If you’ve ever wondered whether investment gurus follow their own advice, then you’re going to love today’s guest article from Mark Ford, who shows you exactly what happened when he put his skepticism aside and starting following a new Palm Beach Income approach.

Craig Ballantyne

“Transformation can only be achieved through education.” – Matt Smith
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A New American Dream

The average U.S. 401 (k) account hit a record US $74,900 at the end of March 2011, up 12% from March 2010, according to Fidelity Investments. Most of the growth came from rising stock markets while the remainder of the increase was due to an increase in employee contributions that have increased after the financial crises of 2008. Still, it’s not nearly enough to retire on. In fact, many experts suggest it’s only one-tenth the recommended level of retirement savings for living the American Dream.

Fortunately, there are experts like Mark Ford and Tom Dyson out there who are giving practical, and invaluable advice on building wealth. Please print out today’s essay – and anything we publish from Mark Ford. It’s the best information you’ll find anywhere about growing your retirement savings.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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This Options Program Seems to Be Working…But Do You Understand It?
By Mark Ford

Today I want to update you on my experience with Palm Beach Income, the options-trading program that we introduced earlier this year.

If you were a subscriber back then, you know that my initial reaction to the idea was negative. “Options are risky,” I thought. “I don’t want to expose Palm Beach Letter subscribers to unnecessary risk.”

But Tom was insistent. There are seven ways to trade options, he told me. Five of them are indeed risky, but two of them are actually safe. He showed me data to support that statement. More persuasively, he showed me the results he had been getting on his own account.

The historical numbers were enticing, but I’ve been fooled by “past performance” before. I told Tom that before I would endorse the service, I’d have to try it myself. I sent my broker $200,000.

The initial results were very impressive. On my first trade, I earned $1,149 after Tom spotted some unusual activity in a key corner of the gold markets. Then, another pocket of the market was expressing some unusual behavior. Within the hour, $454.99 appeared in my account. Last year, on June 22nd, two more transactions led to instant income payouts of $1,689.97 and $909.98. Exactly one week later, on June 29th, I performed this transaction four separate times in a single day and earned $499.99, $499.99, $549.98 and $674.98. Not bad for a day’s work. The results were so good that I felt comfortable telling my youngest son to invest the $25,000 he got as a college graduation present into one of these options accounts.

As you can see here, he also had some good results.

So the initial results were all very good. I was almost ready to endorse the program, but I had one concern. Options are complicated. The success my son and I had enjoyed was easy as pie because Tom and my broker were executing all the decisions. I wondered whether PBL subscribers would be able to make those trades themselves. Was it too complicated?

So I asked Tom to do a beta test. He selected one hundred volunteers who spent six weeks learning how to do this kind of trading. What I wanted from the beta test was not a good return on investment–I had already seen that–but testimonials from participants who found the teaching part of the program easy and enjoyable.

Tom designed the teaching program himself. He worked very hard for three months putting together a series of videos that explained the theory and taught the practice. And then he asked for feedback and made changes and adjustments to make the program crystal clear.

The response we received was impressive:

I have found this to be the most profitable and safest investment idea I have come across in my thirty-seven years of investing in the stock market. –Jay DeHee, Frankfurt, Germany

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but was extremely pleased with the course. Tom and Paul have been refreshingly open and honest and seem to have a genuine concern that I fully understand all the details before I ever make my first trade. Additionally, they did not try to juice up or exaggerate profit gain examples like many trading newsletters do by using numbers based on margin trading that multiply the percentage of gains, yet simultaneously fail to fully explain the risks involved when using margins. So, to sum it all up, I am confident that it will add some sizable extra income to my portfolio over the coming year as we move forward into the next phase of the Palm Beach Income program. –Pam Witherspoon, San Francisco, CA

With a great track record and so many rave reviews of the teaching component, I endorsed the program. We released it to subscribers in December of last year. Since then, everything seems to be going smoothly.

In fact, this program is outperforming all our expectations across the board. As of now, we have closed eighteen trades in our Palm Beach Income portfolio, all of them winners. Our average holding period is eighty days, and the average annualized gains for these eighteen trades is 15%.

But I can’t say for sure because I committed one of the cardinal sins of investing. I was too lazy to take Tom’s teaching program. I simply told my broker to do the trades for me.

The results have been very good. After six months, my portfolio is up 11%, which translates into a 22% annualized gain. I’ve got to tell you–this is money I would have put into a bank account. Twenty-two percent is an amazing figure.

But, I still don’t know what I should about trading options. I understand the basic theory, but I can’t even read the statements that come from my broker. It’s nice to be making money–especially twenty-two times what I can get from a bank account–but I don’t feel comfortable having my money in places unless I really understand it.

And this brings me to my main point.

I don’t want Palm Beach Income to be a service that simply recommends trades. There are dozens of services like that. Some are good. Some are not so good. But even the best ones (like ours) won’t work forever all the time.

What’s important–in terms of building real, sustainable wealth–is that you understand how these two types of trading work. What’s important is that you learn a skill for making extra income that you can use for the rest of your life.

It’s like the old saying: giving a man a fish will feed him for one day, but teaching him how to fish will help him for the rest of his life.

I’ve been making good money with my options account, but I never put in the time to learn how to do it. So, as far as I’m concerned, I’ve wasted my time and money.

But I’m going to fix that. I’m going to take the course and see if I can learn how to trade. I’m going to see if it is simple and clear enough so that someone like me can really understand it.

My main goal is to make sure Palm Beach Income is worth every penny–for the education you will get about trading, not just for the investment picks. As I take the program, you can be sure I’ll be giving Tom and Paul my feedback. I will make sure that everything is crystal clear and easy to follow.

Making money is great, but if you don’t understand how you make it, what good does that do you?

I want Palm Beach Income to be a service that will teach you how to fish income out of the options stream for the rest of your life.

While I’m doing this, please write us at income@palmbeachletter.com and tell me if you are finding the course clear, concise, and easy to understand. Please feel free to make any and every criticism you can. Tom and Paul and the gang are excited by our success, but they are also 100% committed to making this the most useful and profitable options service in the world.

I mean that. So give us your feedback.

[Ed. Note: Mark is planning to open Palm Beach Income to new subscribers only four times a year, and he just recently closed enrollment. We didn't intend to write any more about it until the next opening, but since Mark wrote this essay about it, if anyone wants in, you can sign up for a four-month, no-obligation trial here...]

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.

Here’s an inspiring story. You’re about to discover how a small business owner outsmarted one of the biggest, most powerful industries in America. Today, he’s completely turned the tables on the establishment. Robert Ringer shares with you a clever little plan for winning any “David vs. Goliath” battle.

Craig Ballantyne

“Every moment waited is a moment wasted, and each wasted moment degrades your clarity of purpose.” – David Deida
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A New American Dream

“The rules remain: If you want money, it’s a good idea to place yourself where there is plenty – and if you present someone with the ability to spend something they very much want or need, and SECURE their TRUST, they’ll hand you their money. You need to create your own economy via relationship with a “prime herd” who are not affected by overall economy. Be careful of devoting excess attention to product or media or technology, and not enough to ‘prime herd’. Ultimately the financial facts of your life will be more governed by who you sell to and the nature of the relationship you have with them.” – Dan Kennedy

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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On Taming Dinosaurs
By Robert Ringer

Once upon a time, there was a ferocious dinosaur known as Publishaurus rex who roamed the Earth, devouring everything in its path. Bookstores and authors were especially attractive prey for this carnivorous monster.

While scientists believe that most dinosaurs disappeared as a result of some catastrophic natural disaster about 250 million years ago, the Publishaurus rex not only managed to survive, but prosper. In fact, it’s still around today, though it has been tamed.

It took the cleverness of an entrepreneur by the name of Leonard Riggio to accomplish such a feat. The story of what Riggio did to bring the book-publishing industry to its collective knees would rival Jurassic Park on the big screen.

First, a little history. I don’t know how book publishers ever got themselves trapped into such a bad deal, but since the beginning of time, most books have been “sold” to bookstores on a consignment basis. From a business standpoint, this arrangement is so absurd that whenever people who aren’t familiar with the book-publishing industry hear about it for the first time, they’re amazed.

Nevertheless, publishers were always able to live with the obscene consignment arrangement, because they were so powerful and could push bookstores around. In earlier days, when large bookstores chains hadn’t yet been invented, many bookstores were fearful of returning too many books to a powerhouse publisher for fear of being cut off from future shipments.

But as Waldenbooks and B. Dalton developed into large chains in the seventies, the bookworm slowly began to turn. Even so, the publishing dinosaur was so busy with other more important matters that it didn’t even notice what was happening to its own business.

By important matters, I’m referring to publishing executives attending sales conferences four times a year in such fun-and-sun locations as Puerto Rico, Miami, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas … the Frankfurt Book Fair once a year in Germany … the annual London Book Fair in the U.K. … having lunch and dinner with literary agents at New York’s finest gourmet restaurants, where they could (as one agent gently described it in a national magazine) “plot how to screw authors” … and, of course, at the highest levels of management, partaking in extramarital affairs that provided highly entertaining gossip for the publishing industry.

Then, one day, a funny thing happened to publishing executives on the way to lunch at 21 Club in Manhattan: A fellow by the name of Leonard Riggio bought a little bookstore company called Barnes & Noble. You had to figure that Riggio was a country bumpkin, because who else would want to plunk down his hard-earned money to get into a dull business like retail bookselling?

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one not able to pick up on what was occurring in the book-publishing business, because even the biggest publishers didn’t see it coming. In fact, no one paid much attention to Riggio and his little chain of bookstores until well into the 1980s.

He moved quietly and cleverly until, little by little, Barnes & Noble maneuvered itself into a position where it was able to tighten its control over the gates that stand between book publishers and retail customers. Along the way, Barnes & Noble also bought up smaller bookstores and chains, the most notable of which were B. Dalton and Doubleday.

Riggio’s next major move was to begin building superstores – and today, Barnes & Noble has nearly seven hundred of these monster retail outlets spread through every major metropolitan area in the U.S. As part of his master plan to become the industry gatekeeper, Riggio also added two new twists.

First, he put small cafes in his retail behemoths so customers could have a croissant and cup of coffee without ever having to leave Barnes & Noble. Second, he had overstuffed lounge chairs strategically placed throughout each store, so customers could relax and read to their heart’s content.

By the time well-fed, lethargic publishing executives woke up to what was going on, it was too late. They already had a huge Barnes & Noble chain around their collective necks, and Riggio was giving them harsh commands to heel and toe.

As a result, nowadays if a publisher wants to assure that its books will be given reasonable nationwide distribution, it had better be prepared to pay homage to Barnes & Noble. And if it wants decent placement for any particular book in Barnes & Noble’s superstores, that homage must come in the form of hard cash.

For example, if a publisher wants a book to appear on the third table from the front of the store at Barnes & Noble, it has to pay extra for that privilege. If it wants the book to appear on the front table, that’s even more expensive. Simply to have a book placed on the “end rack” of any bookshelf in a Barnes & Noble store, a publisher must to be prepared to pay The Gatekeeper a few extra shekels.

Then, of course, there are the special racks that are filled with just a single title. This is such an expensive proposition that in order to be able to afford it, a publisher almost has to be prepared to cut back on (gasp!) executive dining with literary agents for a month or two. And, finally, a publisher can purchase a special rack at the very front entrance of B&N’s superstores for about what it would cost a family of five to tour the world for a month.

Basically, all Riggio did was copy the legal bribery system that has been used by supermarkets for decades. When you go to a supermarket, wherever you see a display of, say, Pepsi or Coke, be assured that those companies paid serious money for that placement in that particular store.

So, is Riggio an earthly rendition of Lucifer for ruining the cushy lives to which publishing executives had become so accustomed? I think not. After all, for centuries publishers have played the role of gatekeeper vis a vis aspiring authors, with a ruthlessness that makes Riggio look like a Boy Scout.

Now, it’s the long-time bullies of the publishing industry – major publishers – who are getting bruised and battered and drowned by returned books coming from every direction. They haven’t even come close to figuring out a way to deal with Mr. Riggio’s way of doing business.

The lesson all of us little guys on the sidelines can learn from Leonard Riggio is that no one has such a stranglehold on any industry that it is invulnerable. If your plan is clever enough, and you’re prepared to do whatever it takes to execute it, anything is possible.

The secret is to keep a low profile and move quietly, but keep moving forward. And if the companies currently ruling the roost are arrogant – which is almost always the case – it gives you a huge advantage to move stealthily into position to upstage them. Even a college dropout by the name of Gates (as in gatekeeper) proved it could be done.

[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.

When you can solve a client’s problem better than anyone else, you’ve made a big step toward success. Today, Jason Leister explains his creative way to get clients.

Craig Ballantyne

“Fill your life with positive expectations. Demand the best. Attitude and desire contribute to 90% of your achievement.” – Kekich Credo #86… Drop the negatives. Hang around positive people. And most importantly, believe in – and expect more of – yourself.
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A New American Dream

Meet Hart Main. While he may look, and in a lot of ways, act, like a typical 13-year-old kid from Ohio, there’s actually something very special about him. Hart is a small business owner on the path to his own American Dream. It all started one day when Hart was teasing his sister for selling ‘girly’ scented candles for a school fundraiser.

He then realized that only half the people he knew would be interested in them. This lead Hart to launch his own line of scented candles for men, with fragrances that include bacon, New York–style pizza, sawdust, the smell of a fresh leather baseball mitt, and even cracker jacks. Hart’s new business was soon featured on a local TV station.

He makes the candles using scores of empty cans from soup he donated to a soup kitchen. And they’re a hit. So far, he’s sold 500 candles for $5 apiece. Available online and in stores, the sky is the limit for this bourgeoning king of candles. According to the AP report, Main says that he’s already made enough money to buy a “nice bicycle.” For a young entrepreneur like Hart Main, there is no age too young to start living the new American Dream when you are able to solve the problems of other people.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Grow a Client
by Jason Leister

In a recent subscriber survey I conducted at ClientsSuck.net, 56.8% of the service providers surveyed cited “how to get clients” as the #1 challenge they face in their business. 34.7% of them said that the lack of “how to do it” marketing skill was the primary obstacle holding them back from success.

Today, I’m going to address both issues in an effort to demystify this topic and help you attract better clients, more easily. (I didn’t say faster. More on that in a moment.)

A few weeks ago, I presented a webinar about attracting clients. In the webinar, I talked about how to create a “solar system” of things that slowly and gently PULL clients into your world. (The emphasis is on the words slowly and gently.)

That’s key.

Why?

To answer that question, let me tell you a short story.

Right now, my wife is pregnant with our sixth child. She’s a midwife, so I know a lot more about the birth process than probably 99.9% of men on this planet.

It is truly amazing when you understand the thousands and thousands of things that are going on as a little one grows from a tiny little spec into a full grown baby.

Perhaps the MOST amazing thing, however, is that the instructions and blueprint for that entire being are included right from the getgo.

Just like a plant growing in the garden, the course of its entire development (environmental influences aside) is programmed into that tiny seed.

The Same Thing Can Be Said About Your Clients

When your clients show up, they too contain just about everything for their development as a client of yours.

Where do they get their programming?

From your marketing of course. They get it from the system you use to attract clients.

If you have clients that balk at your fees, are annoying to work with and just make your life crazy, then take a look at your client attraction process.

Something in there led them to believe that their current behavior is acceptable to you.

Something in there attracted those folks to you.

You have to find out what that is and change it.

It all begins with…

The Care and Feeding of Leads

It’s easy to get frustrated when you’re trying to generate leads.

I’m sure you can think back to a time when you were talking to a prospect on the phone, everything seemed great, and you were 110% sure you’d get the business.

And then the business just up and disappeared.

That sucks.

Understand this: leads are just like plants. They require time to grow.

You don’t just generate leads, you grow them.

You don’t “get” clients, you grow them.

Think of yourself planting a garden. (This is hard for me because everything green I touch seems to die a very quick death. Hopefully you fare better with the plant kingdom.) When you plant your seeds, you don’t expect to wake up the next day and find a beautiful garden.

In that case, you know that you have to provide the food and care required for the seeds to grow. If you rush things, you run the risk of killing the plants before they even have a chance.

It’s no different with leads.

The process of generating a lead and having that lead become a client can take a long time.

It can require phone calls, and many, many touches where you deliver value to your prospect.

There is nothing wrong with this.

In fact, a long process is often preferable. If you force things, you become an obvious salesman in the eyes of your prospect.

If you don’t force things, it is easier to cement yourself as a professional in the mind of your prospect.

As the leads come in, don’t put pressure on yourself to “sell them.” Simply take them as far as they will go and then put them on your follow-up system (you do have a follow-up system right?).

Some of the leads will close right away and others won’t. This is how you fill your pipeline with business at various stages of development.

Then, you allow your systems (email, direct mail, public speaking, etc.) to provide the food and care required to grow them into a client.

But What If You Need Clients Fast?

I repeat: the best clients are the ones that slowly and gently end up at your doorstep, NOT the ones you beat over the head and drag back home. (As if that’s a smart way to get a client anyway.)

My recommendation is to give up on the idea of getting clients fast. It can happen, it does happen and it will happen, but to make that your goal is not going to allow you to attract the quality clients you really want to be working with.

You have to have a SYSTEM. (Don’t freak thinking this sounds complicated. A system can be one simple thing you do consistently.)

Do you have a system?

Or do you just go through life hoping someone shows up?

What tools do you have out there (newsletters, videos, interviews, blog posts, strategic referral relationships, etc.) slowly creating relationships and communicating value?

If you have nothing, then there’s something for your TODO list for today.

Don’t wait. I don’t care if the media says you’re supposed to be out shopping. Screw that. Your well-being is a bit more important don’t you think?

Ideally, you need a system like this in place months before it can generate a client. In a pinch, starting NOW will also do.

Remember, you don’t go GET clients. That’s the wrong energy completely. And it’s a terrible way to go into things… as pursuer.

You attract clients, pure and simple.

How are you doing that for your business?

Think about it and take action today.

[Ed. Note: Jason Leister is an internet entrepreneur, direct response copywriter and editor of “The Client Letter,“ the daily e-letter from ClientsSuck.net, where he helps independent professionals create success. You can contact him via his website at JasonLeister.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.

T’is the season for award shows, where various organizations pick the singer/actor/star of the year. That got me in the mood to give out my own award – but for the future. While it may seem a little early to name the Person of the Year for 2012, there’s no doubt it’s going to be you.

But this isn’t an award you’re being given because you’re a special little snowflake. You’re receiving this award because – when it comes to your future success and freedom – there is no one else I can give it to. Your future depends on you and you only.

Craig Ballantyne

“Choice of attention–to pay attention to this and ignore that–is to the inner life what choice of action is to the outer. In both cases, a man is responsible for his choice and must accept the consequences.” – W.H. Auden
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A New American Dream

How did I end up here at the helm of ETR? Good question. The story begins almost 10 years ago when both Matt Smith and I – separately – first stumbled across the impressive ETR daily emails from Michael Masterson. We’ve been fans ever since. In 2005 I noticed that a fitness colleague, Matt Furey, was contributing health briefs to the daily ETR newsletter, and so I contacted ETR and earned an opportunity to do the same. But it was in 2006 when I said something to someone that truly set the wheels in motion on my ultimate plan for life. Five years, two months, and seventeen days after telling the universe what I wanted to accomplish my dream came true. Don’t miss the small, yet powerful “Moral of the Story” and my “Law of Attraction” story about how I became the editor of Early to Rise and achieved one of the biggest goals of my life.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Personal Responsibility and Self-Reliance Will Set You Free
by Craig Ballantyne

I woke up in paradise to a beautiful star-filled sky (it was 4:51am after all), a warm sea breeze, the crash of the morning ocean, and the smell of the Pacific.

Yet, I felt irritable and stressed in paradise. As I meandered about before my morning writing ritual my mind weakly wanted to lay the blame for this mood on others.

“Grrr, Matt shouldn’t have convinced me to stay up so late drinking Coronas beside the beach,” was my first thought.

“If only the seminar wouldn’t have gone on so long I could have finished my email newsletters earlier last night,” I grumbled.

On and on the excuses went as I tried to immerse myself in my writing. But each of my excuses were brittle, easily broken and discarded by reality.

My foul mindset, my late rising, and my inability to focus on my work, all of these were my fault. The situation was my responsibility. I had gotten myself into this trouble and I was also the only person who could get me out of it.

This situation was no different from any of the other mistakes I have made in life. It was my fault in elementary school when my friends and I were caught throwing snowballs and spent the afternoon in the principal’s office. It was my fault each time I was late for my afterschool job in high school. It my fault, and my fault alone, for losing muscle and gaining ten pounds of fat during my first semester at college. All of these were my responsibility and consequences of my actions.

As this ‘right thinking’ began to slowly permeate my brain my mood began to improve. After all, Rule #8 on my list of the 12 Rules I Live By states:

“Everything that happens to me – good and bad – is my personal responsibility. I blame no one but myself. These are the choices I’ve made – this is the life I’m living. I will accept the consequences of my actions.”

Accepting this was no fault but my own was the start towards changing my mood and becoming more productive. I also knew that the quickest way out of this predicament was to get some exercise. That always works to boost my mood and help with my creativity. And so I walked from my oceanfront condo up to the gym and jumped into a workout that fixed my mood and brought me this message to share with you today.

The bottom line is that solving my problem was my responsibility. And if I may give you some tough love, the truth is that solving all of your problems is entirely your responsibility as well. As Donald Trump once said, “You can’t rely on anyone for anything.”

We can only rely on ourselves to improve our situation in life. You must take personal responsibility for your situation and use self-reliance to improve the situation.

The dictionary definition of self-reliance is the “Reliance on one’s own capabilities, judgment, or resources; independence.” That is far more powerful than being dependent, which is defined as, “Relying on or requiring the aid of another for support”, “Subordination to someone or something…”, “The state of being controlled by something else”, or “A compulsive or chronic need”.

Each of these definitions demonstrates that without personal responsibility and self-reliance that you will remain a prisoner, trapped by the inability to take control of your life. Dependence leads to a miserable, helpless existence.

Like it or not, if you are in debt, struggling with your business, your health, or your personal relationships, no one else is going to come along and fix that for you. It is entirely up to you, and you only, to make the changes in your life to improve the situation.

You must, “Identify and replace all external authorities with internal strength and competence. Take full control of, and responsibility for, your conscious mind and every aspect of your life,” says Kekich Credo #30.

While Early to Rise teaches and preaches the need for and benefits of finding positive social support, networking with like-minded people, and attending educational seminars, at the end of the day it’s your decision to follow through on all of this. It is up to YOU and you alone to change your life.

No one else can do it for you. No one else can show up at your house and eat less and move more for you if you want to lose weight. No one else can stop you from watching television and to spend that time on creating a second income instead. No one else can say the words, “I love you” or “I forgive you” to mend the important relationships in your life.

Wherever you are in life, there is only one person who got you into this and only one person can get you out – and that’s you. You are the only person who can set you free by taking personal responsibility and choosing the path of self-reliance.

No matter how tough a position you feel you might be in, there’s no one you can count on to change your life for you.

As Dan Kennedy once said when explaining what separates the best from the rest, “To move forward you must give up your “story” – whether it is excuses about your childhood, lack of education, your bad “luck”, your unsupportive family, your low metabolism, where you live, etc.”

Ouch. That’s tough. And there’s no doubt today’s message is tough love, but make no mistake, it IS written with love. It’s just happens to be tough love because sometimes we all need a kick in the pants to change our ways.

I promise you, when you commit to taking personal responsibility for your status in life, and turn to self-reliance to change your situation and to no longer depend on others to rescue you from your mistakes, only then will you have true freedom and control over your future.

“That which is most satisfying is that which is earned. Anything received free of charge is seldom valued. You can’t get something for (from) nothing. The price is too high.” – Kekich Credo #38

Your success depends on the most important person in the world – You.

[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.

Over the years I’ve attended well over a dozen weekend seminars hosted by Dan Kennedy in addition to buying every single book of his that I can find. It’s given me a good start towards my Ph.D. in Marketing. Today, he’s our guest author and shares the power of Mastery in your life and business.

Craig Ballantyne
“School is never out for the pro.” – Cavett Robert
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A New American Dream

Robert Skrob calls himself a “serial entrepreneur,” and it’s not hard to see why. He started his first business when he was 23 years old. Ever since then, he’s been starting and running new ventures at breakneck speed. After busting his hump for years trying to stay abreast with his companies, often with little to no employee support, Robert discovered direct marketing. He began to create marketing strategies that allowed him to track what works.

His success has become well known, and now dozens of businesses regularly invest with Robert to create direct marketing systems for them. Robert co-authored the book, “The Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing; Build a Million Dollar Business in 12 Months” with Dan Kennedy.

He now teaches entrepreneurs how to take what they’ve learned and teach it to others. He currently serves as president of the trade association for the industry, the Information Marketing Association, and also was appointed to the board of VISIT FLORIDA by Governor Jeb Bush. Robert shows that thinking outside the box is often times the quickest way to find the new American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The Power of Mastery
By Dan Kennedy

I am about to tell you how to add $25,000.00, $50,000.00, maybe $100,00.00 a year to your yearly income – without spending even a penny more on advertising or marketing.

One of my featured guest speakers at a past SuperConference was Michael Vance. Michael worked side–by–side with Walt Disney for a number of years. As I was listening to Mike, I made a mental note to start talking about a Walt Disney quote about marketing that I used to use a lot.

What Walt Disney said about Marketing is:

“Do what you do so well – and so uniquely – that people can’t resist telling others about you.”

In every field, there are “masters”. People just so darned good at what they do that people are compelled to tell others about them.

Mike Vance is that kind of speaker, and there are darned few in that category. Actors like Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro. The salesman I used to buy my cars from, Bill Glazner, at Sanderson Ford in Phoenix – he puts every other car guy I’ve ever seen to shame.

There are a couple chiropractors I know who put on such a great “report of findings” (their equivalent of the Printing Audit) that they enjoy 100% conversions and can easily sell large dollar “pre–pays.” There’s a shoe–shine guy at the Atlanta Airport who still rubs wax in by hand, snaps the towel with authority, slaps the leather, makes the brush sing. And this is important: these people are “master performers.” They are not just masters at whatever technical thing they do, they are masters at presentation.

So, here’s a very simple, very practical question: after a customer buys from you for the first time, do they – without any prodding from you – rush to the phone, call an associate, and tell them about the amazing buying experience they just had? Are the first words out of their mouth to the next person they see about you?

If it is, here’s the economic impact: your need to invest money in acquiring new customers will diminish over time as your business converts to being 100% referral driven. This means you can take all the money you now spend on advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, etc. and put it into your pocket instead. This means you will have more people calling and waiting in line for you than you have time, because each client will multiply.

“Mastery” can quite easily be worth an extra $50,000.00 to $200,000.00 or even more to you each year you remain in this business. (Bank it all at even modest interest and in just five years you can retire a cash millionaire.)

To get that good, you must dedicate yourself to doing so: I’ve always been impressed with the late Yul Brenner, who performed the “King and I” a record number of times on Broadway – and still rehearsed his lines, gestures and facial expressions everyday, before every performance, right up until his last one.

How many times have you written out your own, complete sales script word for word? Recorded it and listened to it on tape? Role–played it with family or mastermind group members? Practiced in front of a mirror? Ever? This month?

Get this: I can predict your future bank balances if I know what you read, what you listen to, what educational functions you attend, who you hang out with and what you work on (practice) regularly. Oh, and years ago, Joe Karbo wrote this wonderful ad headline: are you too busy making a living to make a fortune? Are you?

[Ed. Note. DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi–millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first–generation, from–scratch multi–millionaire and 7–figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct–response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity–entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up. His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of Glazer–Kennedy Insider's Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world.]

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.

The mistakes of your past are not who you are now. No matter what you’ve done in your life you have a second chance that starts today. It is your time to choose who you will be and who you will become for the rest of your life. You are certainly not too old or too poor or too busy to add value to the world, to give, create or inspire. If you need to, let the past go and start fresh, right here, right now.

Use Robert Ringer’s “Power Equation” from his essay today to turn your mistakes and obstacles into opportunity.

Craig Ballantyne

Attitude and desire contribute the most to achievement. Check yours. Are they right for what you want in your life? Believe in yourself and never give up.
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A New American Dream

Michael Masterson’s new business venture – The Palm Beach Letter – is looking to hire a junior marketer. TPBL is the youngest but fastest growing affiliate of Agora. They’re looking for a marketing apprentice to join the team, learn the business, and help grow them into a $10 million business.

No experience necessary, but to get this job, you must have the attention to detail of a brain surgeon and the ability to multi-task of a mother with twins. Fair warning: if they meet you, they WILL test you on these qualities. You must also be willing to relocate to Delray Beach, FL.

Compensation: A mentorship with Michael Masterson, $30k per year, a performance bonus and a full benefits package. To apply for this position – attach your resume and a cover letter to an email and send it to Careers@palmbeachletter.com, putting “PBL Job” in the subject line and the title of your favorite Michael Masterson book in the email body.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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The Power Equation
By Robert Ringer

Talk about lucky. I shudder to think that but for the luck of the draw, I could have been born Garfield the Cat instead of a human being. I can’t tell you how happy I am that I have a human brain. Even more important, I have free will, and the only limitations on that free will are those that I choose to impose on it.

Good news: You, too, have been blessed with free will. And because of this unique human gift, you need not be stifled by “adversity,” “problems,” or “obstacles.” Each of these is, in fact, nothing more than a language-based way of referring to a fact or set of facts. Through free will, you have the capacity to intellectualize, plan, conceptualize, and find creative ways to negate adversity, solve problems, and overcome obstacles.

What I’m talking about here is resourcefulness. Resourcefulness is what I like to refer to as an “expansive mental paradigm.” All this fancy term means is that when you take action, particularly bold action, the boundaries of what you believe to be possible (your belief system) expand. Which, in turn, gives you the capacity to consider new ideas, new possibilities, and new concepts that you previously thought to be impossible (i.e., outside the boundaries of your mental paradigm).

The motor of resourcefulness is action, and what unleashes action is an individual’s willingness to make mistakes – even to look foolish or stupid. Remember the ad where Michael Jordan said that he missed something on the order of twenty-two game-winning shots? He then added, “I succeed because I fail.”

I think a good definition of an entrepreneur might be “a person who makes a living finding ways to overcome problems and obstacles.” And a good definition of a successful entrepreneur could be “a person who becomes well off by finding ways to turn problems and obstacles into opportunities.”

When you take action, you don’t need to worry about making mistakes, because it’s already set in stone: You will make mistakes. And, guess what? You’ll also make them if you don’t take action. The only difference is that when you take action, you’re on your way to accomplishing your objectives. I say on your way, because action puts you in a position to learn from, and correct, your mistakes as you go along. On the other hand, inaction is likely to flood your mind with stressful “what ifs” and have you scratching your head in confusion.

When you play the “what if” game, you demonstrate that you are afraid of failure. That has never been Bill Gates’ problem, because his strategy was always to get Microsoft’s software out to the public as quickly as possible, bugs be damned… and then, down the road, figure out how to deal with the bugs and the predictable customer backlash. The biggest Microsoft haters would have to admit that this strategy didn’t work out too badly for Bill & Friends.

If you succeed at converting action and resourcefulness into habits, the combination results in enormous personal power. These two habits can offset – even overwhelm – almost anything and everything you do wrong. They are so important that I suggest you pin the following formula on your wall – and make it a point to send me 10 percent of the earnings you reap by employing it:

ACTION + RESOURCEFULNESS = POWER.

[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.

Every night before I put my computer away for the workday I look forward to reading a newsletter from a gentleman named Bill Bonner. Bill is one of the finest writers in his industry and he is able to make sense of the crazy financial world in easy to understand prose. But more importantly, Bill has a plan for his family, one that I aspire to implement. Today, you’ll learn more about Bill and his strategy.

Craig Ballantyne
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A New American Dream

Hubert Senters is an entrepreneur in the “old school” mode. He left college in 1994 to launch his own mobile on-site fleet maintenance company, providing preventative maintenance and repair work for large and small companies. By the time he was bought out by a leading national oil company, Hubert was managing 32 employees and earning $4.8 million dollars a year in revenue. While he grew his company, Hubert also joined the high-risk world of internet day trading. By the time he sold his fleet, he was trading online full time, and hasn’t stopped since.

In 2000, he launched TradetheMarkets.com with John Carter. He often announces his trades in the website’s trading chat room and has developed a loyal following due to his sharp insights, frank teaching style, and willingness to help others learn from him. Hubert has developed what he calls the “Senters squeeze indicator”, which he uses on a daily basis to catch volatility and predict market direction. This tool has given him a reliable, consistent foundation for him to use his judgement in day trading. Hubert is focused on achieving a comfortable lifestyle, with enough money put away to enjoy life, family, and friends. He is focused on living the new American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The Ultimate Secret of the Rich
By Bill Bonner

What separates the rich from the rest of us?

“They have more money,” said Hemingway.

But how did they get it? How do they hold onto it?

That’s a bit more complicated.

I recently drove through a working class neighborhood in Baltimore called Dundalk. It is an area of simple one- and two-storey wooden houses on small lots.

Fifty years ago, it was where Baltimore’s industrial labor force lived. They worked in industry – for Bethlehem Steel, General Motors, the B&O Railroad and in the busy harbor.

Today, those high-wage industries are mostly silent and rusting. Some sites along the water have been converted to loft apartments for Baltimore’s young professionals. And some of the children and grandchildren have moved away – to the suburbs or to other cities.

But most of them are still there. Their parents and grandchildren earned a good living. But few got rich. And now, few of their descendants are rich either.

Across town in the rich “old” northern suburbs of Roland Park and Ruxton the people are different.

The rich left the city many years ago. But in these green suburbs they remain. Some richer. Some poorer. But by and large the same people whose parents were there 50 years ago.

What accounts for it?

How come some families stay rich generation after generation, while others never have a nickel?

“Culture,” you will say.

“Education,” perhaps.

You won’t be wrong. But what, specifically, about culture and education is it that makes such a big difference in outcomes?

Simply put, you might say the secret is that these “Old Money” families take the long view.

But there is something deeper and more important. These families know how to turn time into an ally instead of an enemy.

They have worked out very specific strategies that use time to boost its investment returns (much higher rates of return…with lower risk).

And they have worked out ways to use time to prepare the family to not only protect money…but to make it grow.

This is why they invest in education and training. And why they make sure family members add to their collective wealth, rather than subtracting from it.

It is why they try to guide their children to suitable spouses. They know that a rotten apple will spoil the barrel.

It is why they spend time and money on lawyers and accountants, too – making sure that the structures are in place to pass along wealth and protect it.

It is why they prefer deep value assets over momentum investing. Over time, value rises to the top. Momentum slows.

It is why they will wait a long time – many, many years – for the right investment at the right price.

It is why they like investments with long-term payoffs – such as timber, mining and infrastructure. And it’s how they are able to benefit from compound growth – letting relatively modest gains grow over several generations.

It is why they are almost fanatical about eliminating costs – taxes, investment charges, and unrewarding living expenses. They know that wear and tear, over time, will wreck their family fortunes.

It is why they develop long-lasting partnerships with the professionals they need to make sure their interests are protected and their plans are carried out.

Let me ask you something. If you thought you’d live forever, would you do anything different?

Wouldn’t your attitude to your money change a little? Wouldn’t you slow down, realizing that you’re not in such a hurry to make money?

And wouldn’t you reduce your spending too – knowing that your money would have to last you a long, long time?

The truly wealthy are careful to spend their money on things that hold their value over time.

It is why they do not trade in and out of investments. Instead, they find a few positions and stick with them – for decades.

It is also why they prepare their families, over the course of many, many years, so that they will be prepared for the challenge of managing and enlarging the family wealth.

This is what separates the serious money from the here-today-gone-tomorrow crowd. The serious money knows there’s a lot more to successful wealth building… especially over the long run… than just stock picking.

Instead of trying to control the uncontrollable – the returns you get from stocks. They are focused on what they can control.

Of course, most really wealthy families have a family office somewhere in the background making sure these things are on track.

And without someone dedicating time to making these things happen, they often don’t. Most generational wealth transfers fail. Money that was hard earned is lost through poor investment decisions and lack of planning.

When it comes down to it, you might say that successful families do all the things unsuccessful families don’t want to do.

These things take work. But if you’re determined to keep wealth in the family, the sooner you start on them the better.

[Ed. Note. Bill Bonner is the author of the DailyReckoning.com and the creator of a strategy for ensuring the endurance of your family's wealth over time.]

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.

If you are struggling to fit into the “New Economic Order”, as Daniel Levis calls it, then today’s article will bring good news for you. You’ll discover why it’s not really the end of the world and why the changing economy brings great opportunity to even the lone wolf entrepreneur.

Craig Ballantyne

“The source of lasting happiness can never come from outside yourself through consuming values – but only from within yourself by creating value.” – Kekich Credo #88
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A New American Dream

Daniel Levis is a highly sought after direct response copywriter, consultant, and info-marketer with a rabid following. Almost 40,000 subscribers eagerly await his marketing tips, articles, live training events, coaching programs, and home study courses. Since 2004, he’s helped both large direct marketers as well as hundreds of home based entrepreneurs to use the Internet to sell more effectively. And also personally trained and mentored a number of up and coming info-marketers and copywriters.

In the financial field, he’s worked with SAFE MONEY REPORT, REAL WEALTH REPORT, Gold Newsletter, The New Orleans Investment Conference, Stealth Stocks Online, Hidden Values Alert, The Street Authority and other well known publications. In the business opportunity, self help, and health markets he’s worked extensively with companies that handle the marketing and distribution of information products headlined by high profile folks like Mark Victor Hansen, Robert Allen, Dr. Stephen Sinatra and others.

He’s collaborated with other top-flight online marketing talent like Joe Vitale, Yanik Silver, John Carlton, Clayton Makepeace and Dan Kennedy to produce several highly acclaimed marketing and copywriting information products. And he’s been exposed to, and overseen, dozens of high traffic scientific web marketing experiments that have allowed him to witness firsthand what works online and what doesn’t .Daniel Levis knows the online path to living the new American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The New Economic Order
By Daniel Levis

With the global economy going to hell in a hand basket (AGAIN), people are scared …

You see it in the “Occupy Movement” demonstrations taking place in various centers around the world.

You see it in news reports about impending sovereign debt default in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy and other European countries.

And you see it in the ongoing economic malaise in the United States, where despite one and a half TRILLION dollars in economic stimulus thousands of jobs continue to disappear each month.

What does it all mean?

And what should YOU be doing to protect your livelihood and the financial security of your family?

The First Thing To Realize Is That What We’re Going Through Is NOT The End Of The World – Far From It…

It’s simply the birthing pains of a bold new economic order… and the death spasms of an old way of doing things that’s no longer workable.

You see, at one time it made sense for companies to try and dominate and control every aspect of the economic food chain – upstream through ownership of suppliers of raw materials and parts, for production… and downstream through ownership of the companies that distributed and sold their products to the consumer.

A car manufacturer, for example, gained much through the shrewd acquisition of a tire company, a glass company, and a metal company. Control of these entities smoothed away transactional friction.

No need to spend time researching suppliers. No need to negotiate the best deals. No need for manual paperwork and order processing. No intermediary commissions and sales fees. Less communication and travel costs and fewer legal expenses.

Having a financial interest in the dealer networks that sold the cars also reduced downstream friction in much the same ways.

So companies grew ever larger, employing more and more people. Not only did they seek to integrate vertically (both forwards and backwards) but horizontally as well, buying up competitors in a never-ending quest for “economies of scale”.

Stock and bond markets grew to meet the insatiable demand for capital to fund endless consolidation. And governments grew in size too, creating massive social structures to support this model, running up astronomical debts in the process.

Educational systems were geared toward churning out the millions of employee drones needed to staff the global empires that were being built. Students were trained from an early age to fit into the predefined roles demanded by industry, commerce and government.

And people became very comfortable with the notion that their employers and governments were there to look after them. Strength in numbers insulated the little guy from the brutal self-responsibility, endless adaptation and uncertainty of entrepreneurship.

But gradually – unnoticed by most – the transactional friction that gave rise to all of this started to disappear …

Just twenty years ago, if a New Yorker wanted to speak to a potential business partner in London England, a short ten-minute phone call cost $20 to $30.

If the potential partners wanted to meet face-to-face, one of them would have to spend thousand of dollars and several days in lost productivity to make the trip.

And if a deal was to be struck, it took millions of dollars in capital to bring together the necessary employees, buildings, machinery etc. to compete effectively in the marketplace.

Today, you can talk all day long between almost any two points on Earth, for free.

You can see the whites of a person’s eyes across the ocean instantaneously and it won’t cost you a red cent.

You can send money to somebody, share documents, or update database records on each other’s computers in near real time for pennies.

And you can sell your products and services globally with nothing more than a laptop computer and a few inexpensive online tools and services.

There is no longer a need to integrate people, raw materials, information, and capital, under a large centralized command and control structure.

Now, independent individuals from all over the world can collaborate on an as-needed basis to get the same jobs done – for less.

A Lone Wolf Entrepreneur At Home In His or Her Pajamas Can Now Compete With Full-Fledged Corporations On A Level Playing Field In Many Areas Of The Economy…

Large companies MUST adapt to this by downsizing and outsourcing aggressively. Governments too. And this is why jobs continue to disappear.

This is not a nightmare to be afraid of. It’s a miracle to rejoice in.

You now have the power to gain total control of how, when and where you do your work.

Your income, your lifestyle, and your focus can be entirely in your own hands.

And you no longer need depend on forces outside of your control for your livelihood.

Isn’t It Time You Took Your Professional Skills And Turned Them Into A Thriving Full-Time Business Of Your Own?

It’s way past time! And you know it.

So what’s stopping you?

Well, if you’re still putzing around at a JOB, chances are you’re probably struggling with one or more of these three entrepreneurial blocks:

You Don’t Like Selling – As an independent entrepreneur striking out on your own, you wear many hats. The most important hat you will ever wear is that of Chief Marketing Officer.

In business, NOTHING happens until something gets sold. So your first order of business is to become comfortable and skilled at selling yourself and your products and services.

Unless you are already in sales, chances are this frightens you, perhaps even repulses you. If you have a negative view of selling, it must be vigorously reframed, or you’re setting yourself up for failure. The world WILL NOT beat a path to your door.

You’re Easily Dazzled by Bright Shiny Objects – It’s wonderful to be able to leverage web-based technology to engage with potential customers all over the world. You can and should be doing this.

But it’s all too easy to become distracted and overwhelmed by the endless stream of whiz-bang communications options available, most of which you do not have the time or the resources to make profitable.

You can spend thousands of dollars building a fancy website, and hundreds if not thousands of hours plugging into a dozen different social media platforms. And not gain a single client for your trouble.

Or you can focus on mastering a simple blog platform and an inexpensive broadcast email service and make 7 figures.

You Lack Mental Toughness – This one goes back to the brainwashing you acquired while you were growing up. Part of the game was to make you feel small, inadequate and dependent on those with capital and resources.

Your parents pushed you to go to school, so you could find a safe, secure pigeonhole somewhere in the establishment. Much of the risk and uncertainty were removed from the equation, or so you were told.

And now, you find the self-responsibility and independence of thought necessary for entrepreneurial success terrifying. You fear rejection and failure, and find it hard to maintain the iron willed resolve you need to succeed in the face of inevitable set backs and adversity.

We all face the same challenges on our respective journeys to entrepreneurial independence. Your mission is to begin kicking them to the curb.

[Ed Note: Daniel Levis is a top marketing consultant, direct response copywriter and publisher of the highly acclaimed home study course, How to Quit Your Job And Double Your Income – The Fastest Way to 6 Figures and Beyond, As an In-Demand Coach, Consultant or Freelancing Pro... Click here to register for a free web workshop. No Credit Card Required.]

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.

Saturday, 2:23pm
Reno, NV
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to?” (Travis Bickle, “Taxi Driver”)

Howdy. Sorry about being such a potty mouth right off the bat there… but that Taxi Driver quote is just too perfect for setting the stage.

Here’s what’s up: I’ve been involved in high-end, professional-level brainstorming and masterminding for, oh, around 30 years now. I think I’m starting to get a handle on it, too.

Okay, I’m joking. After spending half my career butting heads, arguing and mentally-wrasslin’ with legendary thinkers like Gary Halbert… with a LOT of money, reputation and consequences on the line…

… I actually DO know a little something about working over an idea, ripping away the bullshit, and uncovering the overlooked, ignored, and spot-on nuggets of truth and success-potential most people miss.

The process is very much like sausage-making: Not pretty, and not for the weak-kneed.

However, if you truly desire to run an idea, project or plan through the gauntlet of REAL brainstorming…

… it’s still the fastest way to load up your war-chest with tactics, strategies and solid creative mojo. So you can get moving on conquering the world (or your niche, whichever).

But here’s the kicker: Hardly any veteran marketers have a clue how to brainstorm effectively.

Folks just naturally suck at it. And recoil in horror when confronted with the real thing in action. (“No!“, they cry. “It just CAN’T be that brutal!“)

At least… they recoil until they’ve had time to test-drive the ideas that come from real brainstorming… and see some results. Then it’s all smiles and glad-handing and “Let’s do that AGAIN!”

Still, I catch a lot of heat from uninitiated colleagues over the way I host brainstorm (or a mastermind) sessions. We call ‘em “Hot Seats” for a reason — I’ve seen grown men cry, and steel-eyed entrepreneurs crumble like stale cupcakes while getting the full treatment. (Of course, again, they’re often back for more, with fatter wallets, after the shock wears off and they get a chance to put things to a real-world test.)

Now, I understand why so many people take offense to having their ideas run through a merciless gauntlet — where you get zero points for “nice try” — and sometimes see them savagely destroyed (when it’s a sucky idea). I feel the same way — that’s your baby there, your darling little idea, fresh in the world and hoping for a little encouragement. We all want our ideas to be brilliant, fabulous breakthroughs that change the world.

And it’s hard not to take it personally when hard-core veteran brainstormers cruelly crush it to death.

But it’s just part of the process. Immediately after the cruel crushing, the Ideas That Actually Stand A Chance Of Working start exploding out of people’s heads.

Seriously — I’m not trying to be the Bad Guy here. I’m out to save you heartache and bankruptcy if you’re on the wrong track, and get you to see past the stars in your eyes how your idea’s gonna fare in the cold, nasty world out there….

… so we can concentrate on how a few well-debated better ideas (based on experience and pro-level judgement) might just blow open the floodgates of moolah and happiness.

Because that’s the way I’ve learned real-world brainstorming works best.

I don’t enjoy disemboweling dreams. But I couldn’t sleep at night if I didn’t tell someone the truth about their plans, when I knew from experience they were on a suicide mission. And getting the bad stuff out of the way is how you allow savvier, better-positioned stuff to make it into your plans.

So, I’m always happy to see validation of my sharply-honed style from the guys in lab coats who test everything within an inch of its life.

Today, while perusing past issues of the New Yorker (still the best damn Thinking Man’s mag around), I came across an article titled “Groupthink” by the excellent reporter/writer Jonah Lehrer. (Read it here online.) In it, Jonah dives into the current, still smoldering research on brainstorming…

… and it backs me up.

“Nice” isn’t the right attitude for successfully brainstorming anything.

But using viciously confrontational debate-style exploration of an idea… yep, that’s the way to go. Not pretty. But super-freaking effective.

I’ll let you discover the details of his reporting yourself. However, here are a couple of sausage-making points:

Sausage-Making Point #1: The way most business folks are taught to brainstorm is just plain wrong. It was championed back in 1948 by a partner in BBDO (still a hot ad agency on Madison Avenue)… and his notion was that a good brainstorm session should have zero negativity in it. Members are not allowed to disagree with anything anyone says, or to be a dissenter.

And, it was first disproven in 1958 at Yale… but by then, the public had gotten this “be nice” notion too welded in its collective mind to dislodge.

Heck, I remember Halbert repeating those very instructions before hosting an early brainstorm I attended with him. (He then proceeded to violate his own rules, but only because of the sheer idiocy of the incoming ideas from the group. Still… point taken. He believed the no-negativity/no-debating rule had been proven.)

I’ll bet you’ve heard it, too: The best way to get good ideas from a group of people is to set strict ground-rules, so no one feels dissed, embarrassed, or confronted with criticism. No Negative Nellies. No Devil’s Advocate. No Contrarians.

There, there, that’s a nice group — nice way to stay positive. All ideas are equal here, while we brainstorm.

But that doesn’t work nearly as well as rolling up your sleeves and getting into an intellectual bar brawl.

Sausage-Making Point #2: Couple of quick quotes from the article: “Imagination can thrive on conflict.”

“… dissent stimulates new ideas because it encourages us to engage more fully with the work of others and to reassess our viewpoints.”

And… “Maybe debate is going to be less pleasant, but it will always be more productive. True creativity requires some trade-offs.”

Hear, hear.

I’m not saying that “niceness” can kill an idea… but it sure comes up short as a tactic for sculpting a gnarly creative plan that has a shot at working in the real world.

Sausage-Making Point #3: People confuse the concept of “creativity” all the time. And it can burn you.

Outside of the biz world, it can be anything you want it to be. Because the consequences of being wrong are minimal.

But inside the maelstrom of entrepreneurial endeavors… the concept of creativity takes on an entirely new meaning. Prospects won’t buy your cute little product, idea or plan just because it’s “nice”, or even refreshingly clever… or if you really like it, and you really, really, really want them to like it, too.

Nope. They’ll buy it only if it’s the snarling beast they require to accomplish what they need done, out there in the real world of heartbreaking, illogical and unfair buying trends. Solve a problem, create new opportunity, foster happiness, help them achieve desperately needed results.

This confusion is RAMPANT among even veteran business owners.

You don’t suddenly get hip to the insider-tactics of success just because you launched a business, you know. There is no moment of divine intervention, where savvy, experience, and a deft ruthlessness is suddenly downloaded into your prefrontal cortex.

Good grief — some of the dumbest and least creative individuals I’ve met in my career held the fanciest Vice Prez positions in the marketing department.

Best cautionary story: One early client was an agency in LA that snuck me in the back door to do jobs, because their own staff writers just weren’t getting results.

One day, I decided to go meet these ink-stained wretches in their native habitat, to see what the problem really was.

I still shudder, thinking back on the horror behind that door.

Way down one of the back halls of the building, in a windowless room, two sad-eyed copywriters faced each other over the cleanest desks I’d ever seen. (My rule: If the desk doesn’t look like a bomb went off, I’m slacking.) They each had one typewriter (this was a year or two before PCs arrived) with a fresh sheet of paper rolled in… one sheet of notes or marked-up copy… one standard issue lamp… and a pencil.

That was it. Nothing on the walls. No bookshelves. No phone.

I’ve seen prison cells on MSNBC’s “Lock-Up” with more personality to them.

Turns out, all the austerity was a direct order from the marketing VP… who believed shit like “writers write, they don’t think“, and “distraction is the enemy of creativity“. (And, probably, “the best writing always comes from slave labor toiling without hope.“)

Seriously. Nothing on the wall. No books. No radio. Just the life-sapped shallow breathing of their co-worker five feet away (and, I guessed, the occasional mournful sigh or choked sob of despair).

Geez. No wonder they couldn’t write good copy.

I met that VP. Smug, sadistic, self-assured nincompoop. Happily murdering his agency’s ability to create good advertising.

Thank God he despised me for my cavalier attitude, my lack of a tie, my unkempt slovenliness, and my cocksure reputation as the agency’s “go to” freelancer. I loved getting results with my copy, because I knew he lost sleep at night praying for me to fail. Silly bastard.

I have lived, breathed and immersed myself in the process of creating good advertising for decades now. Effective brainstorming is essential.

It’s not a nice thing to have, if you can get it.

It’s ESSENTIAL to success. Nobody kicks ass in the biz world alone. There’s too much going on, and even the most creative guy alive can get in his own way.

I don’t mind taking heat for the way I host my Hot Seat seminars and masterminds. I know I can turn around the serious entrepreneurs in the group, because egos die quickly and the bullshit gets tossed immediately in a good brainstorm…

… and then we get down to the business of solving problems and force-feeding success into plans. (When I’ve been a guest at other people’s brainstorming sessions, I try to tone it down… but often, I just can’t stand it anymore when people are glossing over the truth while trying to be “nice”, and suddenly I’m knocking the air out of the room with some brutally-honest biz advice. Which often runs entirely counter to what was being heralded as a “nice” idea by everyone else, and I gotta weather being the azzhole until other savvy folks in the room grudgingly back me up.)

(But screw it — there’s money, lifestyles and other people’s future at stake when you’re talking about business plans… and I refuse to sit by while someone pleasantly describes the latest suicide mission they’re embarking on, with the apparent thumbs-up of the room, cuz no one wants to tarnish the atmosphere with negativity. If I know something that needs to be shared, I’ll share it regardless of the group conflict it may ignite. And I’ll continue to match up my 30 years of experience against whatever you got, Bucko, when it comes to creating a plan that will work in the real world to bring in results.)

I love P.J. O’Rourke’s book title: “Age and Guile Beat Youth, Innocence and a Bad Haircut“. Kinda sums up what happens when sheltered folks run smack into experienced veterans. (If you’ve never read P.J.’s non-fiction, you’re in for a treat. Go buy all of his books now. Killer writer, thinker, and super-smart observer of life.)

Basically, it’s almost impossible for a true pro to be “nice” when the bullshit is flying, and somebody’s walking into a trap covered with it.

The Take-Away of all this: Toss any long-held nonsense you may be harboring about how to best use brainstorming, and get hip to what veterans know works (and what the current research continues to back-up, despite the lingering urban myths about the process).

Understanding “creativity” doesn’t seem to be the human default brain setting. Some guys seem to know how to coax great ideas out of groups, but in most cases people need help making a brainstorm session work well.

And you do NOT need to be a creative genius to get maximum benefit, either. You just need to understand how to brainstorm effectively.

This is a game for anyone in business (regardless of how creative or non-creative you think you are). All you need to do… is get wise to the insider tactics that get results.

Make sense?

Stay frosty,

John

P.S. All right…

… this is too good to not share: If you’d like to learn — firsthand, in real time — how a great mastermind works…

… and start uncorking great hyper-successful ideas and sculpting them to work like crazy in the real world…

… with the help of the best gathering of fellow brainstormers you’ll ever meet in your lifetime…

… then you need to check out our Platinum Mastermind group.

I’m not gonna pitch you on it. Either you understand the power of masterminds, and you’re finally ready to goose your own success through the roof with fresher, better, more powerful ideas and bullshit-stripped projects… or, I dunno, maybe you enjoy struggling alone in business.

This is a way to, instead, have a dedicated group of colleagues watching your back (and giving you full, uncensored benefit of their experience and skills).

Go here, and see if this kind of gathering is for you: Platinum Mastermind.

P.P.S. You don’t agree with me, do you. I can sense the hostility brewing behind your fevered brow. Nobody likes having long-held myths knocked down and violated like this. Kinda kick-starts the argument gene in your DNA, no?

So, the comment section is open, below. Let’s hear what you got…

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This article is published courtesy of Marketing Rebel RANT.

When I was in college my goal was to be a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the National Hockey League when I “grew up”. As part of my plan, I went about getting the required certifications and my Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology.

Eventually, I discovered this was not my real goal in life, and my journey led me to something else. Something more important. Something I want to share with you today.

Craig Ballantyne

“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.” – Mark Twain

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A New American Dream

As a self described “writer, world traveler, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner,” Chris Guillebaeu has been profiled in dozens of media features, including pieces in the New York Times, Business Week, Budget Travel, the Washington Times, Slate.com, LifeHacker.com, Zen Habits, and MSNBC. His website, ChrisGuillebeau.com, offers unconventional ideas for remarkable people looking to live the American Dream. Chris is currently in the midst of a five year quest, with the stated goal of visiting every country in the world.

His best selling book, The Art of Non-Conformity, was released in the fall of 2010 spreading the message that, “you don’t have to live your life the way others expect you to. You can do good things for yourself and make the world a better place at the same time.” Chris also finds the time to write for CNN, Business Week, the Huffington Post, Psychology Today, and the Oregonian newspaper. You can also find him as a member of the LifeRemix network. By blazing his own trail, and showing others how to succeed as well, Chris is great example of how to life the new American Dream.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

________________

What I Want to Be When I Grow Up
By Craig Ballantyne

After college I spent several years as a personal trainer to dozens of fantastic and fascinating men and women in downtown Toronto. The majority of my clients were CEO’s, the spouses of CEO’s, or the children of CEO’s. As a result, every single training session was an opportunity to learn something business-related during our post-workout conversations.

At the same time I was growing my online business and writing for Men’s Health magazine. But despite what other trainers at my gym saw as success, I still felt as though something BIG was missing and it was during a training session at 6am on a Tuesday morning that I discovered what it was.

One of my clients, Michael W., had become a business mentor to me. As a retail executive he shared with me his stories of managing people, merchandise, and expenses. He regaled me with stories of traveling around the world, including to his favorite city, Florence, on buying trips.

But it was something that he said to me about his brother, a successful and wealthy lawyer who rode a bicycle to work, that made me realize what I really wanted to be when I grew up.

Once I discovered my real goal, my mindset about success changed. Not only did my sense of appreciation increase for what I had already accomplished, but it also gave me more resilience to weather the inevitable storms in my business and personal life. It was this simple, yet profound advice from Michael W. that changed my thinking during tough times.

You see, as I built my online business over the years that followed, it brought with it a lot of criticism. Of course, much of this criticism was from anonymous Internet readers about petty details. For example, anonymous readers would call me names in the comments area on my website, and at one point even went so far to insult my dog. What nerve.

But with each online salvo fired my way, I thought back to what Michael W. said about his brother, and it energized me to work even harder I on making people’s lives better with the information I provided. I now use criticism as fuel for my working fire.

Years have passed since my time in the gym, and now I spend my days entirely devoted to my website businesses and writing, but I have not forgotten what Michael W. said. In fact, it inspired me to create my personal philosophies that I eventually shared with ETR readers as the “12 Rules I Live By“. Not surprisingly, this too brought personal attacks and strange criticisms from people who do not know me. But writing those rules made my life better, not worse, and helped me get closer to my ultimate goal – one that Michael W.’s brother lived on a daily basis.

Criticism is inescapable when you do something that challenges other people’s beliefs.

On the journey towards your goals and true purpose in life, you’ll have to deal with a lot of criticism. In my life, without knowing my ultimate goal, it’s possible that the personal attacks would have derailed my efforts. But knowing what I wanted to achieve has allowed me to reframe the criticism.

As Dan Kennedy, author of No BS Wealth Attraction for Entrepreneurs says, “Criticism: It has only the power you, the target, give it. It has none of its own.”

Because of this I now look at my actions in a lighthearted way. Everything is part of my devious little plan to live a life that inspires ETR readers and the over 100,000 fitness readers who check out my content every day.

My recent article about canceling my home Internet in an effort to be more productive resulted in a startling volume of negative feedback. Perhaps the most of any essay I have written for Early To Rise. Yet despite the criticism, the decision I made was best for me and my life got better. Again, I was one step closer to reaching my ultimate goal. But without Michael W.’s words of wisdom from back in 2006 I might not have had the strength to do so.

I am willing to throw myself ‘under the bus’ and tell the world about my crazy experiments for living better all for the greater good of all ETR readers. My extreme examples of lifestyle design, time management and productivity serve to encourage YOU to change a little.

Don’t get me wrong. Rising at 4:30am each morning in order to crank out five ETR issues each week while simultaneously running a full-time fitness business is hardly a sacrifice compared to the lives led by men and women who encounter roadside bombs on a daily basis. However, it is far outside of my comfort zone and that of the average person who watches several hours of television each day.

The results of these lifestyle experiments have been incredibly rewarding. After all, I’m writing this essay from a gorgeous oak dining room table in my friend’s mansion in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida. I’ve spent the last five days following an enjoyable routine of early morning writing followed by a workout, a great lunch, and informal big idea masterminding for several hours, sometimes while having cold drinks in the hot tub.

This week I’m heading to Nicaragua with dozens of like-minded millionaire publishers. Next month I’ll be speaking at two high-energy business events where I’ll be surrounded by hundreds of positive attendees. In May I’ll be running another Mastermind meeting and in June fitness experts will travel from all corners of the globe to attend my yearly Turbulence Training Summit.

The sacrifices are minimal, but the returns are significant. All thanks to one throwaway comment from a client back in 2006.

So what was it that Michael W. said about his brother that made me realize what I really wanted to be when I grew up?

Well, Michael described his brother as being a bit unorthodox. Even though his brother was a successful lawyer at one of Toronto’s biggest law firms, he still rode his bicycle from Forrest Hill (one of the richest neighborhoods in Toronto) downtown to the law firm. “My brother is comfortable in his own skin,” Michael W. said.

As soon as he said that, I knew that was what I wanted. That was my ultimate goal. It wasn’t about impressing other trainers in the gym with my success.

In a world where people go into debt to keep up with their neighbors, who are also in debt, I am doggedly determined to be myself and make choices that lead to significance, to meaning, and to helping others no matter how much criticism it brings.

My suggestion to you is to learn to be comfortable in your own skin. Be true to yourself and your message. People respect people who truly believe in what they are doing and who are comfortable in their own skin. Don’t be embarrassed by what makes you unique, be proud of it instead.

“You don’t have to live your life the way others expect you to. You can do good things for yourself and make the world a better place at the same time.” – Chris Guillebeau

[Ed. Note. Being comfortable in your own skin comes from having a powerful vision for the rest of your life. In turn, that vision comes from being able to set the right goals for your future. Join me on this special coaching program where I share my exact goal setting strategies to help you change your life.]

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.