*
Highly Recommended *
The
Infancy of the "Condo Conversion Era"
You
can easily multiply your profits if you divide your duplex,
triplex or 50 unit apartment building into condos for individual
resale. And the demand for this type of housing is still
at the ground-floor level - it will only grow with the rise
of nontraditional families and the aging of baby boomers.
Learn
how to avoid costly mistakes, and maximize
your profits with Condo Conversions.
Catching
IPOs on the Rise
By
Andrew Gordon
Here's
something I bet you'd like to take to the bank: Established
companies that have just completed an Initial Public Offering(IPO)
do much better, at first, than the rest of the market on
average. This is according to research done by University
of Florida professor Jay Ritter, as cited by BusinessWeek.com.You
could troll large IPOs to invest in. But there's a much easier
way to make money off of this. Buy an IPO ETF (Exchange Traded
Fund).I suggest First Trust Advisors IPOX-100 Index Fund
(Symbol: FPX). It follows the 100 biggest companies in the
IPOX SchusterIndex that have just done an IPO or spin-off.
Over
the past three years, it gained an annualized 33.8 percent.
Compare that to 15.1 percent for the S&P and 28 percent
forthe Russell during the same period. It also did better
than these two indices over the past 10 and 15 years.
The
month-to-month fluctuations of this ETF are slightly greater
than those of the S&P 500. But if you stick it out for
the longhaul, you'll get good returns.
(Ed.
Note: Andrew Gordon, ETR's financial expert, is the editor
of our new investment service, The
Wealth Advantage Join now and you'll get a free
special report on three companies that have the very real
potential of giving you up to1,000 percent on your investment.)
"It's
not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of
the fight in the dog."
-
Mark Twain
Is
Size Overrated?
By
Robert Ringer
Some
years ago, my son played in a youth basketball league that
was pretty intense. The reason for the intensity was that
most of the fathers were trying to relive their youth through
their sons, and wanted their boys to become the athletes
that they themselves never were.
In
my son's first year, he played in a league for fourth graders.
At that age, there are always some kids who are way ahead
of the pack - who have developed their skills to a level
two or three years beyond their chronological age. Kids like
these can win championships all by themselves.
There
were a lot of excellent ballplayers in my son's league, but
the best of the best was a shrimp who played as though he
could have stepped into the starting lineup of the Harlem
Globetrotters without missing a beat. When he dribbled, you
could swear he had a string attached to the ball.
Notwithstanding
the fact that he was one of the shortest kids in the league,
he led all scorers and had a season high of 42 points in
one game. I don't know if he'll end up playing college ball
somewhere, but at that age he was truly awesome.
I
happened to be sitting next to this pint-size wizard's parents
at a semi-final playoff game, and, as usual, he totally controlled
the tempo. I noted that his mom and dad were also very short.
At
one point, I asked his dad how his son was able to dominate
kids twice his size. He replied, "I've always taught
him that size is overrated." What a great philosophy
to feed an undersized kid. What a great self-esteem builder.
I
never forgot that father's words. In fact, on reflection,
I now think of him as a modern-day Aristotle. He prompted
me to think about all the big people and big entities that
paralyze most of the world's population. And he reinforced
my longstanding belief that smallness can actually be turned
into an advantage.
Size
matters ... but it doesn't carry the day. What matters more
are qualities such as determination, persistence, a desire
to learn, and, above all, resourcefulness.
David
slew Goliath ... the war-torn Japanese caught, then overtook,
the big, bad U.S. automakers ... Spud Webb, at 5' 6" and
133 pounds, won the NBA's slam-dunk contest in 1986 ... the
Yankees are now routinely pushed around at playoff time by
traditional non-winners like the Angels, Red Sox, and Diamondbacks.
You could go on with this list for hours.
People
often marvel at how Wal-Mart snuck up on Sears, which was
the largest retailer in the world for decades. Not too long
ago, Wal-Mart was a joke in retailing circles - a little
regional company with stores in towns that had populations
of 5,000 or less.
The
fat-cat Sears board members and top executives, up to their
ears in perks and golden parachutes, never even saw Sam Walton
coming. If you were the largest retailer in the world, would
you have been afraid of an outfit out of Bentonville, Arkansas?
Sears
thought it was being very prudent to keep one eye on Target
and the other on Kmart. Too bad it didn't have a third eye
in the back of its corporate head to keep tabs on that cute
little retailer from nowheresville.
Yes,
size matters, but it doesn't insulate one from failure.
Take
the poor elephant. He's the largest land animal on the planet,
but that hasn't done him a whole lot of good. Of the more
than 350 species of proboscideans that paleontologists have
been able to identify, only two remain - the African and
Indian elephants.
In
fact, the elephant's main problem is that he is too big.
Just to absorb all the oxygen he requires, he needs an acre
of lung surface. He has to roam around 16 hours each and
every day to find hundreds of pounds of grass and foliage
to satisfy his hundreds of feet of intestines and complex
digestive organs.
Worse,
because of his enormous size, he can't even jump over a seven-foot
trench. He's been known to be freaked out by dogs, mosquitoes,
and even ants. And he is unusually prone to such illnesses
as colds, pneumonia, mumps, and diabetes.
I
tell you, size is overrated.
Upstart
Microsoft didn't fear giant IBM ... upstart Google didn't
fear giant Microsoft ... and some unknown upstart who is
working in his garage at this very moment doesn't fear giant
Google.
Nor
should you fear giants. Never forget that you have many advantages
over the big guys, one of the most important being that you
can move much more swiftly than elephants like IBM, Microsoft,
and Google. After all, they are under tremendous pressure
to build more and more lung capacity just to be able to absorb
enough air.
While
the giants are huffing and puffing to fend off predators,
you have the luxury of concentrating on action - bold, continuous
action. And for you, jumping a seven-foot trench should be
a piece of cake. Of course, if you're lucky enough to become
a giant some day, you'll find that making that jump becomes
harder with each passing year.
You'll
also find that your chances of longevity will increase if
you can figure out a way to put an eye in the back of your
head as you grow larger. You'll need that eye, because you
can count on the entrepreneurial descendents of Bill Gates,
Sam Walton, et al to be coming up fast behind you.
Today's
Action Plan
If
you've been afraid to start a little side business because
you fear you can't compete with the "big
guys," heed Robert Ringer's words today. You have many
advantages over them - including the ability to take immediate
and bold action.
Virtually
everyone acknowledges the importance of action, but few really
understand it, let alone employ it on a consistent and effective
basis. To help you join the millions of entrepreneurs, business
owners, salespeople, and individuals in all walks of life
who have taken gigantic steps toward achieving their personal
and professional goals, Robert has made three of his best-selling
books available on CD. Learn
more about this long-awaited opportunity.
*
Highly Recommended *
Do
You Have a Book Burning Inside You?
Learn
how to write, publish, and market your book into a bestseller
from the most successful self-published author in history.
This
is an opportunity that I've hoped to be able to offer ETR
readers for a long time. But, quite frankly, I wasn't confident
it would ever happen.
Now,
it's my pleasure to be able to tell you that Robert Ringer
- the only person in history to self-publish three #1 bestsellers
- has agreed to share his most treasured secrets with you
in a rare teleseminar-series presentation.
I'm
also pleased to report that I've made arrangements with Robert
to offer ETR subscribers a special discount for this first-time-ever
event. Find
out more about this exciting opportunity.
Yours
sincerely,
Will Bonner
If
you are not presently a subscriber to Robert Ringer's insightful,
wisdom-filled e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane
World, CLICK
HERE to
sign up for your free subscription.
The
Long-Term Risk of Drinking Soda
By
Jon Herring
If
you think that limiting sodas to "just one a day" won't
hurt your health, think again. New evidence shows that the
extra sugar in soft drinks can substantially increase your
risk of serious disease.
Researchers
from the Harvard School of Public Health found that women
who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day were
85 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than women
who drank sugary sodas less than once a month. According
to the study, sugars from liquid foods - like soft drinks
- were more likely to cause the weight gain and obesity that
sets the stage for this disease.
So
next time you're tempted to grab a soda, try a healthier
alternative. Filtered water or green tea won't give you a
sugar buzz, but your body will thank you in the long run.
Dear
Michael Masterson: "What are my chances of making
a go of it as a copywriter?"
Dear
Michael Masterson,
Not
too long ago, you advertised the AWAI
Copywriting Program, and, although the program
costs about $500, I could not help but wonder what my chances
are of making a go of it.
In
the past, I must admit that I have made some investment blunders
with programs that offered a lot but failed miserably in
the end. It seems the only people that made the money were
those who started the program in the first place.
I
am a 68-year-old senior with a fixed income who is ambitious
and willing to work hard for some extra income to live a
little better than I am at present. But friends have told
me that I do not have the 'killer instinct" for success,
whatever that is. If that phrase means seeking preference
and distinction on the backs of my fellow men, then I am
afraid that kind of success is not for me. I like to go to
bed with a clear conscience. In my youth, I made enough mistakes to
last more than one lifetime. At this stage of my life, I
do not wish to repeat them.
Reading
your columns has impressed me, as I find whilst reading them
a sense of decency emanating from them. A word of reassurance
from you will be most appreciated.
Sincerely,
Harry
Madray
North Miami Beach, FL
Dear
Harry,
At
68 years of age, you are to be commended for being willing
to tackle new challenges. And I can tell from reading your
letter that you already have three great gifts that will
help you achieve your goal:
1.
You write with a natural, honest voice. This is something
that is impossible to fake.
2.
You have an instinctive understanding of what makes people
tick. (You sensed correctly that I would warm up to your
kind comments about my columns.)
3.
You are not afraid to reveal yourself to your readers. This
may be the single most powerful skill of a good writer.
That
said, I can't say whether the copywriting
program will meet your needs. I don't
know enough about your current financial situation, your
reasons for wanting to learn copywriting, and your health.
But
I can say this: If you have the time to devote to feeling
out the
program, why not try it? It comes with a 100
percent, no-questions-asked guarantee. In fact, do this.
Give it a try for three months and then write to me - personally
- and tell me what you think of it. If you are enjoying it
and making good progress, I'll give you a one-hour coaching
lesson for free.
Michael
Masterson
*
Highly Recommended *
Do
You Need To Start Out Small?
If you don't have an Internet business yet, or if your company
is smaller than $1 million then you need something different...
something that lets you start off small.
One man I know turned $10 into over $500,000. How's that for
starting small!
Let
me show you how to get a similar Internet income stream running
for almost nothing.
- Patrick
Coffey
Word
to the Wise: Mellifluous
Something
that's "mellifluous" (muh-LIF-loo-us)
flows sweetly or smoothly.
Example
(as used by Ken Gormley in Archibald
Cox: Conscience of a Nation): "The tones
were high-sounding, mellifluous, as if the speaker was reading
from a book of old English verse while holding back any trace
of sentiment or emotion."
