" seem pretty irrelevant.

The truth is that being kind, gracious, polite, and civil have nothing whatsoever to do with most of the stuff people babble about these days - especially politicians and media folks.

In your own life, whatever you believe on the political front, make sure that you aim for the qualities that make you a good human being. Be fair. Be kind. Don’t be afraid to show your love for your family. You’ll win admiration and respect from people everywhere.

[Ed. Note: Becoming more likable is one of the most under-appreciated keys to success. It can garner admiration and respect from colleagues and potential partners alike. Follow Robert Ringer's suggestions today, and you could increase your income many times over. For a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques, check out Robert's best-selling dealmaking audio series.

And sign up for Robert's Voice of Sanity e-letter here.]

Click to comment on this article.

== Highly Recommended ==

You Can Keep Your Current Job While You Quickly Transition Into Your New Business

How in the world do these money-making programs expect you to work tons of hours building up a new business while holding down your current job?  Many just aren’t practical. But I’ve found a new program that is loaded with methods to get you into a new business while you are working at another job.

You can put in as little as 2 to 3 hours a week in your new business, and still bring in nice profits fairly quickly – often in just a week or two.   And once your business is bringing in enough income, you can quit your current job and focus full-time on your new business.  You get to choose which business to get into (there are 20 to choose from), there’s no limit on what you can make, and it is easier than ever to get started. 

There is, however, a limit on how many people I am sharing this with.  You’ll learn why when checking out all the exciting details here.

Living Rich: Music to Move Your Mind and Body

By Jason Holland

One of the best ways to live like a billionaire for a fraction of the cost is by exposing yourself to the best music from around the globe. Music has the potential to transport you to another time and place, whether you’re a working class hero or a billionaire.

And even if you don’t consider yourself a fan of so-called "world music," I encourage you to check out the following styles. Whether a reinvention of a Western genre or wholly original, each is exotic and soulful in its own way.

Afrobeat

Elements of jazz, funk, and indigenous African rhythms and harmonies. Repetitive, improvisational, high energy. Percussion, horns, bass, guitar, keyboards, chanting, and politically charged lyrics.

That is afrobeat.

Any discussion of afrobeat is useless without mention of Fela Kuti, the Nigerian musician and political activist who coined the term and was its originator. Influenced by existing African music genres and Western styles like jazz and funk (including James Brown), this veteran musician and maverick started performing what he called afrobeat in the 1960s. Fela’s son, Femi, has taken on the afrobeat mantle and is currently recording and touring. New York-based Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra is another modern-day practitioner of afrobeat.

Asian Underground

The term Asian Underground has come to represent a style of music made by British Asians (of Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi descent) that combines traditional music from their homelands with modern electronic dance music elements, as well as hip hop, rock, pop, and other genres. Many traditional instruments - including the sitar, sarod, sarangi, and tabla - are featured.

Talvin Singh, a studio producer and DJ who has studied the tablas, has been considered a main force in this movement since the beginning. Other notable names in Asian Underground include Karsh Kale, State of Bengal, Tabla Beat Science, and Asian Dub Foundation.

Fado

Sometimes called the Portuguese blues, fado is a soulful, sad, and hauntingly beautiful genre that originated in the streets of working class Lisbon nearly two centuries ago.

Traces of flamenco, as well as musical traditions from Brazil and possibly African slave rhythms can be heard in fado.

Accompanied by a teardrop-bodied 12-string Portuguese guitar and a classical guitar, the fadista (male or female singer) performs solo. Modern interpreters of fado have been known to stray from this formula, adding more instrumentation - percussion, violins, and even full orchestras. Check out Carlos do Carmo for an old school touch, or Mariza and Madredeus for more modern takes.

Click to comment on this article.

The Meal-Replacement Bar Paradox

By Craig Ballantyne

The other night, after filming a set of workout videos at a friend’s gym, I reviewed the plethora of meal-replacement energy bars at the front counter. Some were made with all-natural ingredients, while others contained numerous chemicals. But all had about 250-300 calories.

Each of these bars is advertised as a way to replace a meal. But as anyone who has ever eaten one knows, they never fill you up. As a result, you are still hungry and end up eating more calories to calm your appetite.

In contrast, for 300 calories, you could have eaten three large apples - a snack that is guaranteed to fill you up for hours.

That’s the meal-replacement bar paradox. They don’t do what they are claimed to do.

In fact, Brazilian researchers compared the ability of apples, pears, and oat cookies (a type of meal-replacement snack) to reduce appetite. 411 women were put into three groups and instructed to eat one of those foods three times per day, as well as three regular meals. After 12 weeks, the subjects eating the pears or apples lost an average of more than 2.5 pounds, significantly more than the oat cookie group (and with no other diet instruction or exercise program). The fruit eaters also significantly lowered blood sugar levels.

So if you are looking for a snack to fill you up between meals, skip the so-called meal-replacement bars. Go with apples or pears.

[Ed. Note: A lot of so-called health advice is just plain bunk. Learn what's fact and what's fiction from fitness expert Craig Ballantyne. See for yourself the REAL way to get fit, lean, and healthy right here.

And for recommendations about the best and most healthful foods you can eat, sign up for ETR's free natural health e-letter.]

Click to comment on this article.

It’s Good to Know: In-Flight Terrorist-Detecting Cameras

European airlines are testing a combination of cameras and software to detect possible terrorist activity on commercial airplanes. Researchers plan to install a camera at every seat, as well as larger cameras to survey spaces like the aisles. Footage captured by the cameras will be analyzed in real time by software designed to detect suspicious behavior, including strange movements, facial expressions, sweating, standing near the cockpit, etc. If a passenger meets several of those criteria, the crew will be alerted. Exactly how this system works is classified.

(Source: New Scientist)

Click to comment on this article.

== Highly Recommended ==

How the Global Economy + the Internet = a Richer YOU

When “they” said the global economy changed things, they weren’t kidding.  It’s easier than ever to make money – potentially A LOT of money – in this new online business that harnesses the full power of the Internet.

Right now, for a small investment (as little as $50), you can purchase in-demand products for pennies on the dollar. Next step? Sell to eager consumers for as much as 1,000% - 4,000% higher, which is exactly what the consumers are already accustomed to paying!

And surprisingly, it couldn’t be any easier to get started making money in this niche.  Even better, you can be up and running - and earning cash! - less than 24 hours after receiving this new program.   

Word to the Wise: Jejune

"Jejune" (juh-JOON) - from the Latin for "meager/weak" - is another way of saying childish or lacking in maturity.

Example (as used by Jedediah Purdy in For Common Things): "By the inflection of his voice, the expression of his face, and the motion of his body, he signals that he is aware of all the ways he may be thought silly or jejune, and that he might even think so himself."

[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

Similar Articles:

• Tim Russert Knew What Really Mattered - It’s hard to believe that Tim Russert has been dead nearly a month. I try to learn from everyone, an…
• Baroque Music Can Help You Learn - "Le chat est sur la table." If you’re like most people, impractical phrases like the above…
• How to Prevent Hearing Loss - You won’t be surprised to learn that listening to your iPod at a high volume for long periods of tim…
• t’s Good to Know: Music Seizures - Musicogenic epilepsy is a rare condition (only 150 cases have ever been reported) in which sufferers…
• The Most Unnecessary Job Ever? - Do you struggle to find the right music to “set the mood” for a romantic dinner? Tired of being made…
• Four Things to Do Today From Goethe - "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, an…
• Living Rich: Music to Move Your Mind and Body - One of the best ways to live like a billionaire for a fraction of the cost is by exposing yourself t…