How to Invest in Gold

You can invest in gold, by getting a brokerage account and purchasing "GLD".
Buying GLD is basically buying gold, but the commissions should be much smaller.
Look at: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=GLD

Become a Billionaire

How can a person go from obscurity to billionaire status?

I think I'd start with NET, No Extra Time. Work out and listen to audio programs and audio books. Get an idea of how you want to make your money and find some motivation.

Working out makes you feel good, and encourages a longer life. You do not want to be the richest person in the graveyard. Look at Tony Robbins now legendary run on the beach, when he lived in a 400 sq foot apartment. You wont have those results. At least not every day, but do it. NET= no extra time. Begin that habit.

That reminds me, if you are in the medical field, look for longevity aids. A good longevity aid, with a well executed marketing plan, could make a billionaire out of a few of us.

Andrew Carnegie, formerly the richest man in the world, advised us to form mastermind alliances, to enhance our success. You can find people for your masterminds through my Yahoo group and through the chat room at http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LmluZGVwZW5kZW50d2VhbHRoLnVz You could find them here on Google, Myspace and Facebook too. Be creative, there are a lot of places to recruit and to get recruited.

You can find out about the best audio books, audio programs, mastermind alliances, and a lot of worthwhile stuff at http://www.independentwealth.us/

Hopefully I will keep writing about becoming a billionaire.

Best Metal Motivational Music

Scorpions- Don't Stop at the Top

Bon Jovi - It's My Life

Skid Row - Slave to the Grind

Rick Springfield - World Start Turning

Tesla - No Way Out

Rocky IV Soundtrack

Eminem - Lose Yourself

Queen - I Want it All and Fight From the Inside

Queensryche - Best I Can

These are a few off the top of my head.

Paths and Requirements to a Billion Dollar Empire

Monumental odds and monumental risk characterize the undertaking of making a billion dollars.

You must have a strong drive and be smarter than average to become a billionaire. Look at Donald Trump. Trump only sleeps 4-5 hours a night. Trump works all the time. If you are to become a billionaire, you need drive, better than average smarts, some seed capital, and the right ideas.

Where will the next billionaires come from? Likely from the fields of:
- nanotechnology
- Internet/Computers/Software
- neurotechnology
- biotechnology
- alternative energy
- and certainly, many more billionaires will be innovators, inventors, turn around specialists, money managers, and others.

If you are dreaming to the point of opening brokerage accounts, taking college classes, Anthony Robbins seminars, and starting businesses, you are cordially invited to my Yahoo Group called "IndependentWealth - Investing for Early Retirement 101". There are several "high achievers" in my group.

If you want to associate with people who are going places, by all means, sign up. Do me a favor and vote in the polls section.

Also, take a look at http://www.independentwealth.us/. There you should at least find a way out of the rat race. You can also sign up for my group there too.

Hopefully, I will be writing a lot more about creating a billion dollar empire.

Community for Future Billionaires

There are a couple of great communities for future billionaires.

There is one on Facebook and one below:

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndependentWealth/

At Independent Wealth, we have 1000 ambitious people, motivational quotes posted once or twice a week, some good stock picks are posted, we have a stock market tournament, etc.

Take a look, it's free. Be sure to vote in the polls section. Invite a friend.

One of the Best Ideas in the World

If you want to go from rags to riches, one of the best ideas in the world for you, is to go to www.independentwealth.us.

At my site, you will not only be able to make a plan to escape poverty, you will get the motivation, and many of the tools you need to do it.

There are not really any Earth shaking ideas there. Just common sense, and yes, some advanced stuff. The New Year is coming. So start planning and creating a vision of what you want!

I learned many of the lessons in independentwealth the hard way, but you do not have to.

Forget the hype and the fluff and the scams and scroll down to www.independentwealth.us

Seven Quotes for Entrepreneurs

"Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning."--Bill Gates

Money can't buy happiness, but neither can poverty.--Leo Rosten

It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution tomake a great fortune, and when you have it, it requires ten times as much skill to keep it.--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Sometimes by losing a battle you find a new way to win the war.--Donald Trump

"He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly;and he which soweth bountifully reap also bountifully."-- 2 Corinthians 9:6

The richest people in the world look for and build networks, everyoneelse looks for work."- Robert Kiyosaki

"The best way to predict the future is to create it..."- Anthony Robbins

Billionaire Mindset

Robert Cox has studied and worked with three billionaires. His studies indicate they have five behavior traits in common.

1. Revelations (clarity) - They see things differently.

2. Charisma - The billionaire is a charismatic individual. Charisma is defined as the ability to make others feel good about them.

3. Integrity - They maintain the integrity of their goals, values and personal image. Integrity is defined as doing what you say you are going to do. Integrity is a unique quality as you can only sell it one time.

4. Love of Money - think of whom or what you love most and multiply that by 10 and that properly reflects the love a billionaire has for each and every dollar.

5. Time - Define projects, meetings and employee performance by time frames. They have preset time limits for all endeavors.

www.yourbusinesscoach.net

7 Tips to Help You Escape the Rat Race

There are a lot of important things you could do to escape the rat race, but I have give you seven that come to the forefront of my mind. This should be a good starting point for the ambitious wealth builder.

Tip number one is: learn to invest. Get started reading the classic investment texts, a financial magazine, learn the terminology, and laws. Learn to analyze an investment. I would get started on this one, even if the economy seems bad. Create a model portfolio and watch the indicators, stocks, and etc. You will not start out as the best investor, so start learning.

Tip number two is: Live below your means. You have no alternative. If you are to retire, you need to save money for it. Even if you have a good pension, create another leg in your retirement stool. Delaying gratification will help you cut expenses. Wait for a better price on what you want to buy. Maybe you will change your mind altogether. Make it a mental game to buy good investments, rather than a frivolous purchase.

Tip number three is: Diversify your investments. Spread your money around some. You could still be somewhat concentrated in things you know about and are confident and comfortable with. It is very important not to put yourself into a high risk/low reward situation. Decide on a good asset allocation (a combination of various assets). Stay on top of your finances.

Tip number four is: Make a few big financial bets. Make some substantial financial bets on something you have a strong hunch will succeed. If you are right on a serious investment, it could be all you need to exit the rat race. Never make a bet you cannot afford to lose. Make sure you have done adequate research on your investments.

Tip number five is: Create a Mastermind. You need coaches and guides that are going where you are going. You need objective opinions and fresh perspectives. Masterminds have come in handy. That is why Andrew Carnegie advises us to start a mastermind in Think and Grow Rich.

Tip number six is: get into CANI (constant and never ending improvement). Use CANI to improve each area of your life, including your career, and investing. Applying the philosophy of CANI in your health, relationships, etc. will pay dividends as well.

CANI is easy, just admit you don’t know everything, and start making improvements. Improve a little every day. I encourage you to keep learning and growing even after you escape the rat race.

Tip number seven is to: move quick on things. When a task or project is dropped in your lap, get to work! Get going! Procrastination won’t help you escape the rat race. Video games, booze, and “power naps” won’t get you out of the rat race. Become the person who gets the job done. If you can’t get things done, you will spend more time in the rat race. Tackle tough projects without delay.

Today is the day to get going on your financial journey. Test some of these tips in your own life and see what happens.

see www.financialindependenceuniversity.com for more info & details.

Eight Secrets of Financial Independence

“We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be. And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of these assumptions.” - Stephen Covey
Secret #1 – This is by far the single most important of the 8 secrets. It is the foundational key to all success

TAKE ACTION!
If you can’t take the action necessary to achieve financial independence and success, to improve your life, you will no doubt wind up right alongside the 95 percent of the population that is dependent on debt and are ultimately financial failures.

It’s that simple. You can have the very best teachers, the very best education and training, read the best books and listen to the best tapes but without taking action, it’s all wasted. I can’t emphasize this point too strongly or enough. You must find it in yourself to resolve to act; otherwise your thinking will amount to nothing.

Secret #2 – The level of success you achieve in your life is directly proportional to your willingness to accept full responsibility for your life. No matter where you are now, you can only achieve greater things if you take blame and hold yourself accountable for your past. Accept your past and grasp hold of your future.

Secret #3 – Failing to execute a plan for financial independence is the same as planning to fail. This seems fairly self evident. People just float around through their financial life hoping it will all somehow just work out. This is not only wrong but it reeks of insanity

Secret #4 – A home based business where you can invest work and time instead of money. You can make more money with a business of your own than a job would pay you and the tax benefits are worth the effort. It would be a good practice to start slow and small and work it steadily. Eventually, the income will exceed your job and you will need to make a decision as to whether you want to quit your job and take your business full time.

Secret #5 – Residual vs. Linear Income Most people work at a job that pays them a linear income, which means that for every hour they work they get paid an hour’s wage. Or they sell a widget and get paid a commission on that one widget. Residual income, on the other hand, is cumulative and continuous. Let’s say that you sell a widget, instead of getting paid a onetime commission, you get an ongoing commission for that sale month after month. Sell two widgets, get two times the residual.

Secret #6 – Multiplex Income This is the income that you receive when you run your own business and receive your income from the work and efforts of others.

Secret #7 – Positive Mental Attitude I used to think that keeping a positive mental attitude was the key ingredient to success and achievement, that if I maintained a PMA, success was sure to follow. I knew people that cranked up the positive attitude so much they glowed but were complete financial failures. While a PMA is extremely important, the ACTION needed in secret #1 is the true key. Couple PMA AND ACTION together and you have a solid foundation for success.

Secret #8 – Compound Interest Compound interest refers to the fact that whenever interest is calculated, it is based not only on the original principal, but also on any unpaid interest that has been added to the principal. The more frequently interest is compounded, the faster the balance grows.

A good lesson was learned on the golf course when two friends decided to “make it fun” by placing a wager on each hole. The bet was for a dime and on each hole the bet would double. Let’s do the math. The first hole is ten cents. The second hole is twenty and the third is forty cents. Not bad, just a friendly wager, right?

By the time they reached the ninth hole the bet was for $25.60. OK. Still not so bad for golf buddies. The tenth hole was $51.20, the eleventh hole was $102.40 and the twelfth hole was for $204.80! Now, if we were golfing this game, we would be getting a bit nervous. Hole 13 - $409.60. Hole 14 - $819.20. The bet continues to rise. By the 18th hole the bet will be a whopping $13,107.20!

THAT is the power of compound interest.

Dave Capra "The Debtonator" is author of "Your Guide To Perfect Credit", a radio show host, columnist and certified debt consultant. For information contact The Debtonator at 312.674.4861 or email thedebtonator@yourguidetoperfectcredit.com
http://www.yourguidetoperfectcredit.com http://www.franklindebtrelief.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Capra
***
I think this is a classic article. Taking action, accepting responsiblity, planning, and home based businesses are all key to financial independence.

This Screwed up Economy Needs Entrepreneurs!!

The latest issue of Forbes (the one with the Forbes 400 richest Americans) has an article on Joseph Schumpeter, who they consider to be the greatest economist of the 20th century (I never heard of him before today...lol). The article made some pretty interesting statements on the importance of entrepreneurs for a successful economy.

Here's a few of the quotes:"Schumpeter recognized at a young age that the critical factor in economic progress was the entrepreneur, the innovator. To him it was the risk taker who brought about new products and services and more efficient ways of making and doing things.""Schumpeter recognized that a dynamic economy creates wide inequality. A successful entrepreneur, his investors and even some of his employees will get rich."

"Schumpeter was a genius at dissecting the ideologies and prejudices of other economists. Karl Marx, for example, also observed the dynamic nature of entrepreneurial capitalism. But he mistakenly concluded that this kind of change would inevitably, inexorably impoverish the workers. Instead -- as Schumpeter laid out time and time again -- an entrepreneurial economy means more people earning more and enjoying a higher standard of living. Adam Smith celebrated the importance of free trade, low taxes, property rights, the enforcement of contracts in enabling people to get richer. But he had very little appreciation of the crucial role individual entrepreneurs and innovators play in the process."

So to all the entrepreneurs and innovators out there, keep doing your thing. This screwed up economy needs us!!
from KDS at www.foryounginvestors.com
www.financialindependenceuniversity.com

Buy a Toll Bridge

BYLANES - Buffet's Toll Bridge

Imagine a river with a commercial district on one side and residential on the other. Now, imagine a bridge spanning the river, joining the two districts. And imagine that you own the bridge, and can charge a small fee for using the bridge. A few thousand cars pass over the bridge every day, and you charge each car a little something for using the bridge. I bet you have already started counting the money. Warren Buffet keeps this perspective in mind while choosing a stock.

Some basic advantages of such a `toll bridge` should be understood. One is that the cash register keeps ticking without a stop. The other advantage is that there are no sundry debtors. Further, the maintenance and expenditure is low and the profits can grow at a predictable rate, and that too for a number of years. If you (that is. the owner) do not become irrationally greedy and maintain the fees for crossing at a reasonable level, the customers will continue to use your bridge, and you will make money for a number of years to come.

Many businesses reach the status of a toll bridge because of the strong relationships their products build with the customers. The first sign of such a company is apparent when the customers demand the product by its brand name and don`t even know the name of the company that produces it. The second sign is that it has little, or no competition, and the third sign is that it is essential either as a necessity, or for its universal appeal, and, therefore, every store has to carry it.

Let us consider some examples in the Indian context. `Cadbury`s` chocolate, `Cherry Blossom` shoe polish (how many know the name of the company? (Viz. Reckitt & Coleman), `Dettol` disinfectant, `Aspro` and `Anacyn`--the headache cures--and `Amul` butter easily come to mind. In pharmaceuticals, Glaxo is one such name, which has many products in demand. Can any store afford not to have these products on their shelves? If the store does not have it, the customer just walks over to the next store and gets it.

Companies making such products are in a unique position. They have established the manufacturing process, people have accepted the quality and specifications, they do not have to invest large sums in the plant and machinery every year, and their supply chains and distribution network are well established. The net result is steadily growing profits. These companies have some more advantages. They do not need exceptional management, just an honest management capable of grabbing a good thing when they see it and not to make a mess of it. These companies do not require too much of research and development (R&D), as they invented the formula many years ago and their customers don`t want any change. Would you like Dettol to smell differently? A good friend of mine even used it as an after-shave for many years. The management may add a gift with the purchase of a bottle, or add a new flavor to the product range to grab a little extra of the market share, but a wise management will leave the main product untouched. In Dettol`s case, even the shape of the bottle is important.

Such structurally sound and `in-demand` toll bridges are great businesses to own. They give rise to plenty of free cash, which can be invested in building or buying another such toll bridge. These businesses survive through economic downturns, and continue to give the same returns. This feature makes it easier to predict their profitability. Value investors love this.

The return for the investor is on the one side the earnings per share (EPS) (or dividend) and on the other increase in the share price. If the annual EPS/dividend is predictable, and if the share is purchased at a low enough price, the investor is happy to get such a return year after year. Many times, we see such companies showing an increasing EPS trend. This is still better for the investor, because this increases the price of the share faster.

Much has been said and written about the intrinsic value of the business and how it is to be arrived at, but with insufficient justice to the discipline involved. Value investors eye the company first, but their decision to buy is a function of the price. Everything else about the company may be perfect and the value investor may be itching to own a part of it, but a disciplined investor will wait for the right price. Once purchased, the stock is not sold for a long time. The argument is simple. Why give away something `good` till something `better` comes along? Remember that a good toll bridge has a minimum life of 25 years. If the EPS is in the region of 20% and above on the price you paid, calculate the compounded value at the end of those 25 years and see for yourself. Yet there is a sad side. Like everything else in this world, bridges also deteriorate. Weather and time take a heavy toll of steel, and the bridge becomes unsafe. Those car owners who drove to work over that bridge for a number of years realise that the bridge is no longer safe and avoid using it. Some competitor senses the unease and builds a new bridge, and the owner of the original bridge dies an unsung death.

We know what happened to some automobile companies from the pre- liberalisation days. From the mid-50s to the mid-80s, Premier Padmini and Hindustan Motor`s Ambassador were the two cars ruling the market. For years, they continued to thrive without making any major changes in the models, and Indians had no choice but to buy those cars. Whatever was produced was sold, and that too against cash. Sub-standard goods were produced for years and dumped on the helpless customers. With little R&D and no improvement in the basic car, these plants were just waiting to receive a deathblow, and `Maruti` did just that. Customers had found another safer, newer, and cheaper bridge.

Sometimes, some management decisions cause problems. Excess cash poses a problem. The management does not know what to do with it, and then instead of buying another toll bridge, or improving the existing one, it buys a pyramid, which is just a tourist attraction and a place for the dead. The pyramid bleeds the parent company, and finally both perish. Acquisitions and mergers are good, but only of the same kind. In the recent past, we have seen the merger of Times Bank with HDFC Bank. Synergy in operation was evident, and the balance sheet proved it. The market also appreciated it, and the shareholders have reaped the benefit.

It is easy to say that one should invest in such `consumer monopolies`, as Warren Buffett calls them, but it is another thing to actually buy these shares. No one has monopoly over such a wisdom, and generally we find these shares selling at a high P/E multiple. Yet, occasionally, these shares sell at low prices. John Neff`s advice is worth following while waiting for a good price. He advices the investors to regularly scan the `New Lows` list in the financial newspapers. If you have earmarked a share, then this list alerts you when it starts coming down. Consider this example, In March 2000, Glaxo hit a new low of Rs 422. In August, it is trading at 480/490. Reckitt & Coleman hit a new low of Rs 192 in March. Now it is trading around 210/220. If someone had earmarked the share, then surely it was a good time to buy.

Sometimes, a `consumer monopoly` company remains unnoticed for a long time. These are the companies engaged in manufacturing some product, without which the big guns cannot do. An example could be that of a company manufacturing some critical chemical required for steel making. This company may also own the patent for the product and, thus, the monopoly remains assured for a long time. Such companies spend very little on advertising and, hence, are not widely known. Some event of social or political nature makes it conspicuous, and suddenly the great value of the share gets unlocked, and the price starts climbing. Mario Gabelli, a well-known investor from the US calls the event a `catalyst`. Noticing such a company in advance and then waiting patiently for a long enough time is what is needed. The rewards are great.

The best way to notice consumer monopolies is to visit various stores. If you find the same product on all the stores you visited, chances are that it is a consumer monopoly. Watch for the advertising campaigns. If there is a blitz, rest assured that the company is not confident about the demand. If the advertising is subdued and regular, just to tickle your memory cells, there is a good chance that the monopoly is operating. Some companies don`t advertise at all; for example, Amrutanjan, the headache balm.

Many years ago in Pune, a man started stamping his name on all goods that entered the city. The stamp was inconspicuous, yet readily visible. He did not charge a farthing for stamping the goods. Traders let him stamp their goods thinking of him as some harmless eccentric person, and soon goods which did not have his stamp were overlooked by customers in the city. So the traders started coming to him for getting their goods stamped, and then he started charging a small fee. In due course, he became a rich man. He had created his own `Toll Bridge`.
http://www.marketsidea.com/article/article_bylanes.htm
www.financialindependenceuniversity.com

Warren Buffett on Investing

Warren Buffett, probably the greatest investor of his generation, rarely communicates his investment ideas in writing to the general public. And why should he? If someone has that extra edge when it comes to making money from the stock markets, he would rather use it for himself rather than go around sharing it. But once a year, he makes an exception to the rule and does give out his way of thinking through the annual letter he writes to the shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Other than this he has given many speeches over the years, which have given the general public some idea of the way he thinks. Here are a few of these gems which he has shared with his shareholders over the years through his letters and speeches.

1. Buy the business and not the stock

The speech titled, 'The Superinvestors of Graham and Doddsville,' delivered to the students of Columbia Business School in 1984, remains the most famous speech that Buffett ever made. This speech was delivered at a seminar held to celebrate the 50 years of the publication of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd's book Security Analysis. Benjamin Graham was Warren Buffett's Guru at Columbia School and all the years that Graham taught there Buffett was his only student to have got an A+ grade. And Buffett, as we all know, has surely lived up to that grade. This speech elucidated his firm belief in the principle of value investing. Value investors, he said, "search for discrepancies between the value of a business and the price of small pieces of that business in the market." Hence, the only thing they are bothered about is "how much is the business worth?" As Buffet said in the speech, "He's not looking at quarterly earnings projections, he's not looking at next year's earnings, he's not thinking about what day of the week it is, he doesn't care what investment research from any place says, he's not interested in price momentum, volume or anything. He's simply asking: What is the business worth?" And hence, as Buffett points out in the speech about value investors. "While they differ greatly in style, these investors are, mentally, always buying the business, not buying the stock." As we all know, the question 'how much is a business worth?' is not easy to answer and depends on how closely the investor follows the business of the company he is investing in and the understanding he has of that particular line of business. Buffett himself follows this and does not invest in businesses he does not understand. Information technology is one sector he has consciously stayed away from even at the height of the technology boom.

2. Buy when the stock prices are low

One of the peculiar things about stock markets is the fact that investors like to buy when the markets are doing well and the stock prices are on their way up. This is not the best way to invest given the fact that in everyday life we like to buy more of something only when the prices are low. Buffett explains this point in his letter to the shareholders for the year 1997. "A short quiz: If you plan to eat hamburgers throughout your life and are not a cattle producer, should you wish for higher or lower prices for beef? Likewise, if you are going to buy a car from time to time but are not an auto manufacturer, should you prefer higher or lower car prices?" "These questions," he goes on, "of course, answer themselves. But now for the final exam: If you expect to be a net saver during the next five years, should you hope for a higher or lower stock market during that period? Many investors get this one wrong. Even though they are going to be net buyers of stocks for many years to come, they are elated when stock prices rise and depressed when they fall. In effect, they rejoice because prices have risen for the 'hamburgers' they will soon be buying. This reaction makes no sense. Only those who will be sellers of equities in the near future should be happy at seeing stocks rise. Prospective purchasers should much prefer sinking prices."

3. For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases

Getting into stock because everyone around you is and hoping to make money from it money successfully is not everyone's cup of tea. As more and more investors get into the same stock, and price rises, the chances of making money from the stock go down. In his 2005 letter Buffett wrote, "Long ago, Sir Isaac Newton gave us three laws of motion, which were the work of genius. But Sir Isaac's talents didn't extend to investing: he lost a bundle in the South Sea Bubble, explaining later, 'I can calculate the movement of the stars, but not the madness of men.' If he had not been traumatized by this loss, Sir Isaac might well have gone on to discover the Fourth Law of Motion: 'For investors as a whole, returns decrease as motion increases.'"

4. There is a thin line separating investment and speculation

Buffett explains this beautifully in his letter to the shareholders in the year 2000. "The line separating investment and speculation, which is never bright and clear, becomes blurred still further when most market participants have recently enjoyed triumphs. Nothing sedates rationality like large doses of effortless money." "After a heady experience of that kind, normally sensible people drift into behavior akin to that of Cinderella at the ball. They know that overstaying the festivities -- that is, continuing to speculate in companies that have gigantic valuations relative to the cash they are likely to generate in the future -- will eventually bring on pumpkins and mice. But they nevertheless hate to miss a single minute of what is one helluva party. Therefore, the giddy participants all plan to leave just seconds before midnight. There's a problem, though: They are dancing in a room in which the clocks have no hands."
http://www.marketsidea.com/article/Index_articles.htm
www.financialindependenceuniversity.com

My Secret to Unlimited Web Site Traffic

If you give me two minutes of your time, I can show you how to get all the traffic you could ever want by using just one little secret...
This one little secret has the power to spread your name across the Internet like wildfire. It will quickly bring you massive exposure and an endless line of raving fans just waiting for your next email, article, podcast, or video.
And you know what, I'm going to give you the secret for free... But don't let that devalue the information I'm about to share. This can be extremely powerful when put in the right hands.
So, let me whisper my surprising little secret into your ear...
Remarkable Content!
Yes.... Remarkable Content. Words that speak directly to your readers... Words that win the minds and hearts of your audience... Entertaining content that's juicier than all the latest celebrity blogs.
I need to crave your content more than I do my daily Starbucks.
Do you get it?
It's got to be that good.
So, how do you write Remarkable Content...
1. Emotional Engagement - Great content evokes some sort of emotional reaction, whether it be laughter, tears, or just the thought of "Wow, this is good stuff." If you can get some sort of emotional engagement, you've hit a winner and people are much more likely to pass it around.
2. Personality - Good content, regardless of whether it's an article, an email, or a Twitter post, needs to be stamped with your personality.
Just a dash of personality can make a huge difference in how your readers engage and respond to your content.
3. Changes Your Perspective. Truly great content will change the way you perceive a particular topic, idea, or thought process.
4. Deliver the Goods. People come online for information. It's your job to deliver the answers they've been looking for. All the better if you can deliver this information in a creative, entertaining way.
In order to write truly great content, you must know your audience as well as you know yourself. When you do that, you can write directly to their fears, frustrations, aspirations, and desires.
5. Passion. It's the secret ingredient to all great content. Your readers will instantly detect it and be drawn to your writing, your videos, your podcasts, and any other form of content you produce.
6. Connect. You have to remember that behind every piece of content is a person. It's easy to slave away on the computer, pounding out articles and forget that you're writing to real people.
So before you lay a single finger on the keyboard, grab some coffee, take a deep breath, and imagine that you're sitting across from a friend. You know all of their quirks, their frustrations, theirs hopes and their dreams.
Once you've painted a perfect picture of who you're writing to, you're now ready to fire up your favorite text editor and settle in for a nice long chat.
Once I started using this technique, my writing soon became more engaging, insightful, and passionate. And you can bet your readers will take notice.
7. Leave them wanting more. The best content online leaves your reader wanting more.
You've given them a refreshing glass of water in the middle of the desert and now they're eager to devour your next piece of content, open your next email, and spread your content to all their friends.
You'll be surprised how quickly you start to build up a group of raving fans when you put out truly great content. In fact, this is one of THE fastest ways to become successful online. By creating remarkable content you will quickly establish yourself as a trusted authority in your market.
Remember, those who stand out get the attention.
Break through the clutter.
Grab Front Page Rankings in 24 hours - My Free Google Domination Videos show you how...
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kim_Roach

**also see the traffic page at www.financialindependenceuniversity.com

Never Ever Quit

When things go wrong
As they sometimes will,
When the road you are trudging
Seems all uphill,
When the funds ar low
And the debts are high,
And you want to smile
But you have to sigh,
When life is pressing you down a bit
-Rest if you must, but don’t you quit,
Success is failure turned inside out,
It is the silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never cant tell
How close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So, stick to the fight
When you’re harvest hit
-It’s when thing go wrong
That you must not quit!
http://www.financialindependenceuniversity.com/

Mastermind Effect

According to Napoleon Hill the "Master Mind" can be defined as "Coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose". When I first began my seemingly endless search for the "right"answers to grow my business it seemed like there were obstacles onevery corner. I was plagued by indecision, procrastination, fear of taking risks, "bright shiny object syndrome", lack of money, lack of knowledge and so on. Being alone day in and day out allowed me to create all kinds of thoughts in my head that served no purpose. Sure, I was working like a dog, marketing like crazy but I didn't have anyinteraction with people who were going through the same types of things I was. Until I found a mastermind group.The idea of masterminding has been around for a hundred years andit's long been touted as one of the single best ways to see rapid success in your life. Why? Because the collective knowledge, expertise, ideas and encouragement of the many is far more powerful than the mind of one.

4 Benefits of Mastermind Groups

Specialized Knowledge

No one person knows it all, which is one of the most common reasonspeople fall short of their goal, or choose not to take chances. People believe they don't have the knowledge or required education toget where they want to be. The fact is, no successful individual hasbecome successful because he/she knew everything. Napoleon Hill talks about this at great length in Think and Grow Rich in the chapter on Specialized Knowledge. The most successful people are not the oneswho know how to do everything but the ones who know how to get peopleto do for them what they don't know. So, in a mastermind people are able to leverage the knowledge and strengths of everyone around them to move forward more quickly toward their own goals.

Definiteness of Purpose

Definiteness of purpose is a key to your success. If you do not knowwith absolute certainty what you want, you will never reach the levelof success that is possible. Mastermind groups offer knowledge, information, and direction. Members help you stay on track, call youout when you are not doing what you say you are going to do andgenerally serve as the more rational voice inside you to keep youreye on the prize. Do not underestimate the power of this.

Unlimited Experience

An individual who is trying to develop a strategy to grow her business for the first time has a high probability of failure becauseshe has finite experience. She has only what she currently knows toguide her. However, the mastermind group has infinite experience. It has years of combined experience, knowledge and insight you can drawfrom to accelerate your learning curve.

Group Energy

Many entrepreneurs struggle because they don't have consistentinteraction with their peers on a daily basis. They may work withclients and attend events a few times a month but working inisolation can be dangerous. Having a mastermind group that you arepart of on a weekly basis can keep you connected, help you to seethat your struggles are not unique, and that you can have outrageoussuccess even if your stumble once in a while. Mastermind groups keepus honest, keep us on track and encourage us to do more and be more.

Finding a Good Mastermind Group

I have been in some mastermind groups that were fantastic and othersthat were completely useless. Here are a few things I have learnedwhen it comes to choosing the right mastermind situation or leavingone that's not working.

1. The energy of the group has to be good. If the chemistry is wrong,if someone is always trying to dominate or you dread getting on thecall, you're in the wrong place. It can be a challenge to get a grouptogether that really clicks but it's certainly possible so don'tsettle.

2. The mastermind has to define its own rules. There have to be rulesthat everyone in the group agrees to such as how it will bestructured, rules for speaking, confidentiality, and attendance. A mastermind group where people rarely show up, don't engage, comeunprepared, and take the confidentiality part too loosely are toxic.Look for a group that is organized, requires attendance and has asolid structure. It will make it so much more successful for all involved.

3. The ultimate goal has to be the same for all. Each person willhave a specific goal of joining the mastermind but the collectivegoal of the group should be to help each individual member achievetheir goals and reach the level of success they desire. When thatbigger picture is kept in mind, everyone wins.

How do you find one to join? There are so many opportunities these days to join mastermind groups.They range in price from free (you could put your own together) tohundreds of thousands of dollars for high end groups. I recommendjust doing some research. In fact, you may find that your mentor hasa continuity program with a mastermind component to it. The key is to just find the right spot for you and don't give up until you do. Like mentoring, mastermind groups can have a profound impact on yoursuccess and even more importantly, how quickly you achieve it.

Success coach Melani Ward helps women entrepreneurs create thebusiness of their dreams so they can create more money, time and freedom in their lives. If you're ready to get more clients, havemore fun and make a whole lot more money in your small business, getyour FREE report "Proven Steps for Creating the Business Lifestyle ofYour Dreams" NOW at http://www.HotButtonCopy.comArticle Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melani_Ward

Free Traffic Building eBook

I am writing a short, concise, no fluff eBook on traffic building.
I will give this traffic building eBook away for free!!
This traffic building eBook contains sections on: web 2.0, blogs, keywords, article marketing, PPC, etc.
Sign up for the newsletter at www.financialindependenceuniversity.com and you will receive your free copy.

You Don't Have to Join the Illuminati

...just form a mastermind alliance.

Seriously, I doubt that some secret order holds you down. But if you need to feel important, or in the right crowd, start a mastermind. Recruit good people, or get recruited by good people, and get to work. Hit it hard. There's no time to kill. Masterminds have been known to work.

visit www.financialindependenceuniversity.com and click on the mastermind tab. Pop in the chat room from time to time. Be on the watch for my new eBook called "Secrets of the Mastermind." I will likely have an affiliate program, so you can get paid for selling my eBook.

Bad Times Are Great Times to Make Money

Bad times are absolutely the best times to make money. While the world heads into a possible recession and everyone is saying to play it safe, save whatever you have, spend less, eat less and lots of other "advice", the smarter people know that the bad times are absolute golden times to start spending more instead! I'll give you 3 reasons why in this article.

1. When times are bad, everything is cheaper. In fact, when times are very bad, things are rock bottom cheap. Take advantage of this and start investing! There is a difference between trading and investing. When you trade, you're hoping to get quick gains over a short period of time - the problem with that is you can also make quick losses over a short period of time. Investing, however, is knowing the best times to spend and the best times to spend some more.

2. History has shown us that during recessions, more millionaires and billionaires emerge because they assessed the situation and made a decision to take advantage of it. It all just follows the basic concepts of supply and demand. When times are bad, the supply is as usual but the demand is very low, so prices will fall.

3. However, history has also showed us that fear is the one thing that stops us from making the decisions that we know can ultimately benefit us. We always want to "make sure" and be certain. There's nothing wrong with that but taking too long to think about it will only lead to analysis paralysis - and by the time we realize that we want to take action and do something, the opportunity has already slipped past.

There's a saying that "Opportunity only knocks once", I'd like to say that opportunity is always knocking, question is whether you are open to it.

Discover the secrets and strategies to a successful home business which you can use to create a new income source for yourself at http://MoreMoneyToSpend.com/Blog
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Asher_Aw

Passive Income Blog

http://iwantpassiveincome.blogspot.com/

The link above is to my other blog, which is about passive income.
Take a look.

Recently, money manager Martin Pring (pring.com) released areport called Time to Be Optimistic. His four key reasons are:
1. Low consumer confidence = Profits ahead
2. Bull marketsfollow bear markets
3. Lower oil prices
4. Record cash on thesidelines

Pring observed that oil prices, as they soared past$140/barrel, were rising at a rate matched only twice in thepreceding 120 years. Following both those dramatic price increases, oil prices fell sharply. Pring expects oil to beunder $100 before year's end. As to the Conference Board's consumer confidence indicator, it's been around for four decades and been as low as recently only six times.

"Each time, despite all the bad news, a newbull market for stocks began and significant stock marketgains followed. We expect this seventh episode to end profitably as well. "He goes on, "Cash levels in money funds as a percent of thetotal value of U.S. stocks equals a record high 27%! This level is higher than the start of any bull market of the past30 years. A little improvement in the news ... [and] a virtuous cycle can begin once again."

*************Bill Staton, MBA, CFA, America's Money Coach® Chairman,The Staton Institute Inc. & Staton
Financial Advisors LLCbill@billstaton.com mary@statoninstitute.com

Not sure if you need a Money Manager? Take this quick quizand find out: http://www.billstaton.com/quiz.htm

Use a Custom Subliminal CD to Help You

If you are reading this blog, hopefully, you want to achieve financial independence.

As you know there are a lot of challenges to becoming FI, especially if you want to do it before you turn 59 1/2 years old.

Becoming a better, more confident sales person, may be a hurdle. Hitting the daily tasks hard every day may be a hurdle. Trying to figure out how to turn a lemon into millions is a hurdle.

No matter what the obstacles are for you, you can use a custom subliminal to help you achieve your goals.

I can make you an excellent custom subliminal for you for $100.

Tell me what your goals or objectives are, and I will help you craft affirmations. Then I will record and ship your custom CD in 1-3 days.

Worried about safety? I cannot do anything illegal, because if I did, I could be sent to jail.
I have used customized subliminal CDs since 1998, so I am somewhat of an expert in the field.

Scroll over to www.financialindependenceuniversity.com and click "custom subliminal".

Building Rapport

At some point in your life, you’ve probably met a person who is book smart and people stupid. This person is a valuable company asset, but is kept out of meetings because he or she can’t communicate effectively and doesn’t seem to listen to the ideas of others. He or she is sincere, but knows nothing about etiquette and manners. He or she can be interesting to talk to but has no sense of humor. He or she is very intelligent, but lacks even the most basic social skills.
In general, this person makes everyone uneasy and standoffish. In particular this person doesn’t try to establish the rapport needed to create a lasting relationship, either in his or her personal or professional life. And unfortunately, it’s costing this person dearly.

Now is the time for this person to mend his or her ways. Like it or not we all have to deal with others to achieve any degree of success. This is true regardless of our position in life, and no matter what our objectives may be. The more successful we are in getting others to cooperate with us, and the more people we can call our allies, the greater our chances are of achieving success.

The dynamics of human relations are pretty simple: If you relate poorly to others, you will most likely have a problem-filled life, and success will come hard, if at all. If you relate well to others, you will most likely have a pleasant life, and success will come easier. And that’s where the art of creating rapport comes in.

The ability to create rapport is the ability to create a harmonious relationship based on mutual trust or emotional ties. It is the art of making someone feel comfortable and accepted. It is friendship and camaraderie; it is a special bond or kinship.

It all starts when you first meet someone. Remember the old saying, “A first impression is a lasting impression.” It’s true. If you cannot communicate effectively, then you won’t be able to sell yourself to others or build rapport. Your overall goal should always be to make the other person feel important or at least liked and understood. It takes time, but successful people will agree that it’s time will spent.

You may not realize it, but judgments are made about you by the way you look, your clothes, hair, facial expressions, and your posture. And unfortunately, decisions are made by others based on whether or not they find you appealing. The other person will usually make these decisions within five seconds upon meeting you.

Before you even open your mouth, people are sizing you up. At first people will listen to what they see, not what they hear. Other people will judge you by how you stand, how you walk, how you shake hands, how you smile, and how you sit. That’s why it’s important to plan your clothes, and even how you comb your hair before a meeting, if you can.

You can help influence a person’s impression of you. For example, darker clothing colors suggest authority. Lighter colors suggest friendliness or a sense of humor. If you want to come across as innocent, you should wear white. And wearing a lot of jewelry suggests power or wealth.

Dressing carefully and thoughtfully for a meeting shows respect for the other person. When you dress with care, walk with command, extend your hand, smile, and greet a person with a secure tone of voice, you are letting that person know you are a person worthy of respect. You are saying, “If you respect me, I’ll respect you.” And that is a very good starting place for a relationship.

People who have mastered the art of rapport, know that the visual can be misleading. There is an old adage that says, “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” To get past the cover and into the contents, you must employ the art of conversation. Some people are good at it. Others don’t have a clue as to where to start. It begins simply with the sharing of information.

When you first meet someone, you should always try to learn something about that person that you can relate to an experience in your own past. It’s fun to talk to someone with whom you have something in common, an event, a mutual acquaintance, or some other shared history. You can find some common element with everyone, and you should always try.

Casual conversation does have its place so you shouldn’t be too eager to jump directly into business or some other agenda. It’s important that you don’t come to a meeting or negotiation with one agenda. Rather, you should always go into these situations with an open mind. You miss a valuable opportunity to build rapport if you are inflexible or don’t listen. Being an active listener is often more important in building rapport than being an active speaker.

If you have a relaxed view of the world and have a sense of humor, it will engender people’s confidence in you. Confidence breeds respect, and respect builds trust. The ability to laugh at yourself has a deep, psychological appeal to others. And this is a great quality to possess.

One of the hardest situations in which to establish rapport is the telephone conversation, because you cannot see the face of the other person with whom you are speaking. Even if you know the person on the other end of the line, you cannot see his or her facial expressions, which can provide you with a mountain of information. If you don’t know the person with whom you are speaking, you are even more handicapped.

Before you even pick up the telephone and place your call the first thing you should do is put a smile on your face. Although the other person cannot see your smile, the warmth and friendliness will come through.

Then, you should identify yourself immediately, and explain the purpose of the call, if it’s not known. It’s important to be businesslike, but some people confuse that with being impolite or stern. You should convey your message, whether it’s business or not, in a manner that is considerate and gets the point across. Too friendly will be unprofessional; too businesslike will be considered rude.

You should never talk down to people, no matter how many levels down the corporate ladder they are, or how much younger they may be. Remember, you’ll get further with a person if he or she thinks you care. Even if it takes time, you should always try to create an atmosphere of caring. The time will have been well spent, if you make a new friend or reassure an old one.
Creating rapport has many benefits. Think of it as a basic human-relations skill that can further your own goals or objectives. And you can establish rapport simply by taking the time to make a person feel comfortable in your presence.

Here are 10 points that will help you create a good first impression and establish rapport:
1. Dress well and to the other person’s expectations.
2. Smile when you first see the person.
3. Establish and maintain eye contact.
4. Be the first to say hello and extend your hand.
5. If the meeting is in your office or home, greet the person at your door.
6. Deliver a sincere greeting.
7. Use the person’s name
8. Don’t speak too softly or loudly.
9. Do any necessary homework about the person you are meeting.
10. Do more listening than talking.

When you are putting together the elements that create an inviting and pleasing atmosphere, don’t go overboard. Make sure that what you do is appropriate for the occasion, or you’ll make your guest feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, just the opposite of your intentions.

With a little fine-tuning, anyone can become a person of warmth, concern, and charm. By learning the art of rapport and making it a part of your everyday life, you will become a person who makes friends, influences colleges, and rises to the top.

Copyright© 2005 by Joe Love and JLM & Associates, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.
Joe Love draws on his 25 years of experience helping both individuals and companies build their businesses, increase profits, and achieve total success. He is the founder and CEO of JLM & Associates, a consulting and training organization, specializing in personal and business development. Through his seminars and lectures, Joe Love addresses thousands of men and women each year, including the executives and staffs of many of America’s largest corporations, on the subjects of leadership, self-esteem, goals, achievement, and success psychology.

Reach Joe at: joe@jlmandassociates.com

Read more articles and newsletters at: http://www.jlmandassociates.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Love

What Does Warren Buffet Invest In?

http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1067983/000095013408015283/v42827ve13fvhr.txt

Click the link above to see what Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett invest in.
You can use the SEC's web site to see what is in a lot of mutual funds.

What Does George Soros Invest In?

http://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1029160/000101143808000461/form_13f-soros.txt

You can use the SEC web site above to check out the holdings of George Soros.

Desire and Motivation

"Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a "must" and a "want."

The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, "I wish someone would come by and turn me on." What if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life.

When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it.

Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot.

Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value." -- Jim Rohn

PCC Dogs Investors

Portland Community College has been dogging a guy who wants to start a student based investment group.
PCC initially denied the group, then said, call such and such. Then such and such wouldn't answer her phone. Then there was a new student groups person, who hasn't answered emails from my friend for two weeks.

I do not see the problem with an investment club on a college campus. Stanford had an investment club.

Maybe the problem is with politics? Well, Buffett, Soros, and Peter Lynch are all left wingers, so what is the problem?

Between the Democratic Convention, and this incident, here's a toast, to a sheeple nation.

Tattoo Idea

I'm thinking about getting a tattoo that says:
"End the Nanny State"
I will put it on my back.
What do you think?

Financial Independence Forums

Here is a partial list of financial independence forums:

http://www.foryounginvestors.com/
http://www.retireearlyhomepage.com/
http://www.fool.com/
http://www.die-hards.com/
http://www.raddr-pages.com/forums/
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/IndependentWealth/
http://www.richdad.com/

there is also:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=2204912440
www.fastcompany.com
www.anthonyrobbins.com

there is also a live chat room at www.independentwealth.us

Sending Your Kids to a Private School

Sending your kids or grandkids to a private school can be an outstanding idea. I applaud you for considering the idea.
But private schools are expensive. You need to start saving, and investing immediately. You need to either start researching investments yourself, or, find an excellent financial planner to help you.
I cannot advise just getting deep into debt.
Take a look at www.independentwealth.us and see if we can help you there.

Passive Income Through Dividends

I saw on a list of etf's and mutual funds that "BIF" pays a 10% dividend.
You should ask your stockbroker about this one. Only a few Canadian funds pay out more than 10%. But you have to pay Canadian taxes.
If you want free information on early retirement and passive income, take a look at:
www.financialindependenceuniversity.com Visiting our site will save you a lot of time and money.

Value Will Win Out in the Long Run

Value Will Win Out in the Long Run, by Bill Staton

We urge you to take a look at this interview with Bill Miller, one of the great money managers of all time:

http://www.morningstar.com/cover/videocenter.html?bctid=1541038835&lineup=funds.

It's called "Contrarian Toughness." Actually, there are a number of other interviews with Miller, all short, all more than worth listening to if you'd like to sharpen your investment skills. You'll also end up with a much better understanding of what's really going on with the economy and stocks. Miller was named the greatest money manger of the 1990s and outperformed the S&P 500 for 15 consecutive years through 2005. We are unaware of any other manager any place on the planet that is able to lay ownership to that claim. Not even Warren Buffett, the world's richest person. If you do watch this short interview, about five minutes long,you'll note Miller comments that stocks making new highs, forthe most part, are in the momentum category. That is, thehigher they go, the more suckers there are who want to buy them. (Remember the hundreds of dotcoms that ultimately turnedinto dotbombs?) Take a look at today's new highs list in yournewspaper and see all the names you've never heard of.

Meanwhile, the new lows list is filled with the crème de la crème of American corporations. Names like AAA-rated Pfizer at a 15-year low. Bank of America, the nation's second-largest bank, hit a multi-year low yesterday. PFE has 41 straight years of higher dividends while BAC has 31. Yet both are the subject of speculation about their dividends being cut. The financials, especially, have been clobbered including American Capital Strategies/ACAS. The mainstream media and various and sundry talking heads tellus commodities are going to the moon, and it's the end of the world for banks and their brethren. Meanwhile Charlie Munger, Buffett's one and only investing partner, likes the prospectfor well-chosen financials a whole lot better. Whom should you believe?

Richard Pzena, a world-class money manager, believes Munger. He put together the chart above. Just a few years ago, it was smart to sell financials and buy commodity stocks. Today it's just the opposite. The current Barron's features an article by Michael Santoli who writes, "Extrapolating the horrid 2007 mortgage-loss experience far overstates the likely ongoing level of pain. The salient indicators of credit-market stresses are all far more benign today (than in mid March) from the corporate swap spread to Fannie Mae spreads. And the yield curve is steeper, thus more favorable. "Michael Darda of MKM Partners notes that while bank stockshave fallen about as much as they did before bottoming in the1989-90 recession, the yield curve, federal-funds policy andother capital-markets conditions are far more favorable now.

Now let's turn to housing. Why would a director of Home Depot, which has been struggling earningswise for more than two years, buy $18 million-plus of the stock last week? What does he know that the average investor doesn't?

Housing has become incredibly affordable compared to just oneyear ago. The average mortgage payment of the typical home isabout 20% less. Last July the median price of an American homewas $230,000, and a long-term mortgage was around 7%. Today that same home is $200,000 with long rates closer to 6%. That would take the monthly mortgage payment to under $1,000 from a little over $1,200 just 11 months ago.

Home Depot is a value. Ditto for American Capital. And Bank ofAmerica. And Pfizer. And the other nine stocks in The Baker'sDozen Guided Portfolio®. Arne Alsin, a columnist for The Financial Times, wrote this onMay 24. His words should be taken to heart by us all:"If you're like many investors, you look at the falling priceand it makes you nervous. In your mind, it means you made amistake. You worry that the stock price may fall further. Andso, if you're like a lot of investors. You sell. "It is always a mistake to sell because of a decline in price.Why? Because price, by itself, is meaningless. Price drives perception. If the price goes down, something must be wrong. Sell the stock. If the price goes up, enthusiasm follows. Buy the stock. "But what really counts is values notes Alsin.

"Those who understand value enjoy a significant edge," heconcludes

Become a Millionaire

If you want to be a millionaire, the first thing you should do is cut your expenses. Cut unnecessary spending as much as possible. Consider this Dave Ramsey quote:

"...the average car payment is $378 over 55 months. Most people get a car payment and keep it throughout their lives. As soon as a car is paid off, they get another payment because they 'need' a new car. If you keep a $378 car payment throughout your life, which is 'normal,' you miss the opportunity to save that money. If you invested $378 per month from age 25 to age 65, a normal working lifetime, in the average mutual fund averaging 12 percent (the 70-year stock market average), you would have $4,447,084.01 at age 65. Hope you like the car!"
I think that covers the problem of overspending.

If you want more wealth quicker, consider going back to school or training for a better job. Consider a business degree or a real estate program. There are a lot of career options. Apply to local state and community colleges first. Most public colleges offer online courses.
If you save a reasonable amount of money, you can hire an excellent stockbroker and/or start your own real estate holdings corp. Ask your broker about small cap stocks for aggressive growth, and ask about companies that do a lot of research in disruptive technology. If you win big, you could well become a millionaire.
Form a mastermind alliance. If your mastermind functions in a spirit of unity and harmony, the potential of your success soars. Borrow ideas that work from your mastermind. Your mastermind alliance members will be your guides in uncharted territory.
If you live below your means, expand your means, and invest the difference, you have found the key to becoming a millionaire.

David K Drews runs http://www.independentwealth.us - a site that offers help in planning your escape from the rat race. The best info and products for your financial journey are available at http://www.independentwealth.us

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Drews

Recruiting for Your Mastermind

A mastermind can begin with only two people. But where do you find more members? Try online forums, unemployment offices, look up old ambitious friends, invite a good, and positive leader that you know, attend seminars, go to a local Rich Dad club, or, go to an investment club. Here's an idea. Strike up a conversation with someone you know is also trying to put together a mastermind. Find a person who is positively out of step with the masses, and invite him/her. You could recruit a multilevel marketer who can actually get by exclusively on their MLM income.

You have to be a leader to recruit. Be the man or woman with a plan. Be personable. Be a coach. Even if you are a leader, with coach like skills, you will encounter negativity, fear, complacency, and my favorite: what are the guaranteed benefits and income? Some people are kinda out there.

Who do you want to recruit? I cannot say. Recruit people similar to you. People with similar goals. Here are some possible traits of potential mastermind members:
1) Driven 2) Ambitious 3) Audacious 4) Thorough planner 5) Good communicator 6) Thorough knowledge of the market(s) you are in 7) Has an excellent attitude 8) Entrepreneurial. Is already in business 9) Someone with good accomplishments, and wants financial independence. 10) Specialized knowledge

Don't kid yourself about the person's capacity, attitude, etc. You could take on a project, though.
Be fully prepared to follow through on your plans of developing your mastermind. Remember, a leader has a plan. So, make sure you are prepared to execute, and improve your plans, using the feedback from your mastermind.

David K Drews runs http://www.independentwealth.us a site that offers help in planning your escape from the rat race, and help with finding the best info and products for your financial journey. There is a chat room for recruiting for your mastermind.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Drews

The Key to Motivation

Your Real Goal

Your goal is to become a transformational leader, the kind of person that motivates and inspires people to perform at levels far beyond anything that they had previously thought possible.

Keep People In the Know

Transformational leaders empower others by keeping them "in the know," by keeping them fully informed on everything that effects their jobs. People want and need to feel that they are "insiders," that they are aware of everything that is going on. There is nothing so demoralizing to a staff member than to be kept in the dark about their work and what is going on in the company.

Give Regular Feedback

One empowering behavior practiced by transformational leaders is regular feedback on performance and results. People need to know how they're doing so they can improve if performance is below standards and so that they can be proud of their successes. The more feedback you give to people, the better it is, as long as the feedback is objective and not critical. My friend, Ken Blanchard, says that, "Positive feedback is the breakfast of champions."

Be Generous With Praise

Be generous with your praise and encouragement. Remember, people are the only asset that can be made to appreciate in value by giving them warmth, respect, approval and by creating a climate of positive expectations.

Create An Exciting Future

What companies and countries and institutions need today are courageous visionary leaders who are committed to creating an exciting future for themselves and others. You have within yourself the ability to evolve and grow as a leader and to make a real difference in the world around you. And the one thing you can know for sure about yourself is that, no matter what you've accomplished up to now, there is far more that you can do. As you practice the behaviors of effective leaders, you will grow more and more toward the realization of your full potential. It's completely up to you.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action in your work.

First, hold regular meetings with your staff and tell them everything that is going on. Invite their comments, questions and concerns. Make everybody feel as if he or she was an insider in the organization.

Second, continually look for opportunities to give positive feedback, praise and encouragement. People need praise and encouragement like roses need rain and sunshine. Take every opportunity to make people feel better about themselves and their work.

www.briantracy.com

Here's a Good Success Tip

Resist the chicken little within.
If you cannot or will not resist the chicken little within, get used to poverty, and all that comes with it.
After you have overcome the chicken little within, you will be very busy overcoming chicken littles from that you are probably surrounded by.
You know where to find more information.

Achieving Your Dreams

Achieving Your Dreams by Jim Rohn

While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What's the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little?

Despite all of the factors that affect our lives - like the kind of parents we have, the schools we attended, the part of the country we grew up in - none has as much potential power for affecting our futures as our ability to dream.

Dreams are a projection of the kind of life you want to lead. Dreams can drive you. Dreams can make you skip over obstacles. When you allow your dreams to pull you, they unleash a creative force that can overpower any obstacle in your path. To unleash this power, though, your dreams must be well defined. A fuzzy future has little pulling power. Well-defined dreams are not fuzzy. Wishes are fuzzy. To really achieve your dreams, to really have your future plans pull you forward, your dreams must be vivid.

If you've ever hiked a fourteen thousand-foot peak in the Rocky Mountains, one thought has surely come to mind "How did the settlers of this country do it?" How did they get from the East Coast to the West Coast? Carrying one day's supply of food and water is hard enough. Can you imagine hauling all of your worldly goods with you... mile after mile, day after day, month after month? These people had big dreams. They had ambition. They didn't focus on the hardship of getting up the mountain.

In their minds, they were already on the other side – their bodies just hadn't gotten them there yet! Despite all of their pains and struggles, all of the births and deaths along the way, those who made it to the other side had a single vision: to reach the land of continuous sunshine and extraordinary wealth. To start over where anything and everything was possible. Their dreams were stronger than the obstacles in their way.

You've got to be a dreamer. You've got to envision the future. You've got to see California while you're climbing fourteen thousand-foot peaks. You've got to see the finish line while you're running the race. You've got to hear the cheers when you're in the middle of a monster project. And you've got to be willing to put yourself through the paces of doing the uncomfortable until it becomes comfortable and until you realize your dreams.

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

Energize Your Ebook Writing

Today, it is not enough that you create ebooks about interesting topics and giving them interesting titles. As more and more people are trying all their might in sinking their teeth into this endeavor, it has become increasingly difficult for everyone to make a sale and get a fair slice of the pie. That is why, you always have to strive to make sure that you stay on top of the game and offer your potential clients with compelling ebooks.

Here are the 5 simple steps to energize your ebook writing:

1. Hone your writing skills. If you want to dominate this field, you need to have impeccable writing skills. You must have the ability to communicate your ideas in a very easy to understand but highly intelligent manner so you can easily earn the trust of your readers. You can improve your skill level by constantly working with the experts, putting your writing into practice everyday and attending writing seminars.

2. Be an expert. As an ebook writer, you need to be a great source of information to your readers. You must know the ins and outs of the topics that you are writing about so you can give your clients their money's worth. Make sure that you always keep yourself abreast with latest issues that are affecting your chosen niche by constantly doing your research and interviewing other experts.

3. Help your readers. You need to keep these people on top of your priority list as they are the ones who can help you succeed in this endeavor. Strive to offer them content that they can use in enriching their lives. Using your expertise and experiences, offer them solutions to their problems, answers to their questions, and information that can empower them to do things on their own.

4. Get straight to the point. Want to know the easiest way to lose your readers? Communicate your messages using too much introductions and by beating around the bush. If you would like to help you readers focus on your content and keep them interested, you must offer your information upfront. Just say what you mean and mean what you say.

5. Make you book cover visually appealing. There are so many free internet tools that you can use in designing your ebook cover. Get one of them and learn how to use effective color combination, insert compelling images, and incorporate attractive fonts.

Do you want to discover the secret to generating over $180,356 per year online?
Download this: How to Make 6 Figures Online
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Sean Mize is an internet marketing strategist who teaches internet marketers how to increase their income by creating high ticket classes and coaching programs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sean_R_Mize

Beef Up Your EBook

So you've finished creating ebooks and you want to launch them to the world. Only one problem...it seems a little thin. The content is great, but you wish it had more "bulk".
Adding bulk to an ebook is a great way to increase customer satisfaction which leads to fewer refunds and higher profit margins- something people publishing ebooks have to think about. In fact, skimpy pdf ebooks are the number one reason people return information products. So how do you beef up your PDF e-books? How do you put your ebook on steroids and have it busting at the seams with value?
First, add a table of contents. I am always surprised at the number of ebooks that don't have a simple table of contents. Not only will it help your customer find his way around, it also adds about 2-3 pages to your ebook!
Second, add a list of resources in the back. All of the web sites, blogs and forums you visited to research your ebook should be put in a resources section in the back. You can also put all of the print books that you find helpful as well. Face it. There are tons of resources dealing with the topic of your ebook that you know and your customers don't. List those and you will provide a valuable service for them.
Here's a short list of things you can put in the resources section: - List of books on your topic - List of magazines on your topic - List on videos form YouTube on your topic - List of web sites on your topic - List of blogs, Yahoo groups and forums on your topic
If you really want to bulk up your resource section and make it valuable to your customers, then put a short description of each resource right under the link. Tell your reader why you like that resource and what it's best used for. People don't just want a link, they want to know how to use that link!
In my next article I will give you three more strategies to adding bulk to your ebook so you satisfy your customers and reduce your refund rate. Publishing ebooks with true value and lots of content is quite easy when you follow these strategies.

Stephen Beck teaches you that publishing ebooks can create a "cash on demand" online business. Creating ebooks has never been easier when you watch Steve's free videos by clicking either of the links.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_R._Beck

12 Web Design Mistakes

Twelve years ago, I had the good fortune to align with a superb Web designer, and I still rely on his judgment. He taught me plenty about what a Web site should include, and what did not belong there. Ever since he became my Internet mentor, I have revised my Web site every couple of months. I will keep doing that, as I discover fresh ideas and strategies.
In addition to learning from my mentor, I have studied hundreds of Web sites other professionals have created for their companies. Now I want to share with you what I have learned, by advising you what not to put on your Web site (and if it's there already, I suggest you delete it).

Here's my list of Web site "No-Nos":

Your outdated photo

When people meet you after seeing the ten-year old photo, they will wonder: "If he is dishonest about his image, what else is he dishonest about?"

Pop-up ads

Sure, I know their purpose. Because you want site visitors to sign up for your newsletter, you install a pop-up to greet them on the home page. Bad strategy. Most viewers despise pop-ups and the delays they cause. Why else would Office Depot sell pop-up blockers?

Too much glitz and glamor

Yes, some color and motion enliven a Web site. Yet an overabundance distracts the viewer from your main message. You don't hear brass bands playing in the public library. So find the happy medium of sight and sound.

An extensive biographical sketch

Provide enough information to establish your credentials, but remember that boasting turns prospects away. Place your bio in a separate section with its own button, so viewers can click that button or choose not to. Instead of talking excessively about yourself, talk about what you can do for people who purchase your services and products.

Over-sized fonts

While you may consider them headlines, readers might dislike the jarring glare.
Introductions the viewer cannot skip
OK to have a musical intro and a "virtual tour," as long as you let viewers elect to bypass it and get to the heart of the site.

Data overload

You may have earned your CPA or majored in statistics. The average viewer, though, did not, and will prefer interesting, easy to understand stories and illustrations.

Relentless, annoying selling

E-Bay gets by with hundreds of sales offerings. However, that's why people go there. Probably they visit your site for information--which means they will tolerate only a moderate degree of sales pitches. Keep your sales and marketing to 20% or less of your content

Risky humor

What amuses a few viewers might offend thousands. When in doubt, leave it out.
Copyrighted material for which you lack permission
Many authors (including me) will be glad you want to quote them. They appreciate the visibility, and will not charge you a fee. Still, they expect you to ask them first. So does the law.

Links that no longer work

Be sure the links you provide have permanent life, or else you will frustrate and anger your viewers.

Typos

Typos destroy credibility immediately. Use spell check and two or three proofreaders outside your family.
To borrow an old expression, sometimes "less is more." Delete the annoying features I have mentioned, and you will keep readers interested and well informed.

Bill Lampton, Ph.D.--author of The Complete Communicator: Change Your Communication, Change Your Life!--helps you "Learn More. . .Earn More," through his expertise in communication, motivation, customer service, and sales. His speeches, seminars, and communication coaching have benefited top-tier clients, including the Ritz-Carlton Cancun, Gillette, Duracell, Procter & Gamble, Missouri Bar, CenturyTel, British Columbia Legal Management Association, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Visit his Web site to sign up for his complimentary monthly E-mail newsletter: http://www.ChampionshipCommunication.com Call Dr. Lampton to discuss how his services will benefit your organization: 678-316-4300. E-mail him: drbill@ChampionshipCommunication.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Lampton,_Ph.D.

Resilient Mindset

Developing a resilient mindset of a millionaire by re-wiring your subconscious for wealth creation we will need to answer a few simple questions about financial pressure. When I refer to financial pressure I'm not necessarily talking about being broke and struggling. You can be wealthy and still have financial pressure. There is no right or wrong answers, only answers applicable to you.
1. When was the last time you felt financial pressure?
2. Do you currently feel financial pressure in your life?
3. Does having more money really create less financial pressure?
4. When have you felt completely free from financial pressure?
For some people being completely free from financial pressure might have been as far back as when they were at school. It could have been when they would get pocket money and had to determine whether to buy a Mars bar or put it in their piggy bank and for others, it may have been never.
Apart from happiness, what is it you think that people really want in their life? A resilient mindset, more often than not people are looking for a financial future they are certain about. You want the certainty to be able to manage money, have plenty of it and never have to worry about not having enough of it. Anyone would want that. Another word for that is security.
I believe that people really want to be certain that in the future they will not have to experience pain that instead they will have the financial freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want, as much as they want using their a resilient mindset.
I know the quest for financial security drove me, because I had so much pain in my life and I never wanted to experience that again. So I was driven to become financially successful to avoid that pain. Pain drove me in the beginning more than pleasure. Pain is what drives people the most. If you've made a decision to start changing your life, or changing your financial future, eventually it will lead to more pleasure, but more than likely it's pain that drove you to your initial decision to change. Subconsciously you were probably thinking, "If I don't learn how to master money now, what will it cost me in the future?"

Author: Greg Dempsey - Investor/Marketer Title: Resilient Mindset
http://www.opulentwealth.com.au/
Reprinting this article is allowed with this footer attached
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Greg_Dempsey

New Traffic Page

If you need help with the basics of driving traffic to your site, take a look at:
http://www.independentwealth.us/TrafficBuilding.html
The above link is a site I just typed up that will give you a good idea of how to start getting customers to your site. The page covers SEO, article marketing, ebooks, etc.
The page is pretty basic, but, I hope it helps. : D

A Fool and His Money Are Easily Parted

* A Fool and His Money Are Easily Parted, by Bill Staton

Why is it that so many people who easily become wealthy also easily go broke? Entertainer Ed McMahon is a recent example. He made millions as Johnny Carson's sidekick on The Tonight Show. This is part of a recent interview on

Larry King Live:Larry King: What did happen, Ed?

Ed McMahon: It's a combination; it's like a perfect storm. Economy problems. Selling the house right now is a tremendous operation.... We've had this house on the market for two years. We've shown it, I don't know how many, 50 organizations or people. Nobody has made an offer. I mean, it's just a lovely home. I hate to leave it. I want to keep the home. I want this all to work out.King: And the payments, you can't make -- what's the problem?

Ed McMahon: Well, if you spend more money than you make, you know what happens. And it can happen. You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen. You want everything to be perfect, but that combination of the economy, I have a little injury, I have a situation. And it all came together.

King: Did you break your neck?

Ed McMahon: I broke my neck. I had a fall. ...

King: Has that stopped you from working?

Ed McMahon: Oh, sure. You know, you can't work with this [brace] around your neck. And I have to wear this.

King: But, Pam, the assumption is that the McMahons are multimillionaires and multimillionaires -- how much behind are you, $644,000, right? That's what's reported? ... If you're a millionaire, shouldn't you be able to pay $644,000?

McMahon: I think over the years, you know, it's just a kind of a combination of maybe Ed working so hard and not kind of looking at proper management, which happens a lot. ... Because you're a celebrity, people think you have a lot more than you have. And you always want to take great care of all of your friends and your family and everybody, and you do. And you don't, and I think, you know, we didn't keep our eye on the ball. We made mistakes.

King: And are they foreclosing?

Pam McMahon: Yes, they are.

...Billionaire sports entrepreneur Mark Cuban's brother, Brian Cuban, had this to say on a recent Cuban Revolution blog. Brian works with the Dallas Mavericks:"First, whether it is a lottery winner, an athlete or a star entertainer, if they are not equipped with the knowledge on how to make and save money they are in trouble."When they didn't earn it through disciplined business practices and they don't have those skills they usually go through it quickly."
Most lottery winners or athletes make a great deal of money in a short period of time. They start spending it on things that only go down in value (cars, jewelry, partying, entourage, etc.) and start to evaporate the money they do have. They can carry this off until they stop earning big money. This is when the trouble starts."It is hard to believe that MC Hammer, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and now Ed McMahon are broke. These are people who earned hundreds of millions over time and it disappeared. Lavish spending and entourages were probably the downfall for the first three for sure.

HERE'S THE KEY TO FINANCIAL SECURITY -- "However, if athletes [or anyone else for that matter] educate themselves, learn money management skills and make smart, safe investments along the way, they are usually in very good shape.

"Most people die coming down from Mt. Everest, not going up. The goal is to get to their Mt. Everest AND to get down safely."*************

Bill Staton, MBA, CFA, America's Money Coach® Chairman, The Staton Institute Inc. & Staton Financial Advisors LLC bill@billstaton.com mary@statoninstitute.comNot sure if you need a Money Manager? Take this quick quiz and find out: http://www.billstaton.com/quiz.htm

Investment Politics - Corporate Income Tax Reform

The investor's eye view of politics is a simplistic, practical, dot-connecting approach to sorting things out so that win/win change can be considered. Real world politics is not concerned with such things, and that is one of the most serious problems facing investors today. There are at least ten issues that require government action if we are to maintain our competitive position in the world economy. Most of these are interrelated and need to be acted upon simultaneously--- thus causing a major political dilemma.

Politicians are much more interested in talking about change than they are in actually legislating it; they prefer to champion just one specific issue at a time so as not to appear too independent; and they can't keep themselves from back sliding into the now archaic distinction between investors and poor people. Rich or poor, most Americans have investments. For the small investor to become wealthier his or her efforts must be encouraged by the tax code-- the wealthy will become wealthier in spite of the tax code. And, believe it or don't, the vast majority of the wealthy (even corporate executives) are good, productive, caring-about-the-environment, people.

At the root of the problem is the tremendous investment the major parties have in nurturing divisiveness, jealousy, and misunderstanding in the electorate. The Republicans or Democrats in power are always ruining the country and, of course, the guys who are seeking power, will undoubtedly do the same. Perhaps the most obvious example of misguided political handiwork is the negative attitude of most individuals toward corporations, big business, and international economic collaboration.

As non-voting but taxable entities, corporations are easy to blame for all that is wrong in society, easy to sue frivolously with no remorse or control, and popular to tax--- by both parties. The sad thing is that most people don't take the time to appreciate just how important business success and profitability are to their own financial interests, short and long term. Mutual funds, for example, perform better when businesses, large and small, prosper. Profitable businesses produce jobs, provide higher salaries, and (once all the extra fees, mandates, taxes, and handouts are eliminated) lower prices.

Politicians have never been shy about dictating proper behavior to individuals or hesitant in shamelessly picking the pockets of businesses to fund their projects. Self-employed business owners, for example, pay a minimum 35% Federal Income Tax, state and local taxes of various kinds, and the usual Workers Compensation, Medicare, and double Social Security Taxes. It adds up to better than 50% quickly, and, at every level, all taxes, fees, subsidies, assessments, withholdings, compliance costs, etc. are:

(1) Added to the price of goods and services, (2) considered in hiring decisions at all levels in all business entities, and (3) factored into decisions regarding new plant locations and service function outsourcing. Businesses will only produce jobs in an environment that recognizes the importance of the contributions they make. Meaningful tax reform needs to begin where the jobs begin. Reforms to the Individual Tax Code and the Social Security/Retirement System can then be integrated into the business framework.

Just as Congress picks corporate pockets, corporations pick those of their shareholders. The compensation of corporate officers is a clear example of how this has gone totally out of control, even if it is understandable under existing tax codes--- both corporate and individual. Multi-million dollar salaries, bonuses, deferred compensation and option packages are all designed to avoid and/or to defer taxes while, at the same time, they are deductible on a dollar for dollar basis from business taxes.

Changes on the personal side could clean this up quickly but, for now, politicians need to focus more on protecting shareholders from these creative, and excessive, compensation schemes. Eliminating the Corporate Income Tax, and all tax deferral/option/bonus mechanisms that are not available to all employees at all levels, would be an excellent start. Then cap total compensation packages at a specific number--- any excess being paid only in the form of dividends to all shareholders.

The Corporate Income Tax is a non-productive weight on business decision makers, causing expenditures that would not be considered were they not tax deductible. Ironically, jobs are not created to reduce the tax bite because every dollar of salary brings with it an additional 40% or so in overhead. All the actual costs of doing business (and all the perceived risks associated with doing business) wind up in the price of goods and services. The fact that governments can raise corporate costs so much more easily than they can raise individual's taxes is perhaps the biggest shell game threatening our economic well being today.

If instead of taxing them into leaving the country, Congress would cultivate the profitability of corporations, while focusing regulatory efforts on the economic abuses of shareholders, employees, and consumers, a whole new era of economic expansion and productivity growth would ensue--- and we're just getting started.Investors need to impress upon candidates that they expect meaningful change throughout the tax code, and that a second term just won't happen without it.

After the Corporate Tax environment changes, politicians will be able to devote their energies to defining "proper corporate and non-corporate business behavior", and monitoring compliance with a whole new set of rules and regulations. Converting the United States into a Free Trade Zone, by eliminating all nuisance assessments from all levels of government, would: increase employment, reduce prices, and multiply distributable dividends. Making it happen should not be that difficult, particularly with the growing outrage concerning the obscene compensation of high level corporate executives, and considering how successful the FTZs have been on the local level.

Managers will make these changes work because the incentives are where they belong--- on the bottom line instead of the tax return. Small businesses would benefit from the reduction in taxation, and fees, and would be less constrained in their efforts to grow. If they don't do the right thing, they will become less competitive in the marketplace, and that is the way capitalism is supposed to work. But, don't be naive. Publicly held companies will need direction, guidance, and policing--- an excellent new career for displaced accountants and lobbyists.

Steve Selenguthttp://www.sancoservices.comhttp://www.kiawahgolfinvestmentseminars.com/ Professional Portfolio Management since 1979Author of: "The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read", and "A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy"