* Highly
Reccomended *
This
One Really IS Priceless
Roundtrip
airfare to Florida from Oakland, Chicago, or New York? About
$225.
Hotel
room at the Delray Beach Marriott? $149 per night.
Developing
a marketing plan for your new online business that can make
between $100,000 and $100 million a year? Priceless.
Join
us at our October Info Marketing Bootcamp, and we'll work with
you to build your own customized online marketing plan that
can generate millions of dollars in sales every year.
But
the time to register is NOW, because only a handful of seats
remain! We've checked every nook and cranny of the conference
hotel, and there's no more room at the inn. Once these last
few slots are gone, that's it.
Attending
the ETR Info Marketing Bootcamp: "Making a Fast Fortune
on the Information Revolution" in Delray Beach next month
could be a dramatic turning point in your life. But remember,
your situation won't change unless you take action.
This
event will be completely sold out within a matter of days.
So if you've been thinking about joining us, I urge you to register
immediately.
-
Patrick Coffey
Dear
Michael Masterson: "I am nowhere near the revenue stream
nor will I ever be."
"I
have read Early to Rise with great interest, but some
of the suggestions and offers are unreachable for me at this
time. I am an Episcopal priest working at a Roman Catholic
university. I am nowhere near the revenue stream nor will I
ever be.
"I
like the advice and the insights, but most of the investment
stuff is over my head and out of my range. (I make $23,000
a year and help my mom with that.) It makes me feel as if I
am missing out on so much. What can you say to me besides get
another job? (I'm working on that.)"
Cheryl
Parris
St. Bonas, NY
Dear
Cheryl,
I
hope you love what you are doing, because you could probably
make more than $23,000 a year managing a McDonald's.
I
presume you have a college education. It sounds like you are
a committed person, willing to work hard.
I
won't tell you to change jobs, but I would suggest that you
get a second income - and fast!
I
don't know what rules you are laboring under, but your interest
in increasing your income suggests that you are not bound by
a vow of poverty. You love what you do, but you are not paid
well for it. You are probably giving people great help and
advice as a pastor, yet they are not willing to pay for it.
At least not in the context of your ministry.
But
there are all sorts of other ways that you can put your knowledge
and experience to work for you in the private sector. Maybe
you can use your public speaking skills to get a side job as
a motivational speaker. Have you thought about writing
advertising copy as a sideline? There is a
big market for writers in the religious and fundraising market.
You can also work for a religious marketing group as a marketer,
speaker, counselor, etc.
Here's
another possibility - one you can put into action right away
if you come to ETR's Info
Marketing Bootcamp next month: Consider starting
your own e-mail counseling service or creating e-books based
on your ideas.
The
main thing: You have to limit the number of hours you work
as a pastor. They are paying you only $23,000 a year. At $50
an hour (a minimum rate that someone with your experience and
skills should be getting) that means you should be devoting
only 460 hours to your current job - which is less than 9 hours
a week.
Don't
spend any more time than that on it.
Then
devote the rest of your time - at least another 30 to 40 hours
a week - to creating a second income.
--
Michael Masterson
"I
did comedy for a fundraiser once. We were trying to raise
money to buy one of those machines that shows how much
money has been raised."
-
Mitch Hedberg
The
Power of Thinking Big
By
Paul Lawrence
The
director of the sketch-comedy group in Florida was frustrated
when he got off the phone with president of the sketch-comedy
festival in Los Angeles. She had just politely declined to
allow his group to be a participant in her annual event.
She
had reviewed a sample tape and said that though she thought
his group was very good, what she needed was local groups that
could bring audience members to the show.
The
director had explained that although his group was based in
Florida, they knew quite a lot of people in LA.
Still,
she wasn't swayed.
As
you've probably guessed by now, the director in this story
was me - and after I hung up the phone, I began wondering if
this wasn't a blessing in disguise.
You
see, I had formed the sketch-comedy group about a year and
a half before. Now that we'd been performing locally for a
while, we wanted to get into some festivals in LA where there'd
be a chance for entertainment industry people to see us. So
we applied to a few. But every time I sent in a submission
tape, I ran into the same problem.
After
this last rejection, I decided I'd had enough. If my group
was going to be in a festival in LA where there'd be some important
people ... maybe I'd have to produce one myself.
And
so I did.
I
produced a very successful event called the International Sketch
Comedy Competition (sketchcomedycompetition.com). We sold out
a major theater in downtown Los Angeles, and groups from all
over the U.S. and Canada came and competed in front of a panel
of VIP entertainment industry judges and a large crowd. Naturally,
my group performed too.
As
happens so often in life, when you get some momentum going,
one opportunity develops from another. In this case, the event
was so successful that a major production company in LA offered
me a contract (which I recently signed) to develop the concept
into a television program.
In
my "Dare
to Live Your Dreams" program, I
talk about how you must be willing to Think Big. Although I'd
never produced a major competition and lived 3,000 miles away
from the festival site, I was willing to do that. And it landed
me a contract to be an executive producer on a nationally broadcast
television show.
Thinking
Big has worked for many others, too.
Danny
M. had been a mid-level manager for many years when he made
the decision to become self-employed. He had a little capital
saved, and he could've opened up a "mom and pop" retail
operation - but he wanted to make more than a comfortable living.
So he started a retail business that he could recreate over
and over and sell to other entrepreneurs ... similar to franchising.
Because
Danny Thought Big, he developed a business that has made him
wealthy enough to own a giant house in one of the most exclusive
neighborhoods in town, drive an expensive sports car, and travel
(first-class) all over the world. None of which he'd been able
to afford had he stayed with the little "mom and pop" idea.
Then
there's Jeff Y., a school teacher who was fascinated by the
potential of investing in real estate. His friends and family
advised him to play it safe - to forget about making a fortune
in real estate and to just keep putting his savings into his
employee-sponsored retirement plan. But Jeff was willing to
Think Big - so he used some of his savings to buy a "fixer-upper" that
he could renovate and re-sell. Within 90 days, he'd made a
$30,000 profit.
Of
course, Thinking Big can be frightening. Will I be publicly
embarrassed if I fail? Will people think I'm stupid? Will I
damage my career? Make a horrible financial blunder?
When
I began to promote my sketch comedy festival, I was concerned
because I was putting my name out - in a very public way -
in an industry where people tend to be highly judgmental. If
the event was a failure, there was the very real potential
for it to hurt me.
It's
normal to have such fears - and as long as they don't paralyze
you, they're not necessarily bad. Because of my realistic fear
of what might happen if my event failed, I worked relentlessly
to make sure it was successful. And it paid off.
My "Dare
to Live Your Dreams" program breaks
down Thinking Big into a few manageable steps that can
make your big idea a reality.
1.
Accept the possibility that your dream can happen for you.
The
first thing you must do is actually believe that your dream
can be a reality ... if you are willing to pay the price to
make it happen.
2.
Take some initial actions that will set you on a path to
making it happen.
This
is where many people fall off. You must start to take some
actions to achieve your goal. In my case with the sketch-comedy
festival, since I lived in Florida and wanted to produce it
in LA, I knew I would need a partner who lived there. So I
made some calls and found someone. And that got the ball rolling.
3.
Use the momentum of tiny successes to strengthen your belief
that you can succeed.
Once
you achieve that first small success, you'll start to gain
confidence that your dream is really going to happen. With
that confidence, you will gain momentum ... which, in turn,
will result in even bigger successes.
Using
my own example: As soon as I had a partner in LA, I began searching
for a theater to rent for the event. Once we had a theater
and a date, we had something tangible - not just an idea. So
I was able to move to the next step, which was to line up a
panel of industry judges. A number of prominent executives
agreed to participate. This really revved up my confidence
level, so I then began inviting groups to submit tapes to our
submission committee. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Life
is short, and you don't want to let it pass you by. So, Think
Big ... and make your dreams come true.
[Ed.
Note: Paul Lawrence is the creator of the Quick
and Easy Microbusiness System, ETR's program
for starting a business for under $100.]
* Advertisement *
Baby
Boomers are Retiring by the Millions each Year
Right
now the government’s unfunded obligations are up to a record
high of $57.8 TRILLION. Learn how to protect yourself before
it’s too late. Read
this full report now!
Is
a Bad Breakfast Better Than No Breakfast?
By
Jon Herring
Kellogg's
was recently required to withdraw an advertisement in the UK
that claimed children were "on average 9 percent more
alert" after eating a bowl of corn flakes than children
who skipped breakfast. They made this "scientific" assertion
based on 60 children who ate Kellogg's cereal, compared to
30 children who ate nothing - and it was the children's mothers
who "measured" their alertness. (I'm not sure what
the scale was - or how you can assign a percentage value to
alertness - but I guess 0 percent would be dead ... and it
goes up from there.)
The
bottom line is that ANY breakfast will increase a child's energy
and concentration when compared to eating nothing. But not
only is a high-glycemic breakfast like corn flakes unhealthy,
the "alertness" will soon fade when the sugar high
wears off.
For
a much healthier alternative that will deliver a far more balanced
level of focus and concentration, feed your children a breakfast
that is rich in protein and healthy fats. For example, eggs
scrambled with vegetables, yogurt or cottage cheese with berries,
a few handfuls of nuts, a protein shake with fresh fruit ...
you get the idea.
It's
Good to Know: Pangrams
By
Suzanne Richardson
Ever
wondered why the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog? This
sentence, and others like it, are "pangrams."
Pangrams,
also known as "holoalphabetic phrases," are sentences
that use every letter of the alphabet at least once. They are
commonly used to test computer keyboards and typewriters. And,
like "lorem
ipsum", they help typesetters test graphic
elements like the font, typeface, and layout of a new document
or website.
Want
to try making your own pangram? It's tricky, because the best
ones contain the fewest total letters, while still maintaining
some semblance of sense. Here are a few examples from Wikipedia.com:
1. All
questions asked by five watch experts amazed the judge. (49
letters)
2. Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs.
(32 letters)
3. Quick wafting zephyrs vex bold Jim. (29
letters)
Send
your pangram(s) to us at ReaderFeedback@gmail.com with
your full name and hometown. We'll print some of the best in
an upcoming issue of ETR.
* Highly
Reccomended *
The
Billionaire Way
I
would recommend "The
Billionaire Way" program to anyone who
is contemplating a new enterprise or business start-up, or
is already in business for themselves. It enabled me to look
at my life, attributes, and habits in a refreshing new way.
I was delighted to discover that I too have a number of the
traits and qualities that many who are successful in business
possess, which I hadn't realized. I am very excited to apply
the principles that were presented in the program to my new
business ventures.
A
tremendous benefit was to be able to talk with the author of
the program, Bob Cox, about my own business strategies and
ideas. Bob spent an hour on the phone with me after I finished
the program, and his personal insights and suggestions were
very helpful and inspiring.
I
know that I will often refer back to the information provided
in "The
Billionaire Way"
-
Catherine McNeil, Monte Vista, Colorado
Word
to the Wise: Enervate
No, "enervate" (EN-ur-vate)
doesn't mean "energize." Quite the opposite. Derived
from the Latin for "to remove the sinews from," it
means to deprive of vigor, force, or strength.
Example
(as used by David
S. Landes in The Wealth and Poverty of Nations): "In
countries like India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Ghana
I have always felt enervated by the slightest physical or mental
exertion, whereas in the UK, France, Germany, or the U.S. I
have always felt reinforced and stimulated by the temperate
climate, not only during long stays, but even during brief
travels."
