| Here's a statement worth thinking about: "The percentage of mistakes in quick decisions is no greater than in the long, drawn-out vacillations, and the effect of decisiveness itself makes things go and creates confidence." That's from Ann O'Hare McCormick, a writer who understood how easy it is to waste time deliberating. You need to think through important decisions. You need to seek counsel. But don't keep deliberating out of fear of not finding the perfect answer. In making any important decision: - First, be aware of your initial, gut instinct.
- Then, ask questions. But only of people whose opinions you respect and only for a predetermined period of time.
If both processes (one subconscious and instantaneous and the other conscious and calculated) point to the same answer, act without hesitation. If they disagree, act according to your gut. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- "The Cholesterol Theory of heart disease is quite possibly the largest cover up in medical history," says cardiovascular surgeon, Dr. Dwight Lundell.
Get ready to discover:
- How an entire nation was lured into believing cholesterol causes heart disease, a theory that lacks scientific proof.
- How "no fat dieting" and the propaganda against saturated fats actually caused an epidemic of inflammation.
- Simple, natural ways to reduce the effects of inflammation by attacking its cause.
- Proof that lowering inflammation is the best way to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease.
It is time to stop the cholesterol madness.
"In solitude the mind gains strength and learns to lean upon itself." Laurence Sterne On any given day, I go down to my cave at 7:00 a.m. and do not emerge until 6:00 p.m. When I do, my wife goes through a litany of everything she accomplished in that time. Then she asks: "And what did you do all day?" My answer: "Nine pages." I admit that this is an unsatisfactory answer. It pretty much kills her attempt at conversation. It's worse, though, if she asks the question in front of a new acquaintance. Then the answer sounds very close to: "I sat around all day in my recliner, crumpled up pieces of paper into balls and shot them at the wastebasket, took a nap with the dog... Oh, and I managed to type a pitiful, pathetic-sounding nine pages." It sounds like that because it was that. "Good grief," the new acquaintance thinks, "the poor thing is unemployed." I watched the classic Hitchcock movie "North by Northwest" the other night. Halfway through the climactic chase and fight-to-the-death scene played out on Mt. Rushmore, Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint are clinging by their fingers to the rocks, dodging gunfire, when she asks him why his two wives divorced him. He, an ad man by trade and only an accidental spy, drolly replies, "They found me and my life too dull and boring." Dull and boring. Sounds like me and my life. Unless you are the one birthing those nine pages, I think it's impossible to find the doing of it interesting. Writing is one of those things that's interesting only to the writer. That's why there are lots of TV shows about firemen, cops, trial lawyers, even people sitting around in a coffee shop and talking about going on dates with firemen and lawyers. But there are hardly any shows about writers. Yes, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" was sort of about comedy writers. And in "Newhart," in addition to being an innkeeper, Bob's character wrote how-to books. But at the end of the day, the fireman, the tree trimmer, the bartender, and the cab driver have stories to tell about what happened during their day. The writer has nine pages. The other night on CNBC, they had a show on start-up entrepreneurs. They spent a full 15 minutes at a cupcake shop. They showed the making of the batter, the elaborate, artistic icing, the packing and wrapping of the boxes. They showed customers coming in, the little bell above the door dingling, and the ooh-ing and aah-ing over the cupcakes. Imagine them coming and filming me producing my nine pages. I don't think so. Even my dog is uninterested. She comes down now and then, confirms that I'm at my desk, steals a crumpled ball of paper to chew on, and leaves. Watching squirrels in the yard is much more interesting than watching me write. I don't blame her. I prefer watching the squirrels too. But... Last month, eight pages of marketing copy I wrote brought in about $300,000 for a client, making me a nice 3 percent royalty of $9,000 on top of my original fee. How many cupcakes do you have to sell, do you suppose, to put $300,000 in the cash register? Or even $9,000? Of course, the rewards of my profession are just as private as the work itself. You can take people to see your cupcake shop. You can't take them on a tour of your royalty checks. Believe it or not, this really bothers a lot of copywriters -- the inability of anybody but themselves and, to some degree, their clients to appreciate what they do. Professional speaking (something else I've done for 30 years) is quite different. You get immediate, direct feedback from your audience -- laughter, applause, a standing ovation, requests for your autographs, and a stampede to the back of the room to buy your book or program or whatever else you're selling. Speakers get picked up at airports in limousines. Copywriters do not. Basically, copywriting is about nothing but the writing. There's nothing else to it. So you'd damn well better derive great satisfaction from the doing and the done. An artist or photographer will have his work framed and hung. No one's going to frame your neon green postcard with the 700 words of immortal copy you wrote about the revolution in vacuum cleaner technology. Certainly not your spouse. When you write a book, there is, ultimately, a book. And that will find its way to a shelf at Barnes & Noble. Not your sales letter. Writing copy is almost always a personal, private, unheralded, uncelebrated thing. I actually prefer the solitary confinement and anonymity that is mine as a copywriter. That preference fosters productivity. (Usually, to be serious, I put out more than nine pages in a day.) But a lot of people who move to this from a normal workplace feel separation anxiety. They long for socialization, human contact, busyness around them. For this reason, some can be found trying to write at a little table in Starbucks. Most copywriters I've known, though, are content to withdraw from society for days or weeks on end. For us, the nine pages is enough. We are not "people who need people." That can be disconcerting to others -- but, mostly, we won't notice. [Ed. Note: Dan Kennedy shared his million-dollar insights with American Writers & Artists Inc. members at the 2009 FastTrack to Success Copywriting Bootcamp and Job Fair. If you couldn't make it, you're in luck. They recorded every word of Dan's presentations (and those of all the other expert presenters), and included them in this year's AWAI Bootcamp Home-Study program. And for a limited time, AWAI is offering ETR readers a special 50% savings! You can read about it here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- "But I'm not a writer" - As an Internet entrepreneur, you have to learn to recognize effective sales copy -- if not write it yourself. Why? Because mediocre copy brings in mediocre response rates. And mediocre response rates can shrink your business to the point of bankruptcy over time. You can learn how to write or recognize great copy very quickly by having master copywriters John Forde and ETR's own Charlie Byrne as your teachers? Read more...
Smart People Don't Play in Casinos... They Own Them
By Michael Masterson
Astute businesspeople don't gamble. They take calculated risks when the odds favor success. Walk through any casino in the wee hours and you will notice how miserable the gamblers look. Even at the high-stakes tables, otherwise successful people will be slumped over, watching their money disappear, one stack of chips at a time. Long shots are for losers. Invest your money, time, and love into businesses, activities, and people that are likely to give you a positive return. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Are You Gambling With Your Investments? - There is something to be said for the thrill of that 40-to-1 shot. But if you take such a chance, know that you have a 90% chance of being a loser. When it comes to building your wealth, act like a casino owner, not a gambler. That means putting the odds in your favor -- with sound investments based on a mountain of research and in-depth analysis. That's exactly what the editors of Sound Profits bring to the table. Find out more here.
Important phone calls are stressful. And when you're under stress, you're not as clearheaded as you should be. The result is often an incomplete conversation. ("Damn! I should have said this." Or, "Why didn't I remember to ask that?") Make your important phone calls more productive by briefly outlining what you need to find out and what you want to get accomplished. Keep that outline in front of you while you talk. It's also a good idea to: 1. Start off by stating the amount of time you expect the call to take. 2. State the purpose of the call -- and make sure the other party agrees. 3. Issue a warning a few minutes before you have to get off the line.
Latest News -
We launched the new and improved Internet Money Club with the entrepreneurs (and aspiring entrepreneurs) at Bootcamp last week. Half of them bought it on the spot. Many more told us they were going to sign up this week. We are just about ready to promote the program to the entire ETR file, which consists of more than 450,000 eager information seekers. If the response we got at Bootcamp is any indication, we expect an avalanche of responses. The Internet Money Club's membership is limited. If you want to be sure you get in this year, you will have to act immediately when that invitation goes out. But if you respond to this message today, you can go to the head of the line...
"True to life." "Just wanted to comment on your recent ETR newsletter about the junkie's secret. While most of your ETR writings are very good (which is why I keep reading them), this one was a gem. You hit the nail on the head. It was insightful, inspiring, true to life. "It was a great piece." Mike Gouin
Cincinnati, OH -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- The "Obvious" Marketing Strategy... That Almost Every Start-Up Forgets - Your favorite restaurant almost certainly does it. So do McDonald's and Starbucks. But I'll bet your new online business is missing out on it. If so, you're leaving thousands of dollars on the table. Read more to find out what "it" is...
Today's Words That Work: Litany A litany (LIT-n-ee) -- from the Greek for "entreaty" -- is a long, formal, ritualistic prayer. The word is also used for any tedious, repetitious speech or recital. Example (as used by Dan Kennedy today): "On any given day, I go down to my cave at 7:00 a.m. and do not emerge until 6:00 p.m. When I do, my wife goes through a litany of everything she accomplished in that time."
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