Life Changing Discussions

Think back to a time you had a life-changing discussion. Who was it with? Where was it? How did it make you feel? That’s the power of great conversation. Today, Alex Green shows us how to have great conversations and prevent them from becoming a lost art.

Craig Ballantyne

No matter what the world throws at you today, you are going to handle it awesomely and you are going to emerge from the day a better and stronger person.
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A New American Dream

Alexander Green is the Investment Director of The Oxford Club and the editor of The Momentum Alert, The Insider Alert and The Pacific Advantage Alert. A Wall Street veteran, he has over 25 years’ experience as a research analyst, investment advisor, financial writer and portfolio manager. The Oxford Club Communiqué, whose portfolio he directs, is ranked among the top five investment letters in the nation over the past decade by the independent Hulbert Financial Digest. Mr. Green has been featured on “Oprah & Friends” and “The O’Reilly Factor,” and has been profiled by The Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, Forbes, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and CNBC, among others.

He is Chief Investment Strategist of Investment U, an internet-based research and education service with over 300,000 readers. Mr. Green is also the author of two bestsellers: The Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: Get Wise, Get Wealthy… and Get On With Your Life and The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The Lost Art of Conversation
By Alex Green

My daughter Hannah has reached the age, 13, where being popular at school is only slightly less important than breathing.

The problem is, like most of us at her age, she is more than a little shy, self-conscious and socially awkward. Despite being an A student, for instance, virtually everything she encounters is “cool” or “awesome” and little more. Her reluctance to express herself better makes it tough to reach out to new friends.

She will outgrow this, I know. But lately I’ve been trying to tell her something about the lost art of conversation.

For most of human history, face-to-face communication was the core of our interaction. But not today. We text, we email, we blog, we friend each other on social networks. In the new age of electronic media, family and friends converse less than ever. As a result, we miss out on one of life’s singular pleasures: a relaxed, civilized exchange of views.

Conversation offers infinite possibilities. It is great for polishing thoughts and generating new ones. It is unbeatable for beating the blues or forging friendships. The ultimate bond of all personal relationships – whether in business, friendship or marriage – is conversation.

Yet two opposing attitudes pull us away from it. The first is the mistaken belief that it is unnecessary. Why bother making the call or the visit when you can fire off an email? Unfortunately, text has difficulty conveying tone – the most important aspect of any communication. As well, think how much is conveyed with a smile, a glance, a wink, an eye roll or an arched eyebrow.

You really can’t compare it with can you?

The opposite attitude is that conversation is too much work. So we don’t really try. Look around the typical home today and you see not faces but the backs of heads. As we stare blankly into our electronic screens, the art of personal interaction is dying.

Yet, as I told Hannah, there are good reasons to exercise our conversational skills.

Society provides lavish rewards to those who express themselves well. (Studies show that no single factor better predicts your future income than the size of your vocabulary.) Good talkers routinely ace the interview, get the contract, close the deal, win the girl. Get on with others and you will get on in life – and enjoy it more.

There is a widespread misconception that the best conversationalists are the smoothest talkers. Not so. (Indeed, glib talk generally comes off as phony or insincere.) And few of us will ever display the conversational genius of, say, Oscar Wilde, whose legendary wit enthralled his contemporaries in the salons of London.

Conversation is not meant to be a performance art or a competition, but an opportunity for mutual appreciation. And the best conversationalists are not the best talkers. They are the best listeners.

History’s wisest men and women have always known this:

Never speak of yourself to others; make them talk about themselves instead. Therein lies the whole art of pleasing. Everyone knows it and everyone forgets it.

Edmond de Goncourt

The great gift of conversation lies less in displaying it ourselves than in drawing it out in others. He who leaves your company pleased with himself and his own cleverness is perfectly well pleased with you.

Jean de la Bruyere

A gossip is one who talks to you about others; a bore is one who talks to you about himself; and a brilliant conversationalist is one who talks to you about yourself.

Lisa Kirk

It is never necessary to try to impress your conversation partner. You can achieve that simply by demonstrating that they are worth the investment of time and attention it takes to find out what they are about.

It only takes a bit of curiosity. The idea is to find out more about the other person’s attitudes, interests, nature and disposition. For too many, however, a verbal exchange is not talking and listening but rather talking and waiting to talk again. You don’t learn much that way. Or score many points.

Some insist they are poor conversationalists because they are introverted or tongue-tied. In some cases, that may be true. But those who struggle may be trying too hard to say the right thing. Far more important is not succumbing to the temptation to say the wrong thing.

A few years ago, I was invited to a small dinner party at a well-known filmmaker’s home in Telluride. The filmmaker, who was a liberal (big surprise), made some innocuous remark about Bill Clinton. A Wall Streeter at the table, who was a conservative (another shocker), made a snarky comment in return. That caused our host to defend his view. This, in turn, drew support or rebuttal from various guests. In an instant, the verbal spitballs were flying. It was over in a few minutes, but by then it was too late. A pall set over the table. What was about to be an ideal dinner party with interesting people and fabulous food in a gorgeous setting became instead a tense, strained affair. The group never recovered the joie de vivre that had existed only moments before.

Don’t get me wrong. Politics or religion can be fascinating subjects when open-minded friends are interested in a forthright exchange of views. (Although, in my experience, even these can be dicey.) But in a social setting? Consider the likelihood that no one cares what you think. Good conversation is about drawing out the other, not delivering a monologue or a position statement.

The truth is we are seldom better than our conversation. What you choose to talk about – and how you choose to say it – lays you bare. Every time you open your mouth, your mind parades alongside your words.

That doesn’t mean your conversation needs to be sparkling and original. Nor does it need to have a purpose or a point. Quite the opposite, in fact. The best conversations ramble. They have no pre-destination. It is all about the rhythm and flow.

In sum, good conversation is one of life’s most accessible pleasures. It connects us to one another, forges friendships, increases social esteem, raises our mood, generates goodwill, enhances our information and completes our education. And while prices rise and time shrinks, it is a luxury that remains free to us all.

True, conversation won’t make you richer, thinner, or save your life. But it may save your marriage. As Charles Dickens said, “Never close your lips to those whom you have opened your heart.”

So – as I told Hannah – we should value heartfelt conversation. Prioritize it. And reap the many benefits of a companionable, convivial life.

[Ed. Note: Alex Green is the author of excellent books like, "The Secret of Shelter Island: Money and What Matters", and "Beyond Wealth", that show you how to lead a "rich" life during trying economic times.]

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.

Get Started Early

I was lucky. Early in my teenage years I knew what I wanted my life to look like, and I went about designing it from that day. If you didn’t get started early on lifestyle design, the best you can do is start now. Today, Jason Leister shows you how.

Craig Ballantyne

You can’t change your genetics, but you can change your attitude, your persistence, your environment, the people you listen to and hang around with, and the things you do. You can change, so if you want to, just get started.
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A New American Dream

Loral Langemeier is the author of, “YES! ENERGY!”, her latest book to hit the NY Times and USA Today’s bestseller lists. In it, Loral gives straight talk answers and explains how her business is pulling in millions and filling her seminars while so many others struggle. “Sequencing is doing the right things at the right time – but in business and in personal lives, many people plan, plan, plan and never move…market the idea, then make it – that’s been a sequence of success for many entrepreneurs…I say yes to opportunity, then figure it out.

As Dan Kennedy says, “She is a real, authentic Renegade Millionaire.” But Loral comes from humble beginnings, similar to your editor’s Canadian country upbringing. Loral grew up on a farm in Nebraska, paid her own through college, became a serial entrepreneur, willing to take risks, lived by her own rules, and has done a lot of this as a single mom raising two kids. She has designed her life, achieved her American Dream, and has done so with confidence and great energy. She can do it. Jason Leister can do it. And YOU can do it too.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Lifestyle Design With Six Kids
By Jason Leister

When I first read Tim Ferriss’ book, The 4-Hour Workweek, I was pretty sucked in. Who wouldn’t want to work for only 4 hours a week?

As it turns out, I wouldn’t.

I derive a lot of meaning and pleasure from working hard. For me, creating something and sharing it with others makes me feel good. It is what I like to do.

But that’s just me. And that’s the point.

Designing your life means designing your life. Comments, questions and criticisms from others, while helpful, are largely irrelevant. The only thing that matters is how you want your life to go.

First, Step Inside Your Own Faraday Cage

In 1836, an English scientist, Michael Faraday, designed a unique device able to shield its contents from electromagnetic radiation. The device was aptly named, a Faraday Cage. Objects inside the cage were effectively cut-off from outside energetic interference, which proved very helpful in certain experiments.

If designing your life is an important priority for you, then the first step is to make sure that your goals, priorities and ideals for that life are in fact yours.

I started out life playing defense. That means I spent most of my time living up to other’s expectations of me.

Living like that doesn’t leave a lot of room for “lifestyle design” because frankly, you outsource that function to someone else… to everyone else actually.

Given my history, one of my (many) weaknesses is that I sometimes fall back into “dealing with what life dishes me” instead of actively creating my future.

This is irresponsible.

I know that sounds weak, but it’s the truth. I reveal things like this in public forums because it provides instant accountability for me. By telling a few hundred thousand people, I’m inspired to become a better version of myself.

Weird, but it works for me.

If you’re going to go to the trouble of designing your life the way you want it, then make sure you are clear about what you actually want.

This means cutting yourself off from the influence of what others might think about your decisions.

You have squash your need to “keep up with the Joneses” or anyone else, for that matter.

Why?

Well, the biggest reason is that there’s a good chance…

The Joneses Are Idiots

The average person just isn’t interested in living life at the level of excellence you probably are. So to look to them for anything (except for a good reminder of what not to do) is not helpful.

And so we go in search of people who do exhibit various levels of mastery in their lives. And that’s when things can get even worse.

It’s easy to look around at the lives of others and just accept that what they want for their life has anything to do with what you should want for yours.

It’s easy to be enamored by someone’s dedication to an ideal and think that you should exhibit that kind of dedication.

It’s easy to be impressed by the material wealth of someone and think you should have that too.

This is living life from the outside in, if you ask me. And I think that is a mistake.

How to Stand as a Giant Among Men

I’m of the firm belief that the only really responsible way to live life is to have the guts to live it exactly as you want.

Don’t want to make a million dollars? That’s your choice.

Don’t want to work 80 hours a week to be “successful?” Again, it’s up to you.

Want to wake up and spend 6 hours a day playing with your children while they’re young enough to still want to be seen with you? Go ahead.

To the average person, living your life with such blatant “disregard” for others might be interpreted as an extreme example of selfishness.

But to the average person, talking about the weather and what they had for dinner last night is interesting.

To me, having the guts and the clarity to live life as you see fit makes you a giant among men… or among women as the case may be.

The point is that your unique value as a human being deserves a unique expression in the world. And to do that, you need to live with a blatant disregard for the thoughts and opinions of others if you’re going to be a good steward of your gifts.

Are There Limits to This Lifestyle Design Thing?

As I sit here writing this, my five children (with a sixth expected any day) are milling around my house. One just woke up, another is pushing a stroller, and still another is outside watching the guy pulling weeds on our property.

This is how I want to live my life. I sit here and think, write and sell things. As the years go by, my vision for exactly how that’s supposed to look for me improves. My clarity improves. My focus improves too.

On certain days, the fact that some people think I’m nuts gets to me. But on my best days, I simply don’t care.

The hardest thing about “lifestyle design” isn’t actually the doing of it. It’s the pre-work that comes before the doing that can be challenging.

To get the right design for you, you have to be honest with yourself and respect yourself. What you want is valid. Period.

Understand that your decisions are your decisions.

Understand that your path is your path.

And know that your purpose is to spend your days walking that path as you see fit, no matter where it takes you.

That, to me, is a life well lived.

[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.

What Do You Really Want?

What do you really want and what do you need to get there? Simple questions with important answers. That’s the theme today. It’s all about taking a personal inventory to make sure you are on the right track.

Craig Ballantyne

“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.” – Anais Nin
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A New American Dream

Ali Brown is the CEO of Ali International and has over 50,000 members in her online and offline programs. Her business focuses on empowering women entrepreneurs around the world. She has even been featured on ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” TV show. But in her 20’s, Ali struggled as she jumped from advertising job to marketing job in New York City until one day she met a freelancer who inspired her to quit and work independently from home. That’s when she started an email newsletter and became known as the “Ezine Queen”.

This led to seminars and workshops, and eventually she focused on the female entrepreneur niche market. As Ali says, “Women are starting businesses at three times the national average.” It’s a rapidly growing market today. Ali helps her members inject more personality into their businesses, and as a result, more credibility.

Ali also emphasizes the importance of building relationships that will open doors to more opportunities and that becoming a good copywriter is one of the most important skills you can acquire. Finally, Ali encourages you to take inventory of your life twice a year. Take a day off and go somewhere and think about this question, “Is this what I want right now?” You can learn more about Ali’s message at www.AliBrown.com.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Taking Personal Inventory
By Paul Lawrence

My friend JL has something to smile about. He lives in a beautiful home, complete with a swimming pool. And he is well on his way to success as a partner in a profitable (and rapidly growing) talent booking agency. That is an extraordinary change, considering how dire his circumstances were just one year ago. He had just been evicted from his apartment, had lost his job, his truck needed a repair that he couldn’t afford (and that would cost more than the truck was worth), and he wasn’t even close to achieving his professional goals.

JL took the first critical step toward getting himself out of this mess by performing something I call a “Cumulative Appraisal” of his situation. After doing so, he had to accept the fact that he hadn’t lost his apartment because of a mean landlord. He’d lost it because he hadn’t saved any money when he had a good job. And he wasn’t anywhere near his dream of being successful in the entertainment business because he hadn’t done much to make it happen.

Once JL saw his situation with clarity, he was able to formulate a plan to change it.

Making an accurate appraisal of where you are right now in regard to actually living your dreams takes more than simply saying, “Well, let’s see … I work in an office as a clerk, but my dream is to be president of a Fortune 500 company. So I guess I’m not there yet.”

That’s simply not enough information to enable you to make meaningful changes in your life. In order to truly change direction, you must take some radical actions.

Momentum is a powerful force in physics… and also in your life. If, for example, you are on course to work in a large company as a low-level administrator, you continue to be propelled in that direction by momentum. Factors in that momentum include the way you get supervisors to perceive you, the set of skills you acquire, and your behavior patterns.

In order to break out of this path and get yourself headed toward a higher goal, you must recognize how you got started in that direction in the first place. Once you determine how you got started, it will be easier to see what you need to do in order to change course.

That is why the Cumulative Appraisal is so important. It compels you to dig deeper and identify the true reasons your life has taken the wrong direction. Facing those reasons isn’t a lot of fun … but it is necessary.

When I was very young, one of my strong interests was to become an actor/comedian. Yet, by the time I was in my 30s, I hadn’t done anything about it. It would have been easy for me to tell myself that it was because I was so busy with other goals. But that wasn’t the truth. The truth was that I was afraid of going on stage and having people not like me.

Once I accepted that reality, I was able to find a solution to my problem. I created a “comedic character” for myself that made it easier for me to give comedy a try. When I had enough experience and confidence, I gave up the character and revealed my true self to the audience. Since then (I’m proud to say), I’ve appeared as an actor in several large movies, on stage as a stand-up comedian, and as a member of a sketch comedy group.

Now, your circumstances are probably entirely different from what mine were. But if you don’t identify the true reasons that have prevented you from living your dreams, you won’t be able to overcome the tremendous force of momentum pushing you down the wrong life path.

Are you ready to make your own Cumulative Appraisal and start turning your life around? Here’s how to get started.

Step #1: Determine Your Actual Life Position

This step is not easy for most people, because it’s natural for us to minimize our shortcomings. Let me share an example.

My close friend DM spent his mid-20s telling himself that he was just one step away from catching that big break … or moments away from being able to jump into another career or a business of his own.

But that wasn’t the case. He was just in a job that he hated – a job with no future. He had no specific life goal, much less a well-planned strategy to change his situation. Until he took a realistic look at where he was and where he was headed, he was stuck treading water.

Once DM finally realized that he was staying with his job because he had a lack of self-confidence, he was able to change things for the better.

After completing the Cumulative Appraisal, he realized that he’d built up some substantial managerial skills. With a new perception of himself, DM found the courage to launch his own business. Now, instead of punching a time card and making just enough to get by, he owns two very successful companies, an exotic sports car, and several properties (including a luxury home in an exclusive neighborhood). And he and his wife enjoy traveling all over the world.

While there are times to put a “positive spin” on things, you don’t want to sugarcoat your Cumulative Appraisal. You need to be brutally honest with yourself. It’s not always easy to accept reality – but console yourself by remembering that any negative life circumstance can be changed.

Step #2: Identify Your Dreams

When you’ve determined where you truly are, you’ve got to figure out where it is you want to go. It’s easy for some people to pinpoint their dreams. But others may not know for sure what would make them happy. All they know is that they don’t like what they’re currently doing.

To determine what you would really like to do, ask yourself, “If I had a $50 million windfall – and never again had to work to support myself – what would I like to do?” The answer to that question is very likely the dream that you should pursue.

Be very specific – and realistic – about your dream. The first part of your Cumulative Appraisal will give you an accurate picture of your strengths and weaknesses. So if, for example, you’re a heavy-set man in your late 40s, don’t say, “I’d like to be a leading man in action movies.” That’s not realistic.

But you can still be a movie star. You just need to “tweak” your dream a bit. Perhaps you could say, “I want to be a character actor who works regularly in film and television.” That’s possible. And then, with this specific goal in mind, you could figure out what specific actions you need to take to achieve it. You might, for example, decide you need to move to Los Angeles and enroll in acting school.

The point is, you’ve got to take action based on an understanding of who you are now, how and why you got here, and your (very specific) dream. Completing these two steps will make that possible.

Time is the one commodity you have that is truly limited. If you aren’t living your dreams now, I strongly urge you to change your life for the better. Believe me … I’m living proof that it can be done.

[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence truly is living his dreams. He is a produced screenwriter who has written a multimillion-dollar film. He's signed a development deal with one of the entertainment industry's largest producers to executive-produce a television show, has sold another feature film script slated for a 2007 theatrical release, and is the president of a successful direct-mail company. Learn about Paul's "Dare to Live Your Dreams" program on his website]

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 World’s Worst Employee

Imagine paying $75 an hour (or more) for the world’s worst administrative assistant. They’re miserable, ineffective, and in fact, just downright incompetent. Oh, and “they” are you. Because that’s what you get when you try and do everything in your business. My friend Alwyn Cosgrove explains how you can avoid this trap and find good people for your business.

Craig Ballantyne

“Imagine that you are going to create another 1,000 businesses just like this one. What would you have to do to achieve this? You would have to completely systematize your business.” – Alwyn Cosgrove
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A New American Dream

My friend Simon Black feels that young people are ‘getting the shaft’. It’s the young people who will be the last to be hired, the first to be fired, and are at the top of the list to have their benefits cut. Students around the world feel like they are entering a world devoid of opportunity…where the tried and true method of ’study hard, go to a good school, and get a great job’ no longer works. In short, it’s a difficult time to be a young person. The plentiful jobs of the past are no longer waiting for university students. And it’s becoming much harder to break free and become successful. But it doesn’t have to be this way. For three years, Simon, Matt Smith, myself, and other successful entrepreneurs have been sponsoring the Blacksmith Liberty and Entrepreneurship Series in Vilnius, Lithuania.

In these workshops, a carefully selected group of 50 students learns how to make money, control their time, and become truly free… guided by successful entrepreneurs and investors who have actually done it. Last year’s group came from countries as diverse as Tajikistan, Brazil, Switzerland, and India. And it was an incredible week. But don’t take our word for it – watch the videos here (www.BlacksmithCamp.com). Participants must apply and be approved first and today is the LAST day for video applications to be sent in. If you are between the ages of 18-25, please send your application to Camp@SovereignMan.com today.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Find Good People
By Alwyn Cosgrove

As a business consultant, one of the most common questions I am asked is, “What’s the best way to find good employees?”.

I work with many successful solo-preneurs who are hitting that stage where it is time to grow their business, and that means bringing on key employees. For many people, this is an area of great difficulty and anxiety.

Before I ever answer that question, I need to give a few overall guidelines as to the overall business process and where staff actually fit in.

The first hire for most professionals should be an administration assistant or office manager. This is key. Don’t spend your time doing work that a) you don’t enjoy and b) you’re not good at.

Consider this – if you charge $75 per hour for your work, than any time you spend doing office work means you are paying an office assistant (you) $75 an hour.

Plus, you’re probably not good at it — it will take you twice as long – so you’re actually paying $150 for what would be $15-$20 work.

Add in that you’ll be miserable – you are now paying $150 for a miserable, no skills office assistant. So always start with support staff before hiring more production based staff.

The Big Mac Model

Entrepreneurs need to study other businesses. Success leaves clues, and the most successful ’small business’ in the world is McDonald’s.

At McDonald’s the food is made the same way every single time From London to Los Angeles, from Madrid to Moscow – ask for a Big Mac and you’ll get one. The same style. Every single time.

You even know the recipe…. “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun…”

But is McDonald’s the best hamburger you’ve ever tasted? The answer to that question from almost everyone in the world is no. Most people even claim that they could make a better hamburger than McDonald’s themselves.

So let me ask you a question? Why is no one giving you hundreds of thousands of dollars each year to make hamburgers?

What’s the secret of each McDonald’s location?

McDonald’s don’t hire experts to run each location or do every task in the business. They hire good people and train them in the implementation of SYSTEMS. Their systems are so well developed that they can hire high school kids to run a lot of their business. They even have the upsell systemized through the ubiquitous question, “Do you want fries with that?”

I’ve read that most independent small business start-ups fail, yet most franchises succeed. The reason for that difference is due to SYSTEMS.

SYSTEM: Save Your Self Time Energy Money

Step one when hiring additional staff: think systems.

Before you hire anyone you have to have a system in place that can easily be replicated. It doesn’t matter if you hire a world-renowned expert with multiple PhD’s and 25 years of experience — unless they work within your system – they aren’t a great fit to grow your business.

The primary goal of any business is to produce a consistent, replicable product or service. If it’s replicable and consistent – you can guarantee results. If you can guarantee results – you’re ahead of the game.

As a nice result of running a systems based we are able to hire people with lower skill levels than we would initially think. Now, notice I did not say low skill, just lower skill. We are going to hire people to run systems and educate them.

Instead of thinking of McDonald’s – think of a hospital – a doctor writes the protocol and most often it is nurses that implement it. Nurses are by no means low skilled, but they are most definitely lower skilled than a doctor. Similarly, all admin tasks at hospitals are handled by lower skilled employees than nurses. It would make no business sense for a doctor to spend time taking blood pressure, temperatures or making appointments.

And remember, the ultimate goal of hiring and growing your business is to replicate YOURSELF so you can step out of the business.

Hiring someone without a system is an absolutely deadly business mistake. Hire based on your core values and train for skill based on systems.

If you do that, your business becomes a lot easier to manage. You must run a systems-based business as opposed to an individual based business. The owner/managers job is to manage the system, rather than the employee. Run the plan, not the man.

If there is a problem, we can look at two solutions.

First, was the system followed? If yes, then we need to tweak the system. If no, then we need to work on coaching and training the employee. It’s that simple.

In our business at Results-Fitness in California, we make it even simpler by having all of the systems recorded in manuals (how to open the gym, how to answer the phone, how to greet every client and prospect that walks in the door, etc.).

If it’s not written down and signed as completed and understood by an employee, you are improvising. Business is far too important to improvise.

So to get back to your original question – how do you go about hiring staff?

When systems are in place – it really doesn’t matter. We have hired experienced trainers, beginner trainers, schoolteachers, former clients, interns, etc., and all have become excellent personal trainers because they follow our system.

As long as you have business systems and an education program in place then when hiring employees what you need to look for are personality, work ethic and core values first. As long as your new employee has brings those three attributes to the table, they will succeed in your system.

[Ed. Note: Alwyn Cosgrove is the owner of Results Fitness, Santa Clarita, California's Number One Fitness and Sports Training Facility. He is a regular contributor to Men's Health magazine and the co-author of several workout books, including his latest, "The New Rules of Lifting for Life" with Lou Schuler.]

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.

They Loved This Topic

At our recent 2-Day Mastermind meeting in Denver, both Matt Smith and I spent an hour teaching each morning. My most popular session came by popular demand on the second morning as I described how my brain works in terms of creativity. The group loved this session. In a series of articles, I’ll explain how I foster my imagination to create so much content.

Craig Ballantyne

“There is no such thing as a good idea unless it is developed and utilized.” – Kekich Credo #69
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A New American Dream

Despite being only 30 years old, author Jonah Lehrer has penned three books on science, including his latest, “Imagine: How Creativity Works”. With a degree in Neuroscience from Colombia University and a master’s in literature and philosophy from Oxford (where he was a Rhodes Scholar), Lehrer has written for Wired, The New Yorker, and others. In the vein of Malcolm Gladwell and FREAKONOMICS, Lehrer has the ability to convert scientific studies into relatively easy to understand practical lessons. For example, Lehrer discovered one study performed at Yale University over 50 years ago that calls into question the ubiquitous nature of corporate boardroom brainstorm sessions. As Lehrer describes in his book, the study found that students working on their own came up with twice as many solutions as students who performed group brainstorm sessions.

Plus, the solo students also had more ideas that were deemed ‘feasible’ and ‘effective’ by experts. Says Lehrer, “Brainstorming didn’t unleash the potential of the group. Instead, the technique suppressed it, making each individual less creative.” Lehrer’s most important argument however, is that creativity is not a genetic trait to be enjoyed by just the authors on the NY Times best-seller list, but instead that innovation can be nurtured and encouraged by our habits. Lehrer reassures readers that anyone can be creative as long as they “maintain the perspective of the outsider”. Creativity, an important component of achieving your American Dream, can be yours when you cultivate the correct environment and habits.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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How to Be Creative
By Craig Ballantyne

I’m a lucky man. Creativity comes relatively easy to me. Unfortunately, a lot of folks struggle with idea generation. So let’s take a look at the techniques I use to create content.

If we dig deep inside my brain, there will be a few things you might take away (just don’t take my medulla oblongata – I need that for breathing). Apply these habits to maximize your daily output and minimize your daily stress.

The first thing I do when I get up is to scribble down all of my ideas. My brain is full of them first thing in the morning. I also get up early because that is when I am most creative. This early morning spurt of creativity is called my magic time, and my life is designed to leverage the ability to get more work done in a concentrated period of time first thing in the morning. Early to bed, early to rise works wonders for me.

It is something worth trying for yourself. At the very least you need to identify when you are most creative each day. You need to design your life to reach your goals based on what you know about your strengths and weaknesses.

If you work best in the morning, get up early. If you work best at night, clear your social schedule and use that time to write.

You can even getting in the habit of “training my subconscious” to come up with ideas overnight. Some mornings I’ll wake up with practically an entire article written in my brain. I continue to refine the idea while I pet the dog for a few minutes, and then I roll out of bed and rush to my computer to spill my subconscious upon the screen. Some of the most popular Early to Rise messages I’ve written have been finished in just fifteen minutes this way.

You can even train your brain to bring you the answers during a nap. You simply put in a “request” to your brain when you go to sleep, giving it a problem to solve. I’m not joking.

For example, let’s say you’re having trouble with a headline for your sales letter or Yellow Pages ad. Read the headline and review the principles of great headlines and sales copy before you go to sleep. Then tell your brain to come up with something better while you sleep. You should wake up with a good idea in the morning.

Don’t believe that this can work? Check out this legendary example from history. Perhaps you’ve heard the folklore about Napolean Hill. As legend goes, Hill was given a deadline to come up with the title for his book, “Think and Grow Rich”. At that time, he hadn’t come up with anything better than the dismal, “Use Your Noodle to Get the Boodle”. Seriously.

On the afternoon of the deadline he had a nap and when he woke up he had a much better title for his book. His much-improved idea, “Think and Grow Rich”, went on to sell over 20 million copies before his death in 1970.

Our brains work in mysterious ways. However, we can identify these mysterious methods and do our best to harness their power, even though we may not truly understand how it works.

What most people don’t do, however, is identify their best creative techniques and maximize the time spent on them. That’s what separates massive content creation machines – such as Dan Kennedy, Bill Bonner, Malcolm Gladwell, and Stephen King – from people who struggle to write a five-page newsletter each month.

The first step in becoming more creative is identifying when and where you get your best ideas, as well as your magic time for turning those ideas into finished concepts.

Like most people, I get a lot of great ideas in the shower. The scientific explanation for this is that our brains are able to work in a different way than when we try to come up with an idea while sitting at our regular work station. This is why we get ideas and can solve complex problems in random places, such as in the shower or while out for a walk… or while sitting under an apple tree.

According to Jonah Lehrer, author of “Imagine: How Creativity Works”, the key to creativity is not caffeine and intense focus, but instead a state of relaxation. The explanation, he says, is simple. “It’s not until we’re relaxed in the shower that we’re able to turn the spotlight of attention inwards and find the quiet voice in the back of our head that is trying to give us the answer.”

Lehrer’s top tip for getting inspired? “When you feel stuck on a problem, take a break.” At 3M, one of the companies profiled in Lehrer’s book, employees are encouraged to interrupt work with a relaxing activity to let the mind turn inward and problem solve.

He also recommends making new friends that are different from you, as well as living in a city (as the increased interactions you’ll have with strangers will be good for your creativity).

Unfortunately, ideas that come to us in the shower or while out on walks often turn into slippery little fishes. Don’t you just hate when you have a groundbreaking idea one second and then as soon as you’re toweling off, you forget it?

You could, as many readers have suggested, use children’s waterproof crayons to write ideas on a whiteboard in your shower. That seems a little bizarre even for me. Instead, I’ve developed a couple of strategies to capturing my ideas in the shower.

First, I limit myself to three ideas when I have a shower or take a long walk without a notepad. Each idea is assigned to one of my fingers (yes, I know, I have 5 fingers, but I don’t give one to my thumb or pinky). As soon as I’ve filled up all of my fingers, I keep on repeating the ideas while pointing the finger I’ve assigned it to. Sure, it sounds odd, but that way, I don’t forget the ideas. And while sometimes I end up getting dressed with soap still in my hair, I can always go back and wash it off. A lost idea however, is often lost for good.

The second way to capture those ideas might be a bit more practical. Just put a pen and paper on the sink and step out and scribble them down as quickly as possible, and make sure to carry a notepad – or smartphone – with you on your creative walks.

Scribble down your ideas as soon as they come to you in that original format. That’s an essential part of capturing the essence of creativity. As Michael Masterson once explained to me about good ideas, “It’s the particular articulation of a good idea that matters. That’s why employees always brought a tape recorder to meetings with me.”

Armed with these simple tips on how my brain works, you can teach yourself to be more creative and maximize your idea generation environment. As Lehrer concludes in his book, innovation can be nurtured and encouraged by our habits. All you need to do is be a little creative in designing your life and workday to maximize your idea generation.

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is a the editor of Early to Rise and lives the Early to Rise lifestyle. He is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a program that shows you how to achieve your financial independence in the new economy. In the latest issue you'll discover the 7 best Internet Business Models to follow. Next month you'll learn what he would do if he had to start all over again with his online business.]

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 I Knew

As early as the age of five, I knew that I wanted to help other people. During my high school years, I became interested in fitness and began down the path to my first career as a personal trainer. I was lucky. I knew early in life what I wanted to do. If you aren’t sure yet, Brian Tracy is here to help.

Craig Ballantyne

“There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.” – Christopher Morley
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A New American Dream

Brian Tracy has dedicated his life to helping you achieve your American Dream. With his help, you’ll achieve your personal and business goals faster and easier than you ever imagined. For decades he has been a Keynote speaker and seminar leader reaching over 250,000 people per year. Perhaps you’ve attended one of his sessions, bought his books, or listened to his audio programs in your car. If you haven’t, you’re missing out on his valuable wisdom on Leadership, Selling, Self-Esteem, Goals, Strategy, Creativity and Success Psychology. Brian’s speeches are based on real-world experience.

Prior to founding his personal development company, Brian Tracy International, Brian was the Chief Operating Officer of a $265 million dollar development company. He has had successful careers in sales and marketing, investments, real estate development and syndication, importation, distribution and management consulting. Today, he continues to travel and work around the world (he even speaks four languages), while also devoting time to his wife, four children, and community affairs near Solana Beach, California. Brian Tracy is a man who has lived the American Dream, and is dedicated to showing you how to do the same.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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How to Find Your True Calling
By Brian Tracy

Your success in life will be largely determined by your ability to find your true calling, the right work for you to do, and then putting your whole heart into doing it very well.

The happiest people are those who have carefully thought through who they are, what they want, where they are going, and then decided exactly what they need to do to get to their goal. Asking yourself five targeted questions can help you home in on whatever path is right for you.

#1: What do I do easily and well?

When you are seeking your true calling, you must look at the activities that have always been easy for you but which have been difficult for others. Often, you will get comments and compliments on how well you do a particular task. You will be surprised when you hear those remarks, because you never even thought about it that much. It just seemed natural for you from the very beginning.

My daughter is a natural and spontaneous little actress. From the time she was three or four years old, she has memorized lines and acted in every school play and function that has ever come up. In fact, by the time she was six, she was memorizing every line in the school play, not only her own but the lines of every other child. When the other children forgot their lines, Christina would whisper them and keep the play on track.

When Christina was 11 years old, she appeared at a city council meeting and gave a speech in favor of a permit allowing her school to expand. She stood up at the meeting, on a chair, in front of 150 adults, and gave an impassioned little talk. As a result, the permit was granted – and Christina was on the front page of two newspapers the following day.

#2: What are the things that I have done in life that have been most responsible for my success?

In looking back over your work and your activities, what are the things you have done that have given you the greatest rewards and satisfaction? If you work for a company, what are the activities you have engaged in that have achieved the very best results for yourself and your company? Your previous success experiences are signposts pointing to the sort of things that you should be doing more and more of if you want to deploy yourself more fully for greater happiness and satisfaction in life.

#3: What would I do differently, knowing what I know now?

Is there anything that you are currently doing that you wouldn’t start up again if you had to do it over? Is there any relationship that you are in that you wouldn’t get into if you could make the choice today? Is there any job or part of any job that you are doing that you would not embark upon, knowing what you now know, if you had to do it over?

As many as 95 percent of people working today are under-employed, not working to their full capacity for themselves and their companies. Only 5 percent, when interviewed, will say that they are working fully extended at their current job. Only 5 percent feel that their entire potential is being consumed and that they are working on the outer edge of their abilities. These people also tend to be the happiest, the highest paid, and the most fulfilled in any organization or enterprise.

#4: What work would I choose to do if I won a million dollars, cash, in the lottery tomorrow?

This is a question I sometimes ask my seminar audiences. When you hear this question, your gut reaction is a good indicator of where you are today and possibly where you should be going in the future. Most people, when they think of winning a million dollars, think of quitting their current job and doing something else. There is nothing wrong with that. Since most people have backed into their current jobs, taking them because they just happened to be there at the time a job was needed, most people probably should be doing something else.

Napoleon Hill once said the key to success in America is to find out what you really enjoy doing, and then find a way to make a good living at it. What do you most love to do?

Successful people don’t feel like they work at all. They are doing what they love to do, and they are so busy doing it that their work becomes their play. Their work life and their personal life blends together like a hand fitting neatly into a glove. There is no separation. They are totally committed individuals who are accomplishing far more in a shorter period of time than the average person who is merely going through the motions.

#5: If I were absolutely guaranteed tremendous success in any job I chose, what field would I go into?

One of the major reasons people hold themselves back from doing what they are truly meant to do is that they are afraid they will fail in some way. And being afraid that you will fail is the surest guarantor that you will fail.

But what if you are absolutely guaranteed success in any field you choose? What would it be? What would you want to do if you had unlimited time, unlimited resources, and guaranteed success?

The answer to that question should cause you to tingle a little bit. It should make your stomach flutter. It should send a thrill of excitement and anticipation through you that tells you this is the job you should be doing.

Asking and answering the above five questions can change your life.

You have within you talents and abilities so vast that you could never use them all if you lived to be a thousand. You have natural skills and talents that can enable you to overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal you could ever set for yourself. There are no limits on what you can be, have, or do if you find your true calling.

When you become one of the few people who are doing what they love to do, who are totally absorbed in doing something they really care about, you will make more progress in a couple of years than the average wage slave makes in five or 10 years. You will come to the attention of people who can help you and open doors for you. You will be happy and fulfilled in both your work and your personal relationships. You will have more energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. You will unlock your true potential, and your future will become unlimited.

[Ed. Note: Finding your true calling can help you find happiness, success, and even wealth. Put Brian's strategies to work, and you could have it all. And if you want to find your focal point and learn to maximize your income and minimize your effort, check out Brian's website 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.

These Days

These days the newspapers are filled with news of protests, a struggling economy, and future financial uncertainties. It can be enough to even get the most positive people down. That’s why you must be careful what you let in your mind, because what you let in becomes a weapon in one of the most important battles of your life. Clay Collins explains in today’s essay.

Craig Ballantyne

“First thing to do every morning is read or listen to something positive. Your mind is like a garden – whatever you plant grows. Plant good stuff.” – Alwyn Cosgrove Two–time Stage IV Cancer survivor
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A New American Dream

Clay Collins is one of the top online marketers in the world. Now in his 30s, Clay left home at age 15 to start his first software company and has been a hard-core entrepreneur ever since.

He’s been behind the scenes (advising and writing copy) for some of the most important and highest grossing information marketing campaigns on the internet. In addition, Clay’s worked with clients ranging from large corporations such as Fox Television Studios to startups such as Brazen Careerist.

Today, he’s the recognized #1 expert on getting people to make more money from their upcoming product BEFORE it exists than most people make years after they’ve finished their product. Clay routinely gets his clients to “Pre-sell” their products and make almost six-figures BEFORE the product is created. Click here to find out how to get paid (by your market) to figure out what products or services to sell (and how to be profitable even before you start creating it

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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The Battle for Our Minds
By Clay Collins

The battle for our minds usually isn’t a struggle against brainwashing (although most of us are mildly brainwashed). The battle for our minds isn’t usually about politics, consumer culture, and mass media. Nope. The battle for our minds is fought out every day in the workplace, and due largely to…

The Paradox of Intelligence

More intelligent people tend to have jobs that require very high levels of mental engagement (not to mention, longer work weeks). If you’re a doctor, lawyer, accountant, consultant, teacher, etc., then chances are your thoughts are consumed by work-related activities (and that you have less-than-average amounts of free time).

Highly intelligent people are more likely to exchange their brainpower for money, and less likely to retain much of said brainpower for themselves. They’re more likely to enroll in mentally demanding graduate programs and accept mentally demanding jobs.

(In the western world we’re taught that if we have the capacity to be a doctor then it’s somehow a “waste” to work retail, make smoothies for a living, or become a farmer – even though a retailer worker, smoothie maker, or farmer get to own more of their thoughts).

Hence, the paradox of intelligence (POI) says that in general, the more intelligent you are, the less brainpower you’re likely to keep for yourself. The POI says that the smarter you are, the less you keep your mind for yourself. It says that the more intelligent you are, the greater the probability that an employer owns too much of your brainpower.

As a result of this paradox, intelligent people are losing the battle for their minds. They simply have less mental energy at the end of the day to ask the bigger questions. They have less mental energy and time needed to gain perspective.

The battle for our minds is really the battle create our own thought destines. The battle for our minds is . . .

The Battle for Own Our Thoughts

The battle for our minds is the battle to think on our own terms and on our own timetable. It’s the battle for freedom to let our minds wander, because the best thoughts emerge from the most unlikely places, and when we’re lavishing ourselves with time.

The best thoughts happen when we’re staring out windows and daydreaming; they happen when we’re looking at scenes like this (because we’re really there). They happen when we have perspective.

The best thoughts occur when you don’t have to have them, they occur after plenty of rest, they occur when you’re grasping the gestalts of life. The best thoughts occur when we’re mindful of the full immensity of this beautiful thing called existence.

The battle for our thoughts is the battle against our ego’s desire to gain an “important” job; it’s the battle against the very materialism that encourages us to exchange too many of our thoughts for money; and it’s a battle against the collective flattery (of society) that sweet talks us into crazy-busy careers. (Note: This paragraph was highly influenced by a great anti-travel guide I’m reading called Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide. It’s got loads of perspective and I highly recommend it).

The battle for our minds really isn’t about reclaiming brainpower to do our own taxes or solve more Sudoku puzzles. No. The battle for mind is important because. . .

We Desperately Lack Perspective

Raoul Vaneigem once wrote that “Everything has [already] been said [and] all our knowledge is essentially banal.” And he’s right. If you read the profound thoughts of any great teacher or leader, you’ll likely find no new knowledge. What you will find, however, is heaps of timeless perspective. You’ll find knowledge deeply rooted in perspective and amplified by perspective.

Great thinkers and teachers are great because their perspective forces you to take a second glance at the knowledge you already have. And their perspective is so compelling because it couldn’t have come from anywhere except direct experience.

When workaholics give up their minds each workday in devotion to balancing spreadsheets, selling widgets, arguing cases, etc. it’s not knowledge they’re missing out on. It’s perspective. The kind of perspective that requires variety, and discursive thinking, and morning runs during sunrise. The kind of perspective that requires new experiences, reflection, and carefree conversations with friends.

We desperately lack perspective because we are a society of workaholics, and workaholism is like kryptonite to perspective. (It’s often said that highly intelligent people lack common sense; but I believe they really lack is perspective as a result of handing an unhealthy amount of their brainpower to their bosses).

You Just Can’t Hack Perspective

There are no perspective hacks. None. You just have to suck it up, live a little, and wallow in the mud of life. You have to get your hands dirty with this beautiful business of living. You have to question, meditate, and fail often. You simply have to make space for perspective and hope that it will come eventually. You have to spend time in a manner that would seem self-indulgent to most.

There are no perspective shortcuts.

Who’s winning the battle for your mind?

[Ed. Note. To be honest, Clay doesn't have many talents (it's a miracle he even gets out of bed in the morning). BUT he's the recognized #1 expert on getting your market to tell you the EXACT book, online course, or coaching program they're desperate to buy from you... and THEN getting them to "pre-buy" it from you *before* you create it (making you profitable LONG before you've spent one cent producing it). Find out how Clay can help you live a passionate life without working so much.]

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.

Thanks, Mom

Growing up, both of my parents instilled in me the value of hard work. But it was my mother who tirelessly encouraged me to save my money. When I started my first job at age 13, busting my butt for $3.10 per hour at the local greenhouse, I saved money from every paycheck. Still do (although fortunately I’m making a little more than $25 a day now). Each week I put some savings right in my golden bucket, as per Mark Ford’s recommendation.

Craig Ballantyne

Discipline and responsibility are what separate the wannabes from the success stories. It takes discipline to save and work while others play, but that is your responsibility.
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A New American Dream

The fastest way to increase your wealth, in my opinion, is to increase your income. When you make more money, you can save and invest more. But it all starts with making more. I truly believe that today’s environment still offers the greatest opportunity in history for you to take control of your financial independence by starting your own business.

Plus, today also affords us the greatest chance to build a lucrative lifestyle business. You can work where, when, and with whom you wanted–all while getting paid very well as Michael Masterson shows you in one of his most popular books, “Ready, Fire, Aim“. Whether you’re thinking about starting a new business or growing an existing one, Ready, Fire, Aim has what you need to succeed in your entrepreneurial endeavors.

In it, Masterson shares the knowledge he has gained from creating and expanding numerous businesses and outlines a focused strategy for guiding a small business through the four stages of entrepreneurial growth. Along the way, Masterson teaches you what works and what mistakes to avoid.

This book will help budding entrepreneurs of all ages to get started on increasing their income. Get your copy here on Amazon.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here
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The Golden Bucket of Savings
By Mark Ford

Once you have figured out how large your spending bucket needs to be, you can start to figure out the size of your saving and investment buckets.

You may be wondering what the difference is between saving and investing. To most people, they are the same. But I like to distinguish between them because I believe it will help you acquire wealth safely.

Saving and investing are the same in the sense that you are setting aside some portion of your current earnings for the future. The difference is, the purpose of saving is to safeguard that set-aside money, whereas the purpose of investing is to grow it.

The money in the savings bucket is money that I refer to as your SOA (start-over-again) fund–the money you put aside in case of a financial disaster. What if, for example, you woke up one day to find the company that has employed you for the last twenty years has shut its doors, and the pension plan it was holding for you is suddenly worthless?

You would have to start over, right? You’d need money to pay for your expenses while you found a new job, and you’d need money to start investing again. That’s why you need money in your savings bucket. And that money has to be absolutely safe.

Imagine how you would feel if you called up your broker to let him know that you needed to cash in your start-over-again fund and he told you its value had suddenly crashed and was now worth 10 cents on the dollar? Well, that’s exactly what happened to millions of Baby Boomers. The reason it happened is because these people did not distinguish between saving and investing. They had all their wealth tied up in investments advertised as safe, but were actually quite risky.

You don’t want to take any risk with your start-over-again money. The primary purpose of that money is to preserve, not increase, the capital you set aside. Putting it at risk, even average market risk, is too dangerous.

You need to be equally as careful with the money you set aside to repay debt. Because when the bill comes due, you must pay it. Keep that money safe. Put your debt obligations in your savings bucket, never into the market, even if the market looks safe.

Same is true of any future expenditure that is coming up relatively soon. By relatively soon, I mean, say, one business cycle–seven to ten years.

If, say, your retirement is still twenty or thirty years away, you can afford to invest money set aside for that purpose in vehicles that are safe, but not super-safe. However, if you will be retiring in less than ten years, you can’t take the chance of seeing your retirement fund drop by 20% to 30%, because you won’t have time to let the market correct itself.

So if you plan to retire in five years and you will be drawing on your retirement savings, you want to transfer at least five years’ worth of your retirement fund from your investing bucket to your savings bucket. To ensure that you will be able to pay for the retirement life you want, you can’t afford to have that money at risk.

Are you with me?

For your savings bucket, your money should only be in super-safe investments–investments that are highly unlikely to go down in value in the next ten years. Given today’s economy, we believe there are only four vehicles that qualify: cash, gold coins, quality municipal bonds, and well-bought rental real estate. For simplicity, my recommendation would be that you diversify your savings bucket funds evenly: 25% into each if you use four of them, 33% if you use three of them, or 50% if you use only cash and gold coins.

I will write about all four of these vehicles in future issues of The Palm Beach Letter. For now, it is enough for you to understand the distinction between saving and investing… and segregate your set-aside money accordingly.

I’ve already asked you to estimate your LBR (lifestyle burn rate). Now, I want you to estimate how much you’ll need in your savings bucket. That includes the money you would need in your SOA (start-over-again) funds if, for whatever reason, you lost everything. (I’ll be more specific about this number in an upcoming essay.) It also means identifying all of your debt obligations, and figuring out the totals of any future expenditures that will be coming due in the next ten years.

The Golden Bucket of Investing

As I said, the purpose of your investing bucket is to grow your wealth. This is the bucket you will use to fund all future, long-term expenditures. By “long-term,” I mean more than ten years.

If you are young, you may use this bucket to put aside money for your children’s college expenses. But for the most part, the money in this bucket will be for your retirement. And when you look at investment returns from a long-range perspective like that, even a few percentage points can make a huge difference.

I won’t spend any time here talking about how you should manage your investing, because Tom and Paul do that in The Palm Beach Letter. But I will say this: The kind of stocks they recommend are the only kind that appeal to me. Every other stock investing strategy I’ve encountered (and I’ve been in the financial publishing business for more than thirty years) makes me uncomfortable.

The recommendations that you get every month from Tom and Paul in The Palm Beach Letter are designed to give you an average, long-term return of 10%-15%. This might seem paltry to people who dream of doubling and tripling their money in the market every year, but those kinds of investors almost always end up broke. And making 10%-15% on your money over the long term will give you terrific results.

But–and this is a very big but–you won’t get wealthy this way unless you invest enough money.

In other words, investing alone can’t make you rich. So if you can afford to invest only a few thousand dollars a year, you will not get rich even if you make 15% a year for forty years. To fill your investing bucket, you need to invest more than that–and if you can’t invest more than that right now, you need to generate more income so you can.

That brings us back to the metaphorical well that represents your yearly income–the well you’re going to use to fill all three of your buckets.

Your Golden Well

If your income isn’t sufficient to fill all three buckets, you have only two options: You must increase the flow from the well you have, and/or you must dig some new wells.

You can increase the income from your primary well (your job) by becoming a more valuable employee. I have written on this subject in several of the books I published under the pen name Michael Masterson. The one I recommend is Automatic Wealth for Grads… and Anyone Else Just Starting Out.

If you can become a more valuable employee, you should. But you may also want to create other streams of income.

One possibility would be to invest in rental real estate. If you decide to do that, it will become–after you have paid down the mortgages–its own well, pumping liquid gold to you every year thereafter.

Another option would be to start a side business and let your spouse or a relative run it. If you are interested in doing that, I recommend Ready, Fire, Aim, another book I wrote as Michael Masterson.

The Palm Beach Income system could be another well for you in the future.

Here’s the point: If the income you are earning is insufficient to achieve your wealth-building goals, you should NOT try to get there by taking on more risk with your stocks. Instead, work hard to create more income.

The Only Strategy You Need

This simple system for managing money and building wealth can work for you if you commit yourself to it. As I said, it’s the system I used to build a net worth of more than $50 million–and it’s still working for me and everyone else I know who has tried it.

So today, spend the time it takes to establish your own approach to “living rich” now… and in the future. Make your spending bucket big enough to allow you to enjoy your life now, but small enough to enable you to fill up your saving and investing buckets quickly.

You don’t need to try any other wealth-building strategy. This one is infallible. The day you have your saving and investing buckets filled… you will have no reason to worry about money ever again.

You already know that it will work, don’t you? You know it will work because it is so simple. It is based on our two fundamental rules for building wealth: Never, ever lose money… and become wealthier every day.

If you are over forty, you have no doubt experienced how wrong 99% of the investment schemes out there are. You tried them and discovered they made you poorer, not richer. You are ready for something simple and true, a strategy you know in your bones will work.

When Tom and I started The Palm Beach Letter, we made a solemn promise. We vowed to tell the truth about building wealth, rather than exciting our readers with the myths and lies that dominate the investment media.

We are proud of what we are doing and confident that it will help you become wealthier. Our goal is not–and never will be–to make you a “clever” investor. We simply want to teach you how to become wealthy. If that’s what you want, you are in good company.

[Ed. Note: As Mark Ford mentioned, the primary goal of The Palm Beach Letter is to teach you how to become wealthy. That said, they occasionally come across investments with the potential to increase your wealth quickly. Like this one, involving the world's richest company.]

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.

What Do You Really Need?

What really makes you happy? How much money do you need to afford these things? These are two simple questions that will get you thinking along the same lines as Mark Ford’s essay today. You’re about to discover his golden secrets to spending, saving, and investing.

Craig Ballantyne

“There are an infinite number of new opportunities. Actively seek them out, and position yourself to recognize and take advantage of them.” – Kekich Credo #68
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A New American Dream

If you are a member of the Millenial (“Y”) Generation, or have someone in the household who is, we highly recommend Michael Masterson’s book, “Automatic Wealth for Grads“. It’s like getting your master’s in financial independence–but without the midterms. Filled with real-life examples and practical advice, this single book will teach you the secrets to getting wealthy sooner than you ever imagined . . . for many, even before the age of thirty. I wish this book had been available back when I was 21 (although most of the principles are great advice for any age).

The good news is that it doesn’t matter what you majored in (or when you did), you can use these “money tested” techniques to make wealth building automatic. In the book Michael Masterson becomes your personal mentor, drawing upon his own experiences and those of experts in the fields of investing, real estate, and business to offer you a complete program for achieving financial independence in record time. Organized around proven wealth-creating principles, he will show you how to quickly master the powerful moneymaking skills that will transform you into a dynamic, automatic wealth-builder, no matter what career path you choose. This is an important reason for the next generation. Get your copy – or give a copy – here.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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The Secret of the Golden Buckets
By Mark Ford

The money-management system that I’ve used to generate more than $50 million in wealth is quite simple–a far cry from the complicated systems I was enamored with thirty years ago, when I was just beginning to learn about money.

Those systems felt exotic, secret, exciting. But as the years passed, I found they did not work as advertised. Eventually, I realized that sophisticated financial programs are like complicated toys. They look fantastic on the shelf – but when you go to use them, they eventually break… and when they break, you can’t fix them.

As simple as it is, the system I’m going to introduce you to today will provide for all of your financial needs. It will allow you to live well now… and live well in retirement.

As Palm Beach Letter subscribers know, our first rule for building wealth is “Never, ever lose money.” The primary characteristic of this plan is safety.

Our second rule for building wealth is “Grow at least a little bit richer every day.” And the second (and equally important) characteristic of this plan is its dependability. It will give you a regularly escalating net worth without significant setbacks.

I call my system “The Secret of the Golden Buckets.”

Simplicity Trumps Sophistication

Imagine a golden well with three golden buckets on the ground in front of it. One is labeled “spending”… the second is labeled “savings”… and the third is labeled “investing.”

There’s a sign on the well that challenges you to try your hand at a game. To win, you have to fill all three buckets to the brim.

It seems to be an easy challenge, but there are two problems:

The well will give you only so much water within a given time period.

If you look closely at the golden bucket marked “spending,” you notice there is a sizable hole at the bottom of it.

I’m using metaphors here, of course. The well represents your yearly income. The spending bucket, with the hole at the bottom, represents the money you must spend to enjoy the quality of life you want. The savings bucket represents money you absolutely can’t afford to lose. And the investing bucket represents your future wealth.

If you manage to fill all three buckets, you win–i.e., you’re rich!

So can this game be won? It can, if you play it smart. And you can win it relatively quickly if you use my system.

The Golden Bucket of Spending

I grew up relatively poor, the second of eight children. My father earned $12,000 a year as a college professor. As a teenager, I was ashamed of our small house, my hand-me-down-clothes, and my peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.

I dreamed, literally dreamed, of living like a rich man. And so, when I got my first job at age nine as a paperboy, and then at twelve as a lackey at the local carwash, I would spend my money on luxuries, like a pair of brand-new Thom McAn shoes.

I worked every chance I got through high school, and then worked two or three jobs during college and graduate school. I spent 80% of my money on necessities: food, clothes, and tuition. But I always spent a bit on little niceties. Even back then, I had the notion that I didn’t need to deprive myself now for some better life later.

I tell you this to emphasize a key part of my system. I don’t believe in scrimping severely to optimize savings. I believe you can live a rich life while you grow rich, so long as you are willing to work hard and you are smart about your spending.

Think of the typical earning/spending/saving pattern of most wealth seekers…

During their twenties, they spend every nickel of their modest income to make ends meet. At that age, it is nearly impossible to put aside money for the future.

During their thirties, their income increases. But this is also when they start a family. Expenses soar. There are more mouths to feed, a “family” car to buy, and the dreaded down payment on a first house. They manage to save a little during these years, but not nearly as much as they thought they would.

If they work hard and make good career decisions, their income climbs much higher in their forties and early fifties. They have more money to put aside for the future, but they are also tempted into buying newer cars, nicer clothes, more exotic vacations, and–the biggest wealth stealer of them all–that dream house.

In their later fifties and sixties, their income plateaus or even dips… and they may have to start shelling out for college tuition. Aware that their retirement funds are being depleted rather than enhanced, they invest aggressively to try to make up the difference.

Finally, sometime in their mid to late sixties, they realize that they don’t have enough money to retire. They have spent almost forty years working hard and chasing wealth, but they never managed to attain it.

It’s sad, but it’s the reality for most people. And it is just as true for high-income earners (doctors, lawyers, etc.) as it is for working-class folks.

There are two lessons to be drawn from this: First, it is very difficult to acquire wealth if you increase your spending every time your income goes up. Second, setting unrealistic investing goals means taking greater risks. And taking more risks, contrary to what many pundits say, will almost always make you poorer… not richer.

The truth is, there is only a marginal relationship between how much you spend on housing, transportation, vacations, and toys and the enjoyment you can derive from them.

My golden bucket spending strategy is simply this: Discover your own, less expensive way to live a rich life. By a “rich life,” I mean a life free from financial stress, but also filled with things that give you pleasure.

Your family can be just as happy in a house that costs $100,000 or $200,000 as one that costs $10 million or $20 million. Likewise, a $25,000 car will get you where you want to go just as well as a car that costs ten times that amount.

In fact, there are dozens of ways to live like a millionaire on a modest budget. If you learn those ways, you will have a tremendous advantage over everyone else at your income level. (In future issues, I will give you lots of ideas for “living rich” without spending more. But for the moment, I am just going to assume that you agree this makes sense.)

Make smart spending decisions. Remember, the spending bucket has a hole in its bottom. Every dollar you put into it will be gone by the end of the year. Stop thinking that because you’re earning more money, you should be spending more. Your future wealth is determined by how much you save and invest, not by how much you spend.

So here’s what I’d like you to do: Figure out how much you need to spend every year to live your own personal version of a “rich” life. It might help to spend a few minutes thinking about all the things you truly enjoyed last year. If you are like me, you’ll find that almost all of the things you enjoy require very little in the way of money. (Those are the true luxuries.)

Keep the biggest wealth-stealing expenses–like your house, your cars, and entertainment–to a necessary minimum. And eschew any expenditure that has a brand name attached to it. Brand names are parasites that gobble up wealth.

What you are doing is determining the size of your spending bucket. It should be smaller than the bucket you used last year, but big enough to contain inexpensive luxuries that will make your life truly rich.

Don’t nod your head and promise to get to it sometime in the future. Do it today. Estimate, as well as you can, what you need to spend each year to have the life you want. I call this your LBR (lifestyle burn rate)–and I’ll be talking more about it in an upcoming essay. This is a number that you must have firmly in your mind, if you intend to be a serious wealth builder.

Tomorrow – Part 2 – The Golden Bucket of Savings

[Ed. Note: As Mark Ford mentioned, the primary goal of The Palm Beach Letter is to teach you how to become wealthy. That said, they occasionally come across investments with the potential to increase your wealth quickly. Like this one, involving the world's richest company.]

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.

My Fatal Flaw

One of my fatal flaws is that I obsess over negative situations. When something bad happens I have a hard time thinking about anything else. A recent problem put this habit to the test, and thanks to a friend’s wisdom, I discovered the magic of turning bad into beautiful.

Craig Ballantyne

Failure isn’t bad. Failure isn’t final. If there is one thing I know after having observed this crazy world for 36 years, it’s that you can SURVIVE almost anything and come back better and stronger than ever before. Don’t let the fear of failure stop you from achieving the success you deserve.
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A New American Dream

In Canada, there is a television show called Dragon’s Den, similar to the American show, Shark Tank. One of the ‘Dragons’ is Arlene Dickinson, a successful entrepreneur who overcame obstacles early in her career to eventually grow a $45M per year advertising agency. The single mother of four was married at 19 and divorced at 28. It was only at this time did she venture into the world of marketing and advertising, joining a company in Calgary called Venture Communications. Within ten years she was the CEO, and now has a staff of 75 split between Calgary, Ottawa, and Toronto.

Her story is one of hardship, ambition and mistakes. However, the hardships and mistakes were no match for her ambition. Whatever may have been bad in her life, she seems to have turned into something beautiful, achieving her American Dream and now helping others pursue theirs through her role on the popular Canadian series. Arlene Dickinson is a valuable example of how we can bounce back from adversity and what we can do when our ambition and skills find the right outlet.

Discover how to achieve your American Dream and Financial Independence here

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Turning Bad into Beautiful
By Craig Ballantyne

Late on a Friday afternoon is the worst time to receive an email containing bad news related to business. It leaves you with the entire weekend to think about the problem because it can’t be resolved until everyone returns to work on Monday. Unfortunately, I had this happen to me recently.

Due to a boneheaded decision on my part, a joint venture partner and I had a falling out. I take all the blame. It was entirely my fault.

The email not only voiced their displeasure but also ominously requested a phone conversation early the next week. Thanks to my inability to compartmentalize negative thoughts I spent the entire weekend with the impending uncomfortable conversation dominating my thoughts.

It’s much like when a catchy tune gets stuck in your head, except this was the stressful, “have-nightmares-about-it” version. I kept running through the phone call over and over again in my mind, trying to figure out how it would go.

There were two things that helped me work my way out of it, and turn bad into good.

First, there was this quote that I had posted on the ETR Facebook page just a few days earlier. As this quote says, when you mess up, you are actually being given a chance to learn a lot about yourself.

“Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are.” – Bernice J. Reagon

Second, I have an incredible network of people who can keep me level headed in these situations. After I explained the situation to ETR Publisher Matt Smith, he said something that was both wise and helpful.

“When something in life occurs that is troubling, we are not supposed to dwell on the thing itself. Instead, the focus should be on our obligation to turn this bad thing into something beautiful. It’s not easy. But, if you focus your creative energy away from self torture and onto ‘how you can turn this into something beautiful’ pretty remarkable things start to happen.”

And so over that weekend, as I tried to avoid mentally torturing myself, I discovered something ‘beautiful’. I realized that in order to get through the weekend and to get over the stress, I was re-doubling my efforts at doing good things.

I spent more time in my forums answering questions on a more extensive level than normal. I put more thought and effort into Turbulence Training and ETR articles for the next two weeks. I worked harder on next month’s Turbulence Training workouts for my fitness business.

This “focus on good” elevated me from my bad mood, relieved the pressure, and turned the world positive again.

To make matters even better, my call with the upset joint venture partner turned out to be positive. My apology was accepted, and instead of conflict, we are now in co-operation. I’ve gone from embarrassed to enthusiastic, and look forward to working with this company on future products that will help them and you.

There’s a lesson here for all of us.

When things go bad, double up your efforts on doing good things. It makes you feel better, and may help even the karmic scale. You can turn bad news into something beautiful by taking positive action towards your mission and vision. Live positive.

As Dave Kekich says, “High self-esteem can only come from moral productivity and achievement.” So when things turn bad in business for you, turn them beautiful by taking action, being productive, and improving the lives of your customers and clients.

Hopefully you can take a beautiful message from my bad mistake.

Please also realize that turning something bad into something beautiful is not a fix limited to business. It can be applied to other areas of our life. For example, let’s say you are going through a divorce or loss of love of any kind. Everyone’s been there. We’ve all had bad break-ups.

But understand it’s probably not your fault. Whatever led to that loss of love is their problem, not yours. And so it’s not a time for you to wallow in self-pity, for that will do you no good.

Instead, this is the time to be at your most beautiful. If you’re funny, you shouldn’t hide inside watching reruns of “When Harry Met Sally”. You should get out and get together with your friends who love you for being funny. If you’re a natural born-organizer, you shouldn’t be at home torturing yourself and analyzing what went wrong. Instead you should be organizing a party with all of the people who matter to you and still love you.

Here’s what you need to do to start turning the balance of bad into beautiful. You need to simply take action, get moving, and build some momentum. Taking a walk, a simple stroll in some fresh air, is the easiest way to get started on your road to recovery.

During my tumultuous weekend, what helped me get better were the multiple dog walks out on the farm that I had to do each day with my chocolate lab. The walks allowed me to clear my head and use my creativity to identify solutions to the current issue. In fact, just one of those walks brought me six ideas I could use to fix the mess I had found myself in.

Don’t dwell on the negative. Instead, focus on what you can do to turn the bad into beautiful. As Matt said, flip your creative energy from self-torture to making the mistake into a positive opportunity. When you identify good things that you can do or the benefits of this new life change, remarkable things will happen. Change your perspective and opportunity arises out of the ashes.

You’ll find solutions for your problem. I promise.

That’s not bad.

That’s beautiful.

[Ed. Note. Craig Ballantyne is the author of Financial Independence Monthly, a program that shows you how to achieve your financial independence in the new economy. He's also shared the 10 books that have had the greatest impact on his business and philosophies in this list 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.