Issue #2616
- WEALTHY: The real reason most businesses fail (Rich Schefren)
- HEALTHY: When “Beach Bunny Betty” is the worst trainer you can find (Craig Ballantyne)
- WISE: Norman Vincent Peale on changing the world
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 4 steps to changing your life (Noah St. John)
- Use these two common words correctly (Don Hauptman)
- It’s Fun to Know… about caffeine consumption
- Add “puissant” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
He Might Be a Very Successful Investor, But You’ll Never See Him on CNN!
The Wall Street financial jackals extract their “take” from investors just like you.
They perpetuate the myth, “Buy into good companies and hold on for the long term.” Sure, sometimes these stocks go up, but they also go down. In the meantime, these greedy insiders make money either way. They can do it because they’re playing with a whole different set of rules.
One Wall Street Insider has jumped ship and started on his own path to profits. And he’s ready to give you all of his insider secrets so you too can make money no matter what the market does.
Of course, he wants to keep making these cash withdrawals himself… so he can only share these secrets with a limited number of folks. If you want to stop being one of the sheep and join him at the table of success with all of those blueblood financial elitists, please read the following report.
Are You Gambling With Your Business?
A few months ago, I was in Vegas for a business meeting. And while I was there, I did a little gaming.
Of course, the real fun is watching the people around you. Because there’s always that unhappy, stressed-out guy who’s not playing for fun. He’s playing for profit. He’s dreaming of the big score. The one that never comes.
Same goes with the online business world…
I am struck by how so many people approach their business in a manner that seals its fate from the very start. And it’s not because of a lack of desire. Or lack of effort. Or even lack of funds.
No. The reason most businesses fail is because of lack of fundamental business-building knowledge.
So how do you get past that? Well, it’s not an easy fix. But first, you need to follow these four simple steps:
• Establish your vision and create a strategy to achieve that vision. Transform yourself from an opportunity seeker (bad) to an entrepreneur (good).
• Develop products and services that will help you achieve your vision – instead of spending thousands of dollars on products that will collect dust on the shelf.
• Do everything in your power to manage your time better. Implement systems and processes that add more productive hours to your day.
• Finally, always remember that, in order to build a successful business, you need two critical things: scalability (the ability to grow with your needs) and leverage (the ability to do more with less).
[Ed. Note: Get a proven blueprint for starting and growing a business in Michael Masterson's bestselling book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat. Pick up your copy here.
Rich Schefren - one of the world's best small-business strategists - knows a thing or two about what it takes to be successful. The businesses he coaches have done over $500 million every year - piling up more than $1 billion in sales every two years. Visit his blog to learn how to streamline your business while skyrocketing profits.]
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.“
Norman Vincent Peale
The Afformations Method
Traditional success teachers are big advocates of “affirmations” – repeating statements that you’d like to be true. For example, a classic “affirmation” is: “I am rich.”
Okay. Try it. Say “I am rich.”
What just happened? Did you hear a voice in your head that said: “Yeah, right!”?
The problem with “affirmations” is that they don’t work for most people. Why? Because you’re trying to convince yourself of something you don’t really believe.
Have you ever been persuaded to try “affirmations”… and then had… absolutely nothing happen?
Me too. And about a billion other people.
One morning in April 1997, I was taking a shower and thinking about how the human mind is always in the process of asking and seeking the answers to questions. For example, if I were to ask you “Why is the sky blue?”,your mind would start searching for the answer.
So I asked myself a logical question: “If the human mind is always asking and searching for the answers to questions, why are we told to repeat positive statements we don’t believe? Instead, why don’t we ask ourselves empowering questions – questions that will force us to change our thought patterns from negative to positive in order to answer them?”
Take a statement like “I am rich” – to which the brain replies “Yeah, right!” What’s the empowering question you should be asking instead?
That question might look something like this: “Why am I so rich?”
Try it. Ask yourself “Why am I so rich?”
Do you know what your brain is doing right now? Searching for a positive answer to that question!
The staggering realization I made that morning in April 1997 was that you create your reality in two ways: by the statements you say to yourself and others, and by the questions you ask yourself and others. Until then, no one had fully realized, or shown how to harness, the awesome power of what happens when you change your questions.
I named my discovery The Afformations Method.
The 4 Steps to Creating Afformations That Change Your Life
Step 1: Ask yourself what you want.
You can use a goal you’ve previously written down, or start from scratch. You decide.
Please note that traditional success teachers stop right here. They tell you to “set your goals” and then say “affirmations” in an attempt to convince your brain that you will have what you want… sometime, somehow, somewhere.
Let’s use Brandon from Utah as an example. He wanted to make more money doing something he loved. He was an insurance salesman who’d spent $30,000 on every “how to succeed” program out there, with no results. So for his goal, he wrote: “I want to be all I can be in life.”
Now, the breakthrough step…
Step 2: Form a QUESTION which assumes that what you want is already true.
Forming a question which assumes that what you want is already true is the key to creating Afformations that change your life.
Your life is a reflection of the subconscious assumptions you make. That’s why Step 2 of The Afformations Method is to change your communication with the world inside yourself. Afformations are the fastest, most effective way I’ve ever seen to immediately change your communication with the world inside of you AND the world outside of you.
So Brandon began afforming: “Why am I allowed to be, do, and have all that I want in life?”
Step 3: Give yourself to the question.
The point of Afformations is not to find “the answer” but to ask better questions. When you ask better questions, your mind automatically begins to focus on what you have as opposed to what you don’t have.
Once Brandon began to afform what he wanted, his mind automatically began to search for the answer. He started doing things a little differently and talking to people with new confidence.
Which brings us to Step 4 of The Afformations Method – the one you MUST do to get optimum results…
Step 4: Take new ACTIONS based on your new assumptions about life.
Even though Brandon had spent thousands of dollars on every “how to succeed” program out there, he subconsciously assumed they wouldn’t work for him. So they didn’t.
After reading my book, he realized that this was what was keeping him from what he wanted. So he began to take new action on the very programs that had not worked for him.
He began calling more people. He followed up with more confidence. By focusing on what he had instead of what he lacked, positive results naturally followed.
Once Brandon followed the four steps of The Afformations Method, his sales tripled in 30 days. In less than nine months, his income increased 560 percent and he was named Agent of the Year.
The point of Afformations is not to find “the answer,” but to change your questions. When you follow The Afformations Method, you will form empowering questions that immediately change your subconscious assumptions.
For example, Andrea had been trying to get pregnant for more than a year but had a huge mental block. She thought she didn’t deserve it, her body couldn’t do it, and so on. After her psychologist told her about Afformations, Andrea began asking herself “Why do I conceive so easily?” and “Why am I so fertile?” Within a month, she had a positive pregnancy test. Now she’s asking herself, “Why do I carry my babies full term?”, “Why am I free from morning sickness?”, and all kinds of questions that are making her feel great during her pregnancy.
Omar, a car salesman, was selling one or two cars a month and making less than $600 in commissions. Then he started afforming “Why am I so successful at selling cars?” – and in just two days, he sold four new cars, three used ones, and made more than $1,800.
Judy, a 55-year-old grandmother from Texas, wanted to lose weight but told herself she was too old. In November 2008, she joined my Platinum Weight Loss Club. I recommended that she start asking Afformations like “Why do I lose weight so easily?” and “Why do I love eating healthy foods?” During the holidays, while most of America was gaining weight, Judy lost 24 pounds. And by February 2009, she was down over 30 pounds and feeling fantastic.
Can you see how this process must, by definition, change your life? Using Afformations, you can take conscious control of your subconscious thoughts – change the questions, change your results, and change your life!
[Ed. Note: Noah St. John, PhD, is the author of the new book The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (Collins). You can get the first three chapters of Noah's Secret Code Book (free) and connect with other Secret Code readers at www.SecretCodeBook.com. For a free 60-Second Afformations Stress Buster, go to www.iAfform.com.
It's time to take control of your future. Ask yourself "How am I rich?" At least part of the answer may be right here...]
Our Goal for YOU: Cash Flow of No Less Than $2,031 Per Week Within the Next 3 Months
Sound crazy? I hope not because this is as real as it gets. I have 20 different businesses you can choose from that can bring you financial freedom if you are willing to follow the simple steps I outline for you.
Each of these businesses can be started for less than $99. That’s not a misprint. And I have a goal I have set for every person who chooses to act on this opportunity. I am confident your new business can generate a cash flow of $2,000 or more every week in less than 3 months – and I am going to give you everything you need to do exactly that.
There is one catch. I am limiting the number of people I share this with. If you wish to be one of our next success stories, please click here to learn all the exciting details and get started today:
The Best Trainer for Your Mom
As I mentioned yesterday, my mom really started getting into fitness when she retired. It’s kind of cute to see her put on her backpack and bike helmet and ride off into town to go do her exercises at the gym. It gives me an idea of what she must have been like at 10 years old.
But what if my mom wasn’t internally motivated? What if I had to find a trainer for her?
Would it be best to ask “Beach Bunny Betty” to train her… or would she be better off with someone closer to her age?
Researchers from the University of Texas put 131 subjects through a 14-week, trainer-led fitness program. Half the subjects worked with a trainer who was in their peer group, while the other half worked with student trainers. Surprisingly, only the peer-trained group had significantly improved physical, mental, and social function at the end of the 14 weeks.
So if you are thinking of buying some training sessions for your mom or dad, don’t bother with the cardio cutie or young-buck bodybuilder. Get a peer trainer for your parents for better results.
[Ed. Note: Regular exercise is one of the best ways to stay lean and healthy your whole life long. But you don't need hours of cardio to get into tip-top shape. Learn how you can get fit with three 45-minute workouts a week with Craig's Turbulence Training program right here.
For more easy-to-follow advice on how to stay fit, lose weight, and eat right, sign up for ETR's FREE natural health newsletter.]
The Language Perfectionist: You “May” Find This Tip Useful
By Don Hauptman
A familiar children’s verse includes the line “I wish I may, I wish I might.”
The words “may” and “might” are often regarded as synonymous and interchangeable. In fact, their meanings are distinct, though the difference is subtle.
Theodore M. Bernstein’s The Careful Writer offers this explanation: “May poses a possibility; might adds a greater degree of uncertainty to the possibility. If we say, ‘You had better get your tickets now or the house may be sold out,’ we suggest a real possibility [of no seats being available]; if we say, ‘You had better get your tickets now or the house might be sold out,” the possibility is there but it is made to seem faintly more remote.”
Thus, when what is anticipated is probable, use may. (”I love Bermuda, so I may go there for my winter vacation.”) Where doubt exists, use might. (”If it doesn’t rain, the outdoor dedication ceremony might begin on schedule.”)
The two words have a few other distinctions, but the above explanation covers most situations.
[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book recently published by AWAI that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]
It’s Fun to Know: Caffeine Consumption
Here are the top five “caffeinated” cities in the U.S., according to a recent poll by HealthSaver. The study measured caffeine intake in coffee, tea, soda, energy drinks, chocolate, and caffeine pills.
1. Tampa
2. Seattle (#1 in coffee consumption)
3. Chicago
4. New York (#5 in soft drink consumption)
5. Los Angeles
== Highly Recommended ==
How to “Unscrew” Yourself from Life’s Little Frustrations(and the Big Ones, Too!)
When you get stuck in a royal mess – and we all do sometimes – here’s how to get out of it looking squeaky clean and grinning like a Cheshire cat…
Got a speeding ticket and afraid your insurance premiums are about to skyrocket? Don’t sweat it. I’ll show you the smartest way to legally beat the ticket – without hiring an expensive lawyer to plead your case.
Hate jury duty? Let me show you how to escape it – even if the court clerk refuses to grant you an exemption. Frustrated with airport waiting times due to tightened security? I’ll reveal how to cut your airport waiting time in half!
Listen: No matter which of life’s frustrations come your way, there are clever ways to easily get out of most of them. I’m even willing to share them all with you – FREE! Click here to learn why.
Word to the Wise: Puissant
“Puissant” (PWIS-unt) – from the Latin for “to be able” – means powerful.
Example (as used by Jonathan Yardley in The Guardian): “If we are to believe that country’s literary pundits, ‘irreparable damage to a great British institution’ may soon be done by an invading army more puissant than Hannibal’s or Alexander’s, an army marching out of the creative writing schools of American universities, leaving Will Shakespeare’s sceptred isle ’smothered amid a landslide of books from the U.S.’”
[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, 2009
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Yes! Thoughts are things. Afformations—the new abundance mentality and actions when all seems lost in the best and worse of times.
Thank you ETR!
The staggering realization I made that morning in April 1997 was that you create your reality in two ways: by the statements you say to yourself and others, and by the questions you ask yourself and others. Until then, no one had fully realized, or shown how to harness, the awesome power of what happens when you change your questions.
What utter arrogance! As if no one throughout history had ever thought of presuppositions.
Certainly not Richard Bandler and John Grinder, the founders of Neurolinguistic Programming, who listed 31 different kinds of presuppositions in their book Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson vol 1, published in 1975.
Certainly not Bandler and Grinder-trained Anthony Robbins, who in his Awaken the Giant Within published in 1991 has a chapter on the power of questions, who perhaps is a bit more well-known than you (although equally as arrogant).
And certainly not the Sophists of ancient Athens, who taught politicians how to use rhetoric persuasively, which is basically the study and practice of using presuppositions!
You recognized an aspect of language that is useful in some contexts. You are by no means the first, by any stretch of the imagination.