You are Invited to a Golf and Relaxation Event

Issue# 2725

• WEALTHY: Importing your way to wealth (Marc Charles)
• HEALTHY: A nutty way to lose weight (Craig Ballantyne)
• WISE: Joseph Conrad on what everyone is really after

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• An invitation to my favorite overseas retreat (Michael Masterson)
• How a freelancer can make his clients mad (Bob Bly)
• It’s Good to Know… about the smell of fear
• Add “corvine” to your vocabulary

* Highly Recommended *

How This “Dirty” Word in Real Estate Can Make You a Fortune

Why would you EVER want to invest in real estate these days?

The market is in shambles:

• RealtyTrac reports that 860,000+ properties were repossessed by lenders last year.
• 5.4 million Americans behind on their mortgage payments, says the Wall Street Journal.
• Foreclosure.com says that home foreclosures jumped to nearly one million homes in 2008 – a 64% rise from 2007.

Yes, the situation is bleak.

But the truth is, there IS money – BIG money – to be made in real estate.
Especially when it comes to that “dirty” word: foreclosures.
Charles Petty has made $3.2 million in the past few years. But he hasn’t done so using any real estate investing method you’ve heard of…
No, he found a little-known “loophole” in the foreclosure process… And now he makes tens of thousands of dollars a month, from his laptop, sitting by his swimming pool.
He’s not a realtor or a property buyer. He doesn’t sell. He doesn’t even visit a single property.

Yet in the past 3 months alone, he’s made over $80,000.

Find out what this foreclosure “loophole” is – and how you can use it to make your own fortune – right here.

What the Heck Is Alibaba?

By Marc Charles

Alibaba.com is the largest and most successful import/export marketplace for entrepreneurs in the world. It boasts more than 24 million members in 200 countries. And it facilitates more than $5 billion in import/export transactions each year – everything from sleeping bags to cement mixers.

This makes importing a viable way for you to generate extra income on the side or as a full-time venture.

Through the Alibaba website, you can meet qualified suppliers (manufacturers and other sellers) and reach agreements on pricing, delivery, insurance, and even storage (if necessary). Then you can re-sell their products online.

And you don’t even need a website. All you have to do is list your products in the online marketplace – on high-traffic sites like eBay, Amazon, MSN Shopping, and Yahoo! Stores. You can customize your listings to make them really stand out. What’s more, you can feature your products on the front pages of these sites for a small fee.

One of the best ways to start making money with Alibaba is to focus on importing products that have the greatest demand. And the fastest way to find out which products are in demand is by reviewing Alibaba.com.

With some products, there are minimum order requirements, so you may need to purchase them in bulk. Even so, you can start out fairly small and grow from there.

[Ed. Note: To find out more about this business opportunity, check out the best guide in the world for launching, running, and managing a profitable import/export business: Marc Charles's China Wholesale Secrets.

Learn more by clicking here.]

“I take it that what all men are really after is some form or perhaps only some formula of peace.”

- Joseph Conrad

You Are Invited to a Golf and Relaxation Event

By Michael Masterson

I cordially invite you to a weekend of golf and relaxation at Rancho Santana next year. Before you put it on your calendar, let me give you an idea of what to expect. It will be a lot like the weekend 15 of my friends and I recently enjoyed in this Nicaraguan paradise.

We arrived at the Managua airport Thursday evening, looking forward to playing golf at the only two courses in the country. Friday, we would be playing “the old course” in Managua. Saturday, we would be playing at Iguana Beach, next to Rancho Santana on the Pacific Ocean.

Nestor, Rancho Santana’s transportation director, picked us up and drove us to the Crown Plaza downtown, where we had cocktails and a healthy dinner (organic seafood, steak, and veggies) at the hotel’s Japanese grill.

The group included friends of mine from grammar school and high school, two business colleagues, and two neighbors from Delray Beach. Watching them interact, I was surprised by how different they were. They ranged in age from 28 to 72. There were knee-jerk Republicans and bleeding heart liberals. Their personal habits went from Oscar to Felix.

But they all shared a love of golf and a belief that this life we are leading is not, by any degree, a dress rehearsal.

After dinner, we enjoyed rum and tequila and a full box of fine Nicaraguan cigars. (The best in the world now. Better than Cubans.) By the time everyone drifted off to bed, it was almost time to wake up again. But at 7:30 in the morning, we were all showered, fed, and ready for our first day of golf.

The old golf course is located about a half-hour from the center of the city in a bad neighborhood – if you call cow pastures and shacks and dirt roads a neighborhood. But the entrance looked promising, flanked as it was by two very pretty girls – compliments of Corona Brewery – who greeted us (and served us fresh, cold beers when we finished playing).
That’s when I discovered that Alvaro – my friend and business partner – had persuaded Corona to sponsor our little outing. Alvaro is the consummate connector, a person who makes friends in high places with amazing ease. (It is always a good idea to have connectors in your life – especially if you are not yourself a social butterfly.)

If you are a golfer and end up in Managua one day, I recommend the old course to you. It is not modern in any way, but it is very well laid out and offers lots of stunning views and challenging holes, even for experienced golfers.

We had lunch at a great steak place in Granada, the oldest city in the Western hemisphere. We ate heartily, serenaded by a local mariachi band. Then we toured the old city, buying trinkets for loved ones back home.

We arrived at Rancho Santana just after nightfall, which disappointed me because my friends could not see what a truly spectacular place it is. But I was quickly cheered up with a good meal at Coco’s, the seaside bar. You could hear the waves breaking in the darkness as we ate tacos and burgers and cleared out half of the whiskey and beer bottles assembled for the night.

The next morning found us at the Iguana Beach Golf Course, a 10-minute drive from Rancho Santana. Iguana has only nine holes at the present time, and it’s narrow and has small greens. Still, a great place to play.

Once again, the Corona girls were there. And, once again, we ended the day at Coco’s, eating and drinking and arguing about golf.

On Sunday morning, I took my friends on a tour of the Rancho Santana development. They were amazed by how big and beautiful it is… 3,000 acres of rolling hills and cliffs and valleys, with no fewer than five beaches where you can surf, swim, or snorkel.

Some went for horseback rides up through the mountains or down along the shore. Some hiked the nature trail. Some played bocce ball or tennis. I had a massage at the spa. A few just sat next to one of the pools, reading. There is always more to do at Rancho Santana than you have time for. But when you get there, you don’t feel like rushing around. You feel like relaxing and enjoying yourself. And that’s what they did.

On the ride back to the airport, several of my friends wanted to know if I thought it would make sense for them to buy property in Rancho Santana. This is what I told them…

It doesn’t matter if you want a big estate with a view of ocean, valleys, or mountains… or a luxury condominium where you don’t have to bother with any of the upkeep… Rancho Santana has the home for you.

You’ll enjoy an unparalleled range of amenities: miles of nature trails through untouched forest… horseback riding along nearly 10 miles of unspoiled Pacific coastline… five pristine beaches for sunbathing or world-class surfing… deep-sea fishing action… fine dining… a spa and fitness center… even an on-site shopping center. And, of course, golf.

Property this close to the beach – if you could even find it in the U.S. – would cost you a fortune. But this is Nicaragua, the last real bargain in the Americas. You can own the home of your dreams here for about half the cost of an ordinary place in the States.

Next year, you’ll be invited to join me for the second annual Nicaraguan Golf Classic. I don’t yet have any specific ideas about what – other than golfing – we’ll be doing. But I’m sure we will find ways to talk about business, making money, and leading a healthier life.

If you think you might want to join me, keep early June open on your calendar. And let me know what you’d most like to discuss with me right here.

[Ed. Note: Can't wait until next June to meet up with Michael Masterson and pick his brain? Don't worry. You'll have a chance to rub elbows with him (as well as a dozen other Internet marketing and wealth-building experts) this November. Keep reading ETR for details.]

* Highly Recommended *

Should Making Money Online Be This Easy?

I hear stories of budding Internet entrepreneurs jumping through hoops to make a buck. And sure, many times building a solid, long term business does take real effort. But you can also quietly pocket some decent dough online for much less work.

In this case, you can copy the exact steps one man used to make $187,296 in one day.  No, that’s not a misprint.

What’s stopping you from doing the same? The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it works exactly as it says.

Take a look and see just how easy making money online can be.

Are You Making a Mistake That Could Be Ticking Off Your Clients?

By Bob Bly

“Nate,” a freelancer I hired to write an e-book for me, e-mailed the first draft of the manuscript today as an attached Word file. Also attached: his invoice.

Why did you do that, Nate?

I just got your FIRST draft. I haven’t even opened the file, much less reviewed it. And I certainly haven’t given you my comments so you can make the necessary revisions.

Sending an invoice along with the work you did is bad form. It leaves a bad taste in the client’s mouth. He feels the only thing you care about is getting paid, not whether the work is good. But sending an invoice with a first draft – when the project is not yet completed – can really piss off the client, as it did me in this case.

By the way, my agreement with Nate calls for payment upon completion. To me, completion means an acceptable final product. Most publishers and business clients feel that way.

If the term “completion” is too vague for you, apply this rule of thumb: Any ambiguity in the agreement is the fault of the vendor, not the customer.

If Nate expected a check upon submission of a first draft, he should have specified that in writing and had me sign it.

He did not.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a freelance copywriter and the author of more than 70 books. To subscribe to his free e-zine, The Direct Response Letter, and claim your free gift worth $116, click here now.

Bob recently revealed the secrets that could jumpstart your online business, including how to deal with freelancers, in ETR's Internet Cash Generator program. Find out more about it here.]

Yes, You Can Eat This Much-Loved Snack and Keep the Weight Off

By Craig Ballantyne

My clients often question me when I tell them they can eat more almonds and cashews. “Don’t you know that nuts are full of fat?” they ask.

Well, I tell them, you can have your nuts and eat them too… even if you are trying to lose weight. In fact, nuts could be an important part of your fat-fighting strategy.

Researchers from Harvard completed an eight-year study on 51,188 women aged 20-45. After adjusting for lifestyle and dietary factors, they found that the women who rarely ate nuts were heavier than those who ate nuts twice per week. Their conclusion: Though it may be counterintuitive, incorporating nuts into a diet may help with weight control.

[Ed. Note: Eating the right foods is just one aspect of slimming down and firming up. To burn fat and build muscle, check out fitness expert Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training program right here.

For more easy-to-implement ideas about how to live longer and feel better, get your free subscription to ETR's natural health newsletter.]

It’s Good to Know: The Smell of Fear

University of Dusseldorf researchers have found that when people are fearful or anxious their bodies release a chemical that others respond to – at least, subconsciously.

Volunteers were hooked up to brain scanners. They were then asked to sniff cotton pads taken straight from the armpits of a group of students. Pads were taken just before the students were about to take an important exam, and then again while they worked out on exercise bikes.

Based on smell, the sniffers could not tell the difference between the pre-exam “panic” sweat and the sweat that had been generated during exercise. But the brain scans showed that when they sniffed the pre-exam sweat, it stimulated a part of the brain that triggers empathy – essentially making the anxiety contagious.

The researchers believe this automatic sensory reaction may have evolved in humans to speed up the spread of fear within a group that’s in some sort of danger. As a result, it would jumpstart a flight to safety.

(Source: New Scientist)

Recover from the Recession Before Everyone Else

If you’re like several people I know you’ve lost half or more of your 401(k), IRA, stock portfolio, or whatever retirement plan you’ve got going in the last six months.

But you could have it back – and then some – before 2009 ends.

Get your Recession Recovery Plan today.

Word to the Wise: Corvine

“Corvine” (KOR-vine) – from the Latin for “raven” – means of or relating to crows.

Example (as used by Edmund Newton in the Los Angeles Times): “Many residents of cities along the Pomona and San Bernardino freeways say, yes, indeed, they’ve noticed an increase in their corvine neighbors.”

[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.]

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• Word to the Wise: Corvine
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• Yes, You Can Eat This Much-Loved Snack and Keep the Weight Off