Issue# 2690
- WEALTHY: Despite appearances, things do change
(Steve McDonald) - HEALTHY: 6 simple steps to greater health and energy (Matt Furey)
- WISE: Johann Friedrich von Schiller on having realistic expectations
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Making sure your word means something (Suzanne Richardson)
- The big exception to a normal sales copy no-no (Clayton Makepeace)
- It’s Fun to Know… about bling in the Stone Age
- Add “grandee” to your vocabulary
* Highly Recommended *
How This “Dirty” Word in Real Estate Can Make You a Fortune
Why would you EVER want to invest in real estate these days?
The market is in shambles:
- RealtyTrac reports that 860,000+ properties were repossessed by lenders last year.
- 5.4 million Americans behind on their mortgage payments, says the Wall Street Journal.
- Foreclosure.com says that home foreclosures jumped to nearly one million homes in 2008 – a 64% rise from 2007.
Yes, the situation is bleak.
But the truth is, there IS money – BIG money – to be made in real estate.
Especially when it comes to that “dirty” word: foreclosures.
Charles Petty has made $3.2 million in the past few years. But he hasn’t done so using any real estate investing method you’ve heard of…
No, he found a little-known “loophole” in the foreclosure process… And now he makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, from his laptop, sitting by his swimming pool.
He’s not a realtor or a property buyer. He doesn’t sell. He doesn’t even visit a single property.
Yet in the past 3 months alone, he’s made over $80,000.
“Happy is he who learns to bear what he cannot change.”
- Johann Friedrich von Schiller
Navigating the New Market
Since the first day I started working in the stock and bond business, the old timers – the guys I have always sought out as a great source of advice – have said almost without exception, “The markets don’t change.”
This mantra was in response to those in the business who, following a big run-up or downturn in the market, would make the claim that “It’s different this time.” The claim was usually made to support buying at the top of a market or buying when things seemed over-priced.
Until now, the old timers’ advice was always correct. Markets have been the markets. They run up, they fall down. They fall a lot faster than they go up – and if you wait until everyone gets in to convince you its okay to do it, you will lose money.
This time, though, I believe some things have changed. The changes may be of a temporary nature, but this definitely is not your grandfather’s or father’s market. And you’re going to have to prepare yourself mentally to deal with these changes… or get out of the market. You can stay in and try to do the jump in and out game, but you’ll get crushed even faster by doing that than you would have in the past.
Essentially, you’re going to have to adopt a different trading discipline for the next three to five years. (The majority of small investors have no trading discipline anyway, so this will be a new concept for them.) There is still a lot of money to be made in stocks and bonds. It will just take a few shifts in expectations and procedures to get to it.
The biggest change is that this is not a trading market. Some will continue to get lucky with their guesses, and the select few who always seem to make money will keep on making it. But going forward, the big money will be made by those who can wait it out and use dollar cost averaging to their benefit.
Trading requires at least some predictability. But now, the small degree of predictability the markets had has been driven underground by the huge collapse in confidence. The market is jumpier today than at any time in our history. The slightest suspicion, wind shift, or rumor makes it plummet. We will see more falls over the next five years than at a rock climbing competition.
The trader’s position has always been just this side of insane, but now it has crossed the line. With virtually no fundamentals, no confidence that the changes put in place by the Obama administration will produce any lasting results, the debt, the monetization of the debt, the politicizing of the banks, and a world community that has grave misgivings about the future of the global economy, you’d have to be crazy to think you could predict anything.
What will work going forward is positions in companies like Clorox (CLX). There are the usual reasons to own a stock like this, as well as the new reasons that work within the new market rules.
First, the usual reasons: The company recently raised its earnings projections. It will earn around $3.70 this year and $4.17 next. The dividend is $1.84, about a 3.4 percent yield, and there’s plenty of cash to pay it. Its profit margin is rising, it has abundant cash, it’s paying down its debt, and it has stable brands (Clorox Bleach, Kingsford Charcoal, Brita, Glad Bags, Burt’s Bees Skin Care, and Greenworks Detergents).
A solid company with reasonable prospects.
In this economy, that is what I call a slap in the face investment. It is about $51 per share, was as high as $65 in the last 52 weeks, was as low as $46, and has been showing a very nice upward trend for the past three months.
The new reasons to own CLX: It isn’t sexy, it will not run off the charts with breaking news, it pays a good dividend that appears to be safe, it won’t be subject to big swings, it won’t fall off the charts because of a rumor, it is expected to show an incredibly boring growth rate of around 15 percent going forward, and – most important – you can own it, wait out the market volatility, and still retire on time.
In fact, this stock has everything you will need to survive the next five years as an investor: stability, fundamentals, solid management, dividend income, and products that consumers need and will keep buying.
Why is dividend income a factor here? Because I expect to see major – and I mean major – swings in this new market. And while you’re waiting it out, if you don’t have some type of money showing up in your account from a bond or a safe dividend, there will be extended periods when you probably won’t see any money at all.
The second strategy to use in this market is dollar cost averaging. Take advantage of the big price swings. Make the volatility work for you. As Warren Buffett said recently, “I love when things are this bad.”
Investors must learn to cheer when the market crashes. It’s a buying opportunity. If you’re in the right stocks, you have virtually nothing to worry about except where you’ll get more money to buy into the dips.
Shift your expectations and investing style for the next five years or be prepared to be very disappointed. Get out of the Stock of the Month Club, get back to boring, solid companies you can live with.
This is the same advice my old timer friends in the markets have been giving me for years. Maybe things haven’t changed that much after all. Maybe we’ve just been dropkicked back to reality.
[Ed. Note: Steve McDonald has dedicated years of study to the bond market. His expertise is in showing investors how to generate stock market gains without taking stock market risk. And for a select group of investors, Steve has agreed to share his secrets of success... and his top bond recommendations. Click here to learn more... ]
Finally! A simple ‘click-and-profit’ system that lets you dip into the Forex market… over breakfast, on your lunch break, even in the evening…
ETR Insider Report: The Dangers of Throwing Your Recommendation Around
A few months ago, a former neighbor asked me if there were any job openings in ETR’s editorial department. If so, she wanted her daughter “Gwen” – a young woman I’d known for years – to apply for a position.
Turns out ETR was not hiring at the time. Phew! I breathed a big sigh of relief.
Why was I so glad? Because I wouldn’t have to tell my neighbor that I couldn’t recommend her daughter. Although she’s sweet and friendly, Gwen has been known to show up late, call in sick so she could go to the beach, and otherwise act unprofessionally. In other words, she’s NOT the type of person we want on the ETR team. And I would never be an advocate for anyone who could embarrass my company.
I was reminded of this potentially awkward situation when I read Jason Holland’s recent article “When You Shouldn’t Give Friends a Helping Hand.” He noted that you should put your weight behind someone only if you can personally vouch for her.
It’s true. Your recommendation can go a long way toward influencing a hiring decision. And you don’t want to abuse that trust.
But this rule doesn’t end there. When you run a company, you may be approached by other businesses that would like to joint venture with you. Which means running their ads in your newsletter and promoting their products to your subscribers. If you can’t personally vouch for the product or service you’d be recommending, don’t do it.
ETR follows this rule to the letter. Jessica Kurrle, our marketing manager, reviews every product or service before we promote it to make sure it adheres to our standards. Among the primary qualifications? It must be good for our customers, and it must have a money-back guarantee. (If you’d like to read more about ETR’s outside advertiser policy, click here.)
It’s a good idea to have a similar policy in your own business. It will help establish you as a careful and discriminating businessperson. It will help maintain the trust you work so hard to build with your customers. And, heck, it will help you sleep at night.
Question Marks in Copy
Now some folks will tell you that beginning sales copy with a question is bad form. After all – any question you ask could be answered in a way that is not helpful to your objectives. And your sales letter could wind up in the trash.
But not necessarily. Recently, Health & Healing sold a boatload of subscriptions under the headline “Is there anyone left we can trust?”
Of course, it really wasn’t a question at all. It was a proposition. That brilliant headline created instant bonding with prospects by placing the spokesperson in the same boat with them. And then it answered the question by presenting the credentials of Health & Healing’s editor.
Still, I try to be careful when I use question marks. Like a good lawyer, I avoid asking questions when I’m not sure I already know the answer.
Like when I’m using a particularly powerful persuasion device called “Socratic Reasoning.” That’s where I ask a series of questions, the obvious answers to which inevitably lead my prospect to the desired conclusion. Here’s an example:
If you really think drug companies are in business to make you healthy, just ask yourself, “If prescription drugs make people healthier…
“Why is there more heart disease in America than there was 10 years ago?
“Why are cancer rates skyrocketing?
“Why is there an epidemic of diabetes, arthritis, and other degenerative diseases today?”
Now, let me ask you: If you were the chairman of a big drug company… if your only responsibility was to make your shareholders richer… wouldn’t you want MORE people to get sick – not less?
… Or when I want to quickly answer a question my reader is probably asking himself about my proposition:
Why don’t doctors, surgeons, hospitals, drug companies – or anyone else in the mainstream medical industry – tell you this?
Why wouldn’t they want you to know about natural supplements that are clinically proven to work better than drugs – and without the high cost and miserable side effects?
Simple: Because when you prevent disease or heal yourself naturally, they don’t make a red cent!
Each question hooks the reader into reading what follows, moving them down the copy and to the inevitable conclusion that buying this product is the only logical thing to do.
[Ed. Note: Master copywriter Clayton Makepeace publishes the highly acclaimed e-zine The Total Package to help business owners and copywriters accelerate their sales and profits. Claim your 4 free moneymaking e-books - bursting with tips, tricks, and tactics that'll skyrocket your response - at MakepeaceTotalPackage.com.
Writing powerful copy is just one aspect of making your Internet business a success. Discover how to set up a website, get the search engines' attention, create high-quality products, and more with ETR's Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition. Get all the details now.]
How to Zap Fatigue Within Seconds
By Matt Furey
It’s amazing but true. Most people get up tired and go to bed tired. Going to bed tired makes some sense – but waking up tired is inexcusable.
How can you be tired when you wake up? You haven’t done anything yet, right?
Okay, perhaps you didn’t get enough hours of sleep. Or perhaps you got enough hours, but it wasn’t restful sleep. Or maybe you’re under stress and that is affecting your energy level.
All of the above is understandable – yet, all can be overcome by taking six simple steps.
1. Instead of thinking “I’m tired” before loping off to bed at night, mentally program yourself for energy. How do you do this? Simply say, “I’m going to wake up totally energized tomorrow.”
2. When you wake up in the morning, immediately focus on the mental image of something you want to do, be, or accomplish.
3. As you focus on this mental picture, tell yourself, “I am going to do everything I set out to do today.” And when you say this to yourself, say it with ENTHUSIASM.
4. After doing that, sit up in bed, pull your feet close to your buttocks and begin to massage the kidney point at the bottom of each foot. Start with your left foot. Massage deeply at least 50 times. Then massage your right foot 50 times.
Doing this will cause your energy level to rise… and fast. Not only that, it is one of the cornerstones to raising your sexual energy to a peak. (This is covered in detail in my course on Chuang Shang de Gong Fu.)
5. When you’re finished massaging both feet, raise your energy further by doing some Hindu squats and Hindu push-ups, as well as some deep breathing (which I teach in Combat Conditioning). You could also try the Magnificent Seven, which attacks the waistline like no other program on the planet.
6. After doing your training, take a cool-to-cold shower. A hot shower is fine to finish up with… but start with the coldest water you can take. It will increase the vital energy in your body in an instant.
[Ed. Note: Fitness expert Matt Furey believes in strengthening everything on the inside as well as the outside - and what he has taught you today goes to the heart, soul, and kidneys of the matter in a way that you've probably never experienced before. These six steps will blow you away - and when you add Matt's Combat Conditioning into the mix... LOOK OUT. You'll become the master of your universe. Find out more here.]
* Highly Recommended *
Your Personal Wall Street Protection Plan
Thugs.
It’s a strong word. But how else would you describe a group that has stolen from you, your family, and friends without any trace of regret.
No, not the Mafia or a teenaged gang… I’m talking about the brokers and bankers who ripped us all off with smiles on their faces – and then blamed us.
Protect yourself from them today and get restitution.
It’s Fun to Know: Bling in the Stone Age
Those hip-hop stars with their gold and diamond-encrusted “grills” think they’re so original. But it turns out that “fashionable” teeth adornments can be traced back to Native Americans living 2,500 years ago.
Recent archaeological work by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History has yielded skulls filled with teeth embedded with jewels. The researchers believe these ancient people visited “dentists” armed with surprisingly advanced tools to perform the procedure. Obsidian drills were used to make small holes in the teeth, and the jewels were affixed with a natural glue made from plant sap.
(Source: National Geographic)
Word to the Wise: Grandee
A “grandee” (gran-DEE) – Spanish for a nobleman of the first rank – is a man of elevated station.
Example (as used by Joseph McBride in The New York Times): “Seduced by his need to live like a grandee, [Francis Ford] Coppola can’t afford not to work within the system.”
[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 Words to the Wise CD Library.]
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