By appealing to your prospects’ pride, you can persuade them to pay more — sometimes much more — than what you could get by appealing to any other emotion.

Let’s talk watches.

For $10, you can buy a handsome digital sports watch that will outperform and outlast virtually any luxury watch made. When these watches were first introduced (over 20 years ago), they were so good and cheap that everyone predicted the demise of the analog timepiece.

Well, it didn’t happen. The new technology revolutionized the watch industry and changed the market forever. But analog watches survived. In fact, according to one estimate, sales of $1,000-plus watches have more than doubled since the 1970s and continue to grow every year.

It’s Not Simply a Matter of Dollars and Cents

Why do people pay thousands for watches when a $29 one works just as well and looks great? (By the way, have you taken an objective look at some of the fancier Rolexes lately? Tack-eeee. Piagets? Like a muscleman in a tutu.) I like the look of the expensive watch I bought in Paris, but I’ve had to have it repaired twice in two years. And boy did they charge me for that!

It’s not reliability. It’s not durability. It’s not precision. And it’s not beauty. So what does all that extra money buy?

In a word, prestige. Slap on an Ebel or a Cartier and you have instant credibility with the fashion police. Thrust out a Rolex-clad wrist and you announce to all those around you, “I have arrived.”

You need not say a word. What could be better than that?

The idea that price equates to quality is a myth. But price does relate to value. In the case of luxury goods, that value is prestige.

If You Understand This, You Can Outsell Your Competition

In Boca Raton, Florida, almost 30 years ago, a very smart entrepreneur bought a large parcel of land west of the Interstate in what was considered to be a very undesirable location. It was unpopulated and miles from the beach. There wasn’t a store or supermarket in sight.

Instead of trying to compete with the frantic homebuilding going on east of the freeway, this savvy marketer spent the money to build an 8-foot stucco wall around the property. In front of the wall, he planted trees, shrubs, and flowers. And he created a very elaborate entrance with pillars, pergolas, and arches. A guardhouse with a uniformed gatekeeper finished it off.

This was Boca Raton’s first “gated community” — and the first development to purposefully sell the promise of exclusivity. While other developers were emphasizing quality and value, our friend was selling prestige. (”Wait until your friends and relatives see this entrance and have to get permission from the guard to get in!”)

The result?

Lots the developer bought for $5,000 sold for $20,000, while lots on the “better” side of town were selling for less than half that amount. Today, those same lots cost a quarter of a million dollars apiece.

The point?

People will be happy to pay more for your product or service if it provides them with prestige. The more prestige you can offer them, the more they will be willing to pay.

You Can Pay Pretty Much as Much as You Want for Anything

When the Miami Heat basketball team opened its new arena years ago, it created a super-premium level of seating. It consisted of about eight seats that were practically under the basket. The price: a mere $50,000. Did they sell out? In about 24 hours.

In any marketplace — from watches to tractors — you will find luxury products selling for extraordinary prices.

Production cars range from $15,000 to more than a quarter of a million. Off-the-rack suits can be purchased for as little as $100 or as much as $5,000. The same holds true for just about everything.

If you make 20 grand a year, you are happy to get your macaroni for 89 cents a pound. If you are a millionaire, you search for handmade pasta at 10 times that price.

When I was first married, I bought used furniture, including a dilapidated couch for $25. When I started making a decent living, I came into the marketplace of $500 sofas. As the years went by and my lifestyle “improved,” I’ve had the pleasure of paying $5,000 and $10,000 for essentially the same thing.

I know $500 sofas still exist, but I can’t find them. They are not in the stores my wife drags me to. What I am confronted with, instead, have fancy names: divans, chesterfields, chaises, and settees. All priced at what I used to pay for my yearly rent.

Prestige Is Expensive

Whatever it is you are selling, there is a way to charge more for it — by throwing in a little prestige.

This may not be something you want to do right now. Now might be the time to grab market share by underpricing aggressively. But sooner or later, you should think about how to apply this very fundamental and powerful marketing strategy.

Remember that people with money want to pay you more — so long as it buys them a little prestige. And by charging them more, you are actually giving them a psychological boost.

Think about it.

P.S. Figuring out the right price to charge for your products is essential. It can make or break your business. In my book Ready, Fire, Aim, I give you dozens of pricing strategies. Some for start-ups… others for businesses that are floundering or stagnating… and even some for businesses that are doing okay but want to do much better. And that’s just one part of this complete guide for entrepreneurs. Check out Ready, Fire, Aim here.

—————————————————–Highly Recommended —————————————————–

Eliminate One of the Major Business-Building Hurdles – Pricing products doesn’t have to be difficult. Bob Bly can give you a quick two-step technique for figuring out exactly what to charge. From low-cost e-books to high-end coaching, let Bob show you how to price for maximum profits…

“Where should I begin?” KJ asked in her e-mail. “What was your tipping point to online success?”

My answer: “The tipping point in Internet marketing success is to stop reading about it and stop talking about it and actually start DOING it.”

I’m not saying you shouldn’t learn something about Internet marketing before you start. I AM saying you do not need to learn EVERYTHING.

It’s simply Michael Masterson’s “Ready, Fire, Aim” principle in action. And it’s especially true in Internet marketing.

There is an oppressive mountain of courses… seminars… coaching programs… DVDs… websites… audio CDs… e-books… reports… and other “how to get rich on the Internet” material out there.

Aspiring Internet marketers quite sensibly buy and study this material in preparation for the day when they’ll start their own business.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority, that day never comes.

They get so caught up in reading and talking about Internet marketing that they forget to actually DO Internet marketing. And so they never graduate beyond the student phase and move into the real world. Their knowledge remains theoretical and never gets applied… and, they never make a dime from it.

To be sure, many people really enjoy reading how-to business books and studying marketing.

If you’re in that group… and all you want is a pleasant, intellectually stimulating hobby to pass the time… well, nothing wrong with that.

But I’m guessing you (like KJ) want something more than just entertainment.

Specifically, you want to start and build a home-based Internet marketing business. And by doing so, earn thousands of dollars a year in extra income.

To do that, you have to stop just studying Internet marketing… and start doing Internet marketing.

Every day, I hear something like this from one of my readers:

“I’m almost ready to start my online business. I just have to finish reading Mr. X’s book and taking Mr. Y’s coaching program.”

My advice to them is to forget about Mr. X and Mr. Y.

More than likely, you’ve already bought and read a ton of material on Internet marketing. At this point, you will learn much more through real-life trial and error by than by buying more education.

KJ told me that another thing holding her back is that she is a “rookie with no capital.”

I have news for KJ.

Everyone who is successful in Internet marketing today was a rookie no farther back than 10 years ago… and many (including me) much more recently.

So being a rookie doesn’t stop you.

As for “no capital” being a disadvantage — it simply isn’t.

Internet marketing is one of the least capital-intensive business opportunities on the planet. You can create and launch your first product for a few hundred dollars.

And if you don’t have even a few hundred dollars, you can start by selling someone else’s product for an affiliate commission.

KJ also told me that she knows “a little bit about everything in Internet marketing.”

It’s good to be so well-versed. But most of us aren’t.

There are dozens of techniques for selling products and services online. But you don’t have to know all of them — or even most of them — to get started.

In fact, you need only three things:

1. People to sell to — either visitors to your website, your e-list of online subscribers, or e-lists owned by joint venture (JV) partners.

2. A product to sell to them — either your own or one produced by a JV partner.

3. A way to sell it to them — usually e-mail marketing messages driving them to a dedicated landing page or micro-site.

So when is the best time to start your new Internet marketing business?

Quite simply, it’s today. And here’s how…

First, make a commitment to work on your new business at least five days a week, at least an hour a day.

Second, make a list of 10 things you need to do to get the business off the ground. (Not including any reading you still think you need to do.)

When your hour to work on your business arrives today, start with item #1 on your list.

Work on item #1 until it is done. If you run out of time, finish it tomorrow. Or the next day.

Then move to item #2. And keep going until all 10 items on your list are done.

By that time, you’ll be in business!

Yes, there’s always more to learn. But you’ll learn it as you go along. And because you’ll be doing Internet marketing and not just reading about it, the lessons will stick better and will be more meaningful.

Not to mention much more profitable.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and marketing expert and the author of more than 70 books. His Internet Cash Generator program is the only one you need to start your own profitable Internet business. Take action today and learn everything from search engine optimization to e-mail list building to copywriting.]

—————————————————–Highly Recommended —————————————————–

$394,510,000 in Useable Techniques You Can Take Home and Profit From

“ETR’s Bootcamp is one of the best experiences we’ve had!” said attendee Lou Betancourt.

At this year’s Bootcamp, you’ll discover:

• Mike Koenigs’s “global reach” strategy that can give you access to over 4.5 billion customers worldwide…

• The “Online Profit Multiplier” that’s helped Clayton Makepeace rake in over $1 billion in sales for his clients…

• Joe Polish’s $5,000-a-day secret to creating practically automatic sales…

And that’s just a small sampling! Our world-class expert panel has compiled $394,510,000 in useable techniques that you can profit from. (And you can put at least one of them into action before you leave!)

It starts in less than two weeks.

Haven’t signed up yet? Do so immediately.

But what solves today’s problem won’t necessarily solve tomorrow’s. We must constantly refine and reinvent to make our products “new.”

Many of today’s Internet entrepreneurs not only believe they can keep selling the same products, they also believe they can keep using the same promotional techniques.

That’s a serious mistake. And it is especially serious now because the market, as I see it, is already going through a sea change.

Having a good understanding of what’s working right now gives you the illusion of being in control. You can answer your colleagues’ questions. You can correct the technical guys… sometimes. And you are happy that the first promotion you wrote two years ago is still bringing in sales. You are the master!

Or so you think.

If you want to be in business 10 years from now, you can’t be complacent. You need to develop a deep understanding of the selling process. You have to know what works and why. What is essential and what is not.

In other words, you have to become an expert in direct marketing.

Rate yourself by answering these questions:

1. What is the most important psychological benefit your product offers?
2. What is the most common mistake other marketers make when they sell something similar?
3. How have your customers’ needs and desires changed in the recent past?
4. What changes have you made to accommodate those changes?

If you answered those questions quickly and confidently, you are doing the right kind of thinking. If you are hesitant about some of them, you’ve got to spend more time with your marketing hat on.

Becoming an expert in direct marketing will teach you how to know your market better than your competitors. It’s that deeper knowledge that will save you. Trust me. I’ve been there.

—————————————————–Highly Recommended —————————————————–

How to Make Fast Profits From Your Own Internet Import Company for Just 48 Cents a Day – Starting in Less Than 24 Hours

Right now, corporate America is getting filthy rich off of you.  And they do it every time you shell out money for almost any item – large or small.   These profits come from the massive mark-ups on imports from places like China, where a widget may cost a buck or two, but sells for $19.95.

But now the tables have turned on the corporations – thanks to the Internet and our global economy. And you can be the one reaping windfall profits from the import business.  Best part:  You can easily run the entire business online, with no employees, no previous experience or knowledge, and with as little as $50 in start-up costs.

All you need to do is simply follow a proven, step-by-step plan that is handed to you with this turnkey system. Learn how you can get started right now!

Something like that exists in the realm of wealth building.

I’m talking about something inside you that can transform you into a money-making megalomaniac (MMM).

As an MMM, you will never:

• have another sluggish moment
• feel confused about what you need to do
• doubt your ability to make money — or hesitate to go after it

I have used this secret (I call it the Junkie’s Secret) to fuel my entrepreneurial ambitions in the past and I use it now to motivate myself to write books and make movies. Today, I pass it on to you…

Consider the Humble Coke Addict

Take an ambitionless, aimless young man in his 20s. He’s a high-school dropout, which means he’s functionally illiterate. Having been deprived of a good family, he is also angry. To make matters worse, he’s no “Good Will Hunting.” He’s dumb as a dishrag.

Let me ask you: What is this young man likely to do for a living?

You guessed right. Nothing.

But if he were to work… if he could be forced to work through some amazingly successful government program… how much money could he make?

You guessed right again. Minimum wage — $7.25 an hour or about $50 a day, before taxes.

Now take that same stupid, lazy kid and give him a crack-cocaine addiction.

How much money could he make then?

You guessed it again. He could make a freaking fortune!

In the 1980s, I lived in what is sometimes referred to as a “transitional” neighborhood in Washington, DC. For several years, I had the opportunity to observe the incessant, almost compulsive, money-making activities of junkies. Day in and day out, these uneducated, drugged-out, degenerates would go out into a very unfriendly world and hustle.

They panhandled. They stole. They ran cons of every possible variety. And they made lots of money.

Many of these jokers, according to an article I read in The Washington Post at the time, were making $300 to $400 a day to feed their habits. (These days, they’d probably have to pull in $600 to $900.)

That made an impression on me. I mean, hell! They were making a lot more than I was. And I had two degrees and three jobs.

An Impressive Accomplishment

The more I thought about it, the more amazing it seemed.

These were total losers whose primary desire in life was to numb themselves into a stupor. Yet they were making more money on the streets of DC than anyone I knew who worked in a fancy office.

I had a good idea of how junkies earned their money. But I couldn’t for the life of me figure out where they got the emotional wherewithal to do it.

So I decided to talk to some of them.

It wasn’t hard. A dollar would buy me five minutes of conversation. A dollar and a cup of coffee would buy me 15.

I eventually befriended three of the neighborhood junkies. An old man named George who had once worked for the post office. A young man named Dean who had never worked a legitimate day in his life. And a mother of three named Desiree. (At least that’s what they told me their names were.)

They all “worked” on 14th Street, the main corridor for hookers and drug addicts.

Before I went to work every day, I would walk over to 14th Street and spend a few minutes with George, Dean, or Desiree.

Gradually, I figured out their money-making secret. It was a combination of three very old-fashioned and virtuous habits.

Three Habits of Highly Successful Crackheads

George, Dean, and Desiree worked even longer hours than I did. Back then, I was working 12 hours a day. These three worked every waking hour — 18 to 20 hours a day.

Each of them worked with a single-minded purpose. Although there were moments when they nodded off, 90 percent of their conscious time was focused on getting the money they needed for the next fix. I had a dozen interests and alternate ambitions. They had only one objective.

But the most important difference between them and me had to do with something deeper. Their addiction was much stronger than my ambition. They would do WHATEVER IT TOOK to achieve their goal.

If you study the lives of America’s most successful people, you will discover that they too:

1. worked long and hard
2. stayed focused on one goal
3. made sacrifices to achieve that goal

Read the biography of Andrew Carnegie and you will see these three habits repeated throughout his life. Watch a documentary about Warren Buffett or Bill Gates and you will find the same thing.

It’s something to think about, isn’t it?

Working long and hard is important to success. Having determination and focus is important too. But to achieve really big goals… to climb into a whole new category… you have to do more. You have to have the willingness to do whatever it takes, including things that are risky, uncomfortable, new, worrisome, or even dangerous.

Junkies don’t get the respect they deserve.

Imagine what the addict’s life is like. You wake up on a park bench smelling of urine. You stretch, rub the sores on your face and forearms, and say to yourself, “Up and at ‘em, boy. Today you are going to go out there — to that cold and unfriendly city — and get your hands on six hundred bucks.”

Could you do that? Day after day? I couldn’t. Not unless I was addicted to something.

How to Tap Into the Unappreciated Power of the Junkie

You can have the junkie’s gift. And you don’t even have to smoke crack to get it.

Somewhere inside you a fire is smoldering — the desire to break away from the past, start your own business, and take charge of your future. If you leave this fire alone, it will eventually burn itself out. Your life will slip by meaninglessly. When you die, your dreams will die too.

But if you fan the flames of your desire, the fire will grow. And that will turn you into a money-making megalomaniac.

As a wealth-building entrepreneur, you will be unstoppable!

It is damn hard to get a new venture going. It is difficult because it is different. And because it requires you to go beyond your “comfort zone.”

Take a look at your “to-do” list for today. There is probably something on it that has something to do with that business you’ve been wanting to start. You know it is important to your future. You have highlighted it. Yet you are reluctant to do it.

But if you want to achieve more than you have ever achieved, you have to be willing to do more than you have ever done before. You need to commit yourself, put in the hours, stay focused — and, yes, do those unpleasant but very necessary tasks.

So do this right now. Pretend for a moment that you ARE a junkie and that you absolutely, positively must achieve that goal.

Failure is not an option.

Set aside your qualms. Ignore your fears.

What is it that you would do to succeed?

Got it? Good.

Now ask yourself, “Why am I not doing that?”

Do you have a moral objection to what needs to be done? A fear of failing?

Face your feelings squarely. Think about how they are blocking you. If you do that fully and honestly today, you will have accomplished a lot.

P.S. The “Junkie’s Secret” is one of those things you won’t pick up in business school. But it is an essential trait of any entrepreneur who wants to have a business that brings in life-changing profits. For more of my contrarian, “off the cuff” secrets, come to Info-Marketing Bootcamp this November. I don’t lecture. I share with my fellow success-seekers the tricks I’ve picked up over my four-decade career. Bootcamp is coming up in just a few weeks and seats are going fast…

———————————————-Highly Recommended —————————————————

Early to Rise’s $500,000+ Gamble

We’re betting on your success at our Information Marketing Bootcamp this November. In fact, “we’ll see you and we’ll raise you”!

You see, we’ve put the 12 gurus we’ve invited “on the spot.” If you don’t learn from them how you could make at least your first $10,000 in revenue with your online business by May 2010… we’re going to give you back your entrance fee AND give you another $1,000 for your trouble.

Check out all the details on your “sure thing” here.

—————————————————————————————————————————

“Do you want to make a lot of money?” I asked him.

“That’s the sad thing,” he said, smiling wryly. “I do.”

“Well then,” I said, “why don’t you forget about your attitude and focus on your behavior?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why don’t you stop thinking about why you can’t make a lot of money and do something to make it happen?”

“Such as?”

I handed him a piece of paper. “Start by writing down how much you’d like to be worth in 20 years.”

He did it.

“Now,” I said, “let’s talk about how you can build up to that number, year by year.”

By the end of an hour, he had net worth goals for 20 years running. His target for the current year was very achievable. He was motivated.

“This is great!” he said.

“How do you feel about it?”

“I think I can do it.”

Attitude can change behavior, but it is much more common for behavior to change attitude.

To put it another way: Getting wealthy doesn’t depend as much on whether you are a positive person or a negative one as it does on the specific actions you take, or fail to take.

There is so much misinformation about this subject in the self-help industry.

The wannabes out there want to believe there is a mental switch inside them that, if they could find it, would instantly transform them from couch potatoes to human money machines.

“The switch is somewhere in your brain,” they argue. “Find it, trip it, and the rest is easy.”

Yes, it is easy to become wealthy… if you follow the practical, action-oriented wealth-building advice we give you in ETR.

But if the only thing you are willing to do is think about getting richer, you are going to be disappointed.

You may not like what I’m saying, but you need to hear it. Please trust me on that.

I am not saying that I don’t believe in positive thinking. I absolutely believe that it helps in many ways.

When I brush my teeth every morning, I smile at myself in the mirror at least a dozen times to give me energy and put me in a productive mood. And when I’m going to give a speech, participate in a wrestling match, or make a presentation, I use visualization to mentally prepare myself to do well.

But those things are not going to turn me into a money magnet.

To develop the power to create wealth, you need to take certain very specific wealth-building actions. And each time you complete one of those actions, you will feel a deep change inside you.

That’s what you really need — a change in your wealth-building habits and behaviors.

Keep reading ETR and you’ll find out what those habits and behaviors are.

———————————————- Highly Recommended —————————————————-

How Would You Like to Pull the Handle on a $942,300 Jackpot? – Investing expert Russell McDougal has developed a strategy to take an ordinary rise in two common resources… And turn it into an extraordinary fortune. (He turned $6,300 into a $167,460 windfall!) Now he wants you to see what kinds of gains are possible for YOU.

—————————————————————————————————————————

My wife Karen and I had both tried to talk her out of it. But she wouldn’t be dissuaded.

She wanted to jump.

Of course, she was attached to a bungee cord, one that “exceeded Australian specifications” (whatever that means). And Whistler Bungee — an hour north of Vancouver and just below Whistler’s 2010 Olympic Village — has been in business for seven years with a perfect safety record.

Still … I got the willies just looking down through the 300-foot span as we crossed it. This was a murderous height. It would have taken at least three burly men to get me out on that platform.

“You don’t have any problem with this?” I asked a member of Canada’s Olympic ski team who was suiting up for a jump as we arrived.

“Not at all,” she laughed. “What could go wrong?”

“That’s the difference between you and me,” I said. “I have more imagination than that.”

Of course, I knew my fear was emotional not rational, otherwise I would never have let my daughter jump.

That she wanted to jump still astonishes me. After all, this is the same girl who insists on cracking her bedroom door at night so she can see the light in the hallway.

We hate to admit it but most of our fears are irrational. Everyday life just isn’t that dangerous anymore. Technology, engineering, and modern medicine have eliminated most of the sharp edges.

Yet we can’t escape our past. Our fears evolved as a basic survival mechanism. They arise in response to perceived threats, triggering a “fight or flight” response.

For most of us, it’s flight (or avoidance). And studies show our fears are fairly universal: spiders, snakes, heights (… yo!), public speaking, and death.

As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Does that sound right? This means at a funeral most people would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.”

Our greatest inhibitor, of course, is fear of failure.

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Consciously or not, it can paralyze us, keeping us from applying for the promotion, taking the risk, meeting the girl, asking for the order, experiencing the unknown.

It’s always easier to stick with the safe, the comfortable, the familiar.

Yet every time we choose safety we reinforce fear. We nurture it. Only when we overcome this debilitating emotion do we really begin to live.

“He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life,” said Ralph Waldo Emerson.

How is fear conquered? By doing what we think we can’t do, again and again.

When I was young, for example, public speaking made me nervous. Today, I relish the opportunity.

After a particularly turbulent flight 30 years ago, I was a white-knuckle flier. Now, I can’t keep track of all my frequent flier miles.

Fear is the great barrier to success. It gives small things big shadows. It is the inverse of faith, trapping us between regret for the past and anxiety about the future.

Yet few things warrant the fear we grant them. We run not from genuine threats but imaginary bogeymen.

Perhaps that’s why philosopher Bertrand Russell said, “To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.”

And the rewards are many. Waiting for you on the other side of fear is freedom. Freedom from anxiety. Freedom from regret. Freedom from a life unlived.

Fortune, it turns out, really does favor the brave.

As Marianne Williamson wrote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? … We are all meant to shine, as children do. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Does this mean — like Hannah — that I’m willing to embrace “Whistler’s Ultimate Adrenaline Rush” and plummet toward the Cheakamus River?

That depends. How many burly guys have you got?

[Ed. Note: Alex Green, author of The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters, is the editor of "Spiritual Wealth," a free e-letter about the pursuit of the good life.]

— Highly Recommended—

They’re Concealing $28,250,000 in Closely-Guarded Money-Making Secrets…

Mark your calendar. Starting September 10, MaryEllen will be interviewing three men who can make you wealthy:

• Rich Schefren – skilled entrepreneur and Internet marketing consultant. He knows the one thing EVERY marketer does wrong. This secret drove one client’s sales from $10,000 a month to $12 MILLION a year!
• Mike Koenigs. He heads up a multi-million dollar company. He’s created 300+ websites and over 40 products. Plus, he has access to 4.5 BILLION potential customers. (And not in the way you think…)
• Clayton Makepeace. He’s heralded as the world’s highest paid copywriter. His marketing strategies and sales copy have brought in over $1.5 billion in sales for his clients.

You’d pay thousands of dollars to get their advice normally. Now you can have it for free. Join MaryEllen while she grills them by attending our “Hot-Seat” teleseminar series. Reserve your spot now.

—

More from Masterson…

Bankruptcy Is a Good Thing

Equifax reports that small-business bankruptcies are up 81 percent over last year.

Now don’t get nervous if you have a small business or are thinking of starting one. This is a good thing. For several reasons:

• Your competition is reduced.
• The businesses that are left are strong. They make better joint venture partners for you.
• It’s the perfect motivation to look at your business critically. Is it in danger?
• Vendors have fewer customers. So you can make better deals.

 How else can you take advantage of this information?

If you have a business, don’t cut marketing costs. As MaryEllen Tribby and I pointed out in our book Changing the Channel, you should market smarter. Add low-cost channels appropriate to your niche. If you market primarily through e-mail, try direct mail. If you’ve never explored social media, give it a shot.

If you want to start a business, look at the remaining companies. Look at their products, their advertising, etc. If they’re still around, they’re doing something right. Model yourself on them … with your own twist, of course.

Stop Obsessing Over What You Eat

My diet is made up of mostly healthful foods: grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, wild-caught fresh fish, vegetables and occasional fruits, whole grains, and the like.

But, from time to time, I do indulge in foods that aren’t “good for me.”

Total Health Breakthroughs‘ Dr. Sears says I shouldn’t worry.

He says a healthy attitude toward food includes not depriving yourself of your favorites once in a while. Don’t obsess or feel guilty about the things you’re not supposed to eat. Doing that makes it more likely that you’ll overindulge. Instead, when you think about food, focus on the good stuff you do eat. You’ll enjoy your food more, eat less, and feel more satisfied.

— Highly Recommended—

The Simple Six-Figure Marketing Strategy – Paul Lawrence spent less than $100 to start his first business. He used just one marketing plan. Soon he had so many customers he had to hire someone to do the work. He went after new business. He used his marketing plan again. Almost instantly, he was making $4,000 a month. The people he sold the business to (so he could finish college — paid for by the sale, by the way) used the same plan. They are making $100,000 a year. Read more…

I felt confident I could do it. But, whenever possible, I ask for the runway that makes landing my plane as safe and easy as possible.

I called the controller and made the request, but it was denied. So I went ahead and landed on the other runway.

Before I did, though, I called the controller again and asked for a “time check.” That told him I was not happy and would be speaking with a supervisor. Among other things, the “time check” provides the supervisor with a way to review on-air exchanges between a particular controller and pilot. (Those exchanges are recorded, and I know to be careful to say only what can be used for me and not against me.)

My gut feeling was that the controller didn’t want to do the work involved in switching runways for me. It was late afternoon, right around time for a shift change. But since I couldn’t be sure of his reason for denying my request, I decided to hold off judgment until I had spoken with his supervisor. The supervisor called me the next morning. Long story short, I got an apology from the controller on duty for not having given me the okay. More important, I established a relationship with the supervisor — an articulate, intelligent, savvy guy. He recognized the unique qualities of my plane, and understood why I preferred to land with its nose into the wind. He also agreed with me that a pilot coming in to his home airport should get special consideration.

Had I let my emotions get in the way, I would not have achieved this larger goal.

I didn’t radio the control tower and yell, “You lazy sons of guns, get off your duffs and make it happen!” Alienating controllers, even if I am in the right, diminishes my stature as being reasonable and in control. (A must for pilots.)

By using my philosophy of “If you don’t know, don’t say,” I set myself up for success!

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How to Keep the Cash Flowing INTO Your Bank Account

Instead of spending money 4, 5, even 10 times a day… imagine if you could start collecting cash that often.

If you could receive $300,000+ to help further your dreams…

Or pick up a $75,000 “bonus” to buy a home or make home improvements…

Or even snag $1,200 a month to get a higher paying job (This is not a loan!)…

Can you say, “Ka-Ching!”???

Now, Early to Rise presents hundreds of ways you could stockpile valuable resources… one “Jumbo Ka-Ching Reward” at a time!

Get all the cash-generating details right here.

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It works the same in business and your personal life. Don’t fly off the handle and “push their buttons.” Wait for the appropriate time and opportunity to take control.

Escalating emotions are goal-killers. It pays in both the short and long run never to allow it to happen. You will only drain your energy and go off your goal track.

Here are a few techniques that will help you stay calm in any tense situation:

• When the other person is upset with you, ask questions. Ask, “Can you tell me why you are upset?” or “What can I do to fix this?” This sets up a bridge to resolution.
• When something is bothering you, let your emotions speak. Don’t expect others to read your mind. Give your distress a voice instead of holding it in and allowing it to fester and intensify. Say, “I am very apprehensive about this” or “I am becoming annoyed and angry.”
• Make resolving the problem a team effort. Instead of putting yourself and the other person on opposite sides, say, “We can work this out.”

These tactics become easier the more you use them.

We like to think of ourselves as mature adults, yet maturity goes out the window — along with self-control — when a person or problem “pushes our buttons.”

Hold on to your goal power by staying levelheaded and centered. Ask questions. Give voice to your emotions. And promote a “We are in this together” atmosphere. Your goals will not only stay on track … they will advance much faster.

P.S. Keeping my emotions in check and waiting for the right opportunity to take control of a situation is one of the success skills I learned while working with some of the richest and most successful men in the world. These men weren’t born wealthy. Yet, they learned the formula for achieving all they wanted out of life. I reveal dozens more of their unexpected, effective, and easy-to-implement success “secrets” in my program, The Billionaire in You.

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The Perfect Business Literally in Your Pocket Flick through a step-by-step set of simple 1-2-3 instructions. Follow them (should take about 20 minutes). The next conversation you have, simply say the “Magic Words” per the instructions. The next thing you know, your bank account could start filling up. Read more…

More from Masterson…

How Ordinary Guarantees Can Be Extraordinarily Effective

I saw an advert in a NYC cab for a six-week “combat training” course. The program was run by a woman. She wore fatigues. So did her students. Maybe not entirely unique. Still, it distinguished her from the crowd.

What was more interesting was that she offered a 100 percent money-back guarantee.

A money-back guarantee is standard for most products and services. But it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen any guarantees for fitness or martial arts programs. They may offer a few free introductory lessons. But once you sign up, there are no refunds.

I suggested to several of my fitness and martial arts instructor friends that they try it. About half pointed out that they have fixed overheads and have to struggle to make a profit. They said they were afraid people would take advantage of them.

I don’t think they would. It’s tough to ask for a refund face-to-face if you know you’ve been getting good service. If I had to guess, I’d say the bad debt would be less than five percent.

That’s a small price to pay for a considerably higher rate of response to your ads.

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Making Money Online Is Not Complicated Most Internet marketing programs sound exciting at first. But soon you are totally confused and/or overwhelmed with complex terms and strategies. But the best way to make money online is actually the simplest. People predominantly use the Internet to check their email. And you can leverage that fact to make as much as $250 per day. Read more…

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Energy and Healing

Eastern medicine is old, very old. Some ancient Indian therapies date back almost 6,000 years.

Some people I know seem to feel that any system that has survived for that long must be right. Others believe that only the latest scientific breakthroughs are worthwhile.

My own position is in between. I don’t believe in any cure that has the word mystical attached to it. But I do believe human beings are clustered energy systems. Therefore, the old therapies that sought to unlock or redirect energy might have some validity.

I tried acupuncture once. I experienced a noticeable physical reaction from it. I regularly get deep tissue massage. I can feel the energy effect in that. I also practice yoga, perhaps the oldest energy-based exercise in the world.

As I said, I don’t believe these therapies are mystical. But I do think they stimulate blood and oxygen flow throughout the body. In blood and oxygen there is energy.

One 2,000-year-old energy therapy – something called Chakra exercises – was recommended to me by our own Paul Lawrence. He has been experimenting with it for about a month. He’s excited about the results. To read about Paul’s experience, click here.

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Stop Playing Standard Stock Market Games Spend just 30 minutes a day in front of your computer – using “tactical surgical strikes” to hit the market where it hurts. You could be making $5,000, $10,000, or more per week – whether the market falls, soars, or goes sideways. Read more…

What is it? Leverage.

When people order in pizza for dinner, they are leveraging the resources of a local pizza place – its staff and food, as well as its delivery service. When parents with young kids enjoy an evening out, they are leveraging the time of a babysitter. When a businessman hops into a taxi, he is leveraging the driving skills of the cabbie.

Here’s how you can leverage other people’s resources, time, and skills to increase your success in business:

• Think of the work you do. Then think of ways that others already support you in getting that work done. Does your secretary help you get to meetings on time? Does a colleague with a flair for math help you balance your expense account at the end of the month? Is there more that these people could do to help you?

• Think of tasks you do that you are not particularly good at – perhaps PowerPoint presentations or writing memos. Can these tasks be done by others?

• Find a way to get help with just one task from just one person. Maybe ask your company’s graphic designer to help you beautify your product presentation… or forward your next memo to a staff writer for some editing and polish.

Start with one way to leverage someone else’s help. Measure your success. Celebrate your success.

Then find one more way… then another… and then another.

That’s what I do. That’s what every successful person does. Now, you are doing it too!

[Ed. Note: A well-known international speaker, Raymond Aaron is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestseller Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul. Get two free chapters of his latest book - Double Your Income Doing What You Love - at RaymondAaron.com.

Ready for even more success techniques for achieving your goals? Check out Early to Rise's Total Success Achievement program to get your plan of action and start changing your life today.]

“The problem with making more money in America,” he told me, “is that every time you make an extra dollar you spend two.”

How true. The first couch I bought cost $400. I remember thinking, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” And it never did. The couches I buy today give me no more pleasure, comfort, or space. Yet they cost much more.

What happened? The truth is that my own success has victimized me. In earning more, I allowed myself to spend more on things like couches. If I had gotten more out of it, that would have been fine. But I didn’t.

Why do we do it? Why do we feel the need to spend more when we make more?

Here’s what I think. When you are poor, you are surrounded by things you think you would like to own but cannot afford to buy. After a while, you equate the feeling of unsatisfied desire with poverty. And when desiring begins to feel poor, having seems like it will make you feel rich.

Master wealth builders understand a secret that it took me years to learn: You have to keep your spending down while your income increases.

[Ed. Note: This article is an excerpt from Michael Masterson's bestselling book, Automatic Wealth: The 6 Steps to Financial Independence. For more insights into becoming - and staying - wealthy, check it out today.]

You wake up in the morning with a great moneymaking idea. All you need is a website and some traffic and you’re onto a surefire winner. 

You switch on your computer and tap away at the keyboard for a couple of hours. Lunchtime arrives, and you’ve already got yourself a great looking website. 

Another 10 minutes is spent choosing a domain name and signing up for a hosting account. 

Just before you take a break to eat your lunch, you press the “publish” button and your brand-new website is live on the Internet, ready for business. 

How great would that be? 

From idea to reality in less than four hours. 

This may sound too good to be true, but for many people it’s far from a dream. It is happening every day of the week, all around the globe. 

“But…” I can hear you saying “… I’m just not technically minded.” 

Before you let that put you off, let me introduce you to Sarah, a 79-year-old lady who recently posted the following message on the XSitePro Messageboard: 

“At 79 years of age I was beginning to despair. Webmasters are young, highly intelligent, creative, irresponsible, indispensable human beings to people like me, who, 29 years into retirement, enjoys owning websites and receiving cheques every month. Fortunately, a week ago, I found this software, bought it, and have already built 15, or so, of my sites. Absolutely, stunningly, astonishingly brilliant for someone who does not even know what code looks like.” 

Isn’t that amazing? 

Now, if Sarah’s story hasn’t inspired you to get going, let me debunk four common myths that put many people off building their own websites. 

Myth #1 – You need to be a designer. 

Definitely not true! 

Most great website “designers” are not designers at all – they’re just good at copying what works. They take a look at what other successful websites are doing and then use a similar layout, the same fonts, etc. In other words, they don’t reinvent the wheel, they leverage what has been proved to work.

If you can look at other websites in your chosen niche you can do exactly the same. 

Myth #2 – You need years of training. 

Building websites doesn’t require the learned mind of a lawyer or doctor. It doesn’t need you to be as hands-on practical as a plumber or electrician, either. You don’t need to go to college for four years to learn the requisite skills to build a website. You don’t even need to go part-time.

Any person of reasonable intelligence can learn to build great looking websites in less than a week, if they have the desire and a willingness to learn a new skill.

Myth #3 – You need to outsource the site’s creation. 

There are two important points to remember when it comes to outsourcing.

First, it is very easy to be taken advantage of when you’re outsourcing something you know absolutely nothing about. I can’t count the number of times that people have told me they’d paid several hundred dollars (sometimes even thousands) for a five-page website that shouldn’t have taken more than a couple of hours to build. And that just seems like too high an hourly rate to me.

Second, even if you do choose to outsource your website building, in the long run it is essential for you to have the skills necessary to make minor updates yourself. Otherwise you’ll end up paying out each and every time you need to change anything. Lots of people who outsource forget this, and then begrudge having to keep spending money every time they want to make a change.

It reminds me of an age-old Chinese proverb: ”Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” 

And with the skills so readily accessible, for such a small investment of time and money, it seems crazy to tackle your website creation and management in any other way than by learning to do it yourself.

Myth #4 – You need to be technically inclined. 

This is probably the number one reason why many people are scared to build their own websites. But don’t let it put you off. Remember, if 79-year-old Sarah can master building websites, you can too!

Agreed, some people are more technically inclined than others. But if you can follow basic instructions, you can build your own websites – and that’s a fact. Yes, it may take a little practice. But it is a wonderful new skill to acquire, and it is one that you will have for the rest of your life.

My hope is that now that I’ve busted those four common myths, you’ll have the confidence to take a big step forward and grab yourself a big chunk of that virtual real estate in the increasingly online world in which we live.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention… one of the most important reasons why building a website is a great skill to learn is that it’s FUN too! Just imagine how exciting it would be to be able to build a site for your son’s Little League team… or a site about the sponsored walk you’re about to embark upon… or a site about the history of your family… or about your favorite hobby.

Building websites isn’t just about business, it’s a life skill that will benefit you in oh so many ways.

[Ed. Note: Online marketing expert Paul Smithson is the creator of the XSitePro website-building software.

This July, Paul and ETR's team of Internet marketers will be teaching an elite group of ETR readers how to build their own online businesses from scratch. You will leave the conference with your own fully functioning Internet business - website and all. We've already sold over half the spots we have available, so if you're interested in attending, learn more right now.]

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