Issue #2427

• WEALTHY: The one good investment left? (Andrew Gordon)
• HEALTHY: Why you should drink less alcohol (Yarixa Ferrao)
• WISE: Dale Carnegie on peace of mind

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• Is there such a thing as too much inspiration? (Robert Ringer)
• What you can learn about your business idea at a street fair (Judith Strauss)
• It’s Good to Know… the going rate for your personal identification
• Add “gustatory” to your vocabulary

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The Global Financial Panic of 2008

Behind the closed doors of a private meeting room at the exclusive Four Seasons restaurant in New York City, economic history was recently made.

By private invitation, 13 of the most respected financial advisers in the world came to New York City for a secret, economic summit.

Why? You already know why. The economy is teetering on the brink. The dollar is falling. Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Gas prices are obscene. Food prices are going through the roof. And they’ve even begun to ration rice at some major food marts. This is scary stuff.

The agenda was simple: What are solutions that people can use now to protect them from the financial challenges? The response: an outpouring of financial secrets, advice and investment recommendations like nothing ever experienced.

Learn more…

Even in a Bear Market, Not All Sectors Are Down

By Andrew M. Gordon

Last year, eight out of 10 major sectors went up. The reverse is happening this year. Eight out of the 10 are now in negative territory. Materials and energy are the only holdouts. Is either one worth investing in? Or are they just laggards that will be heading down any day now?

As a matter of fact, the materials sector had a lousy June. It fell 2.5 percent. And it certainly looks like materials is following the rest of the market down (though belatedly). That leaves energy.

But energy is a tricky sector. It covers everything from the oil majors to small alt-energy start-ups. Some of these niches are doing well; others, not so well. My advice is to focus on oil services. That industry has gone up more than 15 percent in the last three months. The main markets (except for Nasdaq) went down around 10 percent during the same period.

I like the rig contractors. I’ve recommended a couple of them to my subscribers, and they’re doing great. And since the beginning of the year, they’ve done better than most other oil-related stocks. Just let the market tell you which ones to invest in. Look up a few and put them on a six-month chart. See which ones rose the highest in that time, and invest in the top two or three.

[Ed. Note: In the coming years, the energy companies will spend nearly $10 trillion (yes, trillion!) finding and extracting new sources of oil and gas. Andrew Gordon has uncovered two best-in-class drilling rig companies that will be on the receiving end of this tidal wave of cash. And he's ready to reveal them to you. Learn more here.]

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 “If half a century of living has taught me anything at all, it has taught me that nothing can bring you peace but yourself.”

Dale Carnegie

One From the Heart

By Robert Ringer

I recently received an inspiring e-mail from a young friend of mine, Jay. I had not seen Jay in 30 years, and really only came to know him when he contacted me to inform me that his father, Jack, had passed away. Jack was a genuinely good human being, and I was saddened by the news of his death.

I find it ironic that now, after Jack’s passing, his son and I have become friends. Life is an infinite matrix of twists, turns, and surprises that never ceases to amaze me.

What follows is the major portion of Jay’s poignant e-mail, which so touched me that I wanted to share it with you…

“I have had many setbacks in my life, and many people have asked how I maintain such a great attitude after losing an eye, missing a clavicle since birth, dyslexia, and now diabetes. Many people tell me that if they were me, they would be so depressed they would not be able to function. I simply tell them that worrying about my issues won’t solve anything.

“Steven Covey introduced me to the concept of ‘circle of influence.’ The idea is to mentally place all the things you have the power to influence inside the circle and everything else outside the circle. Then, concentrate on those things that are inside the circle, things that you have the power to change.

“Included within my circle of influence:

“Dyslexia. By continually reading and practicing, I can compensate for my deficit and become wiser and more knowledgeable.

“Diabetes. By exercising and watching my weight, my doctor tells me that the problem will virtually disappear and I won’t need to take insulin.

“Outside of my circle of influence:

“Bad eye. It can’t be fixed, so I don’t worry about it.

“Missing clavicle. I can’t grow a new one, and it doesn’t affect my life negatively, so I just forget about it.

“I am fortunate, because I was taught at a very young age not to worry about the things I cannot change and to concentrate on those things that I can change. I’m happy that I learned this early in life, and I am teaching it to my son. I want him to understand that the most worthwhile lessons in life are the ones we learn through adversity.

“Whenever you fail at something, examine the reason why you think you failed, learn from it, and try again. You may fail a hundred times, but when you finally win, it will be a hundred times sweeter. If life throws you a curve, lean into it, learn from it, and understand how you feel about it. Then, turn it into a positive.

“Even if you don’t think there is a positive aspect to it, some day you may be in a situation that will require you to draw on that experience, perhaps to help someone dear to you through a similar issue.”

When you read something like that, it’s easy to think to yourself, “It’s just another inspirational piece that doesn’t say anything I didn’t already know.” Speaking for myself, I’m not that jaded. I never tire of hearing inspirational stories, especially when they are personal and from the heart.

Jay is much younger than I am, but that matters not. I try to learn from everyone. His e-mail got me to thinking again about the things over which I have some degree of control and those over which I have no control at all. If you seek to have peace of mind, it’s absolutely essential that you not stew and fret over the things you cannot control.

That’s why Dr. Andrew Weil, the superstar health guru of our generation, advises against watching the news or reading newspapers every day. He says the nonstop bad news has a negative impact on our health.

I believe Dr. Weil is right. And I further believe that the reason bad news affects our health is that we know we can’t do anything about it. That causes stress, a breakdown of healthy cells, and a disruption of the body’s natural rhythms.

If you’re like me, you’re probably not willing to cut off the news entirely. (After all, everybody needs to know what’s going on in the world!) But we would all do well to make a conscious effort to ignore the bad stuff over which we have no control. Which, nicely, leaves more time for the good stuff. And the more you concentrate on the good things in your life, the more good things you are likely to have.

[Ed. Note: Of course, concentrating on the good things in your life isn't all you need to do. You need to take action in order to move yourself forward to success. But sometimes you need a little push to get yourself going... and some simple techniques to help you accomplish your dreams. Learn how to get all that and more right here.

For a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques for increasing your income many times over, check out Robert Ringer's best-selling dealmaking audio series.

And sign up for his Voice of Sanity e-letter here.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

Building Wealth Online Is Just Like Riding a Bike

Remember the first time you tried to ride a bike? You’d spent your life missing out until then.

But once you got on that bicycle… you felt a special moment when suddenly, the magic happened. You were free! Since then, you’ve never “unlearned” that knowledge. Doing it again is easy… automatic… instinctive.

That’s how it feels once your first Internet income stream is up and running. The magic hits you… the next one is even easier… the rest are almost automatic.

One man I know turned $10 into over $500,000 this way. Let me show you how you could get a similar Internet income stream started for almost nothing.

- Charlie Byrne

ETR Associate Publisher

Testing, Testing…

By Judith Strauss

You’ve got a great idea for a new product. And you’ve been reading ETR long enough to know that before you can even consider using that product to launch a business, you have to find out if people will buy it. One of our recommendations has been to try it out at a street fair.

How much can you learn about the viability of a product idea at a street fair? A lot. Let me tell you about my friend CR…

While taking a metal sculpture course at a local art school, he came up with a design for a clever little executive “desk toy” made out of horseshoe nails. He made a bunch of them as gifts for friends and relatives, and everyone loved them. “These are great,” people told him. “You really ought to sell them.”

CR didn’t need any more encouragement than that. He was cranking out the toys in his spare time, just because he enjoyed doing it. But he’d already gifted everyone he knew with them. And they were piling up on a shelf in his basement. Making extra money by selling them sounded ideal.

“Who knows?” he told me. “Maybe this can actually turn into something. I’ve always dreamed of having my own business. It would be a lot more fun than the 9-to-5 job I’m in now.”

So, to test his business idea in the marketplace, he signed up with a neighborhood street fair for the summer. And here’s what happened…

The first weekend, he was out of his mind with excitement. Sunday morning, he called me. “Judith,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe how much money I made. Yesterday, I almost sold out. Ohmigod… I threw the money on the bed and rolled around on it. Stayed up all night welding so I would have something to sell today.”

“I’m exhausted,” he said. “Please help me out tomorrow. Man my table so I can get a little sleep.”

How could I say no? Of course, I helped him out. And here’s what I learned…

• A huge number of people pass by street fair tables – far more potential customers than you could imagine.

• Interaction with customers is thrilling – and the pleasure of selling one-on-one with people who are into your product because they’re able to talk to you about it is unbeatable.

• Gallery/boutique owners troll street fairs looking for unusual merchandise. So instead of having to find retail outlets for your goods by going door to door, they come to you.

You may think I’m going to tell you that, based on the results of testing his product at the street fair, CR was inspired to go forward with a full-fledged business selling it.

Well, no.

As popular as CR’s desk toys were initially, they weren’t nearly as popular as the summer went on. Fewer and fewer people were crowding around his table. They’d seen similar things at other street fairs – and either they’d already bought, or they just weren’t interested. CR’s toys no longer seemed like such a novelty to his target market: the kind of people who like handcrafted things. Not only that, but the gallery and boutique owners who’d tried them out on a consignment basis didn’t re-order. “Few customers even stop to look at them when you’re not there to talk about how you make them,” they told CR.

Needless to say, CR was disappointed. Make that very disappointed. At the same time, he was happy that he hadn’t simply forged ahead and tried to launch the dream business he had in his head. “That would have been a big mistake,” he told me.

And that’s the point of testing a product idea – whether you do it at a street fair, on a consignment basis, on eBay, or some other way. If the results are positive, that tells you it’s good enough to take the idea to the next level. If the results are negative, that tells you something equally important: Don’t spend any more time, effort, or money on it. Forget about it and move on to another idea.

[Ed. Note: Testing is at the core of any successful business. And one of the easiest ways to test your ideas is by starting an online business. It's quick and can be done without a huge output of capital. And with the ETR team's insider tactics to getting started, you can get your business off the ground in no time.]

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The Anti-Fat-Loss Substance That Could Be Ruining Your Diet

By Yarixa Ferrao

You work hard all day. So when you come home from work, or finally get the kids down to sleep, you probably want to chill out. Many people do that by having a few glasses of wine with dinner. That’s one of the health mistakes Michael Masterson was making that was keeping him from losing weight. But Michael was able to modify his habit… and so can you. And that will help you finally shed that stubborn fat!

Now, I’m not saying you should cut out alcohol completely. A glass or two with dinner is just fine. But I want to make sure you understand that, when you’re trying to lose weight, a big issue with alcohol is not only its calorie content, but also the way the body metabolizes it.

Alcohol brings fat burning to a complete STOP!

When alcohol is ingested, it passes through the stomach and intestines, into the bloodstream, then into the liver. In the liver, it is converted into acetaldehyde, which is then converted into acetate. Because acetate is readily bio-available, your body will burn it first… instead of carbs, protein, or fat.

So if you choose to consume alcohol, keep these three tips in mind:

Tip #1: Always eat fat and protein with alcohol to slow down its absorption rate and protect the lining of the stomach and small intestine.

Tip #2: Drink wine from organic sources whenever possible.

Tip #3: Enjoy your wine – but drink in moderation.

Instead of three glasses of wine every night with dinner, Michael gradually cut down to two glasses and then to one. By cutting his alcohol intake, intensifying his exercise routine, and making a few changes to his diet, Michael was able to lose 15 pounds and lower his body fat by five percent. (By the way, he still tries to keep it to one glass of wine with dinner – but, now that he’s lost the weight, he has more than that at least once a week.)

You can improve your own health and get leaner by making similar changes. Get started today.

[Ed. Note: If you're looking to see results like Michael's, Coach Yari can help. She's offering a special online training program for people who can't make it to her gym. Learn how to burn up to 37 pounds of fat in 6 weeks right here.

Of course, working out isn't the only key to getting fit. Get healthy recipe ideas, the latest news on natural supplements, and plenty of motivation right here.]

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It’s Good to Know: The Going Rate for Your Personal Information

Identity thieves trafficking in personal financial data from bank accounts and credit cards are having to work harder for their money these days. Due to the tremendous amount of “secure” information that’s now on the market, they can get only a tenth of what they used to get for something like a credit card number with its PIN. So they’ve turned to “premium” information that commands higher prices, including patient healthcare and insurance information, personnel files, and corporate credit card numbers.

(Source: Reuters)

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== Highly Recommended ==

Just Check the Profitable New Business You Want

How easy would it be for you to succeed if someone did all the “heavy lifting” for you… researched the most profitable businesses… discovered the opportunities that are easy as pie to operate… uncovered the ventures that take very little time…

If any of this sounds good, then you can have your own highly profitable business this year.  You can find one that fits you like a glove, has few start up costs, and gives you personal and financial freedom from this day on…

See exactly what I mean by clicking here.

Word to the Wise: Gustatory

The word “gustatory” (GUS-tuh-tor-ee) – from the Latin – refers to the sense of taste.

Example (as used by Jeffrey Tayler in The Atlantic): “In a land of ice and chains and endemic suffering, caviar provided gustatory salvation from grief and black days, a sensual escape from temporal woes.”

[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 Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 5:10 am and is filed under Daily Issues .