Sharks are said to be the most efficient eating machines on the planet. They are perfectly equipped to hunt and kill. The shape of their bodies... the way they propel themselves through the water... the sensitivity of their hearing and smell... and the construction of their jaws. Perhaps most important, scientists say, is that they never stop moving. Think of that in relationship to your lifetime objectives. How often are you actively moving toward your goals? How many of today's important-but-not-urgent tasks have you accomplished so far? Most days, I wake up brimming with expectation. And I carry that energy throughout the day. How are you doing? Have you let your inner shark out today? -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- The Relaxation Technique that Eases Stress in Seconds You're stuck in a boring meeting... a long line at the bank... or bumper-to-bumper traffic... Your blood pressure is rising. Your stress is through the roof... But with one unconventional (and often misunderstood) technique, your frustration, anxiety, and stress simply slip away. You'll feel peaceful, in control, and happy within seconds. Any time. Anywhere.
"The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." Benjamin Franklin We seek it here, we seek it there. We seek happiness everywhere. Yet it eludes us. All of our activities -- our pursuit of fame and fortune, our quest for meaningful relationships, our drive to build or change things -- are directed searches for this ephemeral state. We get there, but we can never heave a lasting sigh of relief because the feeling is gone almost immediately. Can happiness be a permanent member of our household rather than an occasional and erratic visitor? Think on this parable from psychotherapist and Jesuit priest Anthony de Mello: "A group of tourists sits in a bus that is passing through gorgeously beautiful country; lakes and mountains and green fields and rivers. But the shades of the bus are pulled down. They do not have the slightest idea of what lies beyond the windows of the bus. And all the time of their journey is spent in squabbling over who will have the seat of honor in the bus, who will be applauded, who will be well considered. And so they remain till the journey's end." Too many of us are like those tourists, engaged in petty power struggles while the true beauty of life lies all round us, unobserved and unappreciated. I see this all the time in the seminars I conduct. I have the participants call out things that would make them happy, and I write them on a flip chart. The list grows to 50 or 100 items in minutes. Wealth is a common desire. Not run-of-the-mill, garden-variety wealth but a fabulous fortune. A trophy spouse is also popular, though people rarely label it as such. Instead the ideal spouse is described as extraordinarily good-looking and, as a self-justifying afterthought, intelligent to boot. Lots of other items come up, too, including travel, good health, great sex, friends, loving relatives, and interesting work. The truth is, none of those things is necessary for happiness. None of them. This is an extremely important point. Because all of those things are dependent on outside circumstances that will never be in your control. And doesn't that make the quest for them an extremely frail reed to lean on? Don't confuse true happiness and soul-satisfying joy with the temporary satisfaction you get when you gratify your ego. Your happiness is not dependent on your wealth, your intelligence, or your abilities. Your happiness is not even contingent on your continued good health or having loving friends, relatives, or significant others. In fact, happiness is already a part of your nature. There is nothing you have to get in order to be happy. All you have to do is allow your inner happiness to surface. When I get to this point in my seminars, I generally have a revolution on my hands. How can people be happy if they live in extreme poverty? Or if they are afflicted with a painful disease? Or if they have no friends or loved ones? Or if they're in any other hypothetical situation along those lines? Yet the statement holds. There is nothing you have to get in order to be happy. One question remains. If happiness is our nature, why do we not experience it more often? Why are our lives filled with angst and sorrow? The answer is simple: We have constructed mental models for ourselves in which happiness comes as a result of getting something -- money, power, fame, etc. In the reality that we have created and that we live in, our achievements define us. We are "better" if we are "successful." The media reinforces those beliefs, subtly painting pictures of what successful and happy people have and look like. Your parents reinforced them too, imprinting on your mind that what they found valuable was what you should value. In all probability, they got their beliefs from their parents and accepted them without question. Your friends, relatives, teachers, classmates, and coaches all played a role. So did the movies and TV programs you watched, the books and magazines you read, the music you listened to, and what you observed in the world around you. They all contributed to your mental model. And they succeeded because you did not question the beliefs and values they presented to you. But now, in your quest for happiness and freedom, you must question them. When you want something -- and you get it -- there is a brief moment when you are content, when you are not your habitual wanting self. And in that moment, you experience the happiness that is always a part of you. You are content. And full. But the very next moment, some other desire raises its ugly head and you are off on another fruitless quest for happiness. It is a never-ending cycle. The problem is that you do not realize why you experience that moment of happiness. You do not recognize that it is because, at that moment, you are free from want. The happiness springs from an acceptance of the Universe as it is. It is your innate nature bubbling forth in the absence of the bonds you put on it with your incessant demands. Instead, you attribute the happiness you briefly felt to the acquisition of whatever it was that you got. And so you try to get the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing. If you go barreling through life, desperately doing things to make yourself "happy," happiness will elude you. It is like a puppy that runs away when you try to entice it to come to you. But as soon as you ignore it and start reading your newspaper, you feel its cold nose in your hand. It really does work that way. You are bound by the things you own as long as you need them emotionally. The moment you sever this psychological link, you will experience freedom, a marvelous sense of liberation that cannot be described. Think back to your life 10 years ago. You had a list of wants at that time, things you thought would bring you lasting happiness. Odds are, you now have many of them. Have they made you happier than you were back then? Probably not. Pick any item you currently desire. Now imagine yourself as a 95-year-old person about to leave this world. From that perspective, does having that item really matter? Again, probably not. Enjoy, truly enjoy, what you have. Strive for what you do not have but want. But strive joyfully, knowing that the pleasure is in the doing, not in the getting. If you succeed, wonderful. If you do not, still wonderful. P.S. Finding true happiness won't happen overnight. With my Personal Mastery Success Program, you'll get all the tools you need to make a break with negativity, sadness, and disappointment. Soon you'll be living your life to its true potential. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- "If a picture truly is worth a thousand words, we're about to make a hell of a lot of money!" - The multi-billion dollar "home shopping" industry got its start on cable access. It was a low-budget public access "operation" run by three guys in Clearwater, Florida. Before they had even made their first dollar their success was a sure thing. They had the "Billionaire Mindset"...
Give Your Best Customers More of What They Want
By Michael Masterson
In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies to just about everything -- including the question "Which customers contribute most to our bottom line?" There is a good chance that about 20 percent of your customers are responsible for more than 80 percent of your profits. Astonishingly, some businesses don't know who their best customers are. They are aware that some people are buying a lot of their stuff. But they don't keep a list of those people or make a special effort to sell to them. Big mistake. Your best customers have already spent a lot of money with you. But they will also be the ones who will spend the most money with you in the future -- if you give them the chance. So if you don't know who your best customers are, find out right away. And then market to them (a) more frequently, (b) more personally, and (c) with more expensive products. They will reward you. That's guaranteed. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Chicken, Oranges, Eggs, Apples, Beef, Lettuce, Cereal Bars, Tuna, Peaches, Spinach, Pork, Strawberries... You want to keep your family healthy. But if you feed these foods to your family because you think it's GOOD for them, you've been horribly misled. MaryEllen Tribby has produced a special report that reveals why the products you buy may not be as healthful as you think... and what you can do to regain control.
In this free report, you'll discover: - 3 pesticides used illegally in scores of foods...
- Why following the USDA's recommendation of eating 5 daily servings of fruits and veggies could be damaging your body...
- 13 foods that are chock-full of harmful chemicals...
- A sneaky trick Big Business plays to get you to buy products that AREN'T organic...
Plus, you'll discover the best defense against pesticide abuse in the foods you and your family eat. Take charge of your health and the health of your loved ones. It's simpler than you think. Your first step is to read this free report.
When you are going to be interviewed for a job, try to be the last one they see. Studies show, and my experience confirms, that the people who do best in multiple interviews are those who are first or last. And that's regardless of how good they actually are. First is good. But last is better. If you are scheduled somewhere in the middle of the pack, give a reason for getting the earliest or latest slot instead. It doesn't hurt to ask.
Latest News -
We've made lots of improvements to next year's Internet Money Club. I'm really excited about how good it is going to be. But to make sure everyone who joins gets individual coaching, we have to limit membership. You can't sign up for the "class" of 2010 yet, but you can put yourself at the head of the line. So act now. Be one of the first to hear all about it...
"A great experience for me." "I came to last year's ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp not knowing why I was coming, except that I knew I wanted to change my life and my career. I didn't know if I would fit in at all, but the very first day I found out I was not the oldest person there. I found great people I connected with very quickly, and have learned so much from them. "These are people I can talk to and work with to make my new career an absolute certainty. It was a great experience for me to be there and meet the folks that are with ETR." Laura Cogswell
Delmar, MD -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- 12 World-Class Experts Are on a Mission... ... to give YOU some technique, trick, or strategy that will generate at least $10,000 in extra income by May 2010.
There will be a total of $394,510,000 worth of cash-generating, sales-boosting ideas at this year's Bootcamp. And you can use many of them immediately. I know of at least one that you can implement before you leave!
Bootcamp, says attendee Sharon O'Day, is "like getting a masters degree in how to build a business on the Internet."
If you haven't signed up yet, do so this minute.
Today's Words That Work: Angst Angst (ENGK-stuh) -- from the German -- is a feeling of dread or anxiety. Example (as used by Dr. Srikumar Rao today): "If happiness is our nature, why do we not experience it more often? Why are our lives filled with angst and sorrow?"
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