The essay told the story of a student who was rebuked by his teacher for saying “He is taller than me.” The teacher sternly told him that the sentence should be “He is taller than I.”

The reader insisted that “me” is correct, or at least not wrong.

Both the reader and my friend wanted an “authoritative source” for my answer. So I turned to my favorite style guide, Garner’s Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner.

Garner begins his discussion of the question with this comment: “Traditionally, grammarians have considered than a conjunction, not a preposition….” Thus, the teacher was correct and the sentence should be “He is taller than I.” A word is implied, though not stated: “… than I am.”

In linguistic circles, this matter has had a surprisingly contentious history. Garner recognizes the contrary position held by a few mavericks who defended the use of “me.” But he concludes, sensibly: “For formal contexts, the traditional usage is generally best.” And he notes that even in informal writing, the alternative can appear awkward.

In the story, the teacher pointed out that no one would say, “He is taller than me am.” That’s a handy device to remember the officially sanctioned way to structure such a sentence.

But if you think that sounds too stuffy, just include the missing word: “He is taller than I am.”

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]

Example (as used by Virginia Heffernan in a New York Times article about collecting physical books in the Internet age): “[Cultural critic Walter] Benjamin is not to be gainsaid. If he says [acquiring but] not reading [all the books in your personal library] can be as sophisticated and European as reading them, I believe him.”

For example, if you just blurt out “Do you know anyone who could use my services?” with all the sensitivity of a masochistic game show host, what answer are you likely to get?

“Ohhh… mmmmm… no.”

Asking the question in that manner puts your client on the spot. It makes her brain lock up. End of conversation.

Instead, ease into it. Use very casual, but courteous, language to make a very specific request. Something like this:

“Referrals are the primary way I grow my business. And since you’re happy with the way this project has turned out, I wonder if I can ask you for the names of three people who might have a need for my services, either now or sometime in the future. Would that be okay?”

Every happy client will say “Certainly.” And then you ask for the three names. You may only get two names, or one, but consider this: If you ask 15 people for three names, and you get an average of two names each time, that’s 30 potentially warm prospects placed right in your lap!

[Ed Note: This great tip comes from Pete Savage's new book, The Wealthy Freelancer: 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle, which Michael Masterson describes as "... chock full of useful, profitable ideas. Written by pros, this book is an excellent tool for anyone who wants better clients and a higher income."

Buy The Wealthy Freelancer this week and you can get up to $300 worth of FREE bonus videos, teleseminar recordings, and ebooks to help you take your freelance or consulting business to the next level. These handpicked instructional materials normally sell for up to $97 each. Pete's giving them away FREE -- but only if you buy The Wealthy Freelancer by Friday. Don't miss this special offer! Click here to grab the book and bonus materials today.]

“Your newsletter truly stands out.”

“This was long due. Just want to thank you for every issue you put together. Your articles are truly classy, informative, and a catalyst to my performance at work and home. No frills and fancies. Just plain thinking and clear speaking.

“I keep sharing your articles with my family and friends and suggest they subscribe too. Will keep doing that.

“In this age of fast information and faster dissipation, your newsletter truly stands out.”

Amritha Alapati
Hyderabad, India

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

Are You Truly Happy?

Life is short. And there is no time like RIGHT NOW to pursue your dreams. But is self-doubt stopping you? Negative thoughts holding you back? Dr. Srikumar Rao has taught thousands to break those barriers. Learn what his lifelong study of human potential can help you achieve…

Example (as used by Howie Jacobson today): “One night, about two weeks before the dance, I purloined the corded phone in my parents’ bedroom, locked myself in my room with a phonebook, and prepared for my first foray into outbound telemarketing.”

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's Words to the Wise CD Library.]

Example (as used by Bob Bly today): “People tell me they bought a product online, but when they called about returning it, the seller became downright opprobrious.”

Here’s an example: A TV commercial claiming that a car was carved from “a single block of steel” was heard by a viewer as “a single glockenspiel.”

Another example: A 2008 news story about newly released Nixon-era tape recordings reported that a transcriber rendered “Mao Zedong” as “Nelson’s tongue.”

Children are natural mondegreeners. Over the years, untold numbers have dutifully intoned “Jose can you see,” “I led the pigeons to the flag,” and “To the republic, for Richard Stans.”

One mondegreen subgenre is especially popular: the misheard rock music lyric. Among the most frequently cited examples:

• “There’s a bathroom on the right” for “There’s a bad moon on the rise.” (Creedence Clearwater Revival)

• “The girl with colitis goes by” for “The girl with kaleidoscope eyes.” (The Beatles)

• “‘Scuse me while I kiss this guy” for “‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky.” (Jimi Hendrix)

Many of these song lyric mondegreens have been collected by a writer named Gavin Edwards and turned into a series of funny books. And numerous websites are devoted to garbled lyrics. One of the more popular — kissthisguy.com — immortalizes the Hendrix blooper.

The word mondegreen is itself a mondegreen, created by American writer Sylvia Wright. Here’s the story.

In a 1954 article in Harper’s magazine, Wright said that, as a child, she misunderstood two lines of a 17th-century Scottish ballad. The lines were: “They ha’e slain the Earl of Moray, / And laid him on the green.” But she heard them as: “They ha’e slain the Earl of Moray, / And Lady Mondegreen.” Noting that “no one else has thought up a word for [such bloopers],” she coined the term mondegreen.

Caution: No official authority exists to authenticate mondegreens. Some are probably invented by pranksters and passed off to the unsuspecting as the genuine article. Laugh at your own risk!

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.]

There are those who think people who talk to themselves are crazy, but nothing could be further from the truth. People who talk to themselves are competitive and they are often trying to better themselves.

I’m constantly talking to myself because when you do this you are coaching yourself. It’s an opportunity to give yourself some constant, immediate, unfiltered feedback. You have access to yourself 24 hours a day. And the price is right.

Years ago, when I was building Mackay Envelope Company, I had a lot of pep talks with myself. I had to, in order to keep my dream of owning my own company alive. I had plenty of ups, many downs, and needed all the encouragement I could get. And it wasn’t always coming from other sources! So I kept telling myself that things would work out… that I could pull this off… that I was the right person for the job. Forty-plus years and a few zillion envelopes later, I’m glad I listened.

In doing some research on this subject, I discovered that “private speech,” as psychologists call it, starts as soon as kids learn to talk, typically between 18-24 months. It serves two purposes: It (1) helps kids practice language skills and (2) allows them to reflect on daytime experiences. (And let’s not forget how it entertains eavesdropping parents.) In elementary school, kids begin to transition to self-talk or intra-personal communication.

“A lot of parents think that it’s socially unacceptable or weird if a child talks to himself,” says Laura Berk, distinguished professor of psychology at Illinois State University and author of Awakening Children’s Minds. “But in fact it’s normal and typical, and we find that children who engage in task-relevant private speech generally perform better over time.”

I agree 1,000 percent.

Unfortunately, as kids become adults, I’m afraid they grow out of talking to themselves. Maybe it’s because society frowns on it. But the self-talk I’m referring to is not a sign of insecurity, insanity, or schizophrenia.

I talk to myself to help me think and map out my thoughts, to provide feedback, and, probably most important of all, to motivate myself.

Jack Canfield, co-creator of the wildly successful “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, tells us that research shows that the average person talks to him/herself thousands of times a day! There’s a downside to this research, however: It is 80 percent negative. Things like what you should have done or said instead of what actually happened, your shortcomings, your fears, and so on. Those negative thoughts have tremendous influence over our behavior. But you can change them.

I advise every one of you to continue to talk to yourself throughout your life. I want you to ask yourself: How am I doing? Am I living up to my commitments? I want you to evaluate yourself after a presentation or after a one-on-one with a potential customer. Tell yourself what you could have done better, what you absolutely aced, what you will do on the next call or with the next customer.

As with a lot of things, you have two choices. You can talk yourself into success or failure, into feeling good or bad, thinking positively or negatively. The choice is yours, but you can train yourself to use self-talk as a positive tool. It is up to you to decide whether the conversation in your head is helpful or hurtful. Remember, you can talk yourself out of negative thoughts.

And if you need more than talk, try a little visualization exercise too. Seeing yourself as successful, seeing where you want to go, seeing how you will get there — add that to your self-talk and you can be invincible.

People talk about the brain as a computer. You need to program your brain to motivate yourself. Turn off the autopilot and take control of what you tell your brain to do.

Attitude is everything. You must build up your confidence and positive energy. Focus on the best thing that can happen, not the worst. Too many people talk themselves out of good ideas. Let your thoughts take you where you want to go.

Mackay’s Moral: Great success can come from small conversation.

[Ed. Note: Harvey Mackay has written five New York Times bestselling books, two of which were named among the top 15 inspirational business books of all time – Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive and Beware The Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt.  His latest book, Use Your Head To Get Your Foot in the Door: Job Search Secrets No One Else Will Tell You, was released on Feb. 18.  Harvey is a nationally syndicated columnist and has been named one of the top five speakers in the world by Toastmasters International.  He is also chairman of the $100 million MackayMitchell Envelope Company, a company he started in 1960.

For two free bonus reports featuring Harvey's most powerful essays on leadership, goal achieving, business success, and much more, go here.]

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

What MBA Students Have That You Didn’t (Until Now…)

An unconventional course has appeared on the curriculum at Columbia University’s prestigious business school… at the London Business School… and at the Haas Business School at the University of California at Berkeley. Says student Brandon Peele, “I attribute 80% of my $120K MBA price tag to this one class. It changed my life in profound ways.” Now you can get all the life-changing benefits of this program… From your home… For less than a thousandth of the tuition. Find out how here…

Example (as used by PJ McClure today): “RB’s absence of purpose was just as fundamental to his old mindset as his lack of gratitude. I’m not just talking about some transcendental concept of purpose, but about a practical, down-to-earth purpose.”

“We found a gate into the pasture and drove out toward where they were sleeping,” he said, lowering his voice. “The first one woke up and ran off, just as we got close. We were trying to be quiet, but it was hard because we were laughing so hard! I think the final count was 15, and I was worn out. Pushing over that many cows is harder than you think!”

That’s right, RB had been cow-tipping. As the son of a dairy farmer, his story was especially interesting to me. That same weekend, I had spent an hour rounding up cows that had escaped through an open gate we never used. My dad called the veterinarian out, because 11 of the cows were obviously hurt and had blood in their milk. Turns out they had broken ribs and had to be removed from production. And for our small operation, those cows represented 14 percent of our producing herd.

More than 20 years later, I’m still blown away when I think about RB and his involvement in this idiotic pastime. How could he have been so shortsighted and selfish? His family owned the most successful dairy operation in the area. As a dairyman, he should have had a greater appreciation for what those big, dumb animals represented… cash and our way of life.

But now, after a decade of studying how people achieve and sustain personal success, I better understand RB’s actions. He lacked two of the critical factors necessary for a successful mindset: gratitude and purpose.

Without gratitude, without an appreciation for what is good and right about our own lives, we are unlikely to be sensitive to how our actions impact others. RB wasn’t grateful for his own lifestyle, so how could he have an appreciation for anyone else’s?

RB found that out the hard way when his family’s multimillion-dollar farm went broke within three years of his taking over. In the aftermath, he realized how self-centered he had been. I know that, because he applied for a job in the business unit I was running at the time. He shared his personal revelation with me and told me that he hoped to make a new start.

After some soul searching, I passed RB and two other candidates on to our company president. RB got the nod. For the next two months, I coached him. And though he was sincere in his attempt to take control of his life, I still needed to continually prod and motivate him to stay on track.

RB’s absence of purpose was just as fundamental to his old mindset as his lack of gratitude. I’m not just talking about some transcendental concept of purpose, but about a practical, down-to-earth purpose. “Why am I doing this and what do I hope to gain?” Answering that question brings focus and meaning to our lives. Without the answer, without a purpose for our actions, good decisions are accidents.

By asking RB some very pointed questions — by digging in with one “Why is that important?” question after another — I finally got him to the core of why he was starting over.

It was an emotional moment. RB actually cried.

The bigger the task or opportunity in front of us, the bigger our purpose for taking it on has to be. RB was uprooting his family, moving to a big city, starting a brand-new career… but hadn’t figured out why.

Before I started coaching him, he assumed he was doing it to make more money. But money, by itself, is never a strong enough motivator. As it turned out, it wasn’t even in RB’s top five of what was really important to him.

With his new found appreciation for life and a supremely powerful purpose for what he was trying to accomplish, RB became my most valuable colleague in less than six months. He made decisions quickly, accurately, and in alignment with what mattered most to the company. Our business unit grew from $600,000 per year to $8,000,000 during his first full year, and he had a big hand in that growth. He took over for me when I left the company, and was eventually recruited by our largest competitor.

At home, he made a similar transition, instilling in his wife and children the same principles I taught him.

One of his children was a 2010 Winter Olympian, and she considers “What my dad taught me about how to think” to be her biggest competitive asset. That makes me proud.

So, what were the keys to RB’s transformation from cow-tipping redneck to poster boy for success?

• A wake-up call. This is usually caused by an event that causes so much pain that you can’t ignore your need for change — but you can generate your own wake-up call with a little personal awareness.

• Gratitude. Being grateful is actually easier when the chips are down. When all of the things we take for granted are disappearing or gone, we give our attention to what is left. The trick is to maintain gratitude for what we have, while we have it.

• Purpose. It seems so fundamental… but how often do we set a goal, take on a task, or engage in an activity without knowing what we want to accomplish? Having purpose is one of the greatest keys to eliminating disappointment and increasing fulfillment in life.

• A mentor. I had the great privilege of being just the right person at just the right time for RB — but there is more at work here than good timing. First make up your mind that you are ready to learn and grow. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.

• Never stop learning. Become a lifelong learner. Maintain a healthy sense of humility and fascination with the world. You never know where your next wonderful lesson may come from.

[Ed. Note: To understand how to achieve and sustain success long-term, check out PJ McClure's groundbreaking coaching program, The Mindset Formula. PJ is also offering 20 free videos about the Six Elements of Personal Choice and how you can build your foundational mindset for lifelong success. Check them out here.

PJ is a veteran of Early to Rise's 5 Days in July Internet Business-Building Conference. Come to this year's 5 Days in July Conference with nothing -- no website, no products, and no experience or technical knowledge -- and you'll leave with your own Internet business. Find out more about this event -- and sign up for updates and the chance to get in at the introductory price when it is launched -- here.]

———————————————Highly Recommended ———————————————

What a Difference 14 Cents a Day Can Make

What is it that you would like to accomplish in 2010?

• Capitalize on a $1.8 TRILLION torrent of cash that most people don’t even realize exists — with transaction costs that can be as low as $1.60 per “play”? 

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• Collect an extra $500 by next weekend, repeatable week after week, by tapping into your hidden “home equity” — even if you don’t own a house (plus, you don’t have to pay this back)?

You could make all of this happen… and much more… beginning just a few minutes from now. And all for an investment of just about 14 cents a day! Find out how here…

“Packed full of powerful business-building advice.”

“I just started reading Changing the Channel a week ago, and from the first chapter on I’ve been bugging my friends to read it too.

“Not only is it packed full of powerful business-building advice and insight, it also reads like a family journal — a journal of the ETR family building the business. Michael Masterson, MaryEllen, Alex Mandossian, Howie Jacobson, and the others are familiar voices from the ETR e-mails, and I greatly enjoyed reading the behind-the-scenes stories of how the ETR team built the business with the very same insights and wisdom now shared in the book.

“Love it to the max!”

Junjie Huang
Singapore

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

“This year, I claimed $134,408 on my income tax return!“

What do a retired engineer, a ballroom dance instructor, and a grocery store clerk have in common? They all radically increased their incomes — while working less — within months of learning a new, easy-to-pick-up skill. Find out what it was here…

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

Why You Don’t Need to Be an Author to Have a Bestselling Book

A Florida martial arts expert “found” a dusty old book. Then he turned it into estimated sales of over $20,000 in one month. With another book, he’s pulled in over $332,250.

A 30-something Internet marketer used the same formula to dig up his own bestseller. The little-known art book he found made $19,453 in just 3 weeks.

These books weren’t first editions. They weren’t famous. They weren’t wildly popular. Best of all? These hidden treasure troves don’t have to cost you a penny.

You could unearth the next bestseller. Find out how right here.