ETR: Less Is More

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Issue No. 3073 - $1.00	Thursday, August 5, 2010
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- You Get Everything... Yes, Everything At the 2010 ETR Info-Marketing Boocamp, you will get EVERYTHING you need to know about creating your own money-making info-marketing business. You'll find out how to... Build your own e-mail list quickly and easily Identify the right "keywords" for your website Write persuasive copy that compels your readers to buy NOW Use social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to grow your business Use videos to explode your online sales Use pay-per-click" advertising to generate steady website traffic Make your website "search engine friendly" Create profitable info-products from scratch This is only a tiny, tiny fraction of what our experts could cover at ETR's 2010 Info-Marketing Bootcamp. Get every last detail here. "If writers wrote as carelessly as some people speak, then adhasdh asdglaseuyt[bn[ pasdlgkhasdfasdf." Lemony Snicket 7 Surefire Ways to Give a Speech That "Brands" Your Message Into the Hearts and Minds of Your Audience By Peter "The Reinvention Guy" Fogel Whether you're a professional public speaker or someone occasionally called upon to speak at company meetings... or to prospective clients... you want to make sure your audience quickly "gets" your message. The way to do it is to brand yourself. In other words, to sum up your message with a brief, slogan-like phrase -- and build your presentation around that phrase. Sort of like the way Rodney Dangerfield built his act around the hook "I don't get no respect." Surf the websites of successful marketers and you'll see how they are branding themselves -- and their messages -- for their fans and customers. Yes, big companies like Coke do it (Coke is it!)... but that doesn't mean the little guy can't do it too! For instance, I've branded myself as The Reinvention Guy and my message as Business Success Through Reinvention. My fellow author and speaker, Dr. Matthew Norton, has branded himself as America's Holistic Doctor. My colleague Mark Mayfield uses the slogan Solid Business Wisdom, Brilliant Comedic Style. The beauty of using tag lines/slogans in your speeches and marketing materials is that your targeted audience will retain more of your message. Best of all, they will remember you. Simply put, effective branding allows you to get into their hearts and minds! Okay, let's say you're not a professional speaker. Let's say you're a hardworking staff member in an information marketing company. You're spearheading an important sales promotion. And TODAY, you're presenting your ideas to your tough-as-nails CEO. You know your boss is a no-nonsense guy who's not easily impressed. You also know that if you can communicate your ideas effectively to your boss, that can open more doors for you at the company... especially if the sales promotion is a -- CHA-CHING! -- success. You have only has few moments to make an impact on your boss before he heads off to a jujitsu class and punishes an unsuspecting soul into submission. That means you have to come up with a phrase that instantly gets your message across. Here are seven ways to accomplish your mission: 1. Ask yourself "What's the main point I want to make?" Let's say you're trying to sell a copywriting program to people who don't know anything about the copywriting profession. You want to make the point that good marketing copy is vital to a company's success. So your slogan could be something like "Remember -- when it comes to making sales... Copy Is King! 2. K.I.S.S. (not the rock band) The best slogans use five words or less. Think of "Ahnold" saying "I'll be back!" or Dirty Harry saying "C'mon, make my day!"  In other words, K.I.S.S. -- Keep It Simple, Stupid! You might remember that when Bill Clinton campaigned against George Bush, he used a slogan that was roughly based on that K.I.S.S. acronym: I.T.E.S. -- It's the Economy, Stupid! And if you were, say, selling a marketing program, you might do something similar... "If you want to exponentially grow your company year and year out, if you want a fail-safe method to accomplish this... you absolutely must adhere to the I.T.M.S principal -- It's the Marketing, Stupid!" 3. Use rhythm. "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing." Slogans with a musical rhythm to them are easier to grasp, remember, and internalize. You know how easy it is to remember nursery rhymes -- and how hard it is to get a favorite song out of your head. ("Everybody was kung-fu fighting!" Yes, I am aging myself now.) Same idea. 4. Create a slogan that fits your message -- and only your message -- like a glove. Try not to use a slogan that's been done to death -- even if it is perfect for your message. Giving a speech on how to improve self-confidence in the competitive business world? How about "First Believe... Then Achieve"? Giving a speech on nutrition? How about "Look Before You Eat!"? 5. Play with words. Reinforce your core message by expressing it in an unusual or fun way. Words that begin and end with consonants, for example, seem to stick in the brain. One of my favorites: Wassssuuuuuuppp! Or Tony the Tiger's: "They're grrrrrrrrrrrrreat!" Giving a speech on leadership to your local Chamber of Commerce? Try repetition: Be Accountable... Be Straightforward... Be Consistent! Presenting  a new dog re-training manual to the head of a pet store franchise? Try a branding line that brings a smile to his lips: Give Your Dog a Whole New Leash on Life! Speaking of humor... for some reason, "k" sounds and "p" sounds are funny. "Ketchup" and "cantaloupe" are funny words. And God bless you if you can somehow incorporate them into your slogan.  6. Tell 'em what you want 'em to do. Your speech should inspire BUT also have a call to action. You want to motivate your audience to take the action that will give them the results you're talking about. So if you can, try incorporating a call to action in your slogan. Nike's "Just Do It" is a great example.  Brainstorm with verbs like "seize," "capture," "conquer," and "grasp" to come up with a slogan with a powerful call to action. (Now, YOU can Master the Art of Persuasive Public Speaking and Earn High Speaking Fees!) 7. Tell 'em once and tell 'em again. You should incorporate your branding phrase about six times in a 60-minute presentation. Always begin with it -- and definitely end with it. Brand yourself, brand your message. Rinse and repeat for continued success. Oh, and don't be surprised if, at the end of your presentation, when you're mingling with members of your audience, folks start approaching you, slapping you on the back, and repeating your phrase over and over again. That's when you'll know you've done your job! [Ed. Note: Peter "The Reinvention Guy" Fogel is a sales writer, corporate speaker, and award-winning humorist who has worked on over 18 television shows, including Married With Children, Whoopi with Whoopi Goldberg, and HBO's Comedy Central. He is a National Speakers Association Keynote Speaker who gives presentations to corporations and associations on reinvention, copywriting, and public speaking. For more information on his products and to sign up for his FREE 7 Days to Effective Public Speaking E-Course (a $75 value), go to www.publicspeaklikeapro.com. Ready to see Peter's public speaking rules in action? And get an in-depth look at how Early to Rise -- and a dozen of the most successful Internet business builders -- make millions each year? Then check out ETR's Info-Marketing Bootcamp this November. At Bootcamp, you'll learn the latest in e-mail list building, search engine optimization, front-end and back-end marketing, copywriting, online marketing strategy, and much, much more. And you'll get to meet the experts in person. Find out more here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Is There a Shortcut to Success? When it comes to starting your own Internet business, the only REAL shortcut to success is to follow the step-by-step lead of masters who've already "been there, done that." They know where the landmines are. And they know where the buried treasure lies. When you meet the experts we've brought together for ETR's Perfect Home Business Quick-Start Program, they'll show you both. And after you've gone through this program... You'll know more than 99.9% of all the Internet start-up entrepreneurs out there... You'll have a business that's completely functional -- up, running, and ready to churn out a steady side income... And you'll be prepared for a lifetime of financial success in a way that very few entrepreneurs ever are, online or off. Find out more here. "Keep it coming." "I recently cancelled most of my e-mail newsletters in the interest of using my time more efficiently. I am happy to say ETR is one of the very few left. You are an inspiration, and I use many of your messages as words to live by. Keep it coming." Steve Alberta, Canada -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- 55 Times Your Money in 2.5 years That's what recent history shows one "metal multiplier" stock gave investors. Click here for three companies in the best position to repeat or exceed those 5,584% gains over the next few years... The Language Perfectionist: Time to Go Retro By Don Hauptman Have you ever encountered the word retronym? Whatever your answer, I can guarantee that you've heard and read and used retronyms. Here's the story... Once upon a time, only one type of guitar existed. When the electric guitar was invented, a term was needed to differentiate it from the original kind, which then became an acoustic guitar. In this case, acoustic guitar is the retronym. Literally, retronym means "backward name": a word or phrase that's coined because an earlier word or phrase is no longer unique and suddenly requires elaboration, qualification, or contrast. Another example: For quite a while, there was only one kind of phone number. When the fax number came along, the old phone number became a voice number. Then, after the cell number was introduced, that revision would no longer suffice, and the original phone number became a landline number. Here are a few other retronyms: The advent of the microwave oven necessitated the old-fashioned kind being redubbed a conventional oven. Only one sort of diaper used to exist, until the disposable diaper made it essential to differentiate the new invention from the cloth diaper. The electric toothbrush didn't totally replace the hand-powered kind, which was renamed a manual toothbrush. The introduction of cable TV and satellite TV meant that the original medium had to be referred to as broadcast TV. An adopted child who grows up sometimes searches for his birth mother, as distinguished from his adoptive mother. The popularity of e-mail required that the terrestrial kind be disambiguated from postal mail or snail mail (or, as I like to call it, s-cargo). Think about how technology regularly introduces new words into the language and changes old ones. It's interesting to speculate about how differently we'll communicate 10 or 50 years from now. Or imagine someone from the 1960s arriving in a time machine and attempting to understand, for example, what you're talking about when you explain a computer problem to a technician. [Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into speaking, consulting, training, and critiquing.] We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com
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Copyright © 2010 Early to Rise, LLC. NOTE: If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. Disclaimer: Early to Rise only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we receive a commission. We will never recommend any product that does not have a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial Advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized Financial Advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here. To contact us, please visit... http://www.supportatetr.com/helpdesk To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

ETR: Investors Beware

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Issue No. 3072 - $1.00	Wednesday, August 4, 2010
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- Your Website Is the Crossroads of the World Imagine if you could open up a store in the "Times Square of the Internet." But instead of the 26 million people a year who pass through Times Square every year, you got 91 million "passersby" -- every day! It's easy (and cheap) to do. And with Bob Bly's help, you could see income in just a few weeks. Read more... Today, we introduce a new voice to Early to Rise, Shah Gilani. Shah is a contributing editor and market expert with our Agora sister publication, Money Morning. In his piece today, he forecasts trouble ahead for the stock market... despite a rosy outlook from some market watchers. Jason Holland Managing Editor Early to Rise "Yes, risk-taking is inherently failure-prone. Otherwise, it would be called sure-thing-taking." Jim McMahon Investors Beware: Cash Pouring Into Junk Bond Funds May Signal Stormy Seas for Stocks By Shah Gilani, Contributing Editor, Money Morning We all know that bonds offer lower (but more reliable) returns than stocks, with better resistance to the whims of the market. But there's also something called high-yield bonds, also known as "junk bonds" because of their low ratings (below investment grade) and unusually high risk of default. Lately, bargain hunters have been plowing their money into U.S. high-yield bond funds. A few weeks ago, according to Lipper Research, $1.39 billion flowed into them. This was the largest pile-in since August 2003. The fifth-highest on record. And the U.S. market isn't the only place money is pouring into high-yield funds. Loads of cash is flooding western Europe, too. A record amount. So far in 2010, $25.3 billion has poured into junk-bond funds there. That's a 35% jump from the previous record set back in 2006. The result of all this cash flowing into junk bonds signals trouble ahead. Let me explain... The federal interest rate is near zero. It's been there since 2008. This policy is meant to spur growth and spending and fuel economic recovery. It makes it easy for people to borrow money. But it also makes it hard for investors to make money. It induces them to take up residence in the risky neighborhoods of investing. Like junk bonds. They see high yields and reach for them. And while investors are plowing money into junk bonds, large banks are looking to place money. Most of it is given in loans to big borrowers -- loans that have the scope and scale to give banks hefty fees for commitment, underwriting, and placement. Banks also like the fat interest rate spreads typical of these "leveraged loans." So it's win-win for banks and borrowers. But what about those investors? Good Money Chasing Bad Deals An improving marketplace goes hand-in-hand with rising asset values. And rising asset values supports a surge in junk bond deals. Private equity shops wheel and deal to leverage the public companies they're taking private with high-yield loans. (They use the proceeds to buy out public shareholders, as well as to pay themselves fat "management" fees. Their investors get juicy dividends too.) At the same time, they try to streamline their new portfolio companies to make them more productive and -- they hope -- more profitable. In a teetering economy, though, there's little room for that. Most companies have already squeezed out all the excess and inefficiency. Even before private equity players buy them out. Layoffs, scaled-back production, asset sales, and de-leveraging... all standard corporate fare in a recession. Call it "Survival 101." But if demand doesn't return or is not sustainable, more de-leveraging will be needed. No matter how much was already done. A Backed-Up Backlog? Something bad is brewing for private equity shops. And for their investors. And even for the larger universe of investors in U.S. and western European stock markets... The private equity sector has a huge inventory of debt-laden portfolio firms. Each one is waiting to go public. But today's initial public offering (IPO) markets are desperately thin. So a nasty backup is forming. It looks something like traffic on the Long Island Expressway... heading out to the Hamptons... on a Friday afternoon. This backlog of deals weighs on the rest of the market. Not only are these deals dull. The companies are sorely over-leveraged. It would take the power of a particularly exuberant market to lift any newly issued stocks. Otherwise, poor IPO debuts could kill off any enthusiasm that capital markets hope to represent as investible opportunities. And equity investors are beaten down enough as it is. In the 2nd quarter of 2010, 90 companies filed to go public. They planned to sell a total of $23.6 billion in shares. That is the highest number of planned IPOs on record. (At least since the last bull market that ended in 2007.) In the same quarter, the number of IPOs cancelled was the highest since the collapse of Lehman Brothers in fall 2008. Fifty major IPOs got zapped worldwide. And markets continue to whip-saw. So it's not likely that new share issuance will pick up anytime soon. If anything, the traffic jam is getting longer by the minute. That's bad news for private equity shops. They've invested a total of $2 trillion in leveraged buyout (LBO) deals. That was during the easy money, credit-crazy bubble. The one that just exploded. Note two important things. First, leveraging up continues. And second, more and more junk bonds are being issued to pay dividends to private equity masters. DynCorp International Inc., for example, just issued $455 million worth of high-yield paper at 10.5%. It needs to finance a $1.7 billion buyout by Cerberus Capital Management. The cable TV firm Insight Communications Co. is selling $400 million worth of junk bonds to pay a $300 million dividend to its owner, the Carlyle Group. And CKE Restaurants Inc. is floating $600 million. That will help pay for its $1 billion buyout by Apollo Global Management. Caution Is the Watchword The low federal interest rate drove investors to seek higher yields by buying mortgage securities packed with subprime loans. It inflated the credit bubble. And the low rate is the catalyst here, too. Investors who dare dabble in stocks right now must recognize the overhang of leveraged IPOs coming to market. Beware the potential for another tsunami of deleveraging. It's coming... It's only a matter of time before healthy markets become unable to absorb the backlog of stale deals. And steer clear of leveraged, stripped-out companies fishing in the junk market for yield-hungry fools. They won't be able to make their hefty interest payments for long. Avoid getting stuck on the backed-up market expressways. Stay alert and watch your mirrors. And beware. That stock market downturn you see in your mirror... may be closer than it appears. [Ed. Note: Shah Gilani is a retired hedge fund manager and renowned financial crisis expert. In a recent expose, he warned that high-frequency traders were artificially pumping up market volume numbers. That makes stocks super-susceptible to a downdraft. And that downdraft came. Were you ready for it? Gilani was. So were subscribers to his new advisory service, the Capital Wave Forecast. The morning after it happened, his portfolio was up 186% on a short-term euro play. But that wasn't all. It had gained more than 300% on an option play on the VIX volatility index too. Gilani identifies the monster "capital waves" as they form. He shows how to profit from each one. And he highlights the market pitfalls that all too often sweep investors away. Take a moment to check out Gilani's investing strategy and the profit opportunities that result. And take a look at his recent articles. They're available, free of charge, right here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Ready, Fire, Aim Is a Must-Have for Any Serious Entrepreneur After just 10 minutes with this Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling book, you'll know how to: Start a business from scratch and make it profitable in less than 2 years... Take a developed business that has stalled and get it moving again... Keep a growing business growing as annual revenues climb from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars Get other people to do ALL the HARD WORK for you, so you are free to do only the fun stuff Duplicate your winning strategy in several businesses so you never have to worry about needing any one of them... Putting just a few of these strategies to work could hand you the "best job in the world" - self-employed multimillionaire.  Get all the details – and a plan for success – with your own FREE copy of Michael Masterson's Ready, Fire, Aim... "MaryEllen Tribby's own core values are showing right through in this article. ("What Are Your Core Values?") Good for YOU, Mary Ellen. Very uplifting and positive reading and thinking. "Thanks." Arlean Kelley Buenos Aires, Argentina -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- There's No Reason Why You Shouldn't Be the Next Overnight Success Story... Maybe you've been hearing about all those "overnight" Internet success stories -- and wishing you could be next. Well, it's finally time... One online entrepreneur we know made $1.8 million last year selling... pajamas. A couple from California -- using the same business model -- made $25 million. (They sell flags, gardening tools, baby furniture, and more.) How'd they do it? They were able to get their products for pennies on the dollar and sell them at a huge markup. We want to show you how to get into the same type of easy-to-operate business that takes full advantage of our global economy and the Internet. All you have to do is follow a simple plan that walks you -- step by step -- through it. To see if your financial success is right around the corner, continue here... Today's Words That Work: Inexorable Inexorable (in-EK-ser-uh-bul) -- from the Latin -- means relentless and unyielding. Example (as used by David Denby in a New Yorker review of the film Salt): "Heroic inexorability is, of course, a movie staple, going back to the silent serials, and there's no reason that women shouldn't be super-studs, too." We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com
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Copyright © 2010 Early to Rise, LLC. NOTE: If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. Disclaimer: Early to Rise only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we receive a commission. We will never recommend any product that does not have a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial Advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized Financial Advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here. To contact us, please visit... http://www.supportatetr.com/helpdesk To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

Check out this video

Dear ETR Reader - When you think of making the big bucks, what comes to mind? Eighty-hour work weeks with your nose to the grindstone? Risky deals being made in a back room? Clutching a lottery ticket tight in your hand as the announcer calls the numbers? Hoping against hope that Great Uncle Gary included you in his will? Face it. Most visions of wealth carry with them a lot of risk, heavy stress, and a good deal of luck. But what if I told you that it didn't have to be that way? That, instead, you could build your own fortune... From the comfort of your own home... Or anywhere on earth with an Internet connection. And that you can learn exactly how to do it from a beautiful ocean-side retreat! You could: Find out exactly how one man made over $4 million in revenues in just two years... Then soak up the sea air as you walk along the beach. Learn about a $295 million-per-year business model you can follow to build your own six- or seven-figure home-based business... Then pop across the street for a delicious bowl of lobster bisque and a plate of crispy clam fritters. Discover how to craft the same kind of simple four-page letter that generated $2.2 million in gross sales to a group of 1,500 readers... Then relax into a lounge chair by the pool as palm trees sway above you. What better place to learn how to build your fortune than paradise? This is exactly the kind of experience you'll have this November at the 2010 ETR Info-Marketing Bootcamp. But don't take my word for it... Get a sneak peek at what we have in store for you by watching this short video presentation. At Bootcamp this November, we'll give you all the tools you need to make money... From home... Doing what you love to do. Let me assure you... This won't be idle advice. All the lessons you'll learn at Bootcamp come from expert marketers and business builders who are already making money this way.  Today and every day. Take a minute to watch this short video about building your fortune in paradise... Then read all about the experts we've got lined up... the money-making tools you'll come away with... and the kind of success YOU can have, just by joining us. See you in November! Jason Holland Managing Editor Early to Rise         You are receiving this e-mail as a part of your subscription to Early to Rise. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized financial advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. _____ To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

ETR: Afformations

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Issue No. 3071 - $1.00	Tuesday, August 3, 2010
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- If There's One Thing Truly Successful People Know... it's that "dreaming" about success won't get you anywhere. You must take action. That's first. Next, you need somebody who's been there before to guide you. Success mentor Bob Cox has built multimillion-dollar businesses, advised billionaires, and helped people around the world achieve their dreams. Why not let him help you? "The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live." Flora Whittemore Afformations: The Secret Key to Manifesting Your Desires By Noah St. John You know what an "affirmation" is. It's a statement of something you want to be true. Advocates believe that repeating affirmations over and over again helps you change the way you think and, thus, make positive things happen in your life. A classic affirmation is "I am rich." Try it. "I am rich." What just happened? Did you hear a voice in your head saying "Yeah, right!"? That's the big problem with affirmations. They really don't work for most people. When I tried to figure out why they don't work, I realized it's because of the way the human mind is wired. We don't simply accept statements that we don't believe. Human thought is the process of ASKING and searching for answers to QUESTIONS. For example, if I were to ask you "Why is the sky blue?" your mind would start SEARCHING for the answer. So if the human mind is always asking and searching for answers to QUESTIONS, why would we go around making statements we don't believe? Why not cut out the middleman? Take the affirmation "I am rich" -- to which the brain replies "Yeah, right!" What would the QUESTION be? "Why am I so rich?" Try it. Ask yourself "Why am I so rich?" What's your brain doing right now? Searching for an answer to the question! It's by asking questions that you form your reality.  Until I came up with this staggering discovery, no one had fully recognized the awesome power of ASKING EMPOWERING QUESTIONS -- what I call "Afformations." 4 Steps to Creating Afformations That Change Your Life Brandon, an insurance salesman from Utah, had spent over $30,000 on self-help programs... with little to show for it. When he came to us, he was struggling, making only around $1,200 a month. Here's how I taught Brandon to use The Afformations Method to create a better life for himself and his family: Afformations Step 1: Ask yourself what you want -- and write it down. You can use a goal you've previously written down, or start from scratch. You decide. Please note that traditional success teachers stop right here. They tell you to "set your goals" and then say "affirmations" to try to convince your brain that you have what you want. You already know that doesn't work for you. So, let's try something different. One of Brandon's goals, for example, was to increase his sales. So he wrote: "I want to increase my sales." Then we went to the breakthrough step... Afformations Step 2: Form a QUESTION that assumes that what you want is already true. This is the key step to creating Afformations that change your life. Since Brandon's wanted more sales, in Step 2 I taught him to ask WHY it had already happened! So one of his Afformations became: "Why did I increase my sales so quickly and easily?" The quality of your life depends on just two things: the quality of your communication with the world inside yourself, and the quality of your communication with the world outside yourself. When you do Step 2 of The Afformations Method, you start to change the quality of your communication with both worlds -- inner and outer. You begin to ask yourself new, empowering questions, and stop asking disempowering ones. Afformations Step 3: Give yourself to the question. The point of Afformations does not lie in finding "the answer," but in asking better questions. When you ask better questions, your mind automatically focuses on things you've probably never focused on before -- and the results will amaze you. You give yourself to the question by doing things like: Meditating about your Afformations Writing your Afformations Reading them to yourself and others Listening to iAfform Audios -- audios that change your subconscious thought patterns while you're busy doing other things (Get a free sample at www.iAfform.com.) Which brings us to Step 4 of The Afformations Method -- the one you MUST do to get the results you want... Afformations Step 4: Take new ACTIONS based on your new assumptions. Even though you may have spent thousands of dollars on "how to succeed" programs, you may have subconsciously assumed they wouldn't work for you. That's precisely why they didn't. But The Afformations Method makes conscious and clear that which has, until now, been subconscious and hidden. When Brandon started afforming for more sales, he started thinking about what someone who had more sales would do -- and he started doing those things: asking for more referrals, following up more, and doing other things a top salesperson would do. And in less than 90 days, his sales TRIPLED. By the end of the year, his sales had increased 560%, he was making over $150,000, and he was named Agent of the Year. Afformations aren't magic, they're science. Thousands of people have experienced incredible breakthroughs with Afformations, from doubling their income in 90 days to losing over 100 pounds to finding the love of their lives. But none of it happened until they followed all 4 Steps of The Afformations Method. That's how you'll change your life using this incredibly simple but powerful breakthrough! In Summary You've been told to use "affirmations" like "I am rich" that you not only don't believe but that actually leave you more frustrated than before. The new way is to use Afformations -- empowering questions like "Why am I so rich?" that immediately change what your brain focuses on.  Change your questions, change your results. Can you see how that puts you in conscious control of your subconscious thoughts? It automatically changes your perspective, which can change your actions, which will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. [Ed. Note: Noah St. John, Ph.D., is a lifestyle expert and the #1 bestselling author of The Secret Code of Success: 7 Hidden Steps to More Wealth and Happiness (published by HarperCollins). Harvey Mackay says, "If you want to crack your own secret code of success, crack open Noah's book." Noah is the world's most-quoted expert on how to dump your head trash. You may have seen him on CNN, ABC, NBC, in The Washington Post and PARADE Magazine. You can get the first 3 chapters of The Secret Code of Success FREE at www.Afformations.com You can also meet Noah St. John live and in person at Early to Rise's Info-Marketing Bootcamp this November. Noah is one of the dozen experts we've invited to teach budding entrepreneurs how to start and grow their online businesses. Noah will show you how to dump your head trash and get massive results from every money-making program you'll ever buy. We've also got experts in all aspects of Internet marketing strategy, including e-mail list building, front-end and back-end products, copywriting, pay-per-click ads, social media, and much, much more. See the full lineup for Info-Marketing Bootcamp here.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- The Greatest Dirty Little Secret of the Internet To make money as an entrepreneur, you've got to constantly scour the earth for high-quality, in-demand products. You could create new ones. But that can be expensive. Time-consuming. And after all the work... You might wind up with nothing. But a few of the Internet's top marketers have found a way around this problem. They don't spend time (or money) on products that may or may not sell. Instead, they pluck money-makers from a reserve of pre-made products and sales promotions. A martial arts expert from Florida has turned this strategy into a small fortune. He estimates that one "pre-made product" made over $20,000 in one month... Another has gone on to pull in over $332,250. Discover how he found these money-makers... And learn how you could use this secret to make anywhere from a few hundred bucks a month to a few hundred thousand bucks a year right here. "Looking forward to learning more from you." "Thank you for the learning opportunity you guys share. It's a big help for me, a start-up businessman. I am from the southernmost point of the Philippines, and the only business model familiar to us is the unorganized mom-and-pop business. "I really want to learn and explore more, because I believe there are other options aside from this old set of business rules. I am looking forward to learning more from you. "Thank you for the opportunity." Carl Jayson -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- FREE... Why? What's the Catch? Let's cut to the chase: Michael Masterson has agreed to give you a copy of his Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling book, Ready, Fire, Aim, just for accepting a trial membership to The Liberty Street League. Try the Liberty Street League's "insider" newsletter for 90 days (paying less than the cost of a "decent" restaurant dinner for two). If you don't like it, just let us know and we'll give you your money back -- and you get to keep the book! Get in on this incredible offer here. Today's Words That Work: Mumsy Mumsy (MUM-zee) -- is a Britishism for "mom." The word is often used to describe clothing that is dowdy or drab -- what a stereotypical mother might wear. Example (as used by Lauren Collins in an article about the Laura Ashley company in The New Yorker): "Eventually, the Ashleys became known for their mumsy floral prints, inspired by patchwork quilting, shards from a soup tureen, Victorian-era endpapers." We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com
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Copyright © 2010 Early to Rise, LLC. NOTE: If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. Disclaimer: Early to Rise only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we receive a commission. We will never recommend any product that does not have a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial Advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized Financial Advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here. To contact us, please visit... http://www.supportatetr.com/helpdesk To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

The same, but different?

Dear ETR Reader - You'd think it would get old... This November, I'll be attending my FOURTH Info-Marketing Bootcamp. And - just like I do every year - I'll be bringing my laptop with me so I can take copious notes. That's because the only thing that stays the same about this annual event is that it's ever-changing. Sure, we have a few experts who appear every year (Rich Schefren and Michael Masterson, to name a couple!). But each year, our expert panelists offer up the hottest ideas for making money in the information marketing industry... Marketing and business-building techniques that are working TODAY... And revenue-boosting secrets that our experts are using - RIGHT NOW - to make money for themselves and their clients. This year, the Info-Marketing Bootcamp will be the same: Different from every Bootcamp we've ever hosted! Yes, we promise to cover some of the tried-and-true direct marketing strategies that have been working for decades... (This year, we're featuring the man that advertising legend David Ogilvy says knows direct marketing better than anyone!) But we'll also dig deep into some of the newest trends that are making savvy info-marketers very wealthy today... Things like: Video Marketing - Two billion videos are viewed online each day - and that's just via YouTube! One woman raked in $25,770.23 in monthly revenues from online video marketing... in one of her very first months at it! At this year's Bootcamp, we'll show you how to create traffic-pulling online videos from scratch in just minutes... Even if you're a complete "technophobe!" Social-Media Marketing - Did you know that 86% of companies are spending more for social media marketing this year than they did last year? Social networking websites have evolved into highly-effective marketing vehicles. At Bootcamp, we'll show you how to use social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter to build your business. Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising - PPC is one of the fastest, easiest ways to get quality traffic to your website. The big challenge with Pay-Per- Click is that if you don't know what you're doing... you can lose a lot of money. And FAST. We'll show you an EASY, virtually "BULLETPROOF" way to use Pay-Per-Click advertising... Even if you've never done it before... And bring in a flood of qualified, eager buyers to your website almost immediately. And much more! One Bootcamp attendee, Rick Louis, says, "The sort of information you get at [the Info-Marketing Bootcamp] vs. others is actionable and hugely doable. To turn ideas into a living is now an easy thing to do." "[Bootcamp] was the most exciting conference that I have been to ever," Paul Good told us. "It opened up so many incredible ideas for me. The content is the most rich of anything I have ever seen... Nothing but powerful idea after powerful idea moment after moment... One of the most worthwhile things I have ever done."  And Sharon O'Day says, "This is a tremendous opportunity to get in front of the people who are the movers and shakers in the industry. It's like getting a master's degree in how to build a business on the Internet." To read more about the marketing experts we have on hand this year... And learn more about the ideas they'll be spilling at Bootcamp... (Ideas that could wind up putting more money in your pocket!)... Simply click here. If you act quickly, you can pick up a $200 discount. Hope to see you there! Jason Holland Managing Editor Early to Rise         You are receiving this e-mail as a part of your subscription to Early to Rise. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized financial advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized financial advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. _____ To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

ETR: 24 Times the ROI of Government Bonds

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Issue No. 3070 - $1.00	Monday, August 2, 2010
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- A Million-Year-Old Volcanic Rock That Outsmarts Heart Disease... One of the doctors featured in this report had such a weak heart that he couldn't even walk up a flight of stairs. Now, thanks in part to this million-year-old volcanic rock, he can bike straight up a mountain... in the middle of a desert. Click here to read his story and other amazing stories of health breakthroughs that are saving lives today. "I'm tired of Love: I'm still more tired of Rhyme. / But Money gives me pleasure all the time." Hilaire Belloc 24 Times the ROI of Government Bonds By Andrew Gordon Today, I'm going to tell you about the safest investment you can make -- in a sector with government-backed profits generating amazing returns for shareholders... If you were to invest in this company right now, you could immediately start earning 15.2% on your money. But the real beauty of this investment is that the interest payments get bigger the longer you hold on to it. For example, readers of Sound Profits who invested in this company in November 2008 when I first told them about this highly unusual opportunity are now getting a 20.1% annual rebate on their investment... plus a huge bonus. (I'll tell you about that in a moment.) Those interest payments add up in a hurry, too. If you buy now, I can pretty much guarantee that you'd make your entire principal back in about four and a half years! Anything from that point forward would be pure profit... frosting on the cake! I'm NOT talking about the stuff you normally invest in to generate a steady income stream. Stuff like... 2-Year Government Bonds -- at a 0.63% interest rate. You could be making 24 times more money with the investment I'm talking about. Money Market and Savings Accounts -- at a 1.3% interest rate (for the best ones!). You could be making 11 times more money with the investment I'm recommending. 10-Year Government Bonds -- at a 3.0% interest rate. You'd be making five times more with my recommendation. The rebate you'd get with this type of investment is not only much higher than any CD... or muni bond... or investment-grade corporate bond could offer, it's also backed by the government. That makes it almost impossible for you to lose money. It's an investment you probably haven't heard of before... Wall Street simply doesn't talk much about it much. I don't blame them. Why would you invest in one of their bond funds, for example, with returns of 3%-5% a year if you're lucky, when you could make over 15% annually (plus a bonus). What is this super-safe, super-profitable investment? Real Estate Investment Trusts, or REITs for short. But they're very special REITs. In fact, they remind me more of banks than of real estate companies. And I consider them to be the best banks in the world because making money for them is so very simple. You won't believe how simple! Safer and More Profitable Than Big Banks By law, REITs are required to give shareholders 90% of their profits. In return, Uncle Sam agrees not to tax them. It works out for everybody. These companies make bigger profits because they go untaxed. And shareholders get an automatic 90% of those bigger profits. But, like I say, the REITs I'm interested in are special. They operate more like banks... but with one important difference. They don't take stupid risks. It's important not to get these special REITs confused with the Washington Mutuals and Bear Stearns of the world. They invested in all kinds of things that made no sense. But these REITs invest in mortgage securities backed by such government agencies as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. And while the big banks have about a dozen ways to make money (and, thus, a dozen ways to lose it!), these REITs have the most boring strategy in the world... They borrow at low rates and invest at higher rates. Once upon a time, all the banks used to follow this formula. I happen to remember those days. Their stocks were some of the safest you could buy. Your grandmother probably owned them. But then the banks got greedy. And now they are like any other business. A lot has to go right in order for them to make a profit. And when it doesn't, investors can lose a lot of money. Not so with these REITs. For them, only ONE SINGLE THING has to go right... The cost of borrowing money must stay low. That's it. Not very complicated, is it? As long as they can borrow money for next to nothing (like they can now), they make a nice return by investing in higher-interest securities... And you, the shareholder, get to grab 90% of those returns. The REITs get to keep only 10%. The Perfect Situation for These REITs If I were the CEO of one of these REITs, I'd be hanging a big picture of Fed chief Ben Bernanke on the wall of my office. And every day, I'd thank him for keeping the Fed rate low. That's the rate banks can borrow at. That's also the rate these REITs pay a lot of attention to. The lower the Fed rate is, the bigger the spread between the rate these REITs borrow at and the earnings they make from their investment. And right now, that spread is at historical highs. So high that these REITs are in hog heaven -- including my favorite, Annaly Capital (NLY). For Annaly, the interest rate spread is 2.22%. Now that doesn't sound high, I know. But compared to the 0.6% spread it was getting in mid-2007, it's REALLY BIG. Unlike the big banks, Annaly avoided risky investments like the plague and stuck to its strategy of investing only in safe and boring government bonds. And now it's reaping the rewards and passing on the fat profits it makes to shareholders. Its dividend is 15.2%. (It just raised it once again last month.) With a dividend rate of 15%-16%, you'd make all your money back from your original investment in less than five years! Investors are beginning to pick up on this company. In just the last six weeks, shares have gone up by 20%. But Annaly's price is still very low. It's priced at only five times more than earnings. Companies that are priced at 10 times earnings are considered inexpensive. This company is one of the best bargains out there. And get this. Annaly generates more cash flow in one year ($11.5 billion) than its entire worth of $10.1 billion. I don't think I've ever seen this before in my 25 years of experience. Usually, annual cash flow is at least one-tenth of a company's total worth. So this is pretty amazing. I love Annaly's numbers. Invest now and you'd be coming in at a great time -- catching Annaly when it's going for a huge discount. Since recommending Annaly to my Sound Profits readers a little more than a year and a half ago, it is up by 64.8%. But this company has plenty of room left to grow. As long as the Fed keeps interest rates low (because, remember, the lower they are the bigger the profit spread for Annaly), Annaly will be making steady and safe income and passing on 90% of its fat profits to you. If Annaly's price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) just goes from 5.4 to a still low 6.4, that's a 15% gain. And with investors already starting to flock to this company, your total profit by Christmas could be at least 30%. And you get a 15% dividend to boot. What's not to like? And Annaly isn't the only undervalued company in my Sound Profits portfolio. It's filled with proven money-makers -- like the Alaskan oil company that has shown my readers 51.1% gains in a little more than a year and a half. Its P/E is only 11.6. Or the Chinese company that has gained 36% since I recommended it. Its P/E is only 8.5. And my recommendation in the current issue of Sound Profits has a P/E of 3.9. Now that's ridiculous. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- The Tables Have Turned Right now, corporate America is getting filthy rich off of you. They do it every time you shell out money for almost any item -- large or small. Their profits come from massive markups on imports from places like China, where a widget may cost a buck or two but sells here for $19.95. But now the tables have turned -- thanks to the Internet and our global economy. And you can be the one reaping windfall profits from the import business. Best part: You can easily run the entire business online, with no employees, no previous experience or knowledge, and with as little as $50 in start-up costs. Learn how you can get started right now! "Led to new ideas." "Ho, hum. Just another really great article from ETR and Rich Schefren ("Referrals," July 19)! "ETR maintains the greatest number of follow-up flags of any e-mail service I subscribe too. "In fact, I had to create a database just to maintain and use information from ETR alone. "And that has led to new ideas as well." David Holliday Bellevue, WA -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- What's a "Perfect Home Business"? Ask 100 of your fellow Early to Risers to describe their "Perfect Home Business," and 99 would probably say something like this... "Well, first of all, it's got to be based on something I actually enjoy -- a hobby or passion of mine." Sounds good so far...  "And... let's see... I don't have a lot of spare time (or money!)... so it would have to be quick and easy to start... and fairly cheap too." Fair enough...  "Oh, and I'm no technical or marketing genius. So I need something that doesn't take a Ph.D. just to make a few extra bucks." Understood. You asked... and we heard you loud and clear!  Now we're going to deliver. Today's Words That Work: Celerity Celerity (suh-LER-ih-tee) -- from the Latin -- is swiftness. Example (as used by Miranda Seymour in a New York Times review of The Great Silence by Juliet Nicolson): "With a celerity that today seems almost indecent, the consoling words delivered in 1910 by Canon Henry Scott Holland at the funeral of Edward VII were adapted to fit the mood of a country that couldn't come to terms with the enormity of its loss [the death of three-quarters of a million British servicemen during World War I]." We want your feedback! Let us know your thoughts on today's issue. Email us at: AskETR@ETRFeedback.com
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Copyright © 2010 Early to Rise, LLC. NOTE: If URLs do not appear as live links in your e-mail program, please cut and paste the full URL into the location or address field of your browser. Disclaimer: Early to Rise only recommends products that we've either personally checked out ourselves, or that come from people we know and trust. For doing so, we receive a commission. We will never recommend any product that does not have a 100% money-back satisfaction guarantee. Nothing in this e-mail should be considered personalized Financial Advice. Although our employees may answer your general customer service questions, they are not licensed under securities laws to address your particular investment situation. No communication by our employees to you should be deemed as personalized Financial Advice. We expressly forbid our writers from having a financial interest in any security recommended to our readers. All of our employees and agents must wait 24 hours after on-line publication or 72 hours after the mailing of printed-only publication prior to following an initial recommendation. Any investments recommended in this letter should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. To unsubscribe from Early to Rise and any associated external offers, Click here. To contact us, please visit... http://www.supportatetr.com/helpdesk To cancel or for any other subscription issues, write us at: Order Processing Center Attn: Customer Service PO Box 7835 Delray Beach, Florida 33482

The Michael Masterson Journal

Issue No. 53 - $1.91	Saturday, July 31, 2010
"Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it." Dwight D. Eisenhower Motivation I was once characterized by a book reviewer as a "motivational writer." Apparently he felt that this moniker debased me. It didn't. I am very happy that my writing sometimes has the effect of motivating people. I find it hard to understand what is wrong with that. If he meant to imply that my work doesn't have substance he should have said so. But I don't think he dared say that because the book he was reviewing was about building businesses -- and that is something I know a great deal more about than the average reader of that book, including him. Still, a lot of folks have the idea that motivating people is somehow less legitimate than, say, just providing them with information. The thinking seems to go something like this: "Don't try to excite me. Don't try to get me moving. Just tell me the facts." But knowing the facts is only 20 percent of success. Testing the facts by putting them into action is 80 percent. I can't say for sure when motivation started creeping into my writing. But it was at least 20 years ago -- well before I started writing books about marketing and business. I think it began when I became a consultant and realized that I couldn't force my clients to execute my ideas. If I wanted them to follow my suggestions, I would have to take the extra step of motivating them to do it. When I make presentations to a group, I try to motivate my audience to take the action I want them to take by using the persuasive techniques that I teach marketers to use in selling products. For one thing, I express the value of my ideas in terms of how the people I'm speaking to (not me or anyone else) will benefit from them. I also sell one idea at a time. I have learned that if I try to do more, they (and I) will come away with nothing. Whenever possible, I present my ideas through stories -- because stories, more than any other information-sharing technique, have the power to inspire. And I provide proof to support the claims I make. Tangible, relevant, and impressive proof. All this is good for group presentations. But when I am trying to motivate my clients to implement my ideas, I have to do more. I have to work with all the key people in the company -- the CEO, the top marketers, and the top product people -- on an individual basis. It takes a lot of time, but it's necessary because every one of them has unique problems and concerns that have to be addressed. Many business owners and senior executives don't bother to sell their ideas to the people who will be responsible for implementing them. They think it's enough that they come up with the ideas in the first place. And they prefer to motivate the troops by rewarding them financially, as well as with such gimmicks as business retreats and "employee of the month" plaques. One of my clients is a big believer in financial incentives. In fact, he attributes a good deal of his success to the substantial, profit-based bonuses he gives out on a regular basis. But I don't believe he's right about that. I think there are all sorts of other motivating activities going on in his business that he is not fully aware of. For example, his top people are very much involved with the people who report to them. They congratulate them publicly for achieving their goals and they also privately counsel those who have failed to hit the mark. This constant interaction and support is, I think, the real reason his employees work so hard and keep the business growing. When I was a young executive I did what my client is doing now. But over the years I recognized that "automatic" financial incentives failed to work as often as they succeeded. I tried to figure out why that was. I talked to my employees. I sought the counsel of my mentors. And I read books -- lots and lots of books about motivation. One thing I learned was that he best people aren't motivated by money. They certainly appreciate it. And they will not lose sight of the potential for a bonus as they do their jobs. But what really motivates them is what some experts call internal rewards -- the personal pride and gratification that comes from a job well done. In other words, they work hard and smart to please themselves. You only need to think of Enron to appreciate how things can go bad by attaching business goals to financial incentives. If you want your business to achieve its true potential you must be willing to give your people personal attention. You have to eschew hard power (the sort of power that Steve Jobs is famous for) and practice the soft skills of listening and coaching and providing a purposeful environment for them to work in. (I've read a lot about purposefulness in recent years -- but almost nothing about how important it is in business.) If you provide financial incentives, you have to make sure they are fair. But you have to realize that they will affect people differently. You can't just establish them and walk away. I got involved in a discussion recently with a client who, I believed, was making a mistake by ignoring his key people. "They're doing fine on their own," he told me. "They don't need me meddling in their affairs." Yes, they were doing fine. Still, I argued that he needed to stay in touch with them. He needed to ask them questions and give them suggestions. He didn't need to make demands or commands, but he did need to make sure that they were feeling fulfilled by the work they were doing. If they weren't, he was going to lose them or they were going to stop caring about the business -- no matter how much he was paying them. I've seen it happen too many times. An executive makes a fast rise and then suddenly breaks though to the upper ranks. He continues to build the business, bringing in smart people to help him. He motivates them with money because it seems to work and because he doesn't know any better. All the while, his income is getting bigger and he is acquiring spending habits and pastimes that compete with his work. Eventually -- generally after seven to 10 years -- he finds that the business is running itself. He doesn't have to show up every day, so he doesn't. He'd much rather spend time on his hobbies and outside interests. He gets away with it so it becomes a habit. A year or two later sales flatten out and profits decline. And he doesn't understand why. If you want your business to grow profitably and consistently, you must understand that your job as chief motivator will never go away. You must be willing to interact personally with everyone who reports to you. You must talk to them constantly. You must give them guidance. You must give them freedom. You must praise them and you must occasionally correct them too. Let me give you an example of how important employee motivation is to the success of a business. This past year, I have been very much involved with a client whose business had faltered. I began by meeting with his key employees and trying to understand what they were doing, what they were proud of, and what was frustrating them. Based on what I learned, I recommended some radical changes in the structure of the business -- and as a result, some people had to be fired. In deciding which people to keep, my primary concern was whether any of the company's employees would be open to new ideas. I believed I had the knowledge they all needed but I had to be sure they would listen to me. By eliminating the people who were past being motivated, I made my job possible. Once I had a good group of people that I could motivate, I knew that my ideas for turning the business around could be tested. To cut to the chase, they managed a miraculous turnaround in less than six months. The improvement was only partially due to the new ideas we introduced. Most of it was due to the fact that the entire team was motivated to execute those ideas well and quickly. [Ed. Note: You've just learned the right way to motivate your employees. It's a key element of growing a successful business. And it's a major theme of Michael Masterson's Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestselling book on entrepreneurship, Ready, Fire, Aim. Brian Tracy calls Ready, Fire, Aim "an extraordinary book -- full of practiced, proven strategies and techniques to help you make more sales and greater profits than you ever imagined possible." And Robert Ringer says "What sets Masterson apart from most of the gurus who write about how to do it is that he's actually done it -- over... and over... and over again." In Ready, Fire, Aim, Michael shares the business-building secrets he learned while he took several businesses from scratch to multimillions in revenues. And, as always, his contrarian advice flies in the face of the "wisdom" offered up by most mainstream management and business gurus. For example, you'll learn why... Coming up with an original product idea... is usually a recipe for disaster Failure is good thing You should cooperate with your competitors And much more... Early to Rise is offering a free copy of Ready, Fire, Aim to ETR readers today. All you have to do is sign up for a free trial subscription to the Liberty Street League, our premium wealth-building membership service. Get all the details here.] How I Invest in Gold Knowing that I consult with several financial publishing companies, one of my son's friends recently asked my advice on investing in gold. Based on advice from the Oxford Club last year, he had purchased a few shares of gold producer New Gold (NGD) and doubled his money. But these days he's hearing that now is an even better time to get into gold-related stocks. He's not looking for huge returns. Just enough to help pay for his daughters' school tuition.  What I told him should help you too... I have invested about one half of 1% of my net worth in gold stocks. It helps, of course, that I've done this through private deals that one of the world's top experts puts together for his friends. But most of my gold investments have been in bullion coins (as opposed to collectible coins). I began investing in these coins when they were priced at less than $400, and I have plenty now. But if I didn't have at least a year's salary worth socked away, I would continue to buy them. If you plan to buy bullion coins -- and you should -- don't pay too much of a premium for them. One guy I know and trust is Van Simmons at David Hall's Rare Coins and Collectibles. Gold bullion coins you should buy for safety -- in case we do go into a spiraling inflation. Gold stocks are merely to play the game. Keep that portion of your portfolio small. As always, keep in mind that I am not a registered investment advisor. I'm just telling you what I do and what works for me. And gold isn't the only metal I'm interested in these days. The researchers at Sound Profits recently sent over a report on a metal that I didn't know anything about (and could barely pronounce) -- one that I found very intriguing. If their analysis is correct, it could be a very smart way to play two of the biggest trends in the markets today (and you know I'm a believer in trend investing). Check out the full special report and get all the details here. Read The Pledge Before Anyone Else We were recently checking out cover designs for my new book, The Pledge: Your Master Plan for an Abundant Life. John Wiley and Sons (the publisher) would probably be mad if I showed them to you. But I can give you an early look at some of the chapters -- and you can tell me what you think. The Pledge is not a book on "goal setting." It provides a blueprint for fundamental change. Here's some of what you'll learn: Why traditional goal-setting programs seldom work The Four Rules for master-planning your life that will guarantee success How to make quick and correct decisions every day to enrich your life The secret of Accelerated Failure How asking one question will improve everything in your business and life The secret of the 4-Hour Workday (This one really works!) And much, much more... Just go here, give us your e-mail address (so we can give you exclusive book updates and a special deal when the book is officially released), and you'll download an excerpt from The Pledge instantly. Then read it and send me an e-mail to let me know what you think: AskMichael@ETRFeedback.com. We just might publish you in ETR. The Not-So-Empty Restaurant My friend A., a restaurateur, read my Journal essay on "The Empty Restaurant" a couple of weeks ago. It inspired him to share a marketing lesson he learned years ago. I think you'll find it useful -- no matter what business you're in. "Many years ago, my cafe participated in a rib contest. (You know our ribs are great.) Well, many people were going to the other 20 rib stands. But not so many were coming to ours. It took me a while to figure out why. "The other booths had lines, and ours didn't. We didn't have lines because my staff was so fast. Lines were forming at the other rib places because they were slow at plating the food and slow in making change. I had my crew slow down and a line formed. The rest of the weekend we worked just slow enough to have a line and just fast enough so customers didn't have to wait too long. "We did very well. People say that they don't want to wait, but I guess they do." [Ed. Note: Michael Masterson welcomes your questions and comments. Send him a message at AskMichael@ETRFeedback.com.]
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