Issue #2515

• WEALTHY: One company that stands to grow in the next 4 years (Rick Pendergraft)
• HEALTHY: That croissant may be worse for you than you thought (Jonny Bowden)
• WISE: Donald Trump on when enough is enough

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• In with the good, out with the bad (Michael Masterson)
• Unusual deals for holiday travelers (Lori Allen)
• It’s Fun to Know… about time off for Thanksgiving
• Add “bruit about” to your vocabulary

== Advertisement ==

Chang Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

Every alteration in your thoughts affects the energy all around you. Change your thoughts, change your world.

This is not about using your mind to change your behaviors or beliefs. It’s much easier. It is about using your mind to change your energy so that the behavior or belief automatically changes.

You can apply this to anything: creativity, finance, visualization, relationships, manifestation, productivity, stress management, parenting… the possibilities are limitless. All by simply listening to the eight exquisite meditations of Seeds of Enlightenment by Jeddah Mali.

Learn more about what becomes possible when you plant the seeds of enlightenment.

The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind

By Rick Pendergraft

Senator Obama wasn’t the only winner on election night. Certain investment sectors won as well, including alternative energy.

Senator Obama pledged to spend $150 billion on alternative energy during his campaign, and wind energy is an area of interest. With the current financial crisis, he might not be able to devote that much to alternative energy right away – but over the next four years, you can bet government money will be directed at wind and solar energy companies.

One company that I like is Otter Tail (OTTR). Otter Tail has dropped over the last year with the rest of the energy sector, but it stands to be one of the winners in the wind energy lottery. The company is not only producing wind energy, it sells wind towers. It also pays a nice dividend of 5.6 percent.

Wind stocks are not going to shoot straight up over the next few months, but over the next two or three years they will benefit from President Obama’s plans. Adding Otter Tail to your portfolio will allow you to benefit as efforts are made for America to move away from fossil fuels.

[Ed. Note: Making smart choices now will pay off in the long run. And that's what investment analyst Rick Pendergraft aims to do with his KISS program - teach you how to make the best, smartest choices when it comes to where you put your money. Learn more about how Rick can help you spot incredible investment opportunities the minute they arise.]

Comment on this article

“Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away, and move on to something that’s more productive.”

Donald Trump

5 Strategies for Living a Simpler, Fuller Life

By Michael Masterson

About eight years ago, I did a little experiment. I wanted to find out if it really is possible to do business from anywhere in the world. So I packed my family off to Rome (one of my favorite cities) for a six-week “working vacation.” I not only learned that, yes, it is possible for me to work in Rome (or just about anywhere else, for that matter), I also learned something that has had a much more profound effect.

In Rome, completely separated from the crazy, stressful routine I was used to back home. I learned how to simplify my life.

If you think simplifying your life will mean making less money, enjoying less success, maybe even being less effective as a businessperson, think again. Simplifying your life is about having more – not less – of the good things. More passion. More meaningful work and relationships. And you can have more of those things by having fewer of the bad things – unsatisfying rituals, self-destructive habits, energy-draining feelings, and so on.

Today, I’d like to talk about one way to simplify your life at work. If you follow my suggestions, you’ll not only achieve more productivity but also gain more inner peace by avoiding emotionally costly conflicts.

We live in a time in which meaningless busyness keeps most people from achieving great things. They mistake being busy for being productive. They let the priorities of other people – their boss, their spouse, maybe even their children – take precedence. As a result, they feel swamped… and out of control.

You’re not going to regain control over your life if you continue to try to deal with too many issues in too little time. As counterintuitive as it may sound, the only way to do it is to learn how to:

• simplify that which is complex

• eliminate that which is superfluous

• know the difference between the two

As an example, let’s take a trap that I used to fall into all the time: getting involved in settling disputes between employees. Is it critical to your business that people get along? Yes. Especially since conflicts often get in the way of their working effectively. Is it up to you to drop what you’re doing and help smooth the waters? No… not unless you want to join them in being unproductive.

So what should you do when the temptation arises to get involved?

Assure both individuals that they are bright and capable… or they wouldn’t have been hired. Let them know that you have every confidence that they will find a way to settle the matter privately, between the two of them. And make sure they know that while it is uncomfortable for them not to be getting along, it is even less comfortable for the entire team.

Instead of spending hours trying to resolve a problem that has nothing to do with your own priorities, it will take only about 10 minutes of your time to build their confidence, show them that you support them, establish your expectation for a good-faith effort to resolve the conflict – and perhaps make both parties feel slightly embarrassed for making the rest of the group feel uneasy.

As long as you allow your quest for simplicity to be pushed aside – in favor of getting involved in situations where you don’t belong, constantly checking your e-mail, going to pointless meetings, or writing long memos that no one reads – the ability to leverage your time and attention will continue to elude you. So will everything else that you’d like to accomplish in this lifetime.

Here’s what you need in order to regain control – what I call the ETR Simplicity Imperative:

• Solid Vision

Whether you’re managing a project, running a company, or handling your day-to-day schedule, you need a firm grasp of the big picture. Further, you need to be able to articulate your vision to others with clarity and ease and help them find ways to support it… not work against it. When we’re not clear about our vision, we are at our most vulnerable. Our time and attention become diffused, and we start to lose focus.

• Clear Priorities

Your priorities grow naturally out of your vision – out of knowing what’s important and doing only that. Then, when you find yourself behind on reaching your goals, you don’t have to look far to find the problem. Usually, it means you have lost control of your time because you stopped minding your priorities.

• Daily Discipline

Perhaps the most valuable finite resource known to man is time. Squander it, and there’s no way to get it back. Adhering to a daily schedule that is led by your vision and run by your priorities is the surest path to personal freedom. That might sound easy, but it’s not. Most of us resist, and we pay the price. (It’s not surprising that most serious diseases are stress-related.)

When compiling your daily do-do list, ask yourself these three questions:

1. “Is this something I could just as well delegate/eliminate?”
2. “Is there some way I could do this in half the time?”
3. “Is this related to an objective that will truly make my life better/richer/fuller?”

In selecting my priorities each day, I highlight the most important tasks – the ones that that are essential to my long-term personal Master Plan. And because I know I can do only a limited number of things each day, I start by doing those.

If I ever have to choose between two priorities, I ask myself: “Of the two, which one will be more important to me at the end of my life?”

It’s all about economy – doing fewer things overall but making sure that the things you do have more importance.

Two more things that can help you establish priorities:

• Pareto’s Law: Twenty percent of the things we do will achieve 80 percent of what we want. So ask yourself, “Which of the tasks that are before me are among that 20 percent?”

• The Gold, Vapor, and Acid Rule: Just about any activity you choose to do can fit into one of three categories. It can damage you in some way, improve you somehow, or leave you more or less the same. Think of the best choices – the ones that can improve you – as Gold. Think of the neutral choices – the ones that will just help you pass the time – as Vapor. And think of the worst choices – the ones that can hurt you – as Acid.

It’s up to you how much Gold, Vapor, and Acid you are going to have in your life.

To simplify your life, you have to do more of what gives you soulful satisfaction and less of what gives you negative – or no – rewards. Out with the bad. In with the good. In setting your goals and planning your time, keep that in mind.

Giving yourself the power to take control of your time really is the secret to success. And it will even make it possible for you to smell those roses along the way.

[Ed. Note: What if you had an ingenious way to deal with almost any of life's little frustrations or major problems? From gossip to liars to lousy credit ratings... irritating neighbors, IRS audits, and bully bosses... billing errors, back pain, and out-of-control in-laws. We've got quick and effective solutions for these and hundreds more. Get them all for free right here.]

Comment on this article

== Highly Recommended ==

Why Get Your Hands Dirty When You Don’t Have to?

Where there’s a stampede, there’s an opportunity…

Thousands of wannabe entrepreneurs have jumped on a bandwagon to find, fix-up and flip foreclosures.

They thought they were being smart. They thought they were doing the opposite to the crowd and had the license to print money.

Little do they know… they ARE the crowd!

Now, please don’t misunderstand me. It’s a fact that many properties (sadly) are becoming available at rock bottom prices due to foreclosure. It’s also a fact that a few people are making money by flipping foreclosures…

And they’re earning every penny (when it all works out)!

Flipping foreclosures may sound great in principle, but stop and think about what you have to go through to achieve that…

Not my idea of easy money.

So what if I could wave a magic wand and show you a way to cash in on the foreclosure situation WITHOUT the need for ANY of the hard work?

Save Big With 3 of This Season’s Strangest Travel Deals

By Lori Allen

Hotels, restaurants, shops, and airlines are losing business… and some of them are coming up with creative ways to get it back. Here are three of the strangest deals of the season:

1. National Fee Relief: Expedia.com

To encourage you to keep traveling while the economy dips and dives, Expedia.com’s National Fee Relief sale cuts the booking fees on all hotels in the United States through December 1.

2. Baggage Fee Reimbursement Programs

• The Chamberlain Hotel, The Avalon Hotel, and Maison 140 (all in L.A.) have a “Money Bags” promotion that reimburses guests for the extra baggage fees they’re charged by the airlines. (Per reservation, up to $75 in hotel credit.)

• Loews Hotels’ “Baggage Buy Back” offsets the airlines’ checked-baggage fees by giving guests up to $30 in food and beverage credit. (Good until November 27.)

• Kimpton Hotels pays up to $25 toward your checked baggage fee until December 31. (Kimpton also has “Stranded in Style” amenities for guests whose flights are canceled – bath salts, complimentary wine or a movie, lounge socks, and a cocktail or appetizer at the hotel’s restaurant.)

3. The Race for Space: VirginAmerica.com

When you join Virgin America’s “Elevate” Loyalty Program, you get points that you can apply to free flights (as well as other benefits.) And when you acquire 10,000 points, you’re also entered in a “Race for Space” drawing to win a seat on one of Virgin Galactic’s upcoming space flights.

[Ed. Note: Stay up-to-date with the latest travel tools, tricks, and tips by signing up for The Right Way to Travel FREE e-letter from AWAI's Travel Division. Sign up here.]

Comment on this article

Eating Breakfast Is Only Half the Story

By Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNS

For what seems like forever, nutritionists like me have been urging people not to skip breakfast – for a number of reasons. For one thing, studies have found that people who skip breakfast are far more likely to be overweight or obese than those who eat breakfast on a regular basis. Researchers have also found that there’s a correlation between eating breakfast and better performance/concentration at school and work, more energy, and improved well-being.

But those of us who have been on the breakfast bandwagon seem to have left out one of the most important details: the breakfast menu. Because even if you eat breakfast, all bets are off if you choose the wrong foods.

In a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers confirmed that breakfast eaters, in general, eat fewer calories during the day. But the study also showed that people who eat a really high-calorie breakfast are more likely to eat more calories during the day. Plus, their average intake of important nutrients (like calcium) falls.

When you think about it, this makes sense. Breakfasts that are very high in calories are almost certain to include junk like pastries, donuts, and other “foods” that have nothing to do with reaping the benefits of a solid, high-protein, low-calorie breakfast that’s been shown to moderate cravings. In fact, a high-calorie junk-food breakfast is far more likely to lead to overeating during the day – exactly the opposite of what you want.

So don’t skip breakfast. But do skip the donuts.

[Ed. Note: Opting for fruit and eggs instead of muffins and donuts is a simple way to stay healthy and keep your weight under control. For more natural, easy-to-implement strategies that can help you burn fat, get fit, and stay healthy, sign up for. ETR's natural health newsletter.

For more natural ways to feel better and live longer, check out nutrition expert Jonny Bowden's book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth.]

Comment on this article

It’s Fun to Know: Time Off for Thanksgiving

Are you going to be back in the office the day after Thanksgiving? If so, you’re in the minority.

In 2007, more employers than ever before – 78 percent – gave employees both Thanksgiving and the day after as paid holidays.

For some, though, Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday at all. This year, it’s estimated that 36 percent of employers will require some of their employees – mostly maintenance and service workers, as well as public safety personnel – to work at least part of the day.

(Source: BNA.com)

Comment on this article

== Highly Recommended ==

Learn the Ropes from Two Experts in Making Money

If you want Michael Masterson or MaryEllen Tribby to help run your business for you, it will cost you close to $1 million…

But now you can get 12 of their best ideas for under $25.

Word to the Wise: Bruit About

To “bruit (BROOT) about” – from the French for “to roar” – is to repeat or spread a rumor.

Example (as used by Dorothy Belle Pollack in The [Bergen County, N.J.] Record: “It was widely bruited about that in his younger years he was alcoholic.”

[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

Similar Articles:

• 5 Strategies for Living a Simpler, Fuller Life
• The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind
• Time Off for Thanksgiving
• The Answer, My Friend, Is Blowing in the Wind
• Eating Breakfast Is Only Half the Story