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1) You have absolutely no previous knowledge about making money from the internet or any technical knowledge about computers...
2) You don’t want to worry about products, credit card processing, shipping or customer issues...
3) You want nothing to do with network marketing, buying and selling on eBay, internet gambling or any gimmicks either...
4) But yet you realize there’s a ton of money to be made on the Internet and would like to get started.
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- Charlie Byrne
Let the Virtue of Patience Make You Rich
Legendary stock trader Jesse Livermore had it right: The big money is in the big moves ... and the trick to making the big money is knowing how to sit tight and ride the trend for all it's worth. As obvious as that may seem, many investors have trouble doing it.
They are, as cognitive psychologists like Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky would say, "risk-averse." The pain they experience in losing money is far greater than the pleasure they experience in making it. As a result, these investors typically sell their investments too soon for fear of incurring a real or even a paper loss.
To profit the most from an investment, you need to be able to wait long enough for it to achieve its full potential. So if you're "risk-averse" by nature, it might be a good idea for you to avoid paying too much attention to the news. If you're watching television and the nightly business report comes on, change the channel. Set aside the business section of the paper to read on a rainy day. Ignore cocktail chatter about investing. That way, you're more likely to stick to your trading plan instead of letting your emotions overpower your better judgment.
- Andrew Gordon
(Ed. Note: Andrew M. Gordon and his staff, along with Dr. Erik Epp, have created a new free weekly e-letter called Money Insight: Useful Ideas for Growing Your Money Quickly and Safely. In this age of cheap "information," Money Insight strives to decipher the best safe-money strategies from the deluge of mainstream financial news, as well as uncover undervalued opportunities for quick profits. Check it out at:
http://www.earlytorise.com/moneyinsight/etr_money_insight.html)
"News is something that happens that matters to you, which is not most of what we watch on television."
- Val Kilmer
ETR Insider Report: Our First "Big Picture" Theory of Success
A colleague wrote suggesting that ETR might be more interesting if we tied the subjects of our articles to current events.
"I just wondered whether you couldn't make ETR more topical by using the news to establish context," he wrote. "Ford announced another 10,000 jobs lost this year ... and, as you've been saying in ETR, the man who relies on a factory job is in a bad way."
It was a good suggestion. I've wondered the same thing many times in the past three years. We do routinely cover the news. But usually our coverage is restricted to specific businesses or topics that we favor. Real estate investing, for example. Or the disintegration of the three retirement blankets: Social Security, Medicare, and private pensions.
But the subjects that interest me most tend to relate to self-improvement. Topics such as:
* What are the essential skills of a great public speaker?
* What is the quickest way to build muscle?
* Can intelligence be improved ... and, if so, how?
* What are the seven steps to wealth?
Essays about these sorts of subjects aren't usually inspired by news events. More commonly, they come from events in my personal life.
My colleague also suggested that we use current events to emphasize what he calls our " Big Picture Theory of Success." By this, he means the core beliefs we have about success.
This is another good idea. Especially because so much of what I read and see in the business, financial, and self-improvement press is pure bunk.
We do have ideas about the best way to start a business ... the right way to become an Internet mogul ... the fastest way to get into shape ... and the top techniques for developing personal power. But too often we've allowed our basic ideas to lurk in the dimly lit background, figuring that our readers were better off paying attention to the specific advice we're giving.
"You could have a whole set of theories," my colleague suggested, "that provide the reader with a running commentary on world events and leave him with a clearer idea of his own superiority (because he understands what is going on and he is doing something about it)."
Maybe we should do that. In fact, I'd like this essay to be the first of many on "ETR's Theories of Success." But keeping them topical by referring to the news could be a problem. Why? Because I don't pay much attention to world events.
Other than reading my colleague's e-zine (which I read because it's superbly written), I barely skim the front pages of The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. When I read the paper or look at the news, I'm much more interested in the smaller stories, the human events. Like the recent story about the teenager who made a million bucks in about a week on his website ... or the dad who regained his eyesight after 20 years of blindness.
What excites me is not geopolitics or the global economy but these little stories of ordinary people achieving great things and overcoming great obstacles. When it comes to the " Big Picture," my core belief (in a nutshell) is this: That stuff only matters if you want it to.
Big Picture thinking is enormously rewarding ... and it can be helpful too. But it doesn't really matter what picture you are looking at.
We live in a world of patterns. We look at this world through a tiny scope ... our personal point of view. Given how narrow our perspectives are, we can never hope to see the whole picture, figure out exactly how things really work, or predict the future with any certainty.
The best we can do is recognize patterns in the tiny fragment of the world we can see clearly - and then consider how those patterns might be repeated in other, broader experiences.
After studying geopolitics for many years, my colleague has made several very astute observations. For example, he has discovered that you can't always get what you want but you will often get what you deserve - even if you don't want it. This particular piece of wisdom has helped him direct his readers' investment choices. An individual investor's moral compass won't always lead to the gold - and my colleague is the first one to admit that. But it will usually bring the investor to where he deserves to go. So beware, he advises.
Because we live in a fractal universe and because each of us has such a limited perspective, we have to learn to recognize patterns to have any hope of achieving anything. One could argue - as I have in past ETR essays - that the human intellect is specifically designed to recognize and respond to patterns that are too subtle and complex to be understood logically.
The interesting thing about a fractal universe is the possibility that all patterns are related. If this is so, you should be just as able to recognize the patterns of success by studying football or art history as by studying geopolitics or global economics.
I think you can do that. And that's why I feel okay about skimming the front page of the newspaper and then heading for the back.
To be successful in life, you don't need to know what Chase Manhattan Bank is doing in Chile. Nor do you need to take action if you discover that they're doing something you "don't agree with." In fact, it can be a distraction to get caught up in (bogged down by?) Big Picture events. They can usurp your time, consume your energy, and preoccupy your mind.
I think you can discover the universal secrets of success by becoming a student of almost anything - Jiu Jitsu, cooking with a wok, geometry. Because all of the most important patterns are the same.
It almost doesn't matter what happens in the Big Picture. If you know how to operate on a personal level ... if you know how to manage your personal life, your personal finances, and your personal relationships ... then the Big Picture stuff won't really affect you. (Okay, that's not entirely true. It may very well affect you. But you can't do anything about the Big Picture stuff anyway ... unless you decide to go into politics yourself. And then you'll probably find out that you had much less of an effect on the world than you thought you might.)
No, you can't change the things you can't change. And most Big Picture events fall into that category. But you can change (be in charge of, control) how you react to those events. You can hang your head and complain, or pick up a phone and make a strategic call. You can surrender to defeat, or approach your goal from a new angle. You can run away and hide, or charge forward and profit.
So that's my first Theory of Success: You don't need to know much (if anything) about the Big Picture stuff to be successful.
Just find some area of life to study… flowers… knitting… origami…and discover the patterns of success in that little world. Apply the lessons you learn to every opportunity that comes your way. Be persistent. And regardless of what happens to the world around you, you will come out on top.
Today's Action Plan
What do you think? Would you like to see more commentary on the news in ETR? How about more of Michael Masterson's core "Theories of Success"?
Let us know on the ETR Speak Out forum.
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What You Need to Know About Fat to Live Long, Lean, and Healthy
I believe the very premise behind "low-fat" and "low-carb" diets is bunk. They both totally miss the point. If you want to optimize your weight and perfect your health, you should focus on the TYPE of fats and carbs you eat. Your goal should be to eat "good fats" and "good carbs" and avoid those that are unhealthy.
Tomorrow, I'll cover carbs. For today, here's the skinny on fat:
* AVOID omega-6 fats. These fats strongly promote inflammation and are clearly linked to cancer and heart disease. Omega-6 fats are primarily found in vegetable and seed oils (corn, soybean, cottonseed, etc.). This would eliminate fried foods and most processed foods from your diet.
* AVOID trans-fats. If the product's label lists "hydrogenated" or "shortening" among the ingredients, don't eat it.
* CONSUME omega-3 fats. These should come from fish and fish oil, eggs, and naturally raised meats. Walnuts, flax seeds, and hemp seeds are also excellent sources of omega-3s.
* CONSUME saturated fats. Saturated fats should come from the meat and dairy of animals raised on their natural diet (i.e. grass-fed cows, free-range chickens). Coconut oil is another very healthy source of saturated fat.
* CONSUME monounsaturated fats. The best sources of these healthy fats are nuts, avocados, and olive oil.
The message here is to mimic the diet of our ancestors and eat unprocessed, natural foods. Do that and you will have better health, better control over your weight, and greater satisfaction from the foods you eat.
- Jon Herring
Worth Quoting: Redefining What It Means to Be a "Homeowner"
"The new mortgages, which amount to bets that a borrower's income will keep pace if interest rates rise (which they're doing and look as if they'll go on doing), cast doubt on whether the word 'homeowner' is even widely suitable anymore. 'Home-hoper' or merely 'occupier' might be better. Even in the bubbliest local markets, like those on both coasts and in certain favored zip codes, it's hard to know if the four walls around you are standing firm or closing in. It all depends, and on so many things."
(Source: Walter Kirn, writing in The New York Times Magazine)
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Word to the Wise: Fractal
In mathematics, a "fractal" (FRAK-tul) is a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be subdivided in parts, each of which is (at least approximately) a smaller copy of the whole. Fractals also describe many real-world objects that do not have regular patterns and structures. Branches of trees are natural fractals, as are bays and coves of coastlines. The word is derived from the Latin "frangere" ("to break").
Example (as I used it today): "Because we live in a fractal universe and because each of us has such a limited perspective, we have to learn to recognize patterns to have any hope of achieving anything."
