Listen to that Still, Small Voice By Napoleon Hill It is a known fact that a prolonged illness often forces one to stop, look and listen. Thus we often learn to understand that still, small voice which speaks from within and causes us to take inventory of the factors which have led to defeat and failure in the past. "A fever," said Emerson, "a mutilation, a cruel disappointment, a loss of wealth, a loss of friends, seems at the moment unpaid loss, and unpayable. But the sure years reveal the deep remedial force that underlies all facts. The death of a dear friend, spouse, brother, lover, which seemed nothing but privation somewhat later assumes the aspect of a guide or genius; for it commonly operates revolutions in our way of life, terminates an epoch of infancy or of youth which was waiting to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation, or a household, or style of living, and allows the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth of character. "It permits or constrains the formation of new acquaintances, and the reception of new influences that prove of first importance to the next years; and the man or woman who would have remained a sunny garden flower, with no room for its roots and too much sunshine for its head, by the falling of the walls and the neglect of the gardener is made the banyan of the forest, yielding shade and fruit to wide neighborhoods of man."

Dear Readers, Recently I saw a production of The Wiz at a local theater. One song that stayed in my mind was sung by Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, entitled No Bad News. The lyrics to this song are really commands to her subjects not to worsen her day by detailing any news that wasn't positive. Probably most of us can relate to this feeling and find ourselves desiring breaks from the media that seems, for the most part, only to deliver "bad news." Looking at this from a different perspective, however, it is not so simple to remove ourselves from the equation. Sticking our heads in the sand, running for shelter, turning off the television, computer, radio, etc., simply does not undo the news. We may receive a brief respite, yet the news is still the news and we are a part of it in the making. Do things in your immediate world escalate out of control? Do you help or hinder the process? If bills are unpaid and accounts in arrears, is the world the culprit or are you also part of the problem? When we look within to understand what is happening in our external world possibly we find that we have contributed to the making of the problem. Finger pointing is always easy, and a world wherein we are equipped with blinders not only shields us from the bad, but from the good we could envision as well. Sometimes, by exposing the problem and having society look at it dead center saves us from beating around the bush. Knowing what we are dealing with is the very first step to solving any lingering problem. Define the problem, and then you can begin the process of creating a solution. Sweep a problem under the rug and it will begin to grow until you finally wind up tripping over the bulge in the carpet. Why not diagnose the problem correctly from the onset, and recognize that suffering precedes healing? Both are essential in the cycle of life. With that said, let's focus on the positive to eliminate the negative. One can only exist because of the other. Be Your Very Best Always, Judy Williamson

5 Pillars of Information Marketing

JULY 27, 2011 5 Pillars of Information Marketing

Ask any entrepreneur about when they had their biggest breakthrough, and the answer will almost always be, "When I finally found the right mentor."

It certainly was for me. For six years I stumbled along with my website business, grinding out small increases in sales each year. It wasn't until I finally got help from a coach who gave me EXACT step-by-step instructions that I was able to generate a full-time income from my websites.

If you're just getting started, I can understand how you might feel overwhelmed. I also appreciate the worries I hear from readers that all the good opportunities are gone or that they have no time to start a website business.

But many opportunities still exist, and I can find a success story to match almost every reader of Early to Rise, no matter how tough things might feel for you.

For example, I think you'll agree that being a newly divorced, recently laid-off, mid-50"s mother with two kids entering college, and having no computer skills would be a tough situation, right?

Well, just recently I listened to an interview with Penny Halgren who was in that exact scenario, but has since gone on to build a 6-figure per year website - selling information on how to quilt.

That's right, she doesn't sell expensive money-making products, or real estate courses, or even fitness information. Nope, she makes her living selling quilting advice.

She started by building the foundation of her business on the 5 Pillars of Information Marketing. If you put these 5 pillars in place in your business as Penny and I did, I guarantee you'll be able to build a strong internet business and powerful connection with your readers - and ultimately, the lifestyle you want and deserve - for all of your hard work.

Plus, you're going to love the fact that not one of these 5 pillars relies on sneaky search engine optimization or expensive pay-per-click voodoo. I think you'll agree anyone can create these pillars and build a strong foundation for a website business today.

Pillar #1 - Have a BIG IDEA that serves a hungry niche market

Almost all markets are crowded, but that doesn't mean you can't succeed. You simply need to create a product that has a unique hook and allows you to stand out from the others in your marketplace.

That's why it's so important to focus on a topic that you are passionate about. After all, if you don't love what you're doing, then it will be really tempting for you to quit at the first sign of frustration.

And the great news is you don't need to have an email list of 100,000 people to create a 6-figure income. All you need are a small number of people in a niche market that is hungry for your solution.

In his famous essay, "1000 True Fans", author Kevin Kelly says, "A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, video maker, or author - in other words, anyone producing works of art - needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living."

If you have only 1000 true fans paying only $100 per year for your products, that's still a $100,000 income. It might be through a membership site or a new product you release every year or a year's subscription to a weekly newsletter. Just remember, it's easier to sell over and over to your 1000 true fans than to get 1000 new customers each year, so consider that as you plan your business.

Pillar #2 - Personality plus Passion plus Products = Profit

This 3-step formula has been the foundation for growing my fitness information business since I sold my first program online in 2001. Let me explain it to you.

First, we buy from people they know, like and trust. We want to do business with someone who has a personality that connects with us. Second, we follow people that are passionate about their subject. Third, when we find that person we connect with, we're happy and eager to buy all of the products they could possibly create - plus, having more products offers multiple ways for new clients to find you.

When it comes to communicating with personality, it's important to be yourself and to find the way that allows you to communicate best. For me, it's writing. But if you struggle to create articles and emails at your keyboard, I have good news for you.

With the rise in internet video capacity, it's easy to create and add videos to the web, and it's easy for your true fans to watch it. So if your personality comes out best through video, you can get started passionately communicating with your fans today with a simple, cheap Flip video camera or smartphone.

Success almost always comes back to doing something you love. It makes it easy for you to show your passion, communicate with care, and continue to create value over and over again for your true fans.

Pillar #3 - Ruthless Time & Energy Management

With any business where people work at home/on their own schedule, you can have amazing ideas and great copywriting skills, but if you can't manage your time implement, take action, and get the work done, you will struggle.

That's why learning to organize, prioritize, stick to deadlines, fight against email, and delegate the simple tasks is so important for growing your business.

In addition to getting up early and doing 20-30 minutes of focused work before heading downtown to my personal training business, I would spend every minute of my breaks between clients working on projects to move my business forward. There was no time for idle gossiping or surfing the web for funny videos - as my colleagues did - when you're on a mission to build your business.

So when you're in work mode, always be asking yourself a powerful question that I first heard from Dan Kennedy. The next time you find yourself browsing CNN or ESPN or the comments of some trashy blog, ask yourself Kennedy's question, "Where's the profit in this?" It's a sharp reminder to get you back on track with the work you should be doing in the limited time you have each day.

Pillar #4 - Always Be Learning

If I have just one regret after all these years of building my information marketing business, it has to be not getting a mentor sooner than I did.

Today, I continue to invest in personal coaching and in attending at least four major information marketing seminars each year. Each of these provides an incredible return on my investment of both time and money.

Nothing beats having your own coaches or mentors. That's why I've arranged for a special webinar for a limited number of Early To Rise readers on Thursday night with some of the best coaches in the Information Marketing industry.

I truly believe that building a profitable website business is simple when you have a proven system and experienced coaches. And this is your best opportunity to get both of them all in one place.

When done properly, Information Marketing is the lowest-overhead, highest-revenue-generating business you can possibly run. You don't ever have to sell face-to-face - this process can be entirely automated so you can run your business from your kitchen table, a coffee shop, and yes, even from a vacation house at the beach.
You see, the one common attribute among every successful information marketer I know has nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with mindset. In my experience, I've found that people with this mindset can know almost literally nothing about computers and still become extremely successful through information marketing. So here's the fifth pillar of information marketing.

Pillar #5 - You must have an "I will succeed no matter what" attitude

Of all the information marketing experts I've coached in the past four years, every one of the top success stories has had the attitude that nothing was going to stand in their way.

Understanding Social Bookmarking

Social bookmarking allows you to store your bookmarks in a remote location and then share them with other people and find bookmarks that others have stored.

Besides the obvious benefit of allowing you to share and find useful information with others, social bookmarking has many advantages for businesses looking to market themselves online. As a business owner, you can use social bookmarking tools to network with others in your industry, keep up to date with the latest news and trends, source new business or research opportunities, monitor what your competitors are doing and saying, and track what's being said about your brand.

If an article or a blog post becomes popular on a social bookmarking site, it is exposed to hundreds of hundreds of thousands of users. If those users click on the blog post, they land on your website, where they'll interact with your brand.

I Will Buy It For You By Karim Hajee

"I will buy it for you." My 3 year old daughter said to me the other day. "Oh, you have money?" I asked. "Sure, here." She reached into her pocket pulled and handed her money over; "Here's 50-dollars okay. Go buy it." Of course she didn't have 50-dollars, it was all pretend. She was letting her imagination run and she was having fun with it. That got me thinking of just how powerful these little acts are. You see, when I was just a little older than her I used to do the same thing, pretend to be buying things for my mom. I would go to the bank with her and I would always grab a pile of those deposit slips they had. When I would get home I would pretend to be writing checks to myself, for huge amounts. One day my mom found one of those deposit slips and asked: "What's this?" "Oh I'm just pretending. One day I'll have that money and you'll be able to get what you want." Well here we are 40+ years later, I have my own company, write my own checks, and I cover a lot of mom's expenses. Now that's the power of the Subconscious Mind! I didn't realize it at the time but I was directing my subconscious to create a successful business and make sure I could take care of my family. When my daughter started doing the same thing I naturally encouraged her. It got me thinking about how you really create your own life, and the kind of life you live. My daughter is just starting to direct her subconscious mind. I was doing it when I was a little older than her - neither of us realized it at the time. Your subconscious will simply follow your directions. Those directions are your thoughts, beliefs, actions and attitudes. Unfortunately, nobody ever teaches you how to direct the power of your mind and subconscious mind. I'm teaching my daughter and my other 2 children. I also try to help as many people as I can to direct their mind and subconscious mind to create what they want and not what they don't want. Everyday you're instructing your subconscious mind. You do this with your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, words and actions. If any of those are not lined up with what you want to achieve then you're subconscious won't be able to bring you what you want. For example: if you want to have a successful business but think or believe that it's hard to accomplish that or that there is something that is in your way, then your business will always struggle. You may want it to get better and grow, you may feel that you have the right business idea, but any negative thoughts or beliefs associated with that business will limit it's success. So what you do? Start changing the negative or limiting thoughts and beliefs. Now at first you may not even be aware of these negative thoughts and beliefs. So, to find out what's really holding you back you should: Track your thoughts during the day Make note of any negative or limiting thought Change that thought to something positive The last step can be tricky. When you try to change that limiting or negative thought your mind will likely put up a fight and say something like: "Who are you kidding" "You can't do that" and so on. That's okay. The mind is just doing what it does best - trying to stick to old habits. But those habits of thinking and believing don't work for you. You have to change them. And, the more often you do this, the easier it gets. Your subconscious will respond to your regular thoughts and beliefs.Focus these thoughts and beliefs on what you want and you'll begin to great success. If you find that you're getting exactly what you don't want, than you will probably find you're thoughts, beliefs and goals are focused on what you don't want. For example: if you believe that it's hard to make money, then you'll always have a difficult time making money. If you believe that it's difficult to meet the right person, then you'll always have a difficult time meeting the right person. Those thoughts and beliefs are focused on what you don't want. Change them so that you find ways to make more money, or so that you meet the right person easily. Positive thoughts and beliefs attract positive situations. It's really that simple. Your subconscious mind picks up on your thoughts and beliefs and goes out and creates situations that correspond to your thoughts and beliefs. If you constantly think of the worst, if you find that you're negative, if you don't believe that you can ever achieve anything, if you constantly complain, if you always see the worst in situations, if you regularly put others down, or if you're just a negative person... you will only attract more negative situations into your life. In the end your negative energy makes your life miserable and it becomes difficult to achieve your goals and create the changes that you want. At the same time you repel positive people and positive situations. So by being negative or by developing negative thoughts and beliefs, life continues to get worse. How do you turn things around? Change the way you see things and begin eliminating the negative thoughts and negative beliefs. Start believing you can and will have the things you desire in life. If you do this you will begin attracting what you want. Instead of saying "I don't want to be in debt" focus on what you actually want, which is likely to have a lot of money. Then get specific. If you don't want to be stressed - think about what you want instead, which is to have a terrific, easy going day and life. If you don't want to struggle - it's okay. The good news is - you can change that. Again, think of what you want instead. Follow what I've outlined and you'll be taking the first steps. I've got my kids working on directing their subconscious. My daughter's already filled her pockets with an infinite supply of money. My son believes his piggy bank is stuffed with cash, and my youngest daughter believes that she can have anything she wants. This is powerful stuff and sure makes for a lively home. I know they'll be successful and I know you will as well. Just do the following and you'll be on your way: Direct your mind and subconscious mind. Focus on what you want and believe in yourself. Eliminate the negative thoughts and negative beliefs. Fill your mind with positive outcomes. Push yourself to say positive things and focus on your success. This is just the beginning of how you can use your subconscious mind. There are many more ways it can bring you success, too. You can go to https://cpinc.infusionsoft.com/go/metreg/maryellen/ to find out more.

Honey, Can I Borrow Your Plane?

By: Chris Cummins

For my engagement I decided to do something different. Something memorable. Everybody asked me "What if you can't find them? What if you run out of gas? What if something goes wrong? What if...". I responded to each of them, "What if I DO find them? What if I don't run out of gas? What if something doesn't go wrong?".

I had asked a friend with a float plane (a plane that can land on lakes) to take me 350 miles north of where I live - to a remote lake system - to land on a lake so that I could ask my girlfriend to marry me. He accepted the challenge.

The day before we were supposed to leave, he calls me at work and says, "Sorry Chris, I've done the numbers and it's just too far for my little, 45-year-old plane. And besides, I'm nervous about the weather. We can't do this." But I had the ring in my pocket. My girlfriend was already away on a five-day canoe trip with a bunch of her girlfriends . This HAD to happen.

In my world, no just means “begin again at the next level up” - so I called everybody I knew and asked if they knew anybody with a float plane. Nothing. Then I realized that it's best to call places where planes hang out, so I started calling flight schools and regional airports. No after no.

Eventually, I called an instructor at a flight school a second time. I was cycling my list and not ready to give up. He said "Wow, you really want this huh? Okay, I'll call you back in a second."

He calls back and gives me a phone number. He says "Call this number and ask for JR. Tell him the same story you told me in all the detail about your buddy and the ring.”

So I called him. He said "Sure, let's do it."

I arrived at his house with two Starbucks Grande Lattes (extra hot) and he starts to ask me about which lakes the canoe trippers will be on. I rhyme off some lake names "Um, Chinigouchi Lake, Wolf Lake...". He cuts me off and says "Wolf Lake? Nuts. That's too small for my plane to land on."

Crestfallen, I look at him for 10 seconds in silence, coffees still in hand. So many obstacles. We've come this far. There has to be a way to do this.

He smiles, turns toward the house, and cupping his hands around his mouth yells back at the house, "Honey... Can I borrow YOUR plane?"

"Yes dear, no problem," comes a muffled reply from inside the house. Yep. They had his and her float planes. So we get in his wife's tiny float plane and take off.

We find my bride to be at a campsite and I ask her if she's having a cool adventure. She says "Yea, it's a great adventure out here on the lakes." Then I ask her, "Do you by any chance want to go on more adventures with me?" She starts to cry. I start to cry. The next thing you know we're engaged. Champagne everywhere.

With the ring firmly on Shelagh's finger, I asked the pilot how much it was going to cost me. He tilted his head and said "Chris, with the connection that you and I made on the phone, and the passion in your voice as you described your plans, I knew I wanted to help make this happen. Aviation and life have been good to me. Consider it an engagement gift. From the little I know about your character, I already know you'll do the same for someone else one day. Just pay it forward.”

Every step of the way people tried to talk me out of a lofty plan. Does that ever happen to you? Have you ever started to talk yourself out of something? Some people think sales is about making people do things they don't want to do, or about making quotas, or about products or services or packaging. It's not.

Sales is about your attitude toward what you do and how you do it. Sales is about building relationships - real relationships with real people. It all starts with your attitude and what you tell yourself.

In life, in sales, and in business, follow these seven steps and aim high:

1. In order to achieve beyond your wildest expectations, first you must start with wild expectations.
2. Hang out with possibility thinkers.
3. Don't let anyone talk you out of it.
4. Whatever you do, don't talk yourself out of it.
5. Learn from the past. Don't hold on to it. Learn from it, then let it go.
6. Stop asking, "When will THEY do something about that?" Who are THEY? Turns out that WE are they. When are YOU going to do something about it? Go make it happen.
7. Henry Ford said "Whether you think you can or you can't, either way you are right." What you think about changes the way you feel. What you feel changes the way you act. The way you act changes your outcome.

What are you waiting for? Go get it.

If She Can Do It...

When I first met my friend Carrie Wilkerson at a seminar in 2008, she was one of those people that everyone else was talking about - in a good way. I lost track of how many times I heard, "You need to meet/speak with Carrie," over that weekend.

And when I finally did get a chance to introduce myself as we sat down for lunch, I could see why. Carrie is a human dynamo, a power networker, and a wonderfully, sweet woman. Once Carrie gets to know you, she protects you like a mama bear protects her cubs.

But business - and life - wasn't always operating so smoothly for Carrie. Several years earlier, when she started her first business, Carrie admits she was going through the toughest, darkest days of her life.

As she told me, "When I started my first business I was 100 pounds heavier than I am now. I was over $100,000 in credit card debt, not counting my cars and my house. We had two small children and another on the way. I was at a point of depression in my life, qualified to do a whole lot of things, but I couldn't even get a job interview."

Today, Carrie runs multiple 6-figure businesses, using the power of social media to leverage her visibility and credibility, and to attract readers and clients into her personal space. Her business, The Barefoot Executive, coaches and provides support for people who choose to work at home, no matter what their industry, online or offline.

But what was it that allowed Carrie to make that switch? I could hardly imagine the Carrie that I know to be anything but the powerful woman she is today. When I spoke at her first Barefoot seminar in October, 2009 down in San Antonio, Texas, she had over 150 people in the audience, and today her online following tops 106,000 people on Twitter.

(By the way, if you're interested in learning from Carrie how you can have more people "following" you and paying attention to your business, please watch this short message from Carrie here.)

When I asked Carrie about those tough times, she opened up and said, "I was at a do or die situation. And I don't say that lightly. I have my journal from that point in my life when I was 30 years old and I was saying, you know, good grief, why am I here? How is the world better today because I am in it?"

"I had to change my mindset day by day to realize that I could add value, to realize that I wasn't a victim. I created that debt. Nobody created that debt for me. I created my fitness situation. Nobody else put that weight on me. I just had to kind of take the reins and do something different and it doesn't take a long time to make a change."

"You don't make these changes or build a business overnight. But there are people you can learn from to circumvent some of the painful lessons. You would be very wise to put yourself in the space of people that are doing very well and learn shortcuts from them."

As our conversation went on, I realized our discussion felt like it was an older sister mentoring her younger brother - because that is how much I value our relationship. As our conversation switched to the key factors of success, Carrie explained one of the biggest mistakes that she sees among her clients.

"I feel like everybody tends to discount their own expertise, their own knowledge, their own skill set compared to everybody else. They feel that their experience or business is not as valuable as the guy they are listening to or the girl they are looking at or the one sitting next to them."

"We tend to devalue ourselves and overvalue everyone else, when the truth of the matter is we all come from a very different place. We all are uniquely gifted and qualified and we all bring something very different to the table. You all have your own specialty, your own reach and you will draw people to you for the gift that is you.

"If you pour yourself into adding value to help others, that will make obstacles seem very small. It will make frustration seem silly, almost. It will drive you and empower you to even bigger and better things in my opinion."

Powerful words. I'll never forget that conversation.

Carrie is an incredible motivator and one of the most caring coaches in an industry so often populated by gurus selling systems that emphasize technology and sneaky tricks while neglecting the personal touch and caring that a true mentor must deliver.

That's why I highly recommend that you learn from Carrie, and today she'll show you how she went from being dead broke and facing bankruptcy to having her "stadium filled with raving fans" and owning the 7-figure business of my dreams...and how YOU can do it too.

=> Watch a short message from Carrie here

Carrie's proven system is ideal for a business owner who has a powerful message to share but hasn't been able to capitalize on the true value of social media. If that's you, then you'll love what Carrie has to say.

If Carrie's message resonates with you, perhaps because you have been in a similar situation or simply because you share the same values as Carrie, then I highly recommend you visit her website today to learn more about how she can help you build the business and lifestyle of your dreams.

Dedicated to your success,

Craig Ballantyne
Editor
Early to Rise

Business cards may be on the way out. How are you connecting?

I’m in Las Vegas at The Venetian having coffee at Espressamente Illy where they serve (arguably) the world’s best coffee. At the bar, I recognize someone obviously not from America. (Fashion reveals all.)

"Where are you from?" I asked. "Belgium," he replied triumphantly and with pride. "I’ll buy your coffee," I said. "As a welcome to America."

He said, "I’m also buying coffee for two of my friends." I said, "Fine, put it on my bill!"

We began to exchange cultural information, and I discovered all three of them were in sales, like me. Their name badges revealed they were attendees of the same conference I was to be a featured speaker at the next evening.

Now we had a link.

They wanted to know what I knew, and I wanted to know what they knew.

Marcel’s (one of the group) first question to me was one I have been asked a thousand times, "What’s the secret of selling against fierce competition?" My immediate answer was, "Differentiate with value, or die with price."

He said, "I agree. I’m a value provider."

I said, "Hey, let’s tweet it," and immediately we turned the conversation to social media. I asked them how many followers they had on Twitter. The first guy had none. The second guy had none. The third guy, Marcel, said, "Not too many," and sheepishly smiled.

Turns out they wanted to use social media, but they just didn’t know how to use it.

NOTE: I am amazed at how many savvy business people don’t take the AHA! or impactful information shared or exchanged in a business conversation, and send it out to the world.

IT’S YOUR CHOICE: You can tell three people, or 30,000 people – even 3,000,000 people. The power of Twitter, when applied to business social media, allows you to broadcasts your brilliance to your followers and all the followers of those who re-tweet you. From a casual conversation in a coffee bar. YIKES.

We spoke for an hour. We had lots to talk about. We were familiar with the American culture and the European culture, and had their company in common. I gave them my business card, my business coin, and two signed books and said, "May I have your business cards?" Each of them said, "I didn’t bring any," and I thought to myself, "That doesn’t work."

But my thinking was 1990, not 2011.

REALITY: Pascal, the guy I bought the coffee for said, “Just connect with me on LinkedIn.” Cool.
REALITY: Business cards are not necessary to connect anymore, especially if they’re boring, or have been created by some marketing department, or both.

Right then we each took out our mobile devices, and connected with one another on LinkedIn. Not a business card, rather an online business connection, a permanent business card, a permanent connection. And with the exchange, we each receive 100 hundred times more information than what could ever fit on a business card.

BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA LESSION LEARNED: When you link with people, like people, follow people, photo with people, “bump” with people, and tweet what is said, all of the sudden the business card becomes relatively irrelevant.

EPILOGE: Less than an hour later, 22 global re-tweets of, “Differentiate with value, or die with price.” And the re-tweets will continue to pile up.

TRY THIS: Next time you attend a networking event, don’t bring any business cards. Force people to link with you, or follow you, if they want to connect with you. Realize that a business card only really represents simple exchange, but that a LinkedIn or Twitter or Facebook on-the-spot connection creates engagement. Long-term engagement.

Think about the pile of business cards on your desk, of people that you’ve never really connected with, and certainly have never provided value for. Then think about the number of people who you could be adding to your network; people who could really be enlightened by you and discover your depth (or lack of it).

The tide is turning against one of America’s institutions. It’s not a “movement” or a “protest.” Rather, it’s a technological evolution. And one you and I need to be made aware of. Today.

Oh, cards will be here for some time, but I can already hear my 3-year old granddaughter, Isabel, asking me in 15 years, “Pop Pop, what’s a business card?”

How are you connecting?

Dear Readers, Accurate thinking means recognizing the difference between opinions and facts. Napoleon Hill states, "Opinions are the cheapest commodity on earth. Everybody has them." Facts, on the other hand, withstand scrutiny. Facts are researchable and time-tested. Opinions are capricious and resemble the chameleon that changes colors to blend in with its environment. By asking someone the simple question, "How do you know," anyone can begin to discern fact from fiction. Everyone is not credible although many people would like us to believe that they are. If you feel that you are being cheated, swindled, hoodwinked, misled, "taken for a ride," overwhelmed with information, or just plain bamboozled, you can fight back. You do not have to go along with what someone proposes unless you want to. If you are skeptical of the offer, stop in your tracks and say that you will do your own homework and get back to them. Next, begin to check things out for credibility and see if you can find support for anything that was said. Usually, when a charlatan realizes that you are not falling for the hype, they prey on another victim and leave you alone. Knowing how to handle situations in the real world can save you precious time and money. If something appears too good to be true, it usually is. The test is simple. If you are promised something for nothing, it is almost certain that nothing of value is what you will receive. Hard work and effort are what produce positive outcomes and anything else is just a hook used to catch you unawares. Do what works. Create success through the application of the 17 Success Principles. These time-tested and honored traits of those who have succeeded can serve you better than any hand out or promise ever could. Reach for success, but remember to invest in your own ladder before you begin the climb. You are only as strong as you condition yourself to be. Success requires your best effort, and ultimately you will benefit the most from your training.

Politically-Incorrect Time Management Tips

On Thursday afternoon, me and my ol' pup, Bally the Dog went for a short walk outside on the farm, down to the river for him to cool off with a swim. It's been a little hot up here in southern Ontario, with temperatures flirting with 100 degrees. Add in some humidity, and a fur coat, and it gets a little rough on the poor fella.

While he swam and chased assorted varmints, I listened to a marketing seminar on my CD player. (Yes, I seriously still have a portable CD player.)

As I listened to the Dan Kennedy presentation, I was reminded of how important it is to be ruthless with your time, even when you are your own boss in a website business.

Heck, it's even MORE important to manage your time when you are the boss. Time is money. And you can never get time back.

In the past couple of years, I've learned to be firm with my time.

I avoid most meetings, have eliminated almost all phone calls, and stick to a schedule that provides me maximum productivity. After all, with the new ETR and my three previous existing business, I have a lot of work to get done.

But a time-efficient mindset is one that we all should have. For example, A 10 minute phone call should not become a 30 minute conversation. We need to set boundaries from the outset, and stick to them.

Your politically-incorrect approach to time management might upset a few people, but it will likely get respect from a lot more who realize how valuable your time is worth. Do not hesitate to be ruthless with your time...it's your life.

As I tried to explain yesterday, we need to adopt a set of rules in our lives that will create an environment conducive to more accomplishment and less stress. I discovered this valuable approach during my journey from personal trainer to entrepreneur.

Back in 2003 when I was a full-time personal trainer working on my web business "on the side", I would get up at 4:30am to work for 20 minute before heading to my first 6am client.

And in those focused 20 minutes, I was able to get 2 hours of work done. What I mean is that those 20 minutes of working without interruption produced the same content and quality of work I would have produced at 8pm after a long day of work. Getting that work done first thing in the morning was crucial to my progress.

After all, you can have amazing ideas, but if you don't implement, take action, and get the work done, you'll struggle.

So today, let's review a few Politically-Incorrect Time Management Strategies.

Tip 1 - Do not answer the phone or immediately respond to emails

When building your website business, you need to be strict about creating blocks of creative time when you can work on projects. Answering every phone call or email disturbs your work and flow, and doubles the length of time to get stuff done.

Be ruthless. Set rules. Have a block of time for communication and make it known to those who contact you on a regular basis. The more productive you can be during your workday means you'll have more quality time to spend with your family and friends.

Tip 2 - Do not allow people to "drop by"

Again, you must stop the interruptions. After all, what important person drops everything to receive unexpected visitors?

Is Donald Trump going to see you when you pop by the Trump Tower to check out his boardroom? Of course not. And while neither of us are Trump, we have projects that are just as important (to us) as he does to him.

Set your rules. Block your time. Bar the door.

Tip 3 - Do not set expectations you can't meet

Quick and easy access to you is an expectation that cannot be permanently met as your website business grows. While you might want to return every email immediately and personally, understand that as your website begins to get exponentially more sales and traffic, you simply won't be able to answer every email. So be careful about the precedents you set to avoid future disappointment.

Tip 4 - Respond to emails at a particular time and make that known to everyone who emails you

It's very simple. Answer all of your emails at the end of the day. This prevents unnecessary email conversations from growing. Most emails - even the ones that seem to be emergencies - are not emergencies. Don't train people to expect immediate responses from you. In fact, train them to expect a response at a given time every day.

Tip 5 - Script Your Day

At the end of every working day, script out your next day. It's very simple. You should have a template that you can insert specific projects into. For example, here's the template I use.

5-Writing (No Internet Access)

6-Dog walk (almost always listening to Dan Kennedy CD's)

7-Writing (No Internet Access)

8-Workout

9-Post-workout break, respond to emails, check daily business stats, blog, &
walk dog (again)

10-Email Writing and Product Creation

12-Lunch and respond to email and walk dog

2-Email Writing and Product Creation

4-Read my Daily Dozen Documents (Another story for another day.)

4:30-Respond to email and script next day

5-Big dog walk to end the day

6-Time with friends, family, and time to re-charge

Scripting your day is a simple, powerful, and politically-incorrect exercise that will make you more productive and get you closer to your dreams, faster.

Some folks might be offended that you won't drop everything to hear their tales of woe, or commiserate with them about life's injustices, but remember, it's your time, it's your life, and it's your dreams you are after.

Take charge of your life and your time,

I'm Engaged and You Aren't Engaging

I'm Engaged and You Aren't Engaging

I'm engaged, yeah! While I don't think you want to hear all about how I got engaged (Grand Cayman, dinner on the beach, harpist playing Wonderful Tonight, and a dream bling ring), I'm sure you want to hear about this.

As a future bride, I've been receiving solicitations via phone, email and snail mail. Invitations this, photographers that, venues, caterers, and flowers, OH MY! It's quite overwhelming, so in the massive landfill of wedding solicitations, it takes a lot to grab my attention.

About a week ago, I received an envelope in the mail that did just that. It not only grabbed my attention, it choked it! When I opened the envelope I found a nicely, tri-folded piece of normal white printing paper with blue, purple and black ALL-CAPS text, exclaiming to me:

"ATTENTION: FUTURE BRIDES
COME CHECK OUT THE BLOW-OUT SALE OF THE YEAR"

As I read down the rest of the 8x11 flyer, I started to realize a few things:

No phone number.
No address.
No email address.
No web address.
No contact name.

It wasn't until I read the flyer for the 5th time that I caught the name of the company. Are you dying to know who it was? More about that later.

My point is, I'm engaged! And you, Ms. ALL-CAPS, Multi-Color Font, Flyer Maker Extraordinaire, are not engaging me. You're piece offers NO value. It doesn't even offer simple contact information. What if I, for some silly reason, want to do business with you? Who do I call? Where do I go?

This flyer was an opportunity for "Bridal Company X" to engage me and they failed, miserably!

So, how do you engage the engaged (or anyone for that matter)? I have three easy ways:

1. Make it about them. Newly engaged people (primarily the bride-to-be) love soaking up wedding anything. It's what is most important in their lives at that moment. Your job, when attempting to engage a prospect or customer, is to find out what is most important to them. It's never about you, it never was. Businesses are built to create products or services for other people. When you work with a servant mindset, to help others first, you'll find that more people want to engage with you.

2. Make it easy for them. The biggest problem with this gorgeous flyer was that it didn't make it easy for me to find the company. I honestly couldn't find the company name until I re-read the flyer again while writing this article - NOT GOOD. And I just realized (literally, right now!) that there are no dates for this fabulous sale! How am I supposed to find further information or answers to my questions? When you are engaging with your prospects or customers, make it easy for them to contact you. Make it easy for them to understand your message. Make it easy for them to do business with you!

3. Make it valuable to them. This is the trickiest on the list because value is in the eye of the beholder. What is valuable to me, future bride, is different even to my fiance, to my mom, and to my dad. When trying to engage your prospects or customers the easiest way is to talk in terms of their perceived value. How do you know what they think is "value". Easy! Ask them. Use power questions to uncover their needs, wants, and hot buttons. This will lead you to what value you can bring to the engagement.

Wedding bells aside, being engaged both in life and business is fun. I love to become engaged with a company. All they have to do is make it easy, full of value, and all about ME!

12 Rules I Live By (What are yours?)

The one thing I admire about people who have strong nutrition beliefs is their dogmatic behavior.

For example, a vegetarian, under no circumstances, will ever eat meat. There is no, “well, everyone else is having a burger, so just this once, I will too.”

That’s not how it works.

Not when a vegetarian has a strong personal philosophy that they never, ever, ever eat meat.

And that strong personal philosophy guides them to guilt-free behavior that is congruent with their goals.

I’ve also taught my fat loss clients to develop their own personal philosophy – essentially a set of rules that dictate decisions, and I’ve also created my own rules that determine how I live my life so that I reduce guilt, stress, and wasted emotional energy.

Now the purpose of this email is not to say that my personal philosophies are wrong or right.

Instead, they are simply here to encourage you to adopt your own rules for the sake of living a better, more productive stress free life. You may have your own rules in your head, but I encourage you to put them in writing. And you can adopt a set of rules for every aspect of your life, from health to financial to family and business.

These are the 12 rules I live by. (By the way, I believe that EVERYONE has some personal philosophies or rules, and we'd love to hear yours in the comments section on ETR here.)

1. I go to bed and get up at the same time 7 days per week (9pm and 5am.) I do not deviate from this schedule unless it is due to an important (and this word is not used lightly) work or social function. I stick to a diet of whole, natural foods, avoid caffeine after 1pm, and avoid alcohol within 3 hours of bedtime.
   
   
2. I write for at least 60 minutes first thing every morning.
   
   
3. I do not check email before 9am.
   
   
4. I do not talk on the phone unless it is a schedule interview or conference call.
   
   
5. I create a to-do list at the end of every workday and I follow that to-do list starting first thing the next morning. I also perform my daily readings at the end of every workday, and I write in a gratitude journal.
   
   I am thankful everyday for identifying my mission and what I wanted to do with my life at such a young age.
   
   
6. I do not engage in confrontations with anyone, in-person or online. This is a waste of time and energy.
   
   If I have caused harm, I apologize and fix the situation.
   
   However, if someone simply doesn’t like something I have done or something that I do or disagrees with me, that is fine, but I’m not going to get into an argument about it.
   
   For any confrontation-like situation, I simply take a deep breath, relax, breathe out, and re-focus my efforts back on my work and goals.
   
   
7. I am guided by these two phrases:
   
   a) “Nothing matters.” – By this, I mean that arguing on the internet changes nothing…I can only work towards the major, massive goals that I have set for my life…that I have a vision of helping others, and there is no time to let petty arguments stand in the way.
   
   b) “It will all be over soon.” – This servers me in both good times and in bad.
   
   In hard times, such as bad days, troubled times, or intense physical effort or discomfort, I know that it will all be over soon. A small amount of suffering now will be forgotten later when I will enjoy the rewards of my work.
   
   And in good times, I will remember that life is short, and I must make things count now, and no matter how good things are going I must never let myself become soft and lazy, because I have too much to accomplish in such a short time.
   
   
8. Everything that happens to me – good and bad – is my personal responsibility. I blame no one but myself. These are the choices I’ve made – this is the life I’m living.
   
   I will accept the consequences of my actions.
   
   
9. I will not stop until I have helped 1 Million men and women transformed their lives – physically, financially, or emotionally.
   
   
10. I will not be the person I don’t want to be. I will not be petty, jealous, or envious, or give in to any other of those lazy emotions.
    
    I will not gossip or speak badly of others, no matter who I am with or what environment I am in. I will not be negative when it is easier to be positive. I will not hurt others when it is possible to help.
    
    I will know the temptations, situations and environments in life that I must avoid, and I will, in fact, avoid them, even if it means loosening relationships with others who “live” in those environments. It’s my life and that matters more than what other people think of me.
    
    
11. “I will always keep the child within me alive.” – Frank McKinney.
    
    I will laugh everyday. That’s not hard when you have the friends – and dog – that I have. And if they don’t make me laugh, there’s plenty of Louis CK on Netflix.
    
    
12. “I will write with honesty and feeling.” – Ted Nicholas.

I’ve long since giving up caring about how others choose to judge me. What matters more than other’s opinions is the number of people that I can help by sharing advice and encouragement in my writing.

The most powerful songs are written by songwriters who bare their souls. So screw it, let’s do it. Let’s put it all out there.

I’m not going to help as many people as I could if I keep the “real info” to myself. I also understand now, better than ever, that sometimes you have to “write to repel” in order to strongly attract the readers you desire.

So that’s it. These 12 rules allow me to live my life with less guilt, more energy, and more productivity than if I did not have these personal philosophies outlined.

Now I know there will be two types of reactions to this content. First, some will dismiss it – and dismiss me.

But to those people, remember the point of the list is not for you to sit there and think, “Oh, what a total weirdo. I never want to hang around with this guy.”

Instead, the point of the list, the idea, the article is to simply stimulate your thinking.

And that’s the 2nd type of reaction you can have to this article.

This is the reaction of the people who I’m interested in – the people who will realize what’s holding them back is not a lack of knowledge (because the knowledge is out there and freely available), but instead, it is decision making.

Listen, I know that every week you make decisions that leave you full of guilt and remorse, but on the other hand you also make decisions that you know are correct – even though they are difficult to make.

Wouldn’t you be better off if you made MORE correct decisions with less effort?

Of course, and that is where you rules to live by, your personal philosophies, come into play.

With this post, I’ve given you a model so that you can create your own personal philosophies that will allow you to make the correct decision and fewer decisions that leave you with remorse.

As a result of making more correct decisions, you’ll move closer to your goals and suffer less frustration. Life will be simpler once you start adhering to your own personal philosophies – and not worrying about what others think.

“The surest way to accomplish your business goals is making service to others your primary goal. The key to success is adding value to other’s lives.”

What Do We Mean by Believe? By Napoleon Hill "Wishing won't make it so," runs an old saying. This is true, and helps you remember a wish is not a belief. A wish takes place, as it were, upon the surface of the mind. I wish . . . you may say, and follow with any wish that tickles your fancy . . . to have a million dollars drop into your lap . . . to be able to flap your arms and fly. A wish is not limited by natural forces. That very apparent fact, however, is not the main difference between a wish and a belief. A belief is created, as it were, in the depths of the mind. A belief becomes part of you. That is why a true, deep belief can change your glandular secretions and the content of your bloodstream, and work other physical changes beyond the power of medical science to explain. Again, a belief, radiating its unknown wave length from the depths of your mind to the depths of another mind, accounts for a good deal of "personality power" and much else on which we can put only the clumsiest of labels. It is belief in a cause - much stronger than a wish to stay alive - which causes people to transcend ever the instinct of self-preservation. It is belief that founds religion, sustains nations, stands behind anything great that ever is achieved. A belief, I repeat, is part of you; that is why you can achieve what you believe. Moreover, when you hold a great belief you believe all the time, just as, all the time, you go on living.

The Value of Understanding
Your Customers' Body Language

by Lynda Goldman

Excerpted from Watch and Win More Sales

As a sales professional, you are constantly trying to understand your customers' motives and intentions. Fortunately, your customers are continuously sending you non-verbal signals through their postures, gestures and expressions.

Common body language signals are relatively easy to spot. As you learn to "listen with your eyes" you'll develop a finely tuned ability to interpret your customers' more subtle nonverbal signals and decipher your buyer's hidden thoughts and intentions.

Head & Facial Expressions

The ability to read faces is instinctive. To survive as a species, human beings developed skills to communicate intricate information—everything from transmitting warnings about impending dangers to forming bonds.

We instinctively look for signs, such as a smile or nod, to see if customers are interested in what we are saying. We look into customers' eyes to gauge their level of involvement in the discussion.

The face has an intricate web of muscles that communicate an exquisite range of emotions. Because facial expressions are so important to human interaction, we learn early in life to control what we show on our faces. Customers may put on happy faces or try to keep neutral expressions to mask what they really feel.

Facial expressions are varied and subtle, so it's important to pay particular attention to micro-expressions. Watch for brief flashes of disdain, disgust, or disappointment, or a mismatch with other body signals, such as the prospect smiling, but leaning back and breaking eye contact. These signals override the emotion the prospect wants to portray.

The Neck

The neck is the most vulnerable part of the body, because it is the passageway for food, blood and oxygen and all the nerves concentrated there.

Prospects who tilt their necks are exposing the most vulnerable part of the body. If you see this signal, it means you are being warmly received.

Prospects who touch or cover their necks are signaling that they feel disturbed, confused or threatened. If they tuck in their chins, they're attempting to minimize their exposure, which can indicate a lack of confidence in what they are hearing.

Eye Signals

Have you ever manned a booth at a trade show? You probably made every attempt to catch the eyes of customers who are trolling the aisles. You most likely noticed some customers who marched forward with their eyes straight ahead, studiously avoiding your eye contact. They know that once they meet your gaze, it's almost impossible not to be pulled into the booth and start a conversation.

Eye contact is a fundamental part of connecting with customers and gaining their trust. Without it, communication is almost impossible.

The eyes may be referred to as the "mirrors to the soul," but they also reflect what's happening in the mind. Your ability to persuade and sell depends on your ability to read eye signals accurately.

Prospects who gaze at you directly with wide open eyes are indicating interest and a desire to know more.

Prospects who squint slightly are issuing a warning sign that they have questions or doubts. When their gaze shifts rapidly from one person to another, or they blink, flutter their eyelids or avoid eye contact, they're indicating stress or anxiety.

Eye Accessing Cues

"Eye accessing cues" are one of the most studied forms of nonverbal communication because they are informative, yet largely unconscious.

Eye movement is linked to specific cognitive processes, according to author Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder, who co-founded Neuro-Linguistic Programming.

When people recall information, they look up. Most people look up and to their left to visually recall information, and up and to their right to visually construct information. This relates to sides of the brain, where, broadly stated, the right side handles creativity and feelings, and the left side handles facts and memory.

Observing this behavior will help you decipher if a customer is remembering something that happened, or constructing a story.

The social media BOOM is here and you’re a bust!

Every time I’m in front of an audience I ask two questions:
1. How many of you have some social media involvement? (Almost everyone raises their hands.)
2. How many of you wish you were better at it? (Almost everyone raises their hands.)

And keep in mind this is from a (supposedly) sophisticated group of people. They all have smart phones, most of them get personal Facebook notices on their phones, but for one reason or another they have chosen not to enter the world of business social media. Many are on LinkedIn and have a few connections, almost none of them tweet, and even fewer have their own YouTube channel.

What’s your social media status?

REALITY: Some HUGE companies have gone all out in social media, while others have their heads buried in the sand or are playing ME TOO, because they woke up one morning and found their competition gaining ground through a prominent and active social media presence. Still others are claiming “regulations” are keeping them from engaging.

Here are a few examples of big companies taking BIG advantage of business social media:

• Starbucks is asking customers opinions and soliciting customers ideas (where do you think the idea for that little green stopper splash stick came from?).
• The CEO of Sun Microsystems blogs daily.
• Burger King is continuing to let customers “have it their way” online with information and coupons.
• IBM is utilizing every aspect of social media and has plans to double their effort in 2011 by trusting and encouraging their employees involved on a personal-business level to their individual customers.
• Proctor & Gamble is all about Facebook and is substituting TV ads for social media presence. (WOW!)
• Ford is using social media as a PR communication device and consumer sounding board and feedback opportunity.
• Comcast is tweeting individualized customer service help messages.
• And as if they weren’t customer service dominant enough, Zappos tweets their service responses, and as a result RECEIVES THOUSANDS of positive tweets.

All of these companies, B2B or B2C, emphasize the same word in their philosophy and their outreach: COMMUNITY. They all recognize that their customers have a voice, and by listening and responding to them, they’re discovering benefit and profit.

These are NOT isolated examples – they are typical examples of how big business is using the power of social media to inform, communicate, serve, and sell.

How are you doing? What’s your “community” strategy? Who are you listening to? Who are you responding to? Or are you still answering your phone and “serving me better” with nine options? Pathetic.

Here are 6.5 TOUGH questions designed to make you think, plan and act:

1. What are you doing about the social media opportunity?
2. How are you attracting customers and prospects?
3. What’s your value message beyond product offerings?
4. How are you engaging customers and prospects?
5. How are you connecting with the people you engage?
6. What’s your social media doubling plan for 2011?
6.5. What policies, trust issues, and lawyers are holding you back? Get rid of them (no play on words intended regarding the lawyers)!

Those are painful questions that need answering before January of 2011 rolls around.

REALITY: And while you sit around strategizing and legalizing a business social media plan, your competition is laughing at you, hoping you’ll delay even more.

TWEET POWER: I tweeted this quote last night, “The more you hold your people back from using social media at work, the more your competition will kick your ass.” Less than one hour after it hit the Internet, more than 50 people had re-tweeted it, and more than 100,000 were exposed to the message. And ME. FOR FREE.

REALITY:
People have made the following statements, or asked me the following questions, over and over:

• How do I use BUSINESS social media to attract?
• Isn’t social media for kids?
• I have never tweeted.
• I tried it and didn’t get any results.
• My boss won’t let us use Facebook at work.

HUH?

REALITY:
Individuals (like you) can safely setup their own value-based, value messaging BUSINESS page on Facebook INSIDE the parameters of whatever guidelines your business has. And you can do the same with twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

PROBLEM: It requires hard work
MAJOR CLUE: Start today!

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Maya Angelou

Capturing Your Customers' Attention
By Rich Schefren

What captures your attention?

A pretty face? A televised car chase? The smell of baking cookies wafting through the room?

It doesn't take much.

And what holds your attention?

That's not so easy, is it? It takes something that has a more direct impact on your life. Satellite images of a hurricane bearing down on your town, for example. Or watching your children play.

After all, a hurricane could hurt your family, your neighbors, and your friends. And you have an emotional investment in your children. Anything that involves them matters to you.

The things that capture our attention are often not enough to hold our attention. As a marketer, this is an important concept for you to understand.

Take the TV ads that run during the Super Bowl. They can make you look. But they won't necessarily make you buy. We remember the ads, but we don't always remember the products being pitched.

No purchases are guaranteed, yet companies take a gamble and spend millions on those ads. Why do they do it? In part because of the free media attention they are sure to attract. That attention makes future purchases possible. Without it, there is no hope. And they get that attention by making their ads interesting - not only interesting, but exciting and fun.

In many ways, attention drives our economy. And in this, the Attention Age, your sales message must first be interesting enough to warrant attention.

But to hold attention, it had better be something more. Not necessarily exciting and fun - but certainly immediate, compelling, useful, and relevant for your target audience.

In other words, it has to be about them. Not about you, your company, or your product.

If you can communicate your message in a way that makes a direct emotional connection with your prospective customers, you will get their attention - keep their attention - and suc

Consider Starbucks. They didn't invent coffee. They made coffee culture "cool."

Starbucks founder Howard Shultz didn't really care if we liked the taste of his coffee. He wanted us to enjoy the sights, the smells, the sounds, the ambiance, and the emotions that come with the Starbucks experience.

Shultz envisioned Starbucks as a "people place," not as a coffee shop. It's a place where "tall" means "small," where "grande" means "medium," and "venti" means "large." There is something about the lexicon that makes us feel like we are members of a club. (With club locations seemingly on every street corner.)

It's a paradox: An "exclusive" club where everyone is welcome.

Starbucks captures our attention and holds it. Customers may learn to like - even love - the coffee. But they come back to Starbucks for the culture. It's an Attention Age success story.

Apple is another attention-getter with a passionate following. Think about it: Have you ever been around an Apple enthusiast for five minutes without hearing them mention that they are, indeed, an Apple enthusiast?

Apple has what I call the "T-shirt factor." People are such fans of the company and its products that they want to put the Apple logo on their T-shirts, their computers, their cars... you name it. The brand evokes loyalty because Apple makes their consumers feel like part of a winning team.

The most successful companies, like Starbucks and Apple, develop an innovative culture that serves as the basis for an emotional connection with consumers. As a result, the company, its products, and its people become an attention conduit for its sales message.

You can do it, too. The question is: If 100,000 potential customers were brought to the "doorstep" of your website right now - how would you capture and hold their attention?

ceed.

"Every time a message seems to grab us, and we think, 'I just might try it,' we are at the nexus of choice and persuasion that is advertising."

Andrew Hacker

The Best Way to Get Customers
By Paul Lawrence

My car was embarrassingly dirty. I had been too busy to take it in to be washed, let alone do it myself.

So when I found a business card on my windshield for a car washing service, I was interested. I looked around the parking lot. Only dirty cars had the card.

The card advertised a deal for an introductory wash. Better yet, they would come to your home or place of business and do the job there. Perfect for me. Couldn't be more convenient.

I called and set up an appointment.

I used to do something similar with the lawn cutting business I had as a teenager. I would ride around on my bicycle and look for yards with grass that looked like it needed a mowing. When I found one, I'd knock on the door and ask if they would like to hire me.

I had all the work I could handle.

Even in today's economic environment, you can have a thriving business by using my "Dirty Car Secret." You target people who have a strong need for your product or service. If they need it, they won't be able to do without it. And they will pay you to provide it.

That's why, when I was running a ballroom dance instruction business, one of the main groups I targeted were couples who were about to be married. After all, that first dance as "Mr. and Mrs." is a tradition. And with the eyes of all your wedding guests upon you, you don't want to stumble around the dance floor.

Before I discovered the Dirty Car Secret, I randomly sent out postcards advertising my dance lessons to people who lived in my general area. And I'd get a response rate of about 1%. But when I started targeting my mailings to couples about to be married, the average response rate was 12%. A 1,200% increase!

Years later, I used the Dirty Car Secret to get customers for my swimming pool service business. Any time my workers spotted a pool that was less than sparkling clean, they'd leave a flyer with a discount coupon on the door. More than 10% of the recipients called to take advantage of the offer.

10%! 12%! To give you an idea of how impressive those response rates are, one very successful mail-order company I know considers a 2% response rate to be huge. If they were to get 10%, they'd be uncorking Champagne.

Smart direct marketers have used the Dirty Car Secret for years. What they do is rent other marketers' "buyer lists," and mail their own offers to the names on those lists. The lists are made up of people who have bought a product that's similar to the one they are selling. The assumption is that if those folks bought that product before, they needed (or wanted) it. And, chances are, they will need (or want) it again.

The idea is to find a way to identify people who are likely to have a strong need or desire for your product or service. You'd be surprised by how many entrepreneurs spend vast amounts of time and money getting their marketing message into the wrong hands.

Here are some tips to help you find the "dirty cars" that could jumpstart your business in as little as a few days:

Identify your ideal prospects.

If you've ever gotten a traffic ticket, you've probably been barraged with mailings from lawyers who specialize in traffic tickets - because there's a good chance a lawyer can help you. Likewise, if you have a dirty car, you might need someone to wash it. If you have an overgrown lawn, you might need someone to cut it. If you're planning to get married, you might need ballroom dance lessons.

So your first step with this marketing strategy is to pick up on the clues that reveal the ideal customers for your product or service.

Figure out how to reach them.

Once you know who you want to target, you've got to determine the best way to get your marketing message to them.

Direct mail is a great way to reach prospects, but it's only one option. You can pass out business cards or post flyers. You can sell your product or service on the Internet with pay-per-click ads. Use your imagination! One method I used to promote my ballroom dance business was to advertise in the bridal section of the local metropolitan newspaper.

Find a way to separate yourself from the pack.

Reaching your prospects isn't enough. You have to get their attention and land their business. No matter which advertising method you use, the basics are the same:

1. Grab them with a headline that makes a promise or claim that will interest them.

2. Prove to them that you can deliver on that promise or claim.

3. Ask for the order.

You can use the Dirty Car Secret to pump up the profits of any small business - or start a new one that will deliver enough cash for you to be secure... to pay your bills, put away some money for the future, and have a decent lifestyle for yourself and your family.

Are You Lovable?

by David Simon, M.D.

What leads to us to believe that we are lovable or unlovable? Worthy or unworthy? Deserving of happiness or sorrow? If we look at any newborn and are asked, “Is this being worthy of unconditional love?” most of us would say, “Absolutely.”

It’s as if our heart and soul have an intrinsic sense that love is our birthright. Yet many people doubt whether that principle applies to them. If we were raised by caregivers who were constricted in their capacity to love because of their history or current state of exhaustion, we may have learned to question or even deny our lovability.

So right now, ask yourself the question “Am I lovable?” Consider the highest expression of your heart and consider how you feel about yourself when you are expressing those qualities. The fact that you can imagine or remember this state of lovingness and wholeness suggests that it’s available to you and can be cultivated through practice.

Be Kind to Yourself

When you love something or someone, whether it’s a puppy, your garden, or a child, you naturally want to take good care of it. You research what it needs to thrive and be healthy and you do your best to nourish and protect it. You deserve the same attention, appreciation, acceptance, and affection you give to others.

Ask yourself how you can be more kind and loving to yourself. Here are a few suggestions to get started:

• Look at every aspect of your life and identify experiences that are depleting rather than nourishing. Consider the kind of food, water, music, TV shows, internet sites, and conversations you are taking in − and see how you can reduce the ingestion of energy and information that doesn’t serve you while replacing it with that which does.
• The experiences that deplete us are often ones that happened quite a while ago but which we have been unable to let go, such as a painful divorce, unresolved anger with a parent, losing a job, and other situations that can create emotional turbulence. When we’re unable to release emotional toxicity, it limits our capacity for happiness, love, and peace.
• If you’re holding onto some pain from the past, I encourage you use some kind of release process or ritual to let it go. Many people have found the Free to Love/Healing the Heart process beneficial. You can experience this process at one of our emotional healing courses at the Chopra Center or work through the process on your own by following the guidance in my book Free to Love, Free to Heal.
• Commit to a regular practice of meditation, yoga, or some other spiritual practice that connects you to your essential self, your essential wholeness.
• If you are engaging in life-damaging habits such as overeating, excessive drinking, smoking, and so on, begin to let them go. You might want to read Freedom from Addiction, a guidebook to ending non-nurturing behaviors that I wrote with Deepak. If you need more intensive help, consider coming to Paradise Valley, a holistic addiction center that incorporates Eastern healing practices and modern medical treatment. As you practice self-love, you won’t need to anaesthetize yourself from yourself.

If you are in a toxic or abusive relationship at home or at work, your highest and healthiest self must take the lead in guiding you to freedom. Seek help from a trustworthy friend, clergy member, or therapist who can support you. It takes courage to disentangle yourself from people who violate your boundaries, deplete your energy, or engage in other unhealthy patterns, but you can do it. You deserve to have loving, nurturing relationships that expand rather constrict your happiness.

Begin with whatever small step is manageable for you, being gentle with yourself in the process. Avoid the tendency to make this another “self-improvement” project and don’t criticize yourself for not doing it fast enough or in the “right” way or succeeding the first time. If you have feelings of unlovability, your inner critic is probably fine-tuned to turn even your good intentions against you, so stay as aware as possible and offer yourself words of encouragement and loving kindness. You may want to use a variation of Buddhist metta meditation and practice saying the following mantra to yourself: May I be safe and protected. May I be peaceful and happy. May I be healthy and at ease.

Remember, you are lovable, valuable, and powerful. You are a good person. You are worthy of love and you deserve to be happy. You have these beautiful qualities and many more because you are living the gift of a human incarnation. My hope is that you can start to embrace these truths.

With love,
David