How to Lead a Low-Stress Life
Issue #2666
- WEALTHY: A golden rule of investing (Guy Cohen)
- HEALTHY: Swine flu has hit – should you panic? (Dr. Lisa Forgione)
- WISE: The Dalai Lama on inner peace
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The true antidote to stress (Robert Ringer)
- How Will screwed up the chance of a lifetime (Paul Lawrence)
- It’s Fun to Know… about anti-poaching technology
- Add “laconic” to your vocabulary
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One Simple Rule Is All You Need to Outperform Wall Street
By Guy Cohen
In the past 12 months, a rookie investor named Richie has increased his money by over 300 percent, trading with a certain method that he learned in approximately one week.
Richie has the distinction of comprehensively outperforming Wall Street, thereby embarrassing its so-called pros. He is a typical example of your ordinary guy doing extraordinary things by using simple rules.
So, from someone who has quadrupled his money from $7,500 to $30,000, here is Richie’s NUMBER ONE GOLDEN RULE:
Take your first profit early and protect your position so your winners don’t turn into losers.
In practical terms, this means you have to set a conservative profit target for your trade, at which point you collect your winnings for half of your position. This is a bit like instant gratification for a trade done well – your “chocolate” if you will. The other half of your trade is left open in case the stock price keeps going in a favorable direction. If it does, you stand to make a windfall profit. If it doesn’t, you’re protected by making sure you exit at the price you opened your trade, thereby protecting that first profit you already banked.
It’s crucial that you follow these rules and don’t get greedy. By not taking your first profit, you risk the stock moving sharply against you and allowing your paper profit to turn into an actual loss. By contrast, if you took all your profit at the first target you could miss out on potentially life-changing windfalls when the stock gallops in your favor. So the solution is to (a) satisfy your cravings for instant gratification (take half your profits at the first profit target) and (b) satisfy your need for “fruit and veg” (keep half your stake open for a windfall profit opportunity).
It’s these windfall profits that enable Richie and others to bank phenomenal returns. And Richie is no one-hit wonder. He only risks 3 percent of his money on any one single trade, meaning his performance spans over 100 trades.
Richie is one of the fortunate few who have discovered a method of trading that’s easy to execute and doesn’t take much time.
“I only trade one pattern in the markets,” says Richie, “which means I only have to focus on one thing and get very good at it. Before I discovered this method, I found trading time consuming and complicated. Now it’s a pleasure and something I look forward to for just minutes per day. And the results speak for themselves.”
If you want to read more about how Richie and other traders are outperforming Wall Street, click here to read their fascinating story.
[Ed. Note: Trading expert and bestselling author Guy Cohen can show you how to generate your own massive returns trading stocks with his new program. Get all the details here. ]
“If your heart has peace, nothing can disturb you.”
The Dalai Lama
Leading a Low-Stress Life by Living Right
The foundation for handling sadness and misfortune, and thus for leading a low-stress life, is what I like to refer to as “living right.” What I mean by that is consistently being conscious of, and vigilant about, trying to make good choices.
We all desire love, understanding, and recognition, but those things aren’t foundational to serenity. The antidote to stress can’t be found through alcohol, pills, sexual pleasure, fame, or wealth either. Millions have tried without conquering their stress, and all too many have lived unnecessarily short lives as a result.
The real key to conquering stress is self-examination – continual, honest self-examination.
Inner conflict causes stress. By contrast, leading a concentric life (i.e., one in which what you do matches up closely with what you believe in and what you say) brings harmony into your world. Harmony is directly related to how often you follow through and do what you know is right. Likewise, harmony is related to how often you demonstrate the self-discipline to refrain from doing that which you know is wrong.
Here are some things to think about that will help you develop the mindset to overcome the stress in your life:
Don’t try to make the world bend to your will.
Trying to get everyone to do things your way goes beyond stress. It’s a frustrating, hopeless exercise that can drive a person mad. I know one wealthy individual, in particular, who long ago lost his ability to think rationally because of his frustration over not being able to force everyone around him to conform to his wishes.
One of the rules of being a good delegator is to tell people precisely what you want them to do, then let them do it their way. President Dwight D. Eisenhower once said that a good executive is someone who, when handed a letter that he knows he could have written better, signs it anyway.
This is an area where you have to be careful, even when dealing with your own children. While it’s the parents’ responsibility to teach and guide their children, wise parents learn early on that their children cannot and will not do everything exactly as their parents want them to. The reality is that your children are different human beings than you are, so it would be unnatural for them to mirror you 100 percent of the time.
Recognize that for every negative, there’s an offsetting positive.
I often refer to a principle that I call the Natural Law of Balance. In pointing out that the universe is in balance, I use such examples as electrons and protons, night and day, male and female, hot and cold, and life and death. The reality is that for every positive, there’s an offsetting negative, and for every negative, there’s an offsetting positive. Balance is the natural order of the universe.
The nice thing about it is that when you understand and believe in universal balance, you automatically look for the offsetting positive in every negative situation. Put another way, think of every negative occurrence as nothing more than an illusion hiding something of value to you. As Richard Bach so eloquently put it in his book Illusions,“What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls a butterfly.”
Control anger and bitterness.
It’s worth repeating Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous words: “For every minute you are angry, you lose 60 seconds of happiness.” The late Jim Blanchard was a great teacher for me in this respect. Jim was one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever known. A paraplegic from the age of 18, he not only built a fortune while working from a wheelchair, he traveled the world extensively and did almost everything “normal” people do – and more.
Jim once told me about a guy who had shafted him out of a lot of money. I asked how he could be so calm about it, and I’ll never forget his response: “I’ve found that it’s disarming to just smile, be polite, and act as though nothing is wrong. Not only do you avoid making enemies by handling things in this manner, you also save yourself a ton of aggravation. All you need to do is avoid having business dealings with that person in the future. And to the extent you are cordial, he’ll probably even sing your praises to everyone – which means you win all the way around.”
I admit that Jim was special when it came to handling people, but his words help me to this day. Whenever I become angry, I give myself time to cool off before saying or doing something I might later regret. For example, if I impulsively write a quick letter in a heated state of mind, I let it sit for a day or two before mailing it. It’s amazing how much of the angry edge you can take off a letter by editing it a couple of days after you wrote it.
One last thing worth thinking about when it comes to achieving peace of mind. In his book Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, Deepak Chopra says that worrying about stress is more damaging than stress itself. Which brings me back to something I said in my last ETR article on this subject: It is not events that shape your world. It is your thought processes.
When you learn to control your thoughts, you establish the boundaries of negative influences upon your life. Remember, no matter how long a list of stress inhibitors you compile, your mental state will always be the most important factor when it comes to achieving peace of mind.
[Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos.
And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to Robert Ringer's one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World. ]
How You Could Make a ZERO-DOWNSIDE $3,120 a Month
What if I told you that your escape to early retirement lies inside a plain white envelope?
Open the envelope, and you’ll discover one simple sentence that could help you make a fast and easy few grand a month.
Listen, American workers are having to put their retirement dreams on hold. HR and compensation consultancy Towers Perrin found that a whopping 59% of workers polled are planning to postpone their retirement.
With the economy on shaky ground, that could be you.
So why not say “YES!” to an extra $3,120 a month?
I know it sounds unbelievable. But you owe it to yourself and your financial future to find out more right here.
When Opportunity Knocks
My good friend “Will” speaks fluent Japanese. He lived in Japan for more than 10 years and knows the culture inside out. When he visits, he supplements his income by giving English lessons to the local people.
I mentioned to him that I know someone who makes a lot of money with instructional videos that teach Brazilians how to speak English. In fact, I’ve been thinking about creating a similar product for Latin Americans. And I pointed out that, with his knowledge of Japanese, he could easily create and market an instructional video for Japanese who want to learn English.
He was interested, so I explained the basics of how to get started. Will is currently loaded with debt (all the more reason to get a side business going). And because he has no money at all to fund this little venture, I offered to be his partner.
I agreed to produce the video at my expense and market it on my website. All Will had to do was appear in the video doing something he knows how to do very well. He wouldn’t have to put up a dime – and within a week’s time, he’d own half of a potentially very profitable business.
Well, it’s been a month since we had that conversation, and nothing has happened. Will has called a few times to ask a few questions… but there always seems to be something preventing him from taking the next step and coming up with an outline for the script.
Listen – you can always find some reason not to push yourself to move forward with a project. Maybe you’re not 100 percent sure it’s going to work… or you have never done anything like it before… or you have other things going on in your life. But if you let those things stand in your way, the opportunity will slip away and be gone for good.
As Michael Masterson says, “Ready, FIRE, Aim.” As soon as you know you’ve got a decent chance to succeed, jump in with both feet. If you wait for the “perfect” time, it will never happen – and you’ll spend the rest of your life wondering “what could have been.”
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is a successful entrepreneur and business author who has started over a dozen profitable enterprises. For more information on his "Dare to Live Your Dreams" program, click right here.
Need an extra dose of motivation? Proven tools for getting a new venture off the ground? Help moving forward with your goals? Success mentor Bob Cox can give you all this and more. Simply sign up for ETR's Total Success Achievement Program, and let Bob help you turn yourself into the person you've always wanted to be. ]
The Truth About Swine Flu
The recent outbreak of swine flu (officially called the H1N1 flu) is causing widespread panic and concern. But, as a physician, I feel there is no need for alarm. By all indications, it is no worse than the seasonal influenza A that usually strikes every winter. I did not see many cases of influenza A or B this winter in the Emergency Room, so perhaps “flu season” was just delayed this year.
People do not normally get swine flu. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has determined that this sub-type of the disease is contagious, though, and is being spread through large airborne droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
In most people, the symptoms – fever, cough, sore throat, and runny nose – are mild. People with other chronic medical conditions and the very young and very old are at risk for complications, such as severe respiratory problems and bacterial pneumonia. However, swine flu is easily treated with anti-viral medications, including Tamiflu and Relenza.
You can prevent swine flu by minimizing your exposure. This includes avoiding travel to places where the highest numbers of cases are being reported. If you need to be around someone who has (or possibly has) swine flu, wear a surgical mask and wash your hands well after your interaction with them. If you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose and then wash your hands.
Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and high-quality protein helps by boosting your immune system, providing the nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that fight infection. And regular aerobic exercise increases the number of circulating white blood cells in your system, which helps stop any developing infection.
As I said, there’s no need to panic. By taking a few simple precautions, you should be fine.
[Ed. Note: Lisa Forgione, MD, is an Emergency Medicine Physician practicing in Wadesboro, North Carolina. She is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine and a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Forgione participated in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine and has received several Physicians Recognition Awards for teaching from the AMA and AAFP.
For more on current health issues, plus plenty of strategies for eating better, getting fit, and living longer, sign up for ETR's FREE natural health newsletter. ]
It’s Fun to Know: Poachers Beware!
Government fish and wildlife officials estimate that for every animal taken by a licensed hunter another is illegally killed or captured for the pet trade. This includes protected species.
To step up enforcement of the law, the anti-poaching taskforces of several states have turned to technology. Robot moose, turkeys, deer, and bears – remote-controlled to move like the real thing – are used as decoys. Officials wait nearby to catch poachers in the act. With their eyewitness testimony, the conviction rate has been much higher.
(Source: National Geographic)
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Word to the Wise: Laconic
“Laconic” (luh-KON-ik) – from the Greek – means expressing a lot by using a few words.
Example (as used by Brenda Wineapple in a New York Times review of Woodsburner by John Pipkin): “‘I once set fire to the woods’ Henry David Thoreau laconically confided to his journal in 1850, six years after he torched approximately 300 acres of Concord forest.”
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Copyright ETR, LLC, 2009
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Robert:
Great article! The first point is probably the key to reducing 80% of a person’s stress…and as long as you keep a sense of humor about it, it really does work.
I just wrote a short article about how music also reduces stress and its effects on aging, posted at http://www.parttimemusician.com/2009/05/11/music-good-for-your-health/. Feel free to check it out if you like.
Please keep articles like this coming! Building wealth is a wonderful thing, but you must be healthy to really enjoy it. All the best!
Mark