My Rules

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 27, 2012

Since sharing my rules with ETR readers last July, I’ve been able to “live real in the real world”, as Robert Ringer describes today.

Once you have your rules, you’ll have low-stress way of living how you want to live without dropping out of the mainstream. Robert Ringer explains why that is so important in the article below.

Craig Ballantyne

Not a fun one today…but an important one: “Ask yourself “Why?” you want to achieve something but you refuse to act in congruence with achieving it.” – Dan Kennedy

______________________________

A New American Dream

Described as the “Indiana Jones for the digital age”, author, entrepreneur, and public speaker, Tim Ferriss, has been featured in more than 100 media outlets, including The New York Times, The Economist, TIME, Fortune, CNN, and CBS, as well as being a popular guest lecturer at Princeton University since 2003, where he presents entrepreneurship as a tool for living the American Dream and world change.

Tim is widely recognized for his application of both Pareto’s Principle (80/20 rule) and Parkinson’s Law (work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion), and in 2003 he released his first New York Times and USA Today bestseller, The Four Hour Workweek, in which he promotes “mini retirements” as an alternative to the “deferred life” career path one typically follows when working a 9-5 job into retirement.

Also a prominent angel investor, Tim was recently listed at #13 in the “100 Most Influential VCs, Angels & Investors”, funding social media giants, Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon just to name a few. Nominated as one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Business People of 2007″ and Forbes Magazine’s “Names You Need to Know in 2011″, Tim Ferriss is pioneering the new American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

______________________________

Here’s to You, Mrs. Robinson

By Robert Ringer

Regardless of your age, you’ve probably seen what is arguably the best and most successful cult film of all time, The Graduate. Today, with oversexed, deranged female teachers playing out the role of Mrs. Robinson with increasing frequency, it can’t help but bring back memories of the film that launched Dustin Hoffman’s career back in 1967.

The Graduate was the surprise hit of the year, with Mike Nichols winning an Oscar for best director. In addition, the movie was nominated for best picture, and Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, and Anne Bancroft all earned Oscar nominations as well. And who can forget Simon and Garfunkel’s time-defying musical score, particularly the memorable song that defined the movie. Is there anyone in the civilized world who hasn’t heard the words:

And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson,
Jesus loves you more than you will know,
Wo wo wo.
God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray,
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey.

As I recall, Hoffman received $5,000 for his starring role in The Graduate – the last time he would have to perform for chump change. Of course, some might argue that getting paid $5,000 to be romantically involved with Katharine Ross and sexually involved with her movie mother, the late Anne Bancroft, was the Hollywood deal of the century. The modern-day Mrs. Robinsons turned out by America’s teachers’ unions would have a tough time topping The Graduate when it comes to appealing to the fantasies of teenage boys.

Preceding the movie was the original novel, written by Charles Webb, first published in 1963. At the time, Webb was a young, privileged suburbanite who based his famous novel on what he saw as the valueless, hypocritical life of his parents and their country club friends.

In the movie, Hoffman’s character, Ben Braddock, is a young man just out of college who has no ambition or sense of adult responsibility. Clearly, Webb was depicting himself in the main character, but his own life has played out even more movie-like than Ben’s.

One would assume that the author of such a great American novel would normally move on to ever more fame and fortune. But not so with Charles Webb, who is now more than forty years removed from the year in which his famous novel was first published. Though Webb did write a few more forgettable novels, he dropped out of the limelight by choice, rejecting mainstream society. The Graduate has made buckets of money for publishers and producers, but not for Webb. Why? Because – hold onto your hat – he and his wife signed away the book’s copyright to charity.

Further, they renounced a materialistic life and consumerism and refused to accept their wealthy families’ money, choosing instead to move to England and live the life of classic Bohemians. Early in their relationship, they lived like vagabonds, doing everything from picking fruit to running nudist camps. Most bizarre of all, Webb’s wife of 45 years, Eve, shaved her head and changed her name to Fred (with no legal last name) in a show of support “for men named Fred who have low self-esteem.” On reading this, my first thought was to call the ACLU and file a discrimination suit against Fred for failing to show support for men named Robert.

The last I heard, Charles Webb and Fred were residing in a seaside resort in Brighton, England. At the time (2001), they were living in a one-bedroom apartment with no TV and just a few pieces of furniture.

Webb likes to point out that when The Graduate was first published and became a modest success, his family (for obvious reasons) hated it. But when the movie became such a huge success that it catapulted the book into an equally huge bestseller, his family decided they loved it. As he puts it, “Success is what they (his family) related to.”

One of the reasons I find Charles Webb and Fred so fascinating is because, unlike most dropouts, they aren’t crusaders trying to save the world, and they at least claim they don’t begrudge the materialistic worship mentality of most of the other six billion people on our planet. In fact, The Wall Street Journal quoted Webb as saying, “There’s nothing wrong with wealth – it just didn’t work for us.”

Whenever I read unusual life stories, I try to draw meaningful lessons from them. But I had a hard time with this one. When I first read it years ago, it absolutely fascinated me. But I was cautious about drawing conclusions from the weird tale of Charles and Fred.

Because they don’t go around preaching revolution, harassing fishermen in an effort to save whales, or burning down houses to preserve the habitat of wild beasts, I have to respect their implied philosophy: Don’t tell us how to live, and we won’t tell you how to live. Hey, in America and the U.K., that’s a perfectly legitimate position to take.

But I also believe that what you don’t know can hurt you. It’s easy to say that Charles and Fred are doing what makes them happy, but I have to admit that when I first read about their strange travails, it saddened me. One part of me liked them because they were acting on their convictions, weren’t entrapped by the material world, and, above all, weren’t crusading to persuade others to give up their materialistic lifestyle.

I agree with them that Burbs Disease … rampant consumerism … keeping up with the corporate executive next door … whatever you want to call it, is an equally sad way to live. I believe Buddha was right when he said, “All unhappiness is caused by attachment.” And attachment to material things is the worst possible kind of attachment.

But completely dropping out of life – having no discernable purpose – seems like a gigantic waste of human resources. To live in the real world doesn’t mean you have to stay in step with everyone else. It doesn’t mean you have to be hypocritical. And it doesn’t mean you have to worship money or material things. You can be real, act real, and live real in the real world.

I hadn’t thought about Charles Webb and Fred for several years, but when a friend sent me an e-mail with the following words, these two rebels without a cause came to mind: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming … ‘Wow ! What a ride!’”

Life is meant to be lived, and I don’t believe it is possible to achieve one’s true potential by renouncing “mainstream” life in its entirety. Mainstream life is the ballpark. The players within that ballpark can be intense, goal-driven, and action-oriented or they can be dull, negative, and sedentary. But whatever kind of player you choose to be, you have to be inside the ballpark to play the game. If you want to be the ultimate risk-taker and break all the rules, fine. Just don’t leave the park. Those who have done so tend to become increasingly out of touch with reality.

[Ed. Note: If you're ready for a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques that are guaranteed to dramatically improve your dealmaking skills - and, in the process, increase your income many times over - you won't want to miss Robert Ringer's bestselling audio series, A Dealmaker's Dream.

Robert Ringer is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. His recently released work, Restoring the American Dream: The Defining Voice in the Movement for Liberty, is a clarion call to liberty-loving citizens to take back the country. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times. To sign up for his e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, visit www.robertringer.com.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Be in the Top 5% of Your Industry

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 26, 2012

My friend, and consummate networker, Joe Polish, is about to show you the one thing you need to do in order to avoid being one of the 80% of new businesses that fail each year.

But more importantly, you’ll also discover the one simple piece of advice you need to follow in the top 5% of your marketplace.

Craig Ballantyne

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius
______________________
A New American Dream

Now a pioneer in “Outrageous Advertising That’s Outrageously Successful”, Bill is considered one of the most celebrated small business Marketing Gurus in the world, teaming up with the legendary Dan Kennedy to provide advice to over 130,000 small business entrepreneurs worldwide, in every possible industry and profession. But for over two decades, Bill eked out a respectable living as a retailer of fine menswear in Baltimore, Maryland.

In fact, it wasn’t until Bill attended a Dan Kennedy Seminar in 1995, and invested in all of Kennedy’s books and resources, that his life changed dramatically. With this new game-changing information, Bill began writing his own ads, sales letters, post cards, websites, emails, and as you can imagine, it wasn’t long before extraordinary success ensued.

Not only was Bill generously rewarded for his obsession with putting into practice what he had learned, but in 2002 he was also honored with the RAC Award, an equivalent in advertising and marketing. The award is the advertising industry’s equivalent to the Oscar’s. Today Bill is a consultant to some of the top names in the information marketing industry.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
______________________

Why 80% Of Businesses Fail… And How You Can Be Sure You Beat The Odds
By Joe Polish

You’ve probably seen that bleak statistic before…. “50% of businesses fail within the first 5 years and 80% within the first 10 years.” A Google search will bring up reports hovering anywhere from 60%-90% fail rate in the first 5-10 years. Whatever the case…there are a lot of businesses that fail. Period. So let’s just make sure you aren’t one of them.

Some people want to blame the poor economy, increased competition, and/or inflation for their failures. But there are plenty of people who have proven that success is possible in spite of these challenges. As I see it, there are three main reasons so many businesses meet with failure…

1. Lack of a good product or service.
2. Lack of good marketing.
3. Lack of buyers.

Your job is to simply not be “lacking” in those three areas and you can beat the odds and be successful… But in reality that’s easier said than done or we wouldn’t be looking at an 80% failure rate would we?

Offer A Good…No A Great…Product Or Service.

Pioneering business leader, Peter Drucker gave the simplest definition, and what he called the primary purpose of business… “To create (and keep) customers.”

One of the major roles of being a successful business owner is to actually learn how to fulfill the needs and wants of your marketplace. Offer a product or service…whether it’s something you conceive or represent…and deliver it so that your customers are so happy with the experience that they buy again and again.

Your job as a business owner is to exceed the expectations that clients have because every customer has expectations. And when you exceed those expectations they will do business with you over and over and over again. That’s how you “keep” those customers.

Marketing…The Producer Of Your Success (Or Failure)

Peter Drucker nailed it again with this quote, “Marketing and innovation produce results, all other business functions are cost.”

But I’m not just talking about throwing money at expensive advertising in hopes that you see a return on your investment or building an “image” or a “brand”. No. I’m talking about effective direct response style marketing. This is the kind of marketing that provides results you can track. If more businesses learned and practiced effective, proven marketing techniques the 80% fail rate would dramatically flip to success.

You rarely see someone go out of business because their prices were too high or because they had too many customers. It’s usually because they don’t have enough customers and they’re pricing themselves too low. Low prices squeeze margins and can render a business incapable of delivering a service or a product that meets or exceeds expectations. A lack of customers and competing by low price are the results of ineffective, uneducated marketing.

Buyers…Finding (And Keeping) Your Place In The Market.

What happens if your marketplace gets too competitive or “dries up?” When people get into the “trap” of major competition or find people no longer buying what it is they’re selling, they need to change their approach and what they offer to fit what the marketplace actually wants. That means keeping your finger on the pulse of your market so that your business and marketing can evolve and you can innovate.

Remember These Four “M’s”…

As a successful, high priced marketer for almost 20 years now, I’ve learned that there’s four things you need in business to be successful. I call them “The Four M’s”…Marketing…Margins…Management…and Model.

Model…Take A Look At The “Blueprint” Of Your Business…

What is your plan for generating revenues? This plan is your “model” or the “skeleton of your success”. Your model is the foundation that holds all of the other working parts. A solid model can lead to the success of your business likewise a weak model may lead to its demise.

Margins…. “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Better”

Don’t forget that you are in a numbers game. Most business owners make that mistake. Do you know your numbers? How much do you actually make on what it is you sell? If you don’t know your margins, you might not be around (in business) long enough to find out.

Marketing…Yes Again…From Packaging To Profits

How do you effectively position, offer and uniquely package your products or services? I already touched on marketing but it’s really so important to the success of a business that it deserves extra attention. Your marketing ultimately determines your paycheck. Get your marketing “dialed in” and you’re already two steps ahead of your competition.

Management…I’m not Talking About People

The word “management” often conjures up ideas of managing a staff, but it doesn’t necessarily mean managing people. Management is simply your ability to keep track of stuff. It can mean your ability to manage your staff, your products, your services, your marketing, your margins, and your profits. When you own a business you are managing everything that relates to making you money every day.

Your Weakest Link…

These four M’s feed into each other and some of them are more critical to the formula of success than others. For example, I have never considered myself a great manager but learned such effective marketing that I was able to make high enough margins and develop a business model where based on those alone, I could do really well.

Prioritize your skills. After all, you could be the best manager in the world but if you have a weak model, poor margins, and your marketing isn’t good, you are still not going to make enough money to survive in business.

Never forget what it is you’re really doing when you have your own business…

Solving Problems For A Profit.

That’s it. There is a lot of “problems” in the world. If you can solve them, you can make a lot of profits. If you don’t know what “problems” you can solve, then find out what people are interested in buying and learn how to deliver them a solution in a confident, profitable manner.

If you do “solve people’s problems” just a little bit better than all of the other competitors out there, not only will you beat the 80% failure rate, but you will most likely be one of the top 5% of your marketplace.

Simply because you are reading this article right now, you are probably already in that category….or very close. After all, I think the reason up to 80% of businesses fail (and this is my opinion) is because most people don’t take the time to learn how to make their business succeed. (So congratulations on being one of those people that do.)

Remember as long as you aren’t “lacking” in the three crucial areas of business, (product/service, marketing and marketplace) and as long as you have a good model, healthy margins, effective marketing, and capable management, you can go out there and “beat the odds”. You can succeed.

[Ed. Note: Joe Polish has been a long-time business success thanks to his study of direct marketing. He's also been a consultant to some of the biggest names in the nutrition supplement and information industries. If you want to learn how to become a master at effective marketing then listen to Joe Polish's free "I Love Marketing" Podcast at www.ilovemarketing.com]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Black Swan

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 25, 2012

According to Wikipedia, “The black swan theory or theory of black swan events is a metaphor that encapsulates the concept that, The event is a surprise (to the observer) and has a major impact. After the fact, the event is rationalized by hindsight.”

In today’s guest essay, you’ll discover the most important economical Black Swan of 2012. And it’s one that you can control.

Craig Ballantyne

“Your decision to be, have and do something out of ordinary entails facing difficulties that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else.” – Brian Tracy
____________________
A New American Dream

She’s been declared the “Secret Weapon” by some of today’s top online marketing gurus, while helping more than 500 clients from around the world achieve top rankings in Google. In just three years, Shelby Larsen’s dream of offering stay-at-home moms a legitimate way of making money from home has quickly turned into one of the most trusted content provider solutions online (Content Divas), while growing from a small group of stay-at-home moms into a staff of 300 members worldwide.

Specializing in keyword research to attract buyers rather than browsers, obtaining organic rankings in the search engines, and competitive analysis that enables her clients to dominate over their competition online, Shelby’s Content Divas is the driving force behind many successful online content strategies, with one client reporting a 3:1 return on investment, using only organic traffic strategies.

Perhaps as equally as impressive is the way in which Shelby has grown her business – entirely on word of mouth. And this is, in no small part, due to her passion for educating other entrepreneurs through public speaking engagements around the world.

What started out as a desire to help provide moms with opportunities to earn income from home has grown into a full-scale one-stop-shop for her client’s online marketing needs. Shelby, along with Craig Ballantyne and Matt Smith, will be speaking at the Underground Online Seminar here.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
____________________

Your Most Important Financial Decision to Make
By Susan Fujii

Economically speaking, 2012 looks to be a crazy year…multiple potential “black swans” loom on the horizon that could threaten your financial future.

Between rising unemployment, the European financial crisis, ongoing corruption of the system (think MF Global), staggering levels of worldwide government debt, and more, at times it seems like maybe the Mayans had it right after all!

However, one potential “black swan” dwarfs all of the above…

YOU.

You have a very, very important decision to make.

In fact, I argue that it is the most important financial decision you will make in 2012.

And this decision poses both your single greatest threat and your single greatest opportunity. You can choose to be your greatest enemy… or your greatest warrior. And only you have this power to choose, act, and decide for yourself.

So what important decision are you making, exactly? Well, it’s simple…

You must choose between financial independence or financial dependence.

What Is Financial Independence?

Before you can make a decision one way or another, it’s important to understand what I mean by “financial independence”.

We typically hear that financial independence is “the state of having sufficient personal wealth to live indefinitely without having to actively work for basic necessities”, or “the state of having your assets generate income greater than your expenses”.

These are both decent definitions, but I argue that true financial independence is the exact opposite of financial dependence:

It is the state of being completely self-reliant for your personal finances.

This means that you are not financially dependent on your government, your employer, your family, your financial advisor, or anyone else you can think of other than your-own-sweet-self to provide for you financially.

A Little Bit of History

To be fair, we didn’t use to need to be truly financially independent. It was perfectly acceptable and in fact, common practice, to rely on someone “else” to take care of us in our retirement. For example, many Seniors today depend on Social Security, Medicare, and sometimes a company pension to take care of them once they stop working.

This model was known as the “three-legged stool” of retirement, comprised of Social Security, Employer Pension, and Personal Savings. And for many years, it appeared to work fine, at least on the surface.


Wobbly old three-legged stool…
This is what you want to build your retirement on?

But there are serious problems today with all three legs.

Leg 1: Social Security

I won’t mince words–Social Security is bankrupt. Completely, absolutely bankrupt. And it was never intended to be the sole benefactor for elderly Americans’ retirements in the first place.

Here is the original, famous one-sentence summary from President Franklin Roosevelt of the intent of Social Security:

“We can never insure one hundred percent of the population against one hundred percent of the hazards and vicissitudes of life, but we have tried to frame a law which gives some measure of protection to the average citizen and his family against the loss of a job and against poverty-ridden old age.”

It was intended simply to “give some measure of protection…against poverty-ridden old age”.

Leg 2: Employer Defined-Benefit Pensions

As for the second leg of the stool, employer defined-benefit pensions are all but non-existent today. In fact, I don’t know of any current employee who has such a plan anymore. Since Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), corporations looking to save money have gleefully transitioned all of their former defined-benefit plans over to so-called “defined contribution” plans…commonly known as the 401k.

Which brings me to our final leg…

Leg 3: Personal Savings

Most people’s idea of personal savings is their 401k (and maybe their personal residence if they still have one after the housing collapse).

But unfortunately, the 401k has some serious problems, too. I’ve written extensively about them on Kung Fu Finance, and consider this excerpt from TIME Magazine:

The Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers says nearly 73 million Americans, or just under 50% of our working population, now have a 401(k). And collectively we pour more than $200 billion into these accounts each year. But retire rich? Don’t bet on it. The average 401(k) has a balance of $45,519. That’s not retirement. That’s two years of college.

Even worse, 46% of all 401(k) accounts have less than $10,000. Today, just 21% of all U.S. workers are covered by traditional pensions, and the number shrinks every year.

The Wobbly Old “Three-Legged Stool” is DEAD

That old, wobbly “three-legged stool” of retirement has been reduced down to nothing but rubble. There is only one leg left to stand on:


Sad, One-Legged Retirement Stool

The Social Security leg is broken, the company pension leg is broken, and that leaves us with none other than… you guessed it, Personal Savings. And the “person” in that “Personal Savings” leg is none other than…YOU.

Which brings me back to the important choice you have to make…the most important decision you will make for your financial future in 2012.

Which Will You Choose?

Like Neo in one of the more modern kung fu movies, The Matrix, you can either choose to take the blue pill (financial dependence) or the red pill (financial independence).

The “blue pill”…Blissful Ignorance, Complacency, and Financial Dependence

You can continue to dutifully throw your money into your 401k and “hope” that you have enough to retire on one day, or that the government will “do something” to finally start to address the problems with real and effective solutions, or that your employer will suddenly reinstate your cushy defined benefit pension plan and you will never need to worry about your future again…

or

(The “red pill”…Truth, Freedom, and Financial Independence)

You can financially educate yourself and achieve true financial independence and freedom.

Which will you choose?

If you choose the blue pill, I completely understand and wish you only the best. I took that pill myself for many years, and though I was thousands of dollars in debt and financially naive, I did have a GREAT time (ignorance truly is bliss!) and I completely understand the lure of this choice!

However, I hope you choose the red pill. While it certainly isn’t the “easy” path, I guarantee you it is the most rewarding (financially and otherwise) and also a lot of fun (after all, making money and achieving financial independence is fun!).

“One will never get any more than he thinks he can get. You have what it takes!” – Bruce Lee, Wisdom for the Way

[Ed. Note: Susan Fujii is an accredited investor and the author of www.KungFuFinance.com, a website dedicated to empowering people to make better financial decisions to and to help her readers make sense of the current financial environment.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Beat Email Addiction

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 24, 2012

How to Beat Email Addiction

Despite running several web-based business from a home office, I’ve decided to cancel my home Internet. I now have to trek three minutes to a local Starbucks, twice daily, to check my email.

Yet I’ve never been more productive (save that time I rented a cottage in Northern Ontario without any Internet access for miles). Cancelling my home Internet has allowed me to get more work done in less time and has dramatically reduced the time wasted on email each day.

You’ll learn more about this “no Internet at home” experiment in the future, but today you’ll discover several easy-to-implement tips to cut back on the email you receive and time you waste in your inbox.

Craig Ballantyne

You have to stand up for what is right for you at this time.
_____________________________
A New American Dream

Ryan Murdock wanted to write since he was a child. He had no contacts in the industry, so he leveraged himself into a weekly newspaper column by getting into North Korea. He then used that credibility to jump straight into larger assignments. His first feature article was nominated for a National Magazine Award in Canada. But writing didn’t pay. Ryan worked dead end temp jobs for years, trapped in a cycle of incredible travel experiences followed by starving artist misery until one fateful day when he finally ended up with fifteen dollars in his pocket, and 4 days to come up with the rent. He bought a video camera and software on credit, and created a tutorial to sell online.

He only hoped to break even, but when it made $1000 overnight he knew he was onto something bigger. Ryan leveraged his writing talents into an internet business, partnering with Adam Steer to form BodyweightCoach.com and Shapeshifter Body Redesign.

Together they help regular folks recover the body of their glory days. And this allows Ryan to fund his journeys to the farthest edges of the map. Today Ryan is living in a small palazzo in the Mediterranean, working on his first book. He hopes his writing will inspire others to create the life of their choice, and to follow their American Dream no matter how impossible it might seem.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
_____________________________
How to Eliminate Your Email Inbox Nightmare

By Craig Ballantyne

One of my friends has 19,371 emails in his inbox. At one point he even had to go to Google.com and pay to increase the memory of his Gmail account so that he could continue his collection.

While you might not have that many emails, you likely do have too much email.

But it’s your own fault.

You are the only one to blame for your “too much email” problem.

Here’s why.

First, you treat email like text messaging when you should treat email like faxing or writing a letter. After all, when you send someone a fax, they don’t fax you back a thank you. And you don’t fax them back a message saying, “No Problem”. With faxing, or letter writing, there is no vicious cycle of time-wasting two-word correspondence. Yet you do it over and over again every day with email, and that’s one reason why your inbox is jammed.

You can end that right now with four letters: NNTR

That means: No Need To Reply

Insert those four letters (with a definition the first time you do it) into your emails when replying to a colleague’s question. You’ll cut your email volume by a minimum of 25%.

In addition, add a quick line to your email signature under your name that states, “In an effort to reduce email volume, please only reply if necessary.” You can easily delete this line if the situation is not appropriate. Otherwise, leave it in there and spread the message that you don’t require unnecessary replies.

The second mistake you are making that results in too many emails is that you send too many emails. Since eliminating my access to the Internet at home, I’ve developed the habit of saving up all correspondence for a particular individual and sending one itemized email per day to that person.

For example, if I want my assistant Amy to update a blog, contact an affiliate, and send off a transcript to a ghostwriter on Elance, I’ll put all of these tasks into one email that I’ll send at the beginning or end of the day. In turn, Amy sends me just one itemized update each day at 5pm on all the projects she is doing.

And when you do reply to someone’s email, make sure you change the subject line to reflect the content of the email. This will allow you to better find the email from your files when the day comes – and you know it will – when you absolutely, positively, MUST find that email in a hurry.

(Speaking of emergencies, when something important comes up in my business, we use this thing called a “phone”. See if your IT department has access to this cutting edge technology.)

If the itemized, single-message approach strikes you as too difficult to implement right now, then at least use the old “count-to-ten” rule before sending that email. That’s the beauty of medium. You actually have time to think before you hit the send button.

Remember, if you want to CONTROL YOUR EMAIL PROBLEM, then email should not be treated as a conversation. Stop replying to things that don’t need a reply.

Here’s one more tip on how to cut back on your email production. Begin by taking a look at how many emails you send per day. Now starting tomorrow, you must limit yourself to 25% of today’s email production.

For example, let’s say you sent forty emails today. That means tomorrow you get to send ten emails. Every email you send above ten costs $1 and you’ll deposit that dollar into a jar. At the end of the week you can burn it, flush it, or give it away to charity. It doesn’t matter. But it’s gone.

That will teach you to treat email with the respect it deserves.

The third reason you have too much email is because you ASK for it (as well as too many Twitter and Facebook messages).

The solution?

Unsubscribe from (almost) everything.

I get the following select business and financial email newsletters and believe they are worthwhile and I limit myself exclusively to this list:

a) Ryan Deiss (Reading time: 15 seconds)
b) Frank Kern (Reading time: 10 seconds and he never sends anything anyways)
c) Palm Beach Letter (Reading time: 1-2 minutes, but not daily)
d) SovereignMan.com (Reading time: 2 minutes)
e) DailyReckoning.com (Reading time: 2 minutes)

Everything else is not worth it, in my opinion.

Give yourself 5 minutes per day to read email newsletters and make sure you BATCH the reading time. That means you save them all for lunchtime or 5pm.

That’s all the time you get.

No mas.

Unsubscribe from everything else, and just as importantly, un-follow and un-friend everyone on FB and Twitter who isn’t someone you wake up wanting to hear from EVERY DAY.

If you have trouble letting go, just ask yourself, “How do I really want to spend my life?”

Is it answering email from strangers?

Is it reading yet another email newsletter?

Or is playing with your children and enjoying your family time?

Do your work and then cut off your email time.

Remember that every wasted minute you spend in your inbox is a minute stolen from the limited time your kids will be kids.

Something has to give.

It’s your choice. Don’t become a slave to work email. And needless to say, all of these recommendations apply to your personal email usage as well.

The bottom line is this…

Your inbox is your responsibility. If you get too much email then you simply haven’t set up the right systems to protect your time. Email is not a conversation tool, and when you can change your perspective on how email – and all online messaging should work – you’ll save yourself precious time and dramatically reduce your work-related stress levels.

Treat email – and the people’s time you are emailing – with respect and you’ll have less email to deal with.

Good luck, and remember, count to ten before hitting send.

[Ed. Note. With the time you save with these email tips, you'll be able to work on building a second income with a website-based business using of Financial Independence Monthly, a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future. With your own web–based business, you can live and make money from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or even the beach. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You've never seen anything like this before.]

http://www.sovereignman.com/

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Plug Has Been Pulled

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 24, 2012

Despite running several web-based business from a home office, I’ve decided to cancel my home Internet. I now have to trek three minutes to a local Starbucks, twice daily, to check my email.

Yet I’ve never been more productive (save that time I rented a cottage in Northern Ontario without any Internet access for miles). Cancelling my home Internet has allowed me to get more work done in less time and has dramatically reduced the time wasted on email each day.

You’ll learn more about this “no Internet at home” experiment in the future, but today you’ll discover several easy-to-implement tips to cut back on the email you receive and time you waste in your inbox.

Craig Ballantyne

You have to stand up for what is right for you at this time.
_____________________________
A New American Dream

Ryan Murdock wanted to write since he was a child. He had no contacts in the industry, so he leveraged himself into a weekly newspaper column by getting into North Korea. He then used that credibility to jump straight into larger assignments. His first feature article was nominated for a National Magazine Award in Canada. But writing didn’t pay. Ryan worked dead end temp jobs for years, trapped in a cycle of incredible travel experiences followed by starving artist misery until one fateful day when he finally ended up with fifteen dollars in his pocket, and 4 days to come up with the rent. He bought a video camera and software on credit, and created a tutorial to sell online.

He only hoped to break even, but when it made $1000 overnight he knew he was onto something bigger. Ryan leveraged his writing talents into an internet business, partnering with Adam Steer to form BodyweightCoach.com and Shapeshifter Body Redesign.

Together they help regular folks recover the body of their glory days. And this allows Ryan to fund his journeys to the farthest edges of the map. Today Ryan is living in a small palazzo in the Mediterranean, working on his first book. He hopes his writing will inspire others to create the life of their choice, and to follow their American Dream no matter how impossible it might seem.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
_____________________________
How to Eliminate Your Email Inbox Nightmare
By Craig Ballantyne

One of my friends has 19,371 emails in his inbox. At one point he even had to go to Google.com and pay to increase the memory of his Gmail account so that he could continue his collection.

While you might not have that many emails, you likely do have too much email.

But it’s your own fault.

You are the only one to blame for your “too much email” problem.

Here’s why.

First, you treat email like text messaging when you should treat email like faxing or writing a letter. After all, when you send someone a fax, they don’t fax you back a thank you. And you don’t fax them back a message saying, “No Problem”. With faxing, or letter writing, there is no vicious cycle of time-wasting two-word correspondence. Yet you do it over and over again every day with email, and that’s one reason why your inbox is jammed.

You can end that right now with four letters: NNTR

That means: No Need To Reply

Insert those four letters (with a definition the first time you do it) into your emails when replying to a colleague’s question. You’ll cut your email volume by a minimum of 25%.

In addition, add a quick line to your email signature under your name that states, “In an effort to reduce email volume, please only reply if necessary.” You can easily delete this line if the situation is not appropriate. Otherwise, leave it in there and spread the message that you don’t require unnecessary replies.

The second mistake you are making that results in too many emails is that you send too many emails. Since eliminating my access to the Internet at home, I’ve developed the habit of saving up all correspondence for a particular individual and sending one itemized email per day to that person.

For example, if I want my assistant Amy to update a blog, contact an affiliate, and send off a transcript to a ghostwriter on Elance, I’ll put all of these tasks into one email that I’ll send at the beginning or end of the day. In turn, Amy sends me just one itemized update each day at 5pm on all the projects she is doing.

And when you do reply to someone’s email, make sure you change the subject line to reflect the content of the email. This will allow you to better find the email from your files when the day comes – and you know it will – when you absolutely, positively, MUST find that email in a hurry.

(Speaking of emergencies, when something important comes up in my business, we use this thing called a “phone”. See if your IT department has access to this cutting edge technology.)

If the itemized, single-message approach strikes you as too difficult to implement right now, then at least use the old “count-to-ten” rule before sending that email. That’s the beauty of medium. You actually have time to think before you hit the send button.

Remember, if you want to CONTROL YOUR EMAIL PROBLEM, then email should not be treated as a conversation. Stop replying to things that don’t need a reply.

Here’s one more tip on how to cut back on your email production. Begin by taking a look at how many emails you send per day. Now starting tomorrow, you must limit yourself to 25% of today’s email production.

For example, let’s say you sent forty emails today. That means tomorrow you get to send ten emails. Every email you send above ten costs $1 and you’ll deposit that dollar into a jar. At the end of the week you can burn it, flush it, or give it away to charity. It doesn’t matter. But it’s gone.

That will teach you to treat email with the respect it deserves.

The third reason you have too much email is because you ASK for it (as well as too many Twitter and Facebook messages).

The solution?

Unsubscribe from (almost) everything.

I get the following select business and financial email newsletters and believe they are worthwhile and I limit myself exclusively to this list:

a) Ryan Deiss (Reading time: 15 seconds)
b) Frank Kern (Reading time: 10 seconds and he never sends anything anyways)
c) Palm Beach Letter (Reading time: 1-2 minutes, but not daily)
d) SovereignMan.com (Reading time: 2 minutes)
e) DailyReckoning.com (Reading time: 2 minutes)

Everything else is not worth it, in my opinion.

Give yourself 5 minutes per day to read email newsletters and make sure you BATCH the reading time. That means you save them all for lunchtime or 5pm.

That’s all the time you get.

No mas.

Unsubscribe from everything else, and just as importantly, un-follow and un-friend everyone on FB and Twitter who isn’t someone you wake up wanting to hear from EVERY DAY.

If you have trouble letting go, just ask yourself, “How do I really want to spend my life?”

Is it answering email from strangers?

Is it reading yet another email newsletter?

Or is playing with your children and enjoying your family time?

Do your work and then cut off your email time.

Remember that every wasted minute you spend in your inbox is a minute stolen from the limited time your kids will be kids.

Something has to give.

It’s your choice. Don’t become a slave to work email. And needless to say, all of these recommendations apply to your personal email usage as well.

The bottom line is this…

Your inbox is your responsibility. If you get too much email then you simply haven’t set up the right systems to protect your time. Email is not a conversation tool, and when you can change your perspective on how email – and all online messaging should work – you’ll save yourself precious time and dramatically reduce your work-related stress levels.

Treat email – and the people’s time you are emailing – with respect and you’ll have less email to deal with.

Good luck, and remember, count to ten before hitting send.

[Ed. Note. With the time you save with these email tips, you'll be able to work on building a second income with a website-based business using of Financial Independence Monthly, a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future. With your own web–based business, you can live and make money from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or even the beach. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You've never seen anything like this before.]

http://www.sovereignman.com/

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Challenge Them

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 23, 2012

“They” say this. “They” say that.

Oh, do they now?

But have you ever investigated as to whether what “they” say is accurate?

Today I challenge “them” and present real-world findings to prove that what “they” say is wrong.

Craig Ballantyne

“Don’t be fooled by the calendar. There are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week’s value out of a year while another man gets a full year’s value out of a week.” – Charles Richards

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
_________________________________
A New American Dream

“They” would have told him not to do it, but with a recession looming in May of 2008, James Schramko left his highly paid job with the desire to live life on his terms, aiming to become an internationally recognized Internet Marketer. Impressively, in just 3 years James was able to not only master the essential skills needed for online business success, but also innovatively apply this knowledge and skyrocket to elite marketer status. Currently ranked #2 on Google for the highly competitive term “internet marketer” (behind only Wikipedia), profit specialist, James Schramko, and his blog, InternetMarketingSpeed.com, has quickly become one of the foremost trusted sources for both novices and more experienced marketers. Often recognized as doubling sales for some of the ‘biggest names’ in the business, today, James is one of the most in-demand speakers on the topic of ‘internet marketing’, and is consistently courted by the industry’s top experts to form joint ventures in order to learn his strategies.

James is often characterized by his peers as an unassuming Australian, and a gifted speaker – completely devoid of the hype and showmanship of so many in the internet marketing world, making him an desirable mentor for those in search of their own American Dream. James, along with Craig Ballantyne and Matt Smith, will be speaking at the Underground Online Seminar here.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here__________________________________
They Are Wrong About Your Potential
By Craig Ballantyne

People overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can achieve in ten years.

Or so “they” say.

I first heard this proclamation from two business owners at a small-closed door meeting of maverick business owners. Everyone in the room nodded their heads in agreement, but to me it just didn’t seem right. I believed it was a classic case of the anonymous “they” being wrong.

The quote was “filed” in my memory and a few weeks later I started to research this “rule”. My investigation brought me to this quote from Anthony Robbins.

“Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!”

Now I don’t disagree that Anthony Robbins has helped thousands and thousands of people, but I do disagree with what he says.

Here’s why.

Recently my business partner, Bedros Keuilian and I held a Mastermind Meeting in Las Vegas. As we went around the room we asked four questions to each client.

Where are you now?

Where do you want to be?

What do you need to do to get there?

And finally, perhaps the most important question of them all:

What ONE thing has to happen in 2012 for you to consider this to be a breakthrough year for you?

The answers were revealing and NOT in line with what Anthony’s quote would suggest.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Our Mastermind Members, and there were 31 of them, tended to make mountains out of molehills with their problems and dramatically underestimated what they could achieve in 2012. Their dreams were big, but not big enough for the next year, certainly not big enough to be called “breakthroughs”.

For example, one member wanted to replace his $2000 per month gym manager stipend with income from his online business. That was his BIG goal for 2012. But that’s just a tiny stepping-stone in comparison to what he can truly accomplish. After all, in just the final three months of 2011 he was able to sell 700 copies of his online program for over $21,000 in gross revenue. So for this member adding an extra $2000 in revenue each month was too small of a goal.

Yet small thinking is what I find common to almost everyone in life.

What stops people from thinking big are the obstacles in the way of progress. And worse, almost everyone gives too much power to the obstacles that block them. As a result, I’ve found the following statement to be more common than the Anthony Robbin quote above.

Most people OVER-estimate the obstacles in front of them and UNDER-estimate what they can accomplish.

Case in point: Another Mastermind member spent days and days working on a technical problem on his website, thus taking valuable time away from what really mattered in his business – which is working on the sales copy.

When asked why he did this, our Mastermind member said, “I didn’t know where to find someone else to do it.”

To be honest, it left both Bedros and I shaking our heads. We reminded this member, and all of the members in our group, that if they have a problem, all they need to do is ask. Either ask us or ask another person in the group for help. This is the simplest solution to what was actually a very small problem.

And we were validated by the fact that three of four Mastermind members immediately volunteered resources for this other member that could have solved his problem in minutes for a small investment.

Again, that would have freed up his time to work on the more important aspect of the business – selling – that would have brought in more money during this gentleman’s recent website promotion. However, because he spent too much time trying to figure out a technical problem on his own, the sales copy on his website was not compelling enough to his prospects.

The obstacle in his way was small, yet he perceived it as large. As a result of this mistake, his results were small, and therefore he under-estimated his future prospects of success.

Had he initially recognized how small of an obstacle he was dealing with, he would have been able to overcome that quickly, had better sales, and therefore had a bigger, and more accurate estimation of his future potential.

This situation is not uncommon. In meeting after meeting both Bedros and I solve our client’s problems in seconds.

You might do the same for your clients in your daily work. Your experience has shown you simple solutions to almost every problem, no matter how stressful the problem seems to your clients. But I’m willing to bet your clients think those problems are mountains, not molehills, right?

Don’t make the same mistake. Don’t over-estimate the obstacles in front of you and under-estimate what you can accomplish… otherwise you’ll just be proving “them” right.

Go back and identify where you are now, where you want to be, what you have to do to get there, and then answer the most important question of all, “What ONE thing has to happen in 2012 for you to consider this to be a breakthrough year for you?”

Thing big. Make big plans for 2012. And don’t be afraid to prove them wrong.

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a complete blueprint to helping you take control of your financial future with a web–based business that you can operate from anywhere in the world – including a coffee shop, your kitchen table, or anywhere around the world where there is Internet access. Discover how you can achieve the American Dream and your financial independence here. You've never seen anything like this before.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Most Powerful Word in Advertising

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 20, 2012

Many marketers proclaim that “free” is the most powerful word in advertising. And adding a ‘freebie’ to any offer almost guarantees an increase in response. Today, guest author Mark Tier explains how the word ‘free’ can be a powerful motivator for you and I to take action.

Craig Ballantyne

“Giving others what they want really is what motivates them to give you what you want.” – Robert Ringer
__________________
A New American Dream

It started at the Sovereign Man Confidential event last winter, where I presented on making money online. One of the other speakers, investment expert Tim Stamrose, gave me a copy of Mark Tier’s book, “The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros”. This book has forever changed my attitude towards investing. I remember the exact moment on the flight from Panama to Houston when I discovered the “Circle of Competence” questions that Buffet uses to invest.

1. What are you interested in?

2. What do you know now?

3. What would you like to know about and are willing to learn?

I answered those questions about stocks. Am I interested in them? – A little. Do I know anything about them? – Not a bit. Am I willing to learn? – Not really. If I were to do my own investing, I’d be the guy that bought at the top and sold at the bottom. But when I answer those questions another way, it’s obvious where I should invest.

1. What are you interested in? – Information publishing.

2. What do you know now? –Quite a bit.

3. Are willing to learn more? – Yes, I love this stuff. My passion for information publishing (online and offline) lined up with Buffet’s obsession with stocks.

And that’s where I should spend my time and money pursuing my American Dream. You can use those three questions to guide your investment strategy as well.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
___________________

The Price of “FREE”
By Mark Tier

The other day my cable company called to offer me two tickets to a special preview of the latest Sherlock Holmes movie.

FREE.

I wasn’t interested myself (this Sherlock wasn’t Basil Rathbone). But I knew my two boys would be. And the price was right.

That evening, we were a bit rushed for time so instead of having dinner at home we had close-to-indigestible fast food near the movie theater. Bang. There went the price of eight movie tickets.

Another movie ticket went into popcorn.

Then I met up with a friend and we sat around chatting for a while. Another movie ticket for a cappuccino. After that, we figured we might as well hang around until the movie ended to pick up the boys. A couple more movie tickets went into refreshments to help pass the time.

Also, the program went for an hour longer than expected. To watch the “FREE” movie, you had to sit through an hour of ads.

Oh, and did I mention parking, and fighting my way through the traffic to get to the right theater?

I could have sent the boys to a movie theater in walking distance and had enough change left over to watch ten more movies!

And had a decent dinner into the bargain.

Next time I’m offered something “FREE,” I’ll probably pass.

I should, of course, have known better. Starting in 1974, I built my investment newsletter business by direct mail marketing. Every one of my marketing pitches had a “free” bonus.

So I said “probably” because “FREE” is simply the most irresistible word in your marketing lexicon. Because it WORKS.

If you don’t believe me, next time you do a promotion try a split test: one with and one without the “free” bonus. Amazing how many people will pony up hundreds of dollars to get something for “nothing”!

“FREE” is everywhere

I belong to four different airline mileage programs. When I was travelling a lot, I had “FREE” miles pouring out of my ears (a really cheap way to upgrade to business or first class).

If you think miles are “FREE,” think again. I recently booked a ticket on Cathay Pacific. There was an option for the same flight, right there on their website: a ticket without miles was a hundred bucks cheaper.

In my wallet I have discount cards to four different vitamin stores. I get free miles or points every time I use one of my credit cards. At the supermarket, I use my credit card and get miles and points from the store! I even get points on one of my bank accounts!

If you think these things are all “FREE,” think again.

How do you think vitamin (or other) stores give their regular customers discounts (up to 20% off!)?

The “price of FREE” is built into the list prices of the vitamins. Without the “FREE,” the price of those vitamins would be some 10-20% lower.

It’s intriguing how people react to their “freebies.” One lady I know splurges on things she’d never ordinarily buy when she’s built up enough points on her cards. She thinks they’re free, and treats them as such.

I don’t make that mistake. (Well…uh…hardly ever.) I figure if someone wants to give me money for “nothing” I’ll take it, thanks very much. But then I’ll treat it as money and use it to buy whatever I usually buy.

BUY ONE, TAKE ONE

“Buy one, take one” is another variation of “FREE.” My wife had an interesting experience along these lines a few days ago. In department store #1, she found a pair of shoes she liked. Cost: $23.50. And since it was “buy one, take one” she got another pair free.

So she thought.

A few minutes she found exactly the same two pairs of shoes In department store #2. No “buy one, take one” here. $11.80 for the shoes she actually wanted – almost half the price of department store #1. Both pairs: $18.80!

“FREE” works. So I’m willing to bet (with no research) that department store #1 sold more shoes at the higher price than department store #2.

“FREE” is the simplest way to increase your sales–and up the average order value.

If you’re not giving away something “FREE” you’re leaving money on the table.

On the other hand, as a potential customer, remember that you usually get what you pay for.

[Ed. Note. Mark Tier founded the investment newsletter World Money Analyst in 1974 and built his subscription list by direct mail marketing. Always with a "FREE" bonus, of course. Now semi-retired, he spends his time writing. He's the author of the best-selling investment book The Winning Investment Habits of Warren Buffett & George Soros. His most recent book is the just-released Trust Your Enemies, a political thriller which is "Up there with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" according to the first review on Amazon.com.]

__

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Becoming the Person You Really Are

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 19, 2012

When it comes to goal setting and planning, I’m rarely at a loss for words or stumped by a question. Except for the one time I had a dinner conversation with today’s guest author.

He brings a unique take on finding your purpose and creating the life of your dreams to become the person you really are.

Craig Ballantyne

“Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else’s hands, but not you.” – Jim Rohn
_____________________
A New American Dream

“Things work out best for the people who make the best of the way things work out.” – Art Linkletter Left on the doorsteps of a local church soon after he was born in 1912, the late Art Linkletter went on to considerable TV success, including Art Linkletter’s House Party and People Are Funny, by following a simple formula: put regular people, especially kids, in front of the camera and let them be themselves.

The radio broadcaster, television personality and author had an uncanny ability to entertain through ordinary people, enhancing his already likeable character – one that was often described as endearing, heartfelt and funny.

Not to be outdone, Art also made remarkable strides in the business sector while acting as president of Linkletter Enterprises, with assets that included numerous oil and real estate holdings.

Sadly, despite Art’s likeable personality and entertainment and business success, he was plagued by misfortune, losing a daughter to an overdose of LSD, and ten years later, a son in a tragic car crash. The result of which was a lifelong crusade against drug-abuse.

With ten honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities for his humanitarian work, and his continuing campaign against drug abuse, Art Linkletter epitomizes all that can be achieved in pursuit of one’s American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

_____________________
How to Find Your Purpose in Life
By Ryan Murdoch

Life.

What’s the point?

It seems everyone you ask has a different answer. And that’s totally cool, because the only answer that matters is YOUR answer. The trick is to find an answer around which you can build a lifestyle that gets you to your goals.

But isn’t life an absolute? Universal definitions of right and wrong? One divine purpose?

Some people think so, and that’s fine as long as it works for them – and as long as they don’t try to force that worldview on other people. I choose to believe that I define the purpose of my own life, and that my purpose can be anything at all, as long as I follow it with passion, commitment and drive.

And that’s the key when it comes to realizing your goals. Having a clear sense of your own purpose

I don’t think it’s enough to merely “exist.” To me that means doing all the stuff that society expects me to do. Plodding through an uneventful cardboard life someone else handed down to me. That life can be summed up in two obituary sentences: “Bob was a nice guy. He always did his duty.”

Is that how you want to look back on your life when you finally reach the end?

We have so many choices, and more possibilities than we’ve ever had as a species! You don’t have to be born into money to travel the world. You don’t need family connections to make something of yourself – I came from a town of 4,500 people and had no advantages except my own talents, and I got out okay! You don’t need anything handed to you. All you need is a plan and the determination to see it through.

I believe that in order to truly exist, we must fully manifest our talents and virtues. As Nietzche said, “becoming the person you really are.”

That means taking the time to uncover your passion, and having the courage to live it. It also means completely rejecting the victim psychology that seems so prevalent in today’s society.

I think it needs to be said flat out, because so much of society is sending us the opposite message. YOU are responsible for yourself. Responsible for what you do. Responsible for who you are. Responsible for the way you face the world and deal with it. You aren’t a victim of your childhood or your past or your circumstances – unless you choose to be. There are no excuses.

That’s a tremendously empowering realization, or at least it was for me. When I realized that I was responsible for myself, I stopped making excuses and I stopped waiting for others to help me. Instead, I started changing my life.

No, it’s not easy. Nothing worthwhile is. But it DOES get easier if you’re clear about your purpose and you embrace it with passion. When you’re driven by that purpose, when every action you take is aligned with it, it’s easy to stay on track and nail every goal you set for yourself.

So that’s your Lifestyle task.

If you already know your purpose, great! Sit down and think about it some more, and reevaluate the details of your life so you can continue to cut away those things that don’t have anything to do with your purpose.

If you’re not clear about your purpose, if you feel like you’re living your life for someone else or for some vague notion of “society” and what it expects of you, don’t despair quite yet…

Set aside an hour this week – or at least 30 minutes – to sit down with your journal and pen. Lock the door. Pour yourself a cup of tea, or shake up a classic cocktail of your choice. It’s important to carve out this silence, because clarifying your purpose takes time. Quiet, uninterrupted time. If you’re skimming across your life at high speed, it’s impossible to dig down more deeply.

You might not figure out your purpose today, right now. But answering these questions will get you thinking in the right direction:

  • What do you want in life?
  • What experiences and accomplishments do you want to look back on?
  • What do you want to be known for?
  • What have been your greatest successes in life so far?
  • What do you admire about other people?
  • What are your most important values?
  • What did you really enjoy doing as a kid at play?
  • Describe your ideal job.
  • Describe your ideal relationship.
  • How do you most enjoy spending your time? When you’ve got free time, what do you fill it with?

Write down the first ideas that come into your head. Build on each one like a kid making a sandcastle. Don’t stop to think about whether or not it’s realistic, or whether you think you could really achieve it. Write in the third person if that helps, and pretend you’re creating a character or alter ego: your “ideal self.”

That’s a good start.

Want to take that process one step further? The most helpful “lifestyle” book I’ve ever read was, “How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World” by Harry Browne. I reread it every 3 to 5 years to keep myself on track. It’s out of print and used copies are expensive, but you can find PDF versions online. Get it. Read it. Apply it.

Living the life of your choice starts now.

[Ed. Note: Ryan Murdock is coauthor of the Shapeshifter Body Redesign program. When not helping people rediscover the body of their “glory years,“ Ryan travels the world’s marginal places as Editor-at-Large (Europe) for Outpost magazine. Ryan's work has also appeared in Alo Magazine, the anthologies Traveler's Tales Central America and Traveler's Tales China, and Toronto’s Eye Weekly. His Outpost feature "Taklamakan: The Worst Desert in the World" was nominated for a National Magazine Award in Canada.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

One of My Main Goals

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 18, 2012


For those of you who have watched my goal setting webinar, you learned that one of my main goals in life (from one of the four major goal categories) is to live a vigorous life beyond a specific age. Today’s article gives you the best tips on how to join me in doing so.

Craig Ballantyne

“People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It’s as simple as that.” – Earl Nightingale
________________________
A New American Dream
A self-described “loser, nothing, and a nobody” while growing up in a small town of Iowa, today Matt Furey is known as “The Zen Master of Health and Fitness”.

Early in his life Matt was desperate to turn his situation around, while pursuing his own definition of the American Dream. As he describes, “I grew up in a small town in Iowa located about 100 feet from a big water tower that hovered above my head. Each day when I walked outside my house I looked up and imagined what life would be like if I stood tall and could be seen from miles away, just like that water tower. I didn’t know how to do it. But I had some ideas…”

Those ideas have since translated into a highly successful personal training and coaching business, as well as spots on the cover of such magazines as ‘Grappling’, ‘Inside Kung Fu’, ‘Karate Illustrated’, ‘Gladiator’, and ‘Martial Arts Illustrated’, in addition to being named “2010 Hall of Fame Writer of the Year” by Inside Kung Fu.

It was Matt’s belief in the American Dream and his undying commitment to pursue it that ultimately carved out the life he had always wanted. And today, through his coaching and his numerous best-selling books, Matt continues to deliver the message of hope to others.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
________________________
How to Live a Long Life
By Craig Ballantyne

It’s no secret that eating well, getting plenty of exercise and abstaining from bad habits such as smoking and excessive drinking will lead to a longer and better quality of life. Those facts have been proven time and again. There are a few surprising factors when it comes to longevity however.

The Hawaii Lifespan Study

In 1965, a 40-year study began that examined the survival rates of a number of Japanese men over the term. The average age of the participant was 54 when the study began and none of the men involved had any underlying medical conditions at commencement.

The study offered nine lifestyle factors that were recommended for optimal health and longevity. These included being married, maintaining a healthy weight, low blood sugar and low blood pressure, having a higher education, possessing a strong grip in representation of physical strength, having a low level of bad cholesterol and abstaining from smoking and heavy drinking.

The men that followed the healthy criteria recommendations had an 80 percent chance of living to the age of 80 and avoiding illness. 42 percent of these men lived to the age of 85 while 11 percent of them remained free from illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. While this study followed men specifically, the same general advice can be applied to women as well.

Exercise. Your Biggest Factor.

Survival of the fittest. That statement could not ring more true. Those that are fit and strong have the greatest chance of surviving and thriving. If you need even more proof that regular exercise will improve your chances of living longer, here it is. A Japanese study followed over 83,000 Japanese men and women for a number of years, examining their lifestyle in regards to exercise.

After the ten year study came to close, it was concluded that the groups of both men and women that participated in the greatest amount of regular, physical activity showed lower premature death rates than the sedentary groups. The rates of heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and cancer were lower in the active individuals.

Exercise has long been shown to offer exceptional health benefits. The list of disorders and diseases that can potentially be avoided if regular exercise is a daily routine is extensive.

Possibly most importantly, exercise aids in maintaining a healthy weight. Obesity is a very high-risk condition and completely preventable through diet and exercise. Being overweight will raise the incidence of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, high cholesterol and certain cancers. All of these are precursors to premature death.

Along with potentially preventing the direct causes of death, regular exercise can aid in easing other ailments that may indirectly affect longevity. Disorders like depression, Seasonal Affective Disorder and other mental health conditions can be greatly improved through adopting a consistent workout routine.

Physical strength has a direct correlation to longevity as well. Elderly people are more prone to falls due to weaker muscles and more fragile bones. Strength training and certain sports like tennis, gymnastics and sprinting improve bone density as well muscular strength.

A lifelong commitment to any impact or weight bearing activity, no matter how late you may start, will offer protective benefits that will prolong your life and protect you from the devastating, bone breaking, potentially fatal falls in later years.

Marital Status

A happy marriage offers mental and physical benefits to both men and women. The key word there is happy. A strong, supportive relationship appears to benefit men more than women in a physical sense, while women benefit more in a mental way.

This may be because women receive the metal and emotional support that they need from a supportive, loving partner, while men are physically taken care of by their wife. Women will tend to their husbands ailments, encourage medical check ups and notice concerning symptoms more readily than their husbands. This can greatly improve preventative health care in men.

Higher Education

Higher education often leads to higher income, social class and better health care. All of these seem to contribute to a person’s health status, regardless of sex.

Statistically speaking, an additional 4 years of education lowers the mortality rate by 1.8 percent by reducing the risk of heart disease and diabetes considerably. The main reason for the correlation between education and longevity appears to be behavior based.

Educated individuals are less likely to smoke, drink excessively, and engage in the use of illicit drugs and other reckless behavior. They also are more likely to participate in a regular fitness program, seek medical attention when necessary and maintain a healthier diet.

The extra income may also pose an advantage. Those with a higher income can often afford premium health care and more nutritious food.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

Being overweight has numerous health consequences in both men and women alike. Being overweight, or worse yet, obese, can lead to higher LDL levels, high blood sugar and blood sugar imbalances and an increase in blood pressure. All of these factors are a recipe for premature death as they are the leading causes of life threatening illnesses such as heart disease, stoke and diabetes.

Once again, a combination of a nutrient dense, calorie controlled diet, rich in whole foods along with regular exercise is the best defense against poor health and the most efficient way to enjoy a long, healthy life.

Smoking and Drinking

Last but most definitely not least, are the no brainers when it comes to what to avoid if you hope to live past the age of 80. We have now had proof for numerous decades that smoking is akin to committing slow suicide. Both first hand and second smoke should be avoided at all costs.

There is a big difference between social drinking and excessive drinking. While enjoying the occasional glass of red wine may offer some health benefits, a daily bottle will do the opposite.

Excessive alcohol consumption leads to excessive calories in the diet, which will cause weight gain. A bad habit of drinking may also contribute to other bad behaviors such as smoking, poor choices in nutrition and reckless behavior. Eliminate or at least closely monitor alcohol consumption if you hope to be around to see your Grandkids.

In Conclusion

While most of these may be things you’re heard before, it never hurts to have a reminder. Our daily habits and the choices we make, create a balance that can have our health and quality of life going in either direction. Use these tips to keep your health on track and enjoy every moment of a long, happy life.

[Ed. Note. One of my goals is to live a vigorous life to the age of 105. It's a goal that I review regularly to remind myself that my lifestyle must be congruent. My vision dictates my action. Watch my goal setting webinar here to discover the best way to set goals for your life, health, and wealth.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Something I Do Every Day

By BreakthroughMarketingSecrets | Published: January 17, 2012

Each night as I lay myself down to sleep, I visualize the upcoming day. Each day when I lift weights, I visualize how the set is going to go before I do the reps. These are just two of the many ways I incorporate visualization into my success habits. Visualization is a powerful tool and Robert Ringer shows us why today.

Craig Ballantyne

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” – Muhammad Ali

_________________
A New American Dream

“Millionaire”. Ever since he was a little kid, this was the answer Ryan Deiss, one of the most respected “gurus” in the Internet Marketing world, gave when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up.

And now having launched countless training courses, simplifying the complexities of online selling and providing success blueprints for marketers of all levels, Ryan has been able to live out his American Dream.

But Ryan’s good fortune didn’t start from some innovative idea that suddenly hit the jackpot. Instead, the stepping-stone to his self-made wealth started from a simple desire to generate enough money to buy an engagement ring for his college sweetheart.

And it was during this time, while working with an Internet marketer as a college intern, that Ryan discovered just how much more money he could make online than as a financial consultant.

So Ryan began experimenting with a number of online business models, and eventually transferred his knowledge to countless training courses on varied subjects such as social media, SEO, and continuity, while simultaneously creating the lifestyle he’d always dreamed of.

And today, in an effort to help others achieve their own American Dream, Ryan publishes, speaks, blogs, writes, and records video courses on what he’s learned in his world-renowned Internet Marketing business, while also hosting his annual Traffic & Conversion Summit in Austin, Texas.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
__________________
The Power of Active Visualization
By Robert Ringer

I use the term “active visualization” to describe the conscious attempt to influence the outcome of events by vividly picturing those outcomes in advance. This is a very powerful concept that can produce truly amazing results for the person who is willing to concentrate with intensity.

As a teenager, my second most favorite sport (after basketball) was fast-pitch softball. I was a catcher, slow afoot but determined. If you’ve ever played fast-pitch softball, you know that the ball is on top of you so quickly after leaving the pitcher’s hand that you can’t afford to blink. Which is why I almost never hit the ball out of the infield the first year I played in an organized league.

When I came to bat during one particular game, the second baseman for the other team yelled to the outfielders, “Move in. This guy’s an infield hitter.” Sure enough, I hit a dribbler to the right side of the mound.

But the second baseman’s remark really ticked me off – so much so that it made me determined to do something about my meek infield hitting. I began by spending hours visualizing and intellectualizing my hitting stance and how I swung the bat.

The first mistake I realized I was making was that I was putting my left foot “in the bucket” –stepping toward third base instead of toward the pitcher. When your first step is away from the mound, it gives you a head start on getting out of the way if the pitch ends up coming straight at you. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to hit with power when your pivot foot is preparing to head for the hills.

Second, I realized that I wasn’t swinging the bat with authority. Experienced Major League scouts often categorize players as having a “quick bat” or “slow bat.”

Third, I was making the mistake of taking my eye off the ball, a result of focusing on getting out of the way.

Fourth, I was hitting the ball with a stiff swing – i.e., I wasn’t “breaking my wrists” at the moment of impact.

These four steps are a lot to concentrate on when the ball is coming at you, from 50 feet away, at breakneck speed. But I was determined to become a good hitter, so I started practicing them in my backyard every evening.

I got down in my batting crouch hundreds of times during each session and, with intense concentration, visualized the pitcher going through his windup and letting go of the ball. As I pictured the windup, I focused on stepping directly toward the pitcher with my left foot, which was a bold psychological statement that I intended to meet the pitch head on.

In step two, I swung the bat as hard as I could – initially in slow motion, then working up to full speed. For the first time, I was attacking the pitcher.

In step three, I practiced keeping my eyes glued to the end of the bat and visualized it making contact with the ball.

Finally, at the last instant, I sharply broke my wrists.

Each evening, after practicing these four steps hundreds of times in slow motion, I would begin to gradually increase my speed until I was swinging at full throttle. But whether fast or slow, I would mentally count the steps – one, two, three, four – in order to give myself a rhythm.

I still remember the first game in which my 1-2-3-4 visualization practice produced positive results. The other team had a very fast left-handed pitcher who was pretty wild – just the kind of pitcher that would have scared me to death prior to my visualization practice.

I don’t know exactly how to express what I felt the first time I came to bat, but I distinctly remember there being no doubt in my mind that I was going to hit the ball hard to the outfield. I had visualized and practiced it so many times that I almost felt as though I had an unfair advantage.

In fact, I played a mental game with myself and pretended I was practicing in my backyard. When the pitcher went into his familiar windmill windup, I knew the instant I stepped directly toward him that I was going to make solid contact with the ball. And I did – a cannon shot that almost took his ear off.

I went three for three that day, all line drives to the outfield. After four straight games of great hitting, the manager installed me as the cleanup hitter, and I remained there for the rest of the season.

Instead of meekly dribbling the ball to the right side of the infield, I now pulled everything to the left, because I was always way out in front of the pitch. So much so that I hit a lot of line drives down the left-field line that went foul, and teams actually starting shifting both their infields and outfields toward the left side of the diamond when I came to bat.

Little did I realize at the time that my successful experiment with the power of visualization would be one of the most important tools I would frequently employ years later in the business world. Before business meetings, I would play out in my mind every possible objection, question, and scenario I could imagine. And I would think through and practice how I would handle just about any obstacle that was placed in my path.

Preparation through visualization takes an excruciating amount of mental effort, but once you begin reaping the benefits of your efforts, I think you’ll find that the results are worth it. What it gets down to is paying the price out front … and enjoying the benefits down the road.

[Ed. Note: If you're ready for a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques that are guaranteed to dramatically improve your dealmaking skills - and, in the process, increase your income many times over - you won't want to miss Robert Ringer's bestselling audio series, A Dealmaker's Dream.

Robert Ringer is a New York Times #1 bestselling author and host of the highly acclaimed Liberty Education Interview Series, which features interviews with top political, economic, and social leaders. His recently released work, Restoring the American Dream: The Defining Voice in the Movement for Liberty, is a clarion call to liberty-loving citizens to take back the country. Ringer has appeared on numerous national talk shows and has been the subject of feature articles in such major publications as Time, People, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, and The New York Times. To sign up for his e-letter, A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World, visit www.robertringer.com.]

This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.

Posted in Blog | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment