Issue# 2732
- WEALTHY: The power of keeping your options open (Julie Broad)
- HEALTHY: Cut your prostate cancer risk in half (Dr. Al Sears)
- WISE: Larry King on luck
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Your luck is about to change! (Tom McCarthy)
- Stimulating the buying frenzy (Charlie Byrne)
- It’s Fun to Know… about swearing as a pain reliever
- Add “bravado” 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.
A Little Negotiating Trick for Real Estate Deals
By Julie Broad
When negotiating to buy a property, I increase my chances of getting the exact deal I want by giving the seller options.
One way I do it is by negotiating the financing terms I want at the same time as I negotiate price.
Let’s say I wanted to buy a certain property for $200,000. If I can convince the seller to provide financing at a reasonable rate, I’d probably be willing to pay 5 percent more just to avoid the hassles and fees involved in finding and securing a lender. To avoid having the seller say “no” to my offer, I would say something like this:
“The best I can do is $200,000 if I have to go to a bank for financing. They’re going to require me to prove the rental income, pay for an appraisal, and do a ton of paperwork to qualify for that loan. So if you’ll accept my $200,000 offer, I will close on the date you want.
“But if you are willing to provide at least 70 percent of the financing, I can offer you $210,000. And I would still be willing to close on the date you want.”
By giving my seller these two options, I make him feel like he is in control of the outcome of our negotiation… even though either one would be a great deal for me.
[Ed. Note: For more insider strategies for getting started as a real estate investor, sign up for real estate expert Julie Broad's free monthly newsletter. Get your free report for making money with real estate here.
The best time to get into real estate is now. Take advantage of the foreclosure boom with Early to Rise's Bandwagon Raiding Machine here.]
“Those who have succeeded at anything and don’t mention luck are kidding themselves.”
- Larry King
The Secret to Creating Tremendous Luck in Any Economy
By Tom McCarthy
I live an amazing life. I’ve been married for 18 years to a wonderful woman. I have two great kids. I live in a multimillion-dollar home in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods in the United States. And I earn large sums of money from the four companies I own – my training business (speaking and consulting with business leaders and athletes all over the world), my insurance agency, a supplement business, and an online business.
But it wasn’t always this way. I can still remember being three years old, looking out the window and seeing a taxicab pull up to our house. A man in uniform got out of the taxicab and walked up to the door. He had come to inform my mother that my father, an Army officer, had been killed in Vietnam. That day changed my family’s life forever. We went from a comfortable middle-class lifestyle to barely making it on a small government stipend. Many of the little things I take for granted now were only a dream to me as a child.
I distinctly remember thinking that life wasn’t fair, and I was extremely envious of the people I knew who seemed to be so much luckier. Well, I’m happy to say that those times are long gone – and I can guarantee that I will NEVER feel that way again. Why? Because I have discovered the secret of so-called “good luck” – and with this secret I can create as many opportunities as I want. It is totally up to me.
This secret applies not just when the economy is thriving. It applies in any economy. In fact, it may be even easier in a challenging economy. And it has been extensively tested in a study known as the “Luck Factor.” (This is now the title of a book by Richard Wiseman.)
Researchers from the University of Hertfordshire studied people who were consistently experiencing good luck. No matter what they did or where they went, these people – named The Lucky Ones by the researchers – seemed to have good fortune following them. Their businesses thrived. They were constantly being introduced to new opportunities. They had many friends who were always ready to help them. Their relationships were strong and their health was vibrant.
I can’t give you every characteristic they shared or every action they took in this short article. But here are four things you can focus on that will start to generate more luck for you.
1. Expand your network.
Plain and simple, the number of opportunities you will be exposed to will be determined by the size and quality of your network. The more influential people you know, the more opportunities will come your way.
Now I’m not saying you should look at every person you meet with dollar signs in your eyes. That’s the fastest way to make a bad impression. Instead, work on being more outgoing, friendly, and helpful. Meet as many people as you can, and find ways to add value to the lives of those you find interesting. In addition, develop strategies to keep in touch and keep adding value to their lives. What will happen, and this never fails, is that they will bring you opportunities that will transform your life.
I have heard the most inspiring stories… including how a neighbor of mine went from being a ski instructor to being named president of a major golf company as a result of developing a relationship with a man (the chairman of the company) he met in one of his ski classes.
2. Expect to succeed.
It is an absolute fact that there never is a lack of opportunity. Even in your most difficult times, you had more potential opportunities than you could have ever acted on. The problem was that you were not noticing them.
Your expectations are critical. Lucky people expect great things to happen to them, and unlucky people expect to be unlucky. Both fulfill their expectations. In a study done in the UK, lucky people almost always found money placed in their paths, while unlucky people walked right past the money without even noticing it. The opportunity was the same for both, but the expectations of the lucky people trained their brains to spot it.
3. Trust your intuition.
People who are lucky in business, investing, and even love have something in common: They listen to their gut instincts.
Your intuition is your subconscious mind trying to communicate with you. It does so by creating a feeling in your stomach or heart. This feeling is meant to guide you in the right direction – and lucky people heed it. Unlucky people, on the other hand, often ignore their gut instincts and act based on fear, greed, or some other negative emotion. Those are actions they almost always regret.
Have you ever noticed that your gut instincts are usually right? The former CEO of GE, Jack Welch, even wrote a book titled Straight From the Gut in which he said leaders should make decisions based on intuition.
4. Turn bad luck into good luck.
Now let me first say that I really don’t believe in bad luck. I think that, in hindsight, you can always find some benefit in everything that happens. But this is not the way everybody thinks. Some people spend their whole lives feeling sorry for themselves because of something that happened years before.
I mentioned earlier that my father died when I was only three. While I have wished many times that I could have gotten to know my father, I can see that the challenge of growing up without him brought with it many benefits. For one thing, it made me much more mature than other kids. I think that’s the main reason I had so much success in business at an early age. I was one of the top financial advisors in a Wall Street brokerage firm at the age of 22… I was instrumental in running and growing Tony Robbins’s company at 25… and I started my own training, coaching, and consulting company at 27.
There are two sides to every situation, a good side and a bad side. The side you see depends upon the way you look at it. Lucky people have a knack for seeing the good, even in the worst circumstances. This creates opportunities out of the ashes of disappointment.
Okay. I’ve given you four things to focus on that I guarantee will generate more luck for you. The question is, will you apply them? If you do, and do it consistently, you will get to live the life most people only dream about.
I’m not saying this is going to happen overnight (though it might). But if you give it time, it will happen!
What have you got to lose? Isn’t it time you started living your dreams?
[Ed. Note: Business and success coach Tom McCarthy knows all about luck. He's been studying it for years, and believes there's an actual science to being lucky. You can discover exactly what it means to be lucky this November at ETR's 2009 Info Marketing Bootcamp. Not only will you get the chance to meet Tom McCarthy and find out exactly how YOU can change your luck for the better... you'll also get up-close-and-personal access to a dozen of the Internet's most powerful thought leaders and their top strategies for making money online. In fact, each of these visionaries has agreed to send you away with an idea, technique, or trend that could make you $100,000 in the next 12 months alone. Get all the details here.]
* Highly Recommended *
I’m Not Scared by Today’s Economic Woes and You Shouldn’t Be Either
Stock market drops, bankrupt companies… and yet here I am smiling.
Why?
Because my investments – my money – are insulated from Wall Street’s woes. And I’m making money… $5,000… $7,000… and $15,000 at a time – off Wall Street.
In fact, I didn’t lose a dime in the market in all 2008… and I’m on track for a repeat in 2009.
Interested in escaping from Wall Street yourself?
Why I Bought the Same Exact Shoes Twice
Here’s one company that knows the best person to sell shoes to is… someone who just bought shoes.
About two months ago, I bought a pair of Doc Martens on sale at Zappos.com. They’ve got an extremely shopper-friendly website – and good prices too.
Last week, I received this e-mail:
“Just wanted to let you know, we’ve got just one pair of your shoes remaining in stock. After that, we’ll never have these again.”
I ordered them that minute.
It goes back to Michael Masterson’s concept of the “Buying Frenzy,” which he explained in his book Ready, Fire, Aim:
“If you want to maximize the lifetime value of your new customer, you shouldn’t let him cool off after that first sale. Instead, you should send him an immediate thank-you note, along with a bounce-back promotion that replicates the psychological trappings of the prior purchase and stimulates in him, once again, the desire to buy something from you.”
“This is not about high-pressure selling… but about putting the customer in an environment where he can do what he wants to do: Buy once and then keep buying!”
[Ed. Note: Learn more about Michael Masterson's concept of the "Buying Frenzy" in his bestselling book Ready, Fire, Aim: Zero to $100 Million in No Time Flat - plus, get dozens of powerful techniques for taking your business to the next level. Get your copy right here.]
A Supplement All Men Should Take for a Healthy Prostate
By Dr. Al Sears
Selenium is an essential mineral and a powerful antioxidant. Your body needs it to:
- Maintain healthy thyroid function
- Ward off arthritis
- Slow the aging process
- Fight cancer
Men should be especially concerned about getting enough selenium. It’s the prostate’s best defense against cancer.
Two studies – one an eight-year clinical trial – found that supplementing with selenium led to a 50 percent drop in the risk of prostate cancer.
My own research suggests that selenium combined with vitamin E provides even more protection against prostate cancer. And my findings have been backed up by two studies which reported that vitamin E and selenium proved more powerful at slowing prostate cancer cell growth than either on their own.
All men should be taking 200 mcg of selenium and at least 200 IU of vitamin E daily. Foods that are rich in this mineral include organ meats, garlic, fish, and nuts. (A single Brazil nut contains 100 micrograms of selenium.) Olive oil, almonds, peanuts, spinach, and avocados are great sources of vitamin E.
[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears is a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure. He is also a nutritional expert, a fitness expert, and is certified by the American Board of Anti-Aging Medicine. Find Dr. Sears's practical solutions and get immediate access to more than 500 of his articles by visiting www.alsearsmd.com.
For more expert recommendations on how to feel better and live longer, check out ETR's FREE natural health newsletter.]
It’s Fun to Know: Swearing as a Pain Reliever
Smash your finger with a hammer or slam your knee on a coffee table… and, if you’re like many people, you can’t help but let loose a string of expletives. It turns out the swearing could be beneficial. A new study published in the journal NeuroReport found that spewing out bad language may actually relieve pain.
The researchers asked college students to keep their hands in icy cold water as long as they possibly could. During their “ordeal,” they were told to keep repeating either a swear word of their choice or a neutral word. The “swearers” reported less pain and could stand the water almost a minute longer.
So why does swearing help? The researchers think it might have something to do with the “fight-or-flight” reflex triggered by the brain when we are in danger. This primitive defense mechanism not only makes the heart rate climb (a reaction observed in the students who swore), it makes us less sensitive to pain.
(Source: Scientific American)
* Highly Recommended *
How to Get Recession-Proof Cash Pay-outs of Over $3,000 a Month
72 hours from now, you could be collecting over $3,000 a month… just by chatting down at the coffee shop with friends.
- No social skills needed.
- No selling involved.
- No customer hassles.
Follow simple 1-2-3 steps, and you’ll be ready to go in under 20 minutes.
Word to the Wise: Bravado
“Bravado” (bruh-VAH-doh) – from the Spanish – is a pretentious, swaggering display of courage.
Example (as used by William Styron in the short story “Rat Beach”): “When I was seventeen, bravado, mingled with what must have been a death wish, made me enlist in the officer-training program of the Marine Corps.”
[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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