Abstract Phenomena
Issue #2284
- WEALTHY: A 3-step process to becoming successful – at whatever you do (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: A sweet treat with anti-aging benefits (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Ralph Waldo Emerson on the power of nature
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- How to turn an abstract idea into personal power (Robert Ringer)
- Keeping cool with The Donald
- It’s Fun to Know… about ladies-only buses
- Add "brio" to your vocabulary
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Dear ETR: "I want to leave my current position, but I need a financial cushion to do so…"
"I’ve been following your newsletter for some time now, and I’m at my wits’ end. It seems that everyone has a way of making a living online… so who do you trust? How much of an investment is it really going to take? Time is not a problem. I’m willing to put in the time and effort. But it seems that you buy one product and there’s some freakin’ up-sell that you just have to have to ‘really’ make what you initially were going to buy work!
"I enjoy reading, and I am intrigued by ‘copy.’ I would like to start a business from home. I want to leave my current position, but I need a financial cushion to do so.
"A while back, I got an offer for a copywriting program from AWAI. Is it still available? And, most important, is it for real? In other words, can I really develop and grow a business as a copywriter?"
- Bill R.
Millville, NJ
Dear Bill,
To be successful, you need time, energy, and a plan.
Time, you say you have. Energy – well, it’s clear from your letter (which I’ve truncated a bit here) that you have plenty of that. Maybe too much. All that bottled up ambition may be confusing you – pushing you in too many directions at once. So you need a plan of action.
Let’s try to slow down for a moment and answer your questions one at a time.
Energetic Question Number One: "It seems that everyone has a way of making a living online… so who do you trust?"
Soothing Answer: Trust yourself. Trust the intelligence of your instincts. When offered a deal that seems too good to be true, check out the company behind it. If they have a good reputation and offer a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee, buy the product and give it a try. But do give it a try. Don’t put it on the shelf and then say it didn’t do anything for you.
Here’s a little technique that can help you. When you buy the product, allocate time on your schedule to try it out. Block out 20 or 30 hours. (If you don’t keep a daily work schedule, start keeping one.) Then devote that time to the program you just spent your money on. If, at the end of the allotted time, you aren’t very happy with your progress – and I do mean very happy – send it back and collect your refund. All ETR and AWAI products and services come with a no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee, as do all Agora Inc. products and services. I can’t vouch for any others.
Energetic Question Number Two: "How much of an investment is it really going to take? Time is not a problem. I’m willing to put in the time and effort. But it seems that you buy one product and there’s some freakin’ up-sell that you just have to have to ‘really’ make what you initially were going to buy work!"
Soothing Answer: Up-sells are a normal part of business. They are not in themselves a sign that you have been duped. The way it should work is as follows: You buy an elementary, introductory program. Try it out (using the technique I recommended above). If it doesn’t deliver what was promised, send it back and get your refund. If you are getting what was promised and feel very good about the return on your investment, then you can purchase the more expensive advanced program… if and only if it appeals to you. In buying the advanced program, allocate time on your schedule to test it, just as you did with the elementary program. But devote more time to it because your financial investment is greater.
Energetic Question Number Three: "A while back, I got an offer for a copywriting program from AWAI. Is it still available? And, most important, is it for real? In other words, can I really develop and grow a business as a copywriter?"
Soothing Answer: The program you are referring to – AWAI’s basic home-study program - is the best there is. How do I know? Because I contributed to it. So did other top copywriters – Bob Bly, Paul Hollingshead, Don Mahoney, Bill Bonner, John Forde, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Jennifer Stevens, and more. This isn’t the only good copywriting program out there. I would recommend anything by Clayton Makepeace or Bob Bly. But the AWAI program is a great one to start with.
Learning how to write direct-response advertising copy is the single best way to position yourself for entrepreneurial success today. Why? Because the Internet is a natural direct-response medium.
As a freelance copywriter, you can work as your own boss, at your own pace, in the comfort of your own home – in your pajamas, if you like. And once you have proven yourself, you will be able to choose how much money you want to make (the range is $50,000 to $500,000), the kind of companies you want to work for, and how many hours you want to work. Just as important, you can use your copywriting skills to make contacts and eventually start your own Internet-based business.
The main thing I would say to you, though, is to direct all that energy into taking the first step. Don’t worry about making the wrong decision. If copywriting doesn’t turn out to be right for you, get your money back and try something else. You have the energy. You have the time. I just gave you the plan. So get going!
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: For step-by-step instructions on starting your own Internet business, get ETR's Magic Button program. Click here to learn more.
Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]
Reader Feedback: "Thanks to ETR and Michael Masterson for helping me do something extra."
"I enjoyed reading ‘11 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential.’ I’ve finally started to act on advice like ‘get to work an hour earlier and stay an hour later.’ For the last year or so, I’ve been a student of the Internet and learning about different Internet business models. I say student because I bought a lot of books and programs but I wasn’t even a ‘Chicken Entrepreneur’ – not even willing to step out of my comfort zone at all. Now I have a niche to work in, and these 11 steps will be on top of the desk to help re-energize me and help me maintain the right attitude.
"Thanks to ETR and Michael Masterson for helping me do something extra to become someone different!"
- Pat C.
Lombard, IL
"Everything in nature contains all the power of nature. Everything is made of one hidden stuff."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Abstract Phenomena
Autism-spectrum disorders are a result of damage to certain cells in the right hemisphere of the brain. Among other things, such damage can cause difficulties in the processing of abstract thoughts and ideas. Which, in turn, can make life very frustrating for the afflicted individual.
Abstractions play such a major role in day-to-day life that this got me thinking about just how important they are for all of us when it comes to functioning in our modern world.
An abstraction is theoretical in nature – i.e., it is not a tangible reality. It has no form or substance. Examples of abstractions include such concepts as time, infinity, negative numbers, zero, gravity, motivation, resourcefulness, love, justice, fairness, dreams, intuition, common sense, conceptualization, and axioms.
Among the most interesting abstractions are axioms, because even though we rely heavily on them, an axiom cannot be proven. That’s right. An axiom is an unprovable, though self-evident, truth.
Negative numbers are also fascinating. A negative number is nothing more than a theoretical supposition – a presumption that it exists, but not in concrete form. (How can you have minus six oranges?)
One of the most difficult abstract notions to grasp is infinity. The way we throw the word around, you’d think we have a clear understanding of what it is. But can we really comprehend what infinity means? We know that space, time, and numbering are infinite… yet, at the same time, they are incomprehensible.
Entire phrases can also be abstract, which presidential hopefuls demonstrate when they use such nonsensical terms as "in the best interest of society," "social consciousness," and "the will of the people." What in the world do these things mean? They are concepts that can be defined only subjectively.
What I’m driving at here is that we live in an abstract world, a world filled with abstract thought, existence, and causality. A world where time, being, and substance are not provable. Yet, through firsthand experience, we can be pretty certain that all of the phenomena mentioned in this article exist.
Which brings me to the phenomenon of the power that flows from thought.
If, through our thoughts, we possess the power to influence the course of our lives, there are two questions that should be of utmost importance to us: (1) How much potential power do we have for altering events through our thoughts? (2) How can we best tap into this reservoir of power?
If we do not have the power to manifest our destiny, we are the victims of a bad cosmic joke. It would mean that our awareness is a Catch-22. We would be conscious, yes, but conscious of the fact that we are on autopilot and have no say-so in the way our lives play out. It would be the ultimate nightmare – being conscious of our impotence.
But to me – and, I hope, to you – it is obvious that we do have the power to manifest our destiny. Which brings us to the concept of the "metaphysical world." Technically speaking, all abstractions (time, negative numbers, love, fairness, axioms, etc.) are part of the metaphysical world in that they do not have form or substance.
But when people use the term metaphysical world , they generally are referring to more weighty phenomena, such as the soul, afterlife, and – the ultimate abstraction – God. The problem many have with abstractions such as these is that – unlike time and infinity and negative numbers – we have no firsthand experience to support the belief that they really exist.
Which is why, from a secular viewpoint, none of these things make any sense. But after you’ve lived on this earth for a while, experience teaches you that there are "reasons beyond reason" for things that have no secular explanation.
The Dalai Lama sums it up well in The Universe in a Single Atom when he says, "There is a fundamental difference between that which is ‘not found’ and that which is ‘found not to exist.’ If I look for something and fail to find it, this does not mean that the thing I am seeking does not exist. Not seeing a thing is not the same as seeing its non-existence."
In other words, there’s a lot more to reality than the material world we are able to see. Clearly, we ignore intangible realities at our peril. We cannot see gravity, but firsthand experience teaches us not to attempt to defy it.
Results of the Hubble Telescope project have scientifically underscored the Dalai Lama’s position. Hubble scientists long ago discovered that not only is all matter moving away from all other matter at unfathomable speeds, but that those speeds are accelerating.
This indisputable evidence forced them to conclude that there is an invisible power in the universe – which scientists refer to as "Dark Energy" – that is greater than the gravitational pull of all matter in the universe combined.
It therefore stands to reason that if you are able to tap into this infinite power source – whether you refer to it as Dark Energy or positive thinking or God or something else – your own power is theoretically unlimited. And if your power is unlimited, it logically follows that you should be able to have a great deal of control over your destiny.
So, how do you tap into this infinite power source? I believe you have to make a conscious effort to concentrate on connecting. This is not a learn-it-once-and-you’ve-got-it-for-life proposition. It’s a lifetime project… but one that becomes easier with age. (Which is more than you can say about most things.)
In other words, you become the product of your most dominant thoughts. Which is why I believe that the more you think about your connection to an infinite power source, the more power you will have to control your own destiny.
Think about it…
[Ed. Note: If you're ready for a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques that are guaranteed to dramatically improve your dealmaking skills - and, in the process, increase your income many times over - you won't want to miss out on Robert Ringer's best-selling dealmaking audio series, A Dealmaker's Dream.
And sign up for his Voice of Sanity e-letter here.]
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Worth Quoting: Donald Trump on Success
"You have to have the ability to withstand pressure. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t be doing what I do. In my world, there’s always going to be ups and downs, good markets and bad markets. It’s easy when the markets are good. When the markets are bad, you have to be able to withstand that pressure."
(Source: SFGate.com )
Put a Little Bing in Your Step
Inflammation is (or should be) a serious concern. It is the cornerstone of cellular aging and the root of chronic disease, which now affects more than 100 million people in the U.S. alone. But new research shows that eating many of your favorite foods, including cherries, may help quell inflammation and forestall the ravages of aging.
A recent study published in the Journal of Nutrition evaluated the effect of cherries on inflammation. Eighteen healthy men and women supplemented their diets with bing cherries (280 grams/day, or just less than two cups of pitted cherries) for 28 days. Blood samples were drawn and analyzed before and during the cherry noshing, as well as 28 days afterward.
After 28 days, the subjects’ plasma concentrations of CRP, a primary marker of inflammation, decreased by 25 percent. Then, after the subjects abstained from cherries for 28 days, their circulating concentrations of CRP increased by approximately 10 percent.
Choose cherries for a sweet treat with real health benefits. My favorite way to enjoy them is in my Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie. Just blend one cup of organic milk, one scoop of Jay Robb’s Chocolate Whey (all-natural, pasture-grazed, grass-fed whey protein isolate made from cows not treated with the synthetic bovine growth hormone rBGH), and one cup of frozen organic cherries. In minutes, you’ll have an antioxidant-rich dessert for breakfast that will keep you full till lunch and keep inflammation at bay.
[Ed. Note: Kelley Herring is the founder and CEO of Healing Gourmet (www.healinggourmet.com), and is editor-in-chief of the Healing Gourmet book series. Learn more about how simple lifestyle choices can improve your health by reading ETR's free natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: Ladies-Only Buses
Female commuters on packed city buses and subways in Mexico City have long complained of groping and verbal sexual harassment. As a result, ladies-only buses have been added to several routes. The new buses are marked by pink signs, and men who mistakenly board are often taunted unmercifully until they leave. Several cities in India, Brazil, and Japan have had a similar system in place for several years.
(Source: Associated Press)
Start Making Money Today
Interested in getting a nice little side-business going on the Internet? Or maybe even from your living-room table?
But you don’t have too much money, you don’t have too much time, and you’re not exactly Bill Gates when it comes to technology. Sound familiar?
A lot of people are in the same boat. The good news is that ETR has heard you. And now we’ve done something about it…
We’ve asked our colleague Marc Charles to be on the lookout for profit opportunities that can be run from a kitchen table, your desktop or out on the road.
Criteria? They’ve got to be inexpensive, easy to start, and still have great income potential, but without a lot of red tape.
They say when you’re first getting your feet wet with a side-business, the most important dollar to make is the first one. Well, Marc is an expert at taking beginning entrepreneurs and showing you how to make that first buck. He knows, because he’s done it dozens of times for himself, his family and his friends.
If you’ve been dreaming about starting your own business… now you can get started for about the price of 2 lattes.
And get this – you could be making money literally just hours from now. Imagine the feeling of finally getting a side business launched -TODAY!
Why not go for it?
Let me introduce you to “The King of Business Opportunities.”
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Brio
"Brio" (BREE-oh) – an Italian word – is enthusiastic spirit or vigor.
Example (as used by Timothy L. O’Brien in The New York Times ): "The Internet has always been home to plenty of unvarnished brio."
[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
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