Issue #2653
- WEALTHY: Lower your risk and start making money (Steve McDonald)
- HEALTHY: Do you have restless leg syndrome? (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Marshall McLuhan on information overload
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Getting the most out of the information you get (Michael Masterson)
- The best overseas travel advisories (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… about the FDA crackdown on PPC ads
- Add “contemn” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
Should Making Money Online Be This Easy?
I hear stories of budding Internet entrepreneurs jumping through hoops to make a buck. And sure, many times building a solid, long term business does take real effort. But you can also quietly pocket some decent dough online for much less work.
In this case, you can copy the exact steps one man used to make $187,296 in one day. No, that’s not a misprint.
What’s stopping you from doing the same? The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it works exactly as it says. Take a look and see just how easy making money online can be.
How to Play the Market Right Now
Since the market turned around and started doing its rocket imitation, most people I have spoken to are shaking their heads saying, “It isn’t real,” “It has no legs,” and “It’s 1933 all over again.” Since when are we supposed to be suspicious of a rally?
We moved from an intra-day low below 6,500 to 8,000 in a matter of weeks. It took nine months in a red-hot market, the hottest of all times for the DOW, to make the same move the last time. That was from October 14, 1997 to July 16, 1998.
The average investor missed that move, and is missing the big money again because he has to be convinced by the increase in the price of an investment, or the market indexes, that it’s okay to get in. That’s why most people buy high and sell low. It’s also one of the major reasons why most people lose money in the market.
If the key to real estate is location, location, location, then the key to this market is time, time, time.
If you give this market time, you will have to try to lose money in it. That’s how perfect this environment is for making money over the next three to five years. Yes, years! Not weeks, months, or even one year. Three to five years! If you have any other time horizon in mind, you are setting yourself up for another big loss. If you haven’t learned that making money takes time, save yourself the worry and bury your money in the backyard.
Here’s how easy it will be to make money in this market, if you give it time to work. Just pick the top companies or the appropriate ETFs from the following industries: oil, healthcare, and technology. The easiest way to find these companies is to look at the top 10 holdings of any of the sector funds for those three industries. That should do it.
[Ed. Note: Get the scoop on more emerging investment opportunities from Steve McDonald in Investor's Daily Edge, ETR's sister publication. Sign up for free right here
This June, Steve and 8 other top investment experts will show an elite group of investors how to make a fortune in today's market. They'll be revealing their #1 investment strategy and top recommendations for making 2009 the best year EVER for your portfolio. Get the details here.]
“One of the effects of living with electric information is that we live habitually in a state of information overload. There’s always more than you can cope with.”
Marshall McLuhan
Information Overload: How to Escape the Crush
Stanley Bergen has a problem. As a regular reader of ETR and a new member of the Oxford Club, he’s getting so much good stuff from us (he’s especially interested in learning how to “eliminate some debt” and retire one day) that he “can’t figure out what to read.”
“Don’t get me wrong,” he says. “I love ETR and the Oxford Club publications, and I look forward to reading them. But it’s too much information all at once.”
“What should I do?” he asks.
What should any of us do?
We live in a world that is absolutely flooded with information. Consider these facts:
• The average person receives 32 e-mail messages per day.
• There is enough scientific information written every day to fill seven complete sets of the Encyclopedia Britannica.
• The world’s production of print, film, optical, and magnetic content in just one year would require roughly 5 exabytes (5 trillion megabytes) of storage, about 800 megabytes per person.
So if you – like Stan Bergen – are feeling overwhelmed by information, you’re not alone. Information overload is a serious problem for just about everyone.
“One of the most anxiety-inducing side effects of the information era,” Richard Saul Wurman says in Information Anxiety, “is the feeling that you have to know it all.” That is especially true for smart, ambitious people – people who want to improve their lives and realize that getting the right information is a big part of success.
As an ETR reader, that probably means you.
When you begin a new project or become interested in a new idea, do you have an insatiable desire to learn more about it? Do you find yourself buying – and reading – every book, report, newsletter, and magazine you can find on the subject? (That’s what I do.)
In the beginning, it feels great. You are riding high. Then, all of a sudden, you realize that you’ve become an information junkie. You’ve been spending so much time reading about whatever it is you want to do that you don’t have any time left to actually do it. You feel like crying for help.
Bob Bly calls this “analysis paralysis.”
“All the information you are taking in has overloaded your circuits,” he says. “You can’t process it all, sort through it, and figure out what to do first. So, instead, you do nothing. You take no action – other than to order yet another course or report to read.”
Does any of this sound familiar?
Bob has a formula for preventing analysis paralysis. He calls it the 25-50-25 rule. It is based on the fact that there are only three ways to learn a process (e.g., how to start an Internet business) or a skill (e.g., copywriting): studying, observing, and doing.
The 25-50-25 rule says that you must divide your time as follows:
• No more than 25 percent of your time studying – i.e., reading books, attending workshops, listening to instructional CDs in your car.
• No more than 25 percent of your time observing – watching what successful people are already doing.
• At least 50 percent of your time actually DOING the thing you are studying and observing.
For example, if you want to sell information products on the Internet, you would spend 25 percent of your time studying material on the way it’s done, 25 percent of your time observing the way other people are doing it, and 50 percent of your time creating your first product… designing your website… and building your list.
I like Bob’s rule because it emphasizes action. And when I found out about it, I wondered if it could be applied to my daily working life. In thinking about it, I concluded that it depended greatly on what sort of work I was doing. If I was learning a new skill, Bob’s rule seemed to apply. But when I was going about my normal workday activities – creating new products and growing businesses – my time was spent very differently.
My daily working life, I realized, has three common components:
• Gathering information
• Analyzing that information and using it to make plans
• Taking action
I tend to do my information gathering at specific times. I read newspapers in the early morning, magazines during breaks, and e-mail at the end of the day. I read to encounter useful ideas. I analyze those ideas both as I’m reading them and later on, at odd moments throughout the day. I spend most of my workday – about 80 percent of it – taking action. The rest of my time – 20 percent – is devoted to gathering information, analyzing it, and making plans.
I like that 80 percent number. It corresponds with Pareto’s Law – the 80/20 rule that you can apply to just about everything.
I decided to ask some of the most successful people I know (from many different industries and countries) the following questions:
1. How much time each day do you work?
2. How much of that time do you spend gathering and analyzing information?
3. How much of that time do you spend planning?
4. How much of your day do you spend taking action?
Only half a dozen have responded so far, but their answers are interesting. In terms of hours worked, it ranges from 4.5 to 12, with an average of 9. In terms of planning, the range extends from 15 minutes to 90 minutes, with an average of 45. Time devoted to information gathering ranges from 90 minutes to 3 hours, with an average of 145 minutes.
Those numbers correspond to mine. A typical workday for me is 10 hours long, with an hour and a half devoted to gathering information and 45 minutes devoted to some form of planning.
That’s not a ton of time for inputs. And that means the minutes I spend each day taking in information must be absolutely golden.
What I didn’t expect to get from my brief survey were the comments and insights my colleagues have been sharing. They’ve not only told me how they spend their time, but have offered tricks and techniques for getting more done, faster.
Responses are still coming in. When I get all of them, I’ll be sure to make them available to you. So keep reading ETR for more details.
Next week, I’ll give you a clear and useful strategy for reading all that information you’re being bombarded with, to help you sort through the clutter. While you’re waiting for solutions, compare the way you allocate your time to the numbers above that I’ve already collected.
[Ed. Note: Information overload isn't the only stressful situation you deal with on a regular basis. For a powerful guide jam-packed with advice about how to bypass life's most difficult problems and stickiest situations, simply click here.
Get more of Michael's surefire strategies for getting ahead in business and in life in True Path to Profits: A Master Entrepreneur's Guide to Business Success. Find out more - including how you can get a bonus subscription to Michael's VIP newsletter, Ready Fire Aim - right here ]
Cash from the Ash
Is it possible to make YOUR fortune from the recession with virtually no cash, no risk AND ethically?
Well, if you call the $3.2 MILLION I made by helping others in distress, then I guess the answer is a resounding ‘YES’!
A ‘robot’ can help make this sort of wealth a reality for you NOW. The worse the economy gets, the more money you make.
Please, I’m not here to tell you the same ol’ same ol’ “buy things cheap in recession”! Sure, that works IF you have the cash. My method involves NO buying at all…
In a few minutes, you’ll understand.
Please read the report below without delay- you deserve to at least be informed about this amazing, low-risk cash-on-demand system VERY few people know about:
Get the Cash-On-Demand System Report
Is the U.S. Embassy Really Your Best Friend Overseas?
The stock advice for American travelers seeking safety information for other countries is to check out the advisories at travel.state.gov. It is also recommended that you register with the State Department before your trip, and then check in with the local U.S. embassy or consulate once you get there.
But those should be the first – not only – steps you take, especially if you’re traveling to areas known for conditions that make them unstable or dangerous (e.g., civil unrest or disease outbreaks). You see, the U.S. isn’t always up to date when it comes to issuing travel warnings. And in emergency situations… well, U.S. travelers in Mumbai during the recent attacks report calling the embassy only to be told to watch TV news for more information.
So you should also register for e-mail alerts from the Australian (smarttraveler.gov.au), British (fco.gov.uk), and Canadian (voyage.gc.ca) governments. Their worldwide travel advisories tend to be more current and more frequent than those from the U.S. Plus, they’ll send you e-mails and text messages quickly and often during emergency situations.
(Source: Conde Nast Traveler)
[Ed. Note: Staying safe when traveling is just one of hundreds of situations you can learn to handle with aplomb with Unscrew Your Life. It's a monthly newsletter with tips for overcoming life's sticky situations, large and small. Find out more here]
Calm Restless Legs With 3 Minerals
Do you suffer from restless leg syndrome (RLS)? Until 2003, no one had heard of this “common yet under-recognized disorder” that keeps Americans awake at night.
In 2005, the FDA approved Requip, a dopamine agonist used to treat Parkinson’s disease, for the treatment of moderate to severe RLS. In 2006, Mirapex, a similar drug, was released.
But what is the cause of restless leg syndrome? What is your body trying to tell you?
Well, it’s not that you have a Requip or a Mirapex deficiency. It’s that you’re not getting enough calcium, potassium, and magnesium – the three minerals that affect muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
You can calm your legs naturally and get sound rest by ensuring you get enough of all three minerals. Opt for a daily dose of between 800 and 1,000 milligrams of calcium, 300 milligrams of potassium, and 500 milligrams of magnesium at bedtime.
One final note. If you’re taking any pharmaceutical drug, your risk of RLS is higher. That’s because most over-the-counter and prescription medications deplete vital nutrients. Learn more in Dr. James LaValle’s book The Nutritional Cost of Drugs.
[Ed. Note: For more advice about which health breakthroughs are good - and bad - for your health, sign up for ETR's free natural health e-letter.
One of the best ways to stay healthy and live longer is to eat good foods. Nutrition expert Kelley Herring has collected dozens of her healthiest and most delicious recipes in her e-book, Guilt-Free Desserts. Pick up your copy today ]
It’s Good to Know: The FDA Crackdown on Pay-Per-Click Ads
Pharmaceutical companies dominate the organic search results on Google and other search engines for prescription-drug-related keywords. But they also buy a lot of pay-per-click (PPC) ads (the paid spots that appear at the top and to the right of the organic results). And now Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulators are cracking down on those ads.
The FDA contends that the content of the PPC ads often violates their rules in three ways: (1) It mentions the condition a drug is for, but not the risks. (2) It includes only the brand name, not the full pharmaceutical name of the drug. (3) It doesn’t give details about the limitations of the drug.
Pharmaceutical companies claim they are following the rules because when Web surfers click on their PPC links, the landing pages contain all the appropriate warnings and disclaimers. And they fear that stripping the ads as suggested by the FDA will decrease response. But the FDA insists that all ads must follow the rules, regardless of format.
As they say, you can’t fight City Hall. So the drug companies have withdrawn their PPC ads for tweaking to make them adhere to the FDA rules. They aren’t willing to abandon that lucrative marketing space.
(Source: clickZ)
== 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: Contemn
To “contemn” (kun-TEM) – from the Latin for “to despise” – is to regard or treat with disdain or contempt.
Example (as used by Thomas McEvilley in ArtForum): “The spectrum of difference exhibited at these shows suggests varying relationships with the West: Some artists identify with or at least acknowledge the Western tradition, some contemn it.”
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2009
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Re: information overload, great analysis and I’m really looking forward to next week’s recommendations.
Clay Shirky gave an interesting talk on the subject late last year – he described it as “filter failure”, or an inability to manage the exponential growth of information due to inadequate information filters.
YES, YES!! Information overload!!! That’s me!! I can’t get started on anything. . .
As a 61 year old I still haven’t gotten by the paralysis by analysis disease. It has been the kiss of death by preventing me from taking action. I think that using the formula for time management will be helpful. Thanks!
You and your cohorts in the Email merchandising field could reduce our over-load by condensing much of what you write in your Sales Letters.
Do you really need to list 20 examples of winners?
Three to five should suffice—then get to the
meat of what you wish to induce us to buy. To me aa good rule of thumb would be no more than two
or three pages and then keep the ordering sheet
to just one page.
yes, that’s it, information overload, it’s the conspiracy of the rich and the gurus to keep all the rest of us in the dark by piling on all this stuff about how they make 300k in a day and you can too if you just fork over $297 to them, when really all we want is a crack at an honest living instead of an inbox of spam every day that all looks like it’s the same bonehead copywriter sending it all out!