Stretch Away Back Pain
Issue #2031
- WEALTHY: 2 hours a day for a whole new career? (Michael Masterson)
- HEALTHY: 3 simple stretches that can help prevent pain (Paul Lawrence)
- WISE: Aristotle on pleasure and pain
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Expert advice to keep romance from ruining your career (Suzanne Richardson)
- An insight into Amazon’s success
- It’s Good to Know… about blood
- Add "brackish" to your vocabulary
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- Patrick Coffey
Dear Michael Masterson: "Is it genuinely possible to write copy well enough to make a decent living?"
"My background is as a tour bus driver/commentator. And I have pondered AWAI’s courses on travel writing and photography. My gut tells me that learning copywriting first would enhance the skills of a travel writer.
"At 59, I must make a career change, for health reasons if nothing else. My question is: Is it genuinely possible, with some effort, to write copy well enough to make a decent living?"
Grant Goodwin
Victoria, British Columbia
Dear Grant,
Your question is easy to answer. And the answer is YES!
It takes about 1,000 hours to learn any complicated skill, including copywriting. If you have a good program to follow (AWAI’s is the best ) and a mentor (AWAI recommends Accelerated Training Services, where you’ll be coached by a working pro), you can reduce that time commitment considerably – maybe by 25 percent to 35 percent.
The question I have for you is this: Can you commit 650 to 750 hours to this worthwhile goal?
Don’t give me an impulsive "yes." Think about it. Take out a calendar and figure out exactly how many hours per week you can spend on your transformation. To accomplish this goal without quitting your job, you will need to make sacrifices. You will need to wake up earlier, put in some extra time in the morning, and – definitely – trade in some of your leisure time for learning time.
Don’t quit your job now. I don’t like it when people proudly announce that they’ve quit their job to pursue a new profession. I am a chicken entrepreneur – always have been. I prefer keeping one stream of income going while I secure another.
If you can make the commitment to do it, you can do it. Your age won’t stop you. I have personally mentored at least three middle-aged people who became successful, high-income copywriters. And Katie Yeakle at AWAI tells me that they have people of all ages… from all walks of life… in their program.
Your experience as a tour bus driver/commentator may help you as a copywriter. The art (and science) of copywriting is about understanding (and caring about) people. – and you have already mastered the art of engaging an audience’s interest. You can use that when you write your sales copy.
There is a huge and growing demand for good copywriters. The Internet revolution is fueling it. The good news about writing for the Internet is that it is essentially the same as writing any other kind of copy, except maybe easier. (This is a big subject – too big to go into here. Just trust me.) Once you have acquired the basic skills, you can find work locally, nationally, or internationally. AWAI has several very good programs that can help you with that.
How much you make as a copywriter will depend on the kind of clients you acquire. Smaller, local businesses pay less but are reliable and often fun to work with. If you develop that kind of clientele, you’ll probably be able to charge between $25 and $75 an hour. Middle-sized, regional businesses (in the $1 million to $10 million range) will usually have advertising budgets that can pay you more – $50 to $100 an hour. And bigger, national/international companies are happy to pay between $10,000 and $25,000 for a full-blown promotional package. Depending on the copywriter’s skill and experience, that can equate to hourly compensation in the $100 to $500 an hour range.
If you are currently earning most of your income in the travel industry, chances are you are living on a modest-to-medium income. That will work in your favor during your transition to a career in copywriting, because it will take less time and effort to equal or exceed what you are making now.
So that’s my best advice to you. Make a commitment. Set aside the time. Follow a good educational program. And, if you can, get yourself a mentor. If you work hard and devote just two hours a day to this important, life-changing goal, you’ll be ready to get behind the wheel of your new career by this time next year.
You can do it. Go for it.
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: Have a question for Michael Masterson? Write to him at AskMichael@ETRfeedback.com.]
"The aim of the wise is not to secure pleasure, but to avoid pain."
Aristotle
Stretch Away Back Pain
By Paul Lawrence
My friend Stuart was pretty glum when we met for lunch a few weeks ago. I suspected his bad mood had something to do with his recent birthday. (He’d just turned 40.) So I asked him if that’s what was bothering him. He said it wasn’t so much the fact that he was getting older, but that he just couldn’t do a lot of the things he used to enjoy. Apparently, his lower back had been giving him some trouble.
When I heard that, I smiled. I knew exactly what he was talking about… and I knew I could help him.
Only a little more than a year ago, I’d been in the same predicament. My back was always killing me. I got steroid injections, I took anti-inflammatory medicine… you name it and I probably tried it. The injections helped a little, but two weeks later the pain would return. Then I discovered something that helped me reclaim my life.
I told Stuart about Jamie Knee, a physical trainer. When I started seeing her, she explained to me that almost everyone can substantially benefit from stretching the muscles in the back and around the spine. Tight muscles can cause spasms that can lead to inflammation in the joints and tendons. Pain is frequently the result.
Jamie also explained that looser muscles allow a wider range of motion. Loose muscles in the hamstrings, for instance, allow greater movement of the pelvis – and when movement of the pelvis is restricted, it can be a source of considerable discomfort in the lower back.
Yogalation – the unique stretching system Jamie developed – was created when she observed that many of her exercise clients experienced lower-back pain. She incorporated some of what she felt were the best stretches from yoga and customized them with isolation movements that focused on the soft tissues.
I really liked Yogalation the first time I gave it a try. Now, I’m not going to claim that I instantly had no more pain. But I did feel an improvement right away, and the progress continued. The bottom line result is that prior to using Jamie’s system I was getting steroid injections every 90 days (as often as my doctor would allow it). But now, a year and a half later, I haven’t needed a single shot.
I told all this to Stuart. I also told him that I had done a little research and found that a large percentage of medical professionals are in agreement with the benefits of stretching. For instance, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons says, "You can minimize problems with back pain with exercises that make the muscles in your back, stomach, hips, and thighs strong and flexible." I’ve also read studies showing that stretching can even help reduce cholesterol and reverse hardening of the arteries.
When I told Stuart that I was so impressed with Jamie’s system that I helped her produce a video program so other people could benefit from it, I had his complete attention. He was ready to try it, and followed me back to my office to get a copy.
I got a call from Stuart yesterday, and he tells me he’s already started to see improvement in his lower-back pain. In fact, he felt good enough to join a gym and resume a full workout program.
Here are a few of the Yogalation exercises Jamie developed to help counteract lower-back pain:
- The Spinal Twist
Start in a sitting position with both legs straight in front of you and hands on the floor. Bend one leg at the knee and cross it over the other (so the ankle of your bent leg touches the thigh of your resting leg). Then lean to one side as far as you can without lifting your hands from the floor. Hold the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds, then stretch to the other side.
Many traditional stretching programs teach you to lean forward to stretch. But Jamie has her clients lean to the side or twist, which isolates the lower back and stretches it without tension.
- The Pretzel
Lie on your back and bring your knees up to your chest to stretch your back. Without putting your feet on the floor, keep one leg pulled up to your chest and cross the other leg over the one that is pulled to your chest (so your ankle is touching your shin just below your knee). Hold the stretch for 10 to 15 seconds and switch legs.
Many people teach a stretch that merely brings the legs to the chest while you’re lying on your back. But because Jamie has you cross one leg over the other, a hamstring stretch is added to the equation. And, as I mentioned above, flexible hamstrings are critical for a wider range of motion of the pelvis.
- Rolling Legs
Lie flat on your back, keeping one leg, your glutes, and the palms of your hands flat on the floor. Bend the knee of your other leg and bring that knee up toward your stomach. Extend the raised leg and make very small circles in the air with it. First make clockwise circles, then make counterclockwise circles.
This stretch is different from stretches in most traditional programs because it assures that the hips and glutes are immobilized or isolated. Jamie says that by keeping the circles very small and keeping your hips, glutes, and the other leg flat and motionless, you get a much more concentrated stretch and strengthening of the leg.
If you have been suffering from lower-back pain and haven’t found much relief with other methods, I strongly urge you to give stretching a try. And when you do, whether you use Jamie’s Yogalation system or another stretching program, here are some of her general guidelines:
- Wear comfortable clothes that won’t bind.
- Do not force the body into difficult positions. Stretching should be pain-free.
- Move into each stretch slowly and avoid bouncing, which may actually tear muscles.
- Stretch on a clean, flat surface that is large enough for you to move freely.
- Hold each stretch long enough (10-15 seconds) to allow the muscles to become loose.
- Repeat each stretch 5 to 10 times.
Many people – including Stuart and me – have gotten a great deal of relief from lower-back pain with an effective stretching routine. Perhaps stretching will work for you, too.
[Ed. Note: Learn more about how you can alleviate lower-back pain with Jamie Knee's Yogalation system here.]
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Unscrew Your Life: Office Relationships
By Suzanne Richardson
You ignored company rules and started a steamy affair with April the IT girl or your team leader Brad. Now your job is on the line. So you’re screwed, right?
Not so fast. You can survive this sticky situation with your dignity… and your job… intact.
Susan Kline, an attorney who deals with employment issues, gave the Indianapolis Star three good ways to maintain a workplace romance without sacrificing your career:
- Keep it quiet. Neither your cubicle mate nor Becky from marketing needs to know about your new relationship. Unless, of course, your company has a specific policy requiring you to disclose an office romance.
- Stay professional. No holding hands, no smooching, no longing looks across the conference table. At work, you’re merely coworkers.
- Focus on your work, not on your relationship. Don’t waste company time – and money – writing up a long apology for last night’s little spat. Wait until work’s over to deal with love problems.
It’s a good idea to know your company’s policy on office relationships, even if you decide to go against it. But Matthew Turner, Agora’s legal counsel, adds this warning: "If you’re a supervisor, do not mess around with a subordinate. A supervisor/subordinate relationship is the most risky of them all. If the subordinate decides the romance was an exercise in power by the supervisor, you’ve got big trouble. If you can’t help yourself, quickly let HR know and have the employee sign something releasing the company from sexual harassment charges involving your relationship."
Speaking of contracts, you and your new squeeze might consider drawing up a "relationship contract" saying that you both entered into the tryst voluntarily, that you won’t show on-the-job favoritism to one another, that you won’t let a breakup affect your jobs, and that neither of you will use the relationship to climb the corporate ladder.
If the romance fails, keep your cool. That’s the advice of Barbara Pachter, author of New Rules @ Work: 79 Etiquette Tips, Tools, and Techniques to Get Ahead and Stay Ahead. Should the relationship end badly, keep your feelings – including rants to coworkers, angry e-mails, and tears – out of the office. Or prepare yourself to find a new job.
[Ed. Note: Untangle yourself from all of life's most perplexing situations, in business, your personal life, and on the road. Just pick up your free copy of ETR's Unscrew Yourself e-book and get 223 pages of our most practical insider information.]
Worth Quoting: Seth Godin on Customer Service
"How did Amazon get so big and so profitable and so important? Not by interrupting people who don’t want to be interrupted. By interacting with people. Interactions are a million times more powerful than interruptions."
(Source: Small Is the New Big by Seth Godin)
It’s Good to Know: About Blood
Danish scientists have figured out how to convert type A, type B, and type AB blood to type O by using newly discovered bacterial enzymes. Since type O blood can be safely given to any patient, no matter their blood type, this could help relieve shortages of blood for transfusions.
(Source: BBC)
Do You Need To Start Out Small?
If you don’t have an Internet business yet, or if your company is smaller than $1 million then you need something different… something that lets you start off small.
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Let me show you how to get a similar Internet income stream running for almost nothing.
- Patrick Coffey
Word to the Wise: Brackish
"Brackish" (BRAK-sh) – from the Dutch for "salty" – is usually used to describe a mixture of seawater and fresh water. It can also mean distasteful and/or unpalatable.
Example (as used by Lance Armstrong and Sally Jenkins in It’s Not About the Bike ): "I gagged, and tasted something metallic and brackish in the back of my throat."
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Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007
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