But I’m not holding my breath. I have been left at the altar, so to speak, far too many times by books with good cover blurbs (”The most riveting, ball-busting adventure I’ve read in decades!”) and no juice inside.

Really good writers are hard to find. Bookstores are crammed to the rafters with BAD writers (in case you hadn’t noticed).

Sometimes, for example, I get a hankering for some science fiction – a niche that sustained me during a gruesome adolescence – and I’ll cruise the SF aisles, randomly opening books and reading half a page.

Sci-fi novels are almost universally horrible these days. I long for the next Asimov or Bradbury. But I’m not holding my breath for that, either.

Wait. There’s a marketing lesson here.

Do this little experiment: Grab four books from the bookstore. (And yes, I’m asking you to drive to an actual bookstore, get out of the car, and walk around. It won’t kill you… and it will force you to recognize the vast tree-killing industry out there trying to steal eye-time away from your marketing efforts.)

Get two fiction books and two business books. Doesn’t matter what the subject matter is – just choose something that rings your chimes. Sexy murder mysteries, Idiot’s Guide to Whatever, classic literature, one of those tomes by Joe Sugarman you’ve been promising yourself you’d read some day.

Drink your cappuccino, drive home, and secure a spot where you won’t be disturbed for half an hour or so.

Now, plow into the first book. Read the cover blurbs, the forward, the table of contents, and the first chapter.

That’s it. Just the first chapter.

Toss it aside, pick up the next book, and do the same. And so on, through your little pile.

What you will have at the end of this short experiment is a very stark example of four different kinds of writing. By four different authors.

Now ask yourself: “Do I want to continue reading any of these books?”

My guess is that one of the four will not suck. That fourth book may, in fact, rock out. At least for you.

Repeat this experiment until the lesson becomes obvious. (You can use the library instead of the bookstore, if you don’t want to blow the dough… or you hate cappuccino…)

Some writers know how to grab your attention, quickly and definitively.

Sometimes, they know what they’re doing. They craft their writing to lure you in and hold you there. These are the experts. Other times, the writer is unskilled, and merely “transferring” his own passion to you through the written page. Maybe an editor was in evidence, cleaning up the tangents and B.S.

More likely… the writer got in touch with communicating what he needed to say… and did it. Just slammed it out, and hit pay dirt. He may never be able to get in that kind of lucky groove again.

Online, with most websites and all blogs relying on the written word to convey most of the message, getting read is your Number One Priority. Even if you’re swinging into using video more and more (and I love video)… you still must rely on the same writing skills to grab and hold attention with your script.

Trust me on this experiment: You need to do it yourself. No matter how little you read normally. Hell, especially if you’re not much of a reader.

It’s tough to become a top marketer if you’re languishing among the 25 percent who never read… or the 50 percent who seldom read. (Half the country reads no more than a single book in a year… and it’s usually a crappy book.)

It’s all about mind expansion. Reading will do things to your brain that TV, radio, sports, video games, and every other media can’t begin to touch. Reading is like steroids for the brain. Seriously. (Heavy readers don’t often suffer dementia later in life.) And, as a marketer trying to woo the masses…

… it really pays to be that guy who is well-read, informed, hip, and comfy in the larger culture.

You have more to say. You say it better.

And you get read.

You do not have to be a “great” writer to be a successful marketer. In fact, your grammar, like mine, can blow chunks. And you may use too much slang, and violate lots of other “rules” of formal writing.

Doesn’t matter.

It’s all about communication. About grabbing your readers and dragging them into your world, where they will become so engaged and enthralled… that they stay, and absorb, and bond, and buy.

Something to consider, as the competition heats up in every online market out there.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

Understanding what makes for great copy is just one aspect of running a thriving, profitable Internet business. With ETR's Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition, you'll get a step-by-step playbook to everything you need to know to make money online.]

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“That’s all changed, hasn’t it?” she asked, innocently.

With the brouhaha of Web 2.0 going strong, she can be excused for her doubts. And the fact is, if I woke up tomorrow and realized the universe had changed in such a way that a decent sales pitch no longer required persuasion, proof, credibility, believable offers, and all the other classic ingredients… and we could now create sales with just a smidgen of copy here and there, like dabs of gray ink in the colorful wonder of an over-designed Web page… well, I’d be the first one writing short copy that day.

I don’t write long copy because I like long copy.

I write long copy… because that’s what works.

You start at the beginning of your sales message… cover the points your prospect needs to hear in order to make a decision… urge him toward the right decision (to buy your stuff)… and close with panache.

When you can do that in a few terse sentences – or in a single, brief, whiz-bang video – let me know. I’ll be right on your heels with my next pitch.

After almost three decades in the front-line trenches of business, though – slogging through the fog and chaos of multiple technological upheavals – I’m not holding my breath.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

Great copy is vital to a successful marketing campaign. But your prospect list, product, offer... are just as important. Find out how to put them all together with Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business.] 

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And the answer comes from life itself.

The more a copywriter understands the way things really are – outside of wishful thinking – the more powerful he becomes as a communicator. His job, as a creator of ads, is to bring with him a nuanced and loving knowledge of life that is beyond the experience of his reader.

It’s a big damn responsibility. He must learn to face truths that are, at times, extremely unpleasant. And he’s gotta read the news. Because his job is to position himself precisely where the necessities of life intersect with the powerful passions of being human.

Copywriters – and especially those who understand the psychology of classic salesmanship – live better lives. The rest of the population will refuse to feel things too passionately, because it scares them. They like being numb. But copywriters voluntarily give up their ability to remain numb and dreamy about reality. They engage, and pay attention to their emotions, their passions, and their fears.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

Understanding what makes for great copy is just one aspect of running a thriving, profitable Internet business. With ETR's Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition, you'll get a step-by-step playbook to everything you need to know to make money online.]

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There is no warning. And there is precious little time to consider your choices.

As a young man, I balked at making hard decisions. I hesitated and put them off. Even worse, I told myself that other, maybe better, opportunities would always be just around the corner.
The truth is, most life-changing opportunities are never repeated. And once I vowed to pursue success without making excuses, I learned the value of quickly saying “yes.”

That is how I met all of my mentors and secured long-lasting relationships with them. And how I mastered freelance copywriting faster – and with greater rewards – than anyone else in the game. That is also how I’ve attained every shred of success I can lay claim to. By recognizing… correctly judging… and grabbing onto opportunities that most people missed.

It’s often a matter of being in the right place at the right time, armed with the right skills to take advantage of what has been laid before you.

It’s not easy to become that guy who is always alert for chances to engage with life on a higher level. To hear what others refuse to hear. To murder your ego and crush your natural skepticism and stubborn reluctance.

But once you do… you’ll never again be daunted… because part of being open to opportunity is being prepared for the risk.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers. 

Make sure you are equipped to handle any opportunities that come your way with the Internet's premier goal setting and achieving program.]

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And nobody has 4,000 friends. I don’t care what your Facebook total is.

Yet, many top online marketers (and politicians and journalists and probably the guy making subs at Quiznos) are obsessively writing 140-character neo-haiku on Twitter, including me. I’ve had an account since last summer, and I play around with it almost daily for weeks at a time.

Then I get bored and ignore it.

I doubt that it’s having much of an effect on my marketing results, but I have reconnected with a few old friends across the globe. Of course, I could have just as easily reconnected with them via e-mail, actual mail, or the phone. (Does anybody say “telephone” anymore?) But, no, it’s been Twitter.

And I’m not sure what to make of this.

I find it odd that a good pal will tweet something, I’ll reply (with my typical charm and wit) within seconds… and he won’t even see my reply. It gets buried in the avalanche of responses from his 4,000 followers.

And I’m starting to suspect that (like Britney Spears) some of my friends aren’t actually doing their own tweeting. They’re hiring some ghostwriter drones to do it for them.

For me, the “social” part of social media is murdered in its sleep when so little actual interaction takes place.
About 20 percent of the time I use Twitter to announce biz stuff – a new launch, a new product. The rest of the time, I’m performing pure social interaction. I am seeking the give-and-take of witty repartee, like the brassy (and extremely funny) sessions I have with other writers in a bar after a hard day of seminar presentations.

The advantage of Twitter is that it’s instant interaction. You tweet, and folks respond.

The DISadvantage of Twitter is the same instant interaction element.

A blog post stays up until you post again. People come to a blog, and read the first post – so if you put up something of value, you can engage large numbers of people with it. Plus, you can archive it, making it easy for people to access even years later. (I’m always getting comments on old blog posts from three and five years ago. Not sure why year four gets no respect.)

No such archiving exists with Twitter.

Just as at a real party, your witticisms and brilliant observations pass into the ether as soon as you make them. Within minutes, others tweet and move you off the main page.

If you’re following more than a few people, you might have hundreds of tweets in an hour or so. Anything you missed is long gone… unless you have time on your hands and can’t think of anything better to do than drift lazily through a thousand old tweets looking for something interesting.

I’ve heard it called texting for adults, and maybe that’s accurate.

My nephew, in college, uses Twitter as a way to define his personality. His tweets are little bits of language art, absurd or weird or confusing (kind of like Seinfeld asides). He’s establishing himself as smart and irreverent.

I tweeted today, several times. Tried to communicate with someone (no reply), left a smart-ass comment with someone else (they loved it), offered up some news stories for general consumption (no consensus yet on what my followers think about any of it).

And I’ll probably announce the posting of this article on Twitter later tonight.

But I don’t think Twitter can last long as it is. It has to be monetized – changed dramatically – or vanish. That much is (almost) for certain. I see my colleagues frantically searching for ways to monetize their Twitter accounts. The Holy Grail would be to discover a tactic that justifies the time we spend telling strangers where we’re at and what we’re doing.

Well… what do YOU think?

Are you using ANY of the big social media very much? (Blogs don’t count. Blogs rock.)

Can you swear to me that you’ve seen actual monetary results?

I’d like to know. Post your comments right here.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers right here.

Twitter may be the latest trend, but there are dozens of more effective ways to market your business - methods that have been time-tested and proven to work. Discover 12 of them in the Amazon.com bestseller Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions with Your Business.]

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If you’re really tired, take a nap. It’s a tactic all top writers know about. Stuff your brain with info, then go sleep for 20 minutes and let your subconscious synthesize and data-mine everything. When you wake up (don’t sleep longer than 20 minutes or you’ll get groggy), you will often be amazed at what’s suddenly ready to be written.

I’ve done my headlines this way for most of my career.

I never force myself to stay awake. If you do, you’ll spend three hours grinding out crap you’ll have to toss anyway. By grabbing some brain-satisfying shut-eye when you require it, you can be more productive in half an hour than you could hope to manage in three bleary-eyed hours of trying to coerce results.

[Ed. Note: Get more unconventional tips for supercharging your career at John Carlton's blog www.john-carlton.com.

Power napping is a technique that works for John Carlton. But there are hundreds of other "secrets" you can use to get out of tough spots in Early to Rise's Unscrew Your Life newsletter. Sign up today.]

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I knew a girl in college who killed off her grandmother three times in three semesters. Got her out of taking a final (didn’t study), out of being penalized for skipping a week of class (rock concert), out of not having a paper written on time (didn’t even try). Granny never found out. And lived a good many more years. And this girl went on to the Dean’s List, grad school, and a PhD.

The lesson learned: You can be instantly forgiven… even felt sorry for… if you just deliver a good enough excuse for screwing up.

That’s a really, really, really bad lesson to absorb. Because once you get out of school and into the real world, you have a very rude discovery to make: No one gives a rat’s ass about WHY you screwed up. The fact you DID screw up is all that matters. Your excuse will comfort no one but you, as you lick your wounds and look for another job.

The hardest thing to teach budding freelancers is the “Professional’s Code.” It’s very simple: You show up where you’re supposed to be… when you said you’d be there… having done what you said you’d do.

That’s it.

The phrase “show up” includes the physical act of appearing where you’re supposed to be… as well as the virtual act of meeting your deadlines.

I did NOT grow up with this code.

I was a victim of the school system, where few consequences couldn’t be negotiated. (Hell – the cops back then even poured out your beer and sent you home after pulling you over. I knew dozens of guys who’d been nabbed while driving with a bottle of Schlitz in one hand, and not a one of them ever suffered a DUI. Right or wrong, that’s how my corner of the generation grew up.)

As a low-level employee with no skills – my standard gig for the first decade or so of my adult life – half the job really was just showing up on time. However, once the idea of going solo as a freelancer copywriter took hold, I started looking seriously at how the really successful dudes were conducting themselves in business.

I vowed, going in, that I would meet all deadlines, no matter what. And BE that guy who could be trusted with delivering the goods to anyone who paid me.

I saw the alternative, in gruesome detail, during my time in a catalog art department.

There were multiple deadlines for photo separations, camera-ready art boards, and every word of copy. And anything that wasn’t done by the printing deadline… didn’t make it into the catalog.

The printing presses were in Nashville. They ran 365 days a year, and you booked your slot six months in advance. You missed your deadline, too bad. You paid anyway for the time and manpower. And your catalog didn’t mail.

Missing a hard deadline was a mortal wound to your ability to continue doing business. You had nothing to mail. No money came in. Clients wandered away. Banks were not nice about outstanding loans coming due.

Wow. That’ll sober you up.

In 25 years of writing copy for clients, I have never missed a hard deadline.

Let me repeat that: 25 years, zero violations on my deadline record.

This concept of never missing a deadline is the hardest thing to teach rookie freelancers. It’s almost like you gotta experience disaster first… and it’s gotta make a deep impression on you… before your mind can shift into Professional Gear.

This is why surgeons endure such rigorous training. Saying “Sorry, I was distracted” after botching an operation doesn’t cut it.

Pilots, too. Accountants. Snipers. Astronauts. Film editors. Lead singers.

You screw up… you disembowel the entire gig. And your fabulous excuse doesn’t fix anything. No one wants to hear it. Because of you, other people now have an emergency on their hands.

Entire kingdoms have crumbled from screw-ups by people who thought they had a great excuse. (”I had that 3-penny nail right here, sir. I dunno, it must have slipped from my hand back there. My arthritis has been really bad, you know, and…”)

In school, a well-crafted excuse will get you sympathy and a do-over. In real life… not so much.

And yet… I am NEVER surprised when confronted with a fresh case of someone I’ve put massive trust in… screwing up. And offering an excuse. It’s the default brain setting of almost everyone out there.

It’s really not that tough to adopt the Pro Code. It takes a commitment, and requires the skill to tell others “no” when faced with a tough choice. And to tell yourself “no” when your very natural urge to flake out and bail on your responsibilities flares up.

Everyone would rather party, or even veg out… instead of buckling down and finishing the job they signed up for. That’s the easy path. Being a true rebel nowadays means embracing responsibility with gusto and energy. The last rebellious act in business, really, is to commit to success. No matter what.

Your social life will suffer. The family will get mad at you. No one will understand, and you will toil without immediate gratification from outside sources. (Your rewards must come from your own heart and sense of self-respect.)

And it all rests on a simple foundation. If you take on a job, you do it. You kill the whiny beasts in your head, wrestle your attention deficit disorder into submission, push through pain and grief and disaster to do what you promised you’d do.

That’s how that US Airways pilot saved all 150 passengers and crew in an emergency landing in the Hudson River. That’s how all professionals worthy of the title treat every responsibility they have.

It’s hard to do. It’s kinda lonely at times. But committing to it will instantly change your life forever.

And remember: It’s no crime not to have this code already in your bag. But once you’re made aware of it, you lose big by choosing to ignore it. (So, yeah, it’s a dirty trick on my part to throw it in front of you like this.)

Today – in business and in conquering the mounting ills of the world – we need professionals more than ever. The hardest and most rewarding jobs will not get done through excuses.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

Think you have a good excuse for not yet having an Internet business? Wrong. With ETR's Internet Money Club Independent Learner Edition, you'll get a step-by-step playbook to making money online. All you have to do is take action.]

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I was sitting in my sister’s living room, watching the grandnieces and grandnephew play (ages 2, 4, and 6) with rambunctious glee… and I realized that all the adults were reading books.

No TV blaring. No radio jangling.

In fact, we’d just finished playing some guitars together and having an intense discussion about world affairs. You know… like really intelligent people enjoy doing.

Not everyone was reading great literature, of course. There were volumes of happy trash being devoured, along with some really good stuff. But I was kinda stunned, just the same.

This was a room full of very educated people. Three are teachers, one is a school shrink, another runs a program for troubled youth. All were involved with written stories. All deeply involved, too.

No one wanted to talk about marketing B.S. Or ways to get rich. Or systems to get ahead. These were family-oriented people, content with doing their jobs well and living their lives as fully as possible within their means.

I felt a little… humbled.

I don’t apologize for my entrepreneurial DNA. Unlike most of the rest of my family, I chafed at authority, and desperately needed to find my own path.

However, as I hang out with more and more of the elite “winners” in the online marketing world… I am becoming acutely aware of how little I am driven by the desire for money.

Not that there’s anything wrong with making money. But throughout my career, I’ve felt out of place among the guys for whom business success was the ONLY thing that mattered.

I honestly do not “get” people who need piles of cash to justify their existence. And I am often offended by gratuitous displays of wealth. The path I took veered away from the glistening skyline of power and fame that most of my colleagues were attracted to.

I like having lots of dough, don’t get me wrong. But long ago, I figured out what “enough” was, and I’ve not sacrificed my other lifelong interests to build my pile bigger than my humble little self can handle.

We used to call it “F*** You Money,” to be honest.

True independence comes when you are no longer desperate for whatever your current client is offering you. You can walk away and not worry about the consequences if he turns out to be an ass. Or if the deal seems squirrelly.

You don’t need his money… because you’ve got enough stashed away.

It’s a stash you put aside and never touch unless you absolutely need to. If you die without ever dipping into it, you’ve won.

The psychological juice behind knowing you don’t “need” anyone’s money is staggering.

The size of your FYM stash, of course, is dependent on what you feel you “need” – in cold, hard, liquid cash – to be confident you’ve got enough to tide you over until circumstances change.

For me, it’s not a huge amount. Enough moolah to survive for a year or so with no other income. Being frugal, I could stretch it out for much longer. And still have fun, and still indulge in things I love.

But the key thing is… it’s your support system. It’s not an investment.

However… once you get a taste of business success, it’s easy to be lured into living each day FOR that business. You put off other pursuits, you start to obsess on projects, you become… boring.

You’ve suddenly got 20 times your basic FYM, and yet still get up each day focused on bringing in more.

I’ve been lucky. I don’t need lots of money to have a great time. So much of life’s best adventures are actually dirt-cheap.

I’m seeing a group of old college buddies this weekend, for example. None are “successful,” according to any measure a businessman would use. And yet, all are happy. All are good friends, and I cherish the time we get to spend together.

They don’t envy my success. And they don’t treat me differently. (To them, I’m still the nutcase I was 30 years ago at the university. And I embrace that character with gusto.)

All this gets me thinking about what “true” wealth is.

Being broke sucks. No getting around that. But somewhere between being broke and being stupid-rich, with 12 cars and three homes and more boats than you can count… is a sweet spot where many people live in near-bliss. Minus the expensive toys.

I think, by now, you know what I’m getting at.

It’s sappy, yes. It’s all about love and living well with what you have.

Ambition can be a curse. I’m very lucky to be ambitious… but also to be lazily moderate about pursuing what I want. I’ve done most of what I set out to do at this point in life. The goals remaining on my master-list are good ones, and I hope I’m around for another half-century to knock them off, too.

But, more urgently, I am reminded of how amazingly “rich” my family and friends are who sink their teeth into life without driving ambitions.

Sometimes, playing with your grandniece on the old swing set at the park is enough wealth to last an eternity.

There’s been a big shake-up in the economy. As with any shake-up, there are lots of opportunities to profit. If you have ambitions, this could be your year to break out. When you do, though… keep a little Zen awareness in your brain about what truly counts in life.

You can’t take your FYM with you when you die. But you can’t tell me that the love you generate and receive doesn’t travel to the Other Side.

[Ed. Note: If making more money this year is your top objective, that's great. ETR can help you grow your wealth every step of the way. But keep John Carlton's words in mind - and remember that amassing money isn't the only type of wealth you want to find this year. Whatever you're looking to achieve - business success, personal fulfillment, becoming a better parent or friend - our Success Mentor can help you find it. Learn more about how to get everything you want out of life right here.

John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.]

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Not that I feel all young and vibrant. Naw. More like I get back in touch with how freakin’ clueless I was for the first half of my life.

It was a great childhood, a gruesome adolescence, and even now ghosts from my past haunt every corner of the neighborhood.

Always interesting/spooky/insightful to go back to old stomping grounds. I love my family. And I’m still chewing over how that town shaped who I am today. In fact, it got me pondering long and hard about what “makes” an entrepreneur.

A lot of people – including me – talk about the value of goals in launching any entrepreneurial venture. Figuring out what you truly want … setting a plan in motion to attain it … and following through.

There is, however, a difference between “understanding” goal-setting behavior … and actually DOING it.

So here is what I propose you do this weekend: Give yourself a brutal reality check.

Are you spending enough time figuring out what you really want to do when you grow up?

This is not a trick question. Most rookie goal-setters need to refine their skills at this over a frustrating period of time.

The first goals you set are likely to be things you actually don’t want, after all. There is an art to looking deep into your own heart and soul and coming to grips with what REALLY rocks your boat … and what will continue to make nice waves in your future.

It’s never enough to want to be “rich.” You must spend time thinking about what “rich” means to you. Not to your buddies or your colleagues or anyone else. You.

And if you decide you want to be filthy rich … well, you’ve got to do more than just set that as a goal. Ya gotta work out your plan to get there. With lots of little goals along the path.

If you’ve yet to make dime one online, for example, then a goal of becoming a billionaire online isn’t a goal … it’s a dream. You’ve got to earn your first buck. Then your second. And go on from there.

Your first goal may be to weed through all the info available out there … find the resources you feel you can trust … and dig in.

Those subsequent “dig in” steps – the actual goal-by-goal stepladder that will take you toward your desired destination – cannot be glossed over.

And there are consequences to consider. You may not yet know what awaits you as a cash-generating genius. But you sure can examine how your life starts to change as you go.

Every detail of your life can morph in strange ways when the money starts coming in. Your friends and family may wrestle (often unsuccessfully) with your rise in status, liquidity, and self-confidence.

It won’t always be pretty. But the more you “arm” yourself with insights like these, the less surprised you’ll be when you hit each milestone in your quest for a better life.

You’ll be … uh, what’s the word? … prepared.

Goals are great. But I’ve known too many people who ONLY set goals. They never go after them.

Movement is key. And you’ll feel better about moving toward your goals if you spend some serious time thinking about them.

Play with them. Mold them. Constantly put them through your “What if?” grinder. (What if you can’t do it with your first idea? Will you try again? Try something else? What?)

The “secret ingredient” of great goal setting is to cogitate obsessively on the consequences of actually meeting each goal once you set it. This not only helps you blow through failure … it also creates a “vision” of yourself that keeps your motivation hot.

This requires “forward thinking” … which doesn’t come with the default equipment you’re born with. Ya gotta exercise it.

Without goals, you’re just being taken for a ride by Fate.

Goals do not guarantee anything … except, once you take steps to attain them, you will move SOMEWHERE new in life. And you’ll be doing as much of the driving as possible.

Fate will still screw with you. But you’ll no longer be helpless.

At first, even five minutes of focused “forward thinking” will make you sweat and want to go do something else.

Get over it. Stick with it. Soon, you’ll be an ace at peering into the fog down the line, and you’ll be able to exert more control over events than you ever dreamed possible in your pre-goal-setting days.

This weekend, get your five minutes in. Move through the sweat and avoidance.

Jumpstart something new.

[Ed. Note: Now’s the perfect time to start setting your goals for making money in 2009. Follow Internet marketing expert John Carlton’s advice and take a little time this weekend to practice focused thinking. Once you know where you’re headed, pick up a copy of ETR’s 2008 Info Marketing Bootcamp DVD Library. It will give you dozens of money-making marketing ideas you can use to help accomplish those goals.

John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy. He knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world’s smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

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The most important skill in that book is listening… and then rephrasing what you just heard back to the other guy.

This proves that you listened… and processed what you heard. And it will astonish anyone you do it with… because nobody else is listening at all. They’re just waiting impatiently until they can interrupt to stress their point, regardless of what the other guy has said.

[Ed. Note: John Carlton is an expert copywriter, a pioneer in online marketing, and a teacher of killer sales copy - and he knows marketing inside and out. Discover how to get your hands on the kick-ass secrets of the world's smartest, happiest, and wealthiest marketers.

And be sure to read John's insights, tactics, and advice on copywriting and marketing at his blog.]

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