"The only place opportunity cannot be found is in a closed-minded person." - Bo Bennett

"It is well to respect the leader. Learn from him. Observe him. Study him. But don't worship him. Believe you can surpass. Believe you can go beyond."

- David Joseph Schwartz

How to Surpass the Best in Your Field

By Michael Masterson

It's always good to get a compliment.

When I rewrote the lead for a promotion that GX, a successful copywriter, had been paid to write for one of my clients earlier this week, I felt good about my revision. The sales copy GX had sent in was standard, run-of-the-mill professional palaver. My take on it felt fresh and strong. It was better.

But when I sent it back to my client, I was worried that GX might not like the fact that I had changed it so much. Perhaps he would feel slighted and reject it. We couldn't force him to accept my changes. If he insisted on going with his original submission, my client would be in an awkward position: She could risk offending a potentially good source of future copy... or she could mail what we both believed was weaker copy and suffer the economic consequences.

Luckily, she didn't have to make that choice. After reading my new lead (along with my suggestions on how to finish out the rest of the package), GX wrote:

"I thought: 'Why couldn't I write it like that?'... but then I realized that's why MM is so successful. I'm honored that he took the time to do it... I appreciate the effort... my challenge now is to make the rest as strong as MM's contribution... make us all proud."

This story has two morals.

The first is about ego and its opposite - i.e., humility. The greatest challenges we face in life are obstacles that reside inside of us. When it comes to learning a complicated skill like writing (copywriting, editorial writing, writing for blogs, e-zines, books, etc.), the one thing that will keep you from learning it quickly is hubris.

Hubris is Aristotle's term for excessive, blinding pride. It is the fatal flaw that foiled many tragic heroes in literature, from Oedipus to King Lear to Captain Ahab. When writers believe - or desperately want to believe (which is sometimes worse) - that their writing is above reproach, they cannot possibly get better.

And what is true for writers is equally true for musicians, tennis players, salsa dancers, sumo wrestlers, and skateboarders. Those who are willing to say "I can do better" do better. Those who say "I am the greatest" soon take a tumble.

What you want in your career is the confidence that follows accomplishment, not the pride that precedes a fall.

When I saw the note that GX wrote, I was mildly flattered by the compliment. But what really made me happy was his willingness to agree that my copy was better... and challenge himself to write better copy himself.

So that's the first lesson: No matter how good you are at what you do, there's someone out there who can teach you something.

Think about your strongest skill - the talent or capability that is most important to the achievement of your main goal. Now ask: "Am I willing to acknowledge that there are people in my universe who are better at this?"

If you can confidently accept the limitations of your strongest skill, there is no limit to how far you can develop it.

And now we come to the second moral of this story: The only good way to improve a skill is to practice it. Reading about it is certainly helpful. Talking about it with people who are experts may work too. But no amount of reading and talking will do nearly as much as regular, focused practice.

And that's what GX should know about his future as a copywriter. If he continues to practice his craft - while taking advantage of everything he can learn from more experienced and skillful copywriters - the likelihood that he will be great one day is better than 99 percent.

I am certain of that. Why? Because I have seen it happen. I have worked with more than a dozen copywriters over the years who have moved from bad to pretty good (and GX is pretty good)... and then from pretty good to very good... and then from very good to better than the best. All it takes is practice.

With practice and a willingness to keep learning, GX will almost certainly surpass some of the best copywriters in the business. It is just a matter of time.

Here's something else that GX should consider: Human beings are designed to get better through practice. Everything we ever learn to do - from walking to talking to writing concertos - gets better through practice. Practice makes our fingers move faster, our hearts beat stronger, our brains think smarter. What is it that Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods talk about when they talk about their careers? It's not that they were gifted with extraordinary natural talent. It's that they work harder than their competitors.

And here's one final thought on the matter: Nothing in nature stays the same. If you are not getting better, you are surely getting worse.

That is how I feel about submission wrestling. I don't worry about the fact that I have no natural talent for it. I don't sweat the fact that I'm 56 years old and most of the guys I wrestle are less than half my age. I don't worry about my past mistakes or my present ineptitude. I just focus on getting better.

I know for sure that if I keep at it, I'll keep improving. So far, that has proven to be true.

When I started actively training in Jiu Jitsu about five years ago, I wasn't very good at all. Most of the guys I trained with were much better than I was. Some of them still are. But I have caught up to others. And even surpassed a few. What did I do? Nothing but acknowledge that I had room to grow... and keep practicing.

I worked out three, four, or five hours a week. Week after week, month after month, year after year, I kept at it. And now, at my ripe old age, I'm better than I have ever been.

If you ever feel that you are not as good as you want to be, remember these little lessons:

. It is good to accept your limits. If you felt any other way, it would be hard to get better.

. Humility is a strength you should cultivate.

. Confidence will come to you when you deserve it.

. Avoid boastfulness and pride, because they will slow you down.

And most important: Practice with conscious attention, and eventually you will surpass even those you most admire.
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Word to the Wise: Palaver

"Palaver" (puh-LAVE-ur) - From the Latin for "speech" - is idle chatter, sometimes intended to flatter or cajole.

Example (as I used it today): "The sales copy GX had sent in was standard, run-of-the-mill professional palaver. My take on it felt fresh and strong. It was better."
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2045, 05-18-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Notes From Michael Masterson’s Blog: Porter Stansberry’s Top Investment Books

Back in 2004, we published a list of Steve Sjuggerud’s Top 10 Wealth-Building Books. Just recently, another friend whose investment acumen I admire, Porter Stansberry, published his own list of top books on investing.

Since Porter is responsible for three of the best investment advisories in the world today (Steve Sjuggerud’s True Wealth, Dan Ferris’s Extreme Value, and Porter’s own Investment Advisory), I thought you might be interested in seeing it.

Porter points out that though there are many other great books on trading, economics, the psychology of investing, the history of finance, etc., his list deals, almost exclusively, with the "how to" of successful long-term investing.

Porter says that if you read the books on his list and follow the principles they espouse ("buy value, buy safety, buy businesses with a durable competitive advantage, allow your investments to compound over many years"), you will be able to "easily earn 15%-30% per year, after tax." He says that investing shouldn’t require more than 10 hours of your time per week, and that "if you make more than two to three investments per year, you’re working way too hard."

Here, then, is his list…

1. The Intelligent Investor by Ben Graham
2. The Dhandho Investor by Mohnish Pabrai
3. Contrarian Investment Strategies by David Dreman
4. You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
5. Value Investing by Martin J. Whitman
6. Margin of Safety by Seth Klarman

- Michael Masterson
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Coffee and Your Health

By Jon Herring

Researchers at Harvard and UCLA recently presented the results of a review of nearly 400 studies investigating coffee consumption and cancer risk. They confirmed that drinking coffee appears to offer protection against colon and liver cancer.

The scientists also found that coffee can help prevent Type II diabetes. In one study, men who drank six cups a day reduced their risk by more than half, while women who drank the same amount reduced their risk by 30 percent.

While it is well known that coffee is a rich source of beneficial phytochemicals and antioxidants, we are not certain which components are responsible for these preventative effects.

But don’t take these results to mean that you should be drinking cup after cup of coffee. There are risks associated with drinking too much coffee, including stomach cancer and high blood pressure.

If you enjoy coffee, keep it to a few cups a day. That should give you the pick-me-up you’re looking for, and it might just improve your health. But be sure to buy an organic brand. Coffee is one of the most heavily pesticided crops. And if you take it sweet, use a natural, no-glycemic sweetener like stevia instead of sugar or artificial sweeteners.
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It’s Fun to Know: About Running a Family Business

Having a business that passes the century mark is a pretty noteworthy achievement, but how about 14 centuries?

Until its assets were acquired by a large construction company in 2006, Japanese temple-building company Kongo Gumi had been run by its founder’s descendants for 1,428 years, making it the longest-running, continuously operating family business in the world.

Prior to being taken over, Kongo Gumi had been struggling for several years. As you might imagine, the market for its temple-building services had been declining.

(Source: Business Week)
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Word to the Wise: Epicine

"Epicine" (EP-uh-seen) means weak/effeminate/unmanly. The word is derived from the Greek for "common to," and was originally a grammatical term for nouns that may denote either gender.

Example (as used by Ronald Bergan in Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict): "She smothers (almost literally at times) her weak, epicene son Vladimir, and is prepared to commit any crime to see him become Tsar, despite his reluctance."

Michael Masterson
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2042, 05-15-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be; / For loan oft loses both itself and friend, / And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry." - Polonius, in Shakespeare's Hamlet

"Thank you for calling the Weight Loss Hotline. If you’d like to lose a half pound right now, press 1 eighteen thousand times."

Randy Glasbergen

"Stress Makes You Fat" and Other Diet Deceptions

By Al Sears, MD

With nearly 72 million Americans on a diet, it’s no wonder that diet options abound. But many of these so-called solutions won’t make a big difference in your fat-loss efforts. And some can have serious negative effects.

Fortunately, you can lose fat safely and easily. But first, you need to know just why you should avoid three of the most deceptive diet choices around.

The Cortisol Blame Game

Visit the website for the diet pill CortiSlim, and you’ll see a newly transformed woman claiming, "Stress was piling on the pounds!" The makers of this diet pill advertise that cortisol is to blame. Cortisol is a natural hormone that’s produced by your adrenal glands in response to stress - but does cortisol add weight? No.

Have you ever seen a caged animal at the zoo that appears to be stressed by living in captivity? When animals are under stress, increased cortisol will suppress their appetite. Over time, they become thin and start to waste away. The same is true of humans.

Cortisol gives your body the chance to pool all of its stress-fighting resources in order to deal with a crisis. Under those conditions, your appetite will disappear. Think back to the last time you were panicked or upset. Having lunch was probably the last thing on your mind.

Several weight-loss products try to link cortisol to weight gain by pointing to a single Yale University study published in 2000 that showed that women who respond poorly to stress tend to have a belly. True, excess cortisol can affect where your body stores extra calories as fat. But cortisol itself does not cause weight gain.

Fat Burners and Metabolism Boosters

Products in this category claim to help you lose weight by raising your metabolic rate. Contrary to the hype you may have read, the increase is very slight.

Even ephedra, one of the best, is only modestly successful at raising metabolism - perhaps by a fraction of a percent. This natural herb was banned by the FDA, but that ban was overturned by an appeals court in August 2006. Today, ephedra is starting to make a comeback, despite the fact that its metabolism-boosting properties are negligible.

One of the more popular fat burners claims that you can eat anything you want and still lose weight. This product uses a less-effective ephedra substitute, synephrine, which is supposed to increase your metabolism without the "harmful stimulants" used in other weight-loss products. Other ingredients in this product include caffeine, glucuronolactone, and taurine - the same ingredients found in Red Bull. If you feel any effect from it, it will be from the combination of synephrine and caffeine.

You should think of products like these as stimulants - not fat burners. They may help wake you up and give you a temporary jolt of energy, but so does a good cup of coffee.

Carb Blockers

To ease your guilt after splurging on bagels or pasta, carb blockers may seem like the answer. The term "carb blockers" sound magical… until you realize that what they’re actually blocking is an important digestive enzyme.

The idea of taking something that will interfere with your body’s ability to digest food is not a good one. In fact, it’s dangerous. Your body absorbs essential vitamins and nutrients in the form of carbohydrates. By blocking them, you are robbing your body of what it needs to survive.

The active ingredient in most carb blockers is a white kidney bean extract called phaseolus vulgaris. This substance prevents the enzymes in your stomach from digesting starches.

Dietrine, a well known carb blocker, states on its website: "One Dietrine capsule taken prior to a meal can block up to 1125 calories from fat and carbohydrate foods." There are no reliable clinical studies to support such a claim. In fact, the only respectable study, published in the Alternative Medicine Review, concluded that "no statistical significance was reached."

Flip Your Body’s Fat-Burning Switch

Truth is, I have had more success with my patients by using a single exercise strategy than I’ve seen with all the dieting and supplement strategies combined. If you’re a regular ETR reader, you’ve heard me talk about this strategy before: Exercise in short bursts. By exercising this way, you can burn fat for up to 24 hours after you finish. Even while you sleep.

This type of exercise teaches your body that storing energy as fat is inefficient. Fat is a low-energy, slow-release fuel. It’s not good for providing you with quick high energy. So if you don’t exert yourself long enough to make good use of your stored fat during your actual exercise routine, your body gives it up afterward, during the recovery period.

You can use any number of exercises to turn your body into an automatic fat burner. The only rule is that the activity has to use enough muscle mass to challenge the rate at which you’re using energy. I like bicycling and swimming, because they’re low-impact and don’t have as much risk of injuries as high-impact exercises like jogging. What you choose will depend on your level of fitness.

Here’s how to get started:

. Perform a light warm-up and stretch before each exercise session.
. Begin with 20 minutes every other day. (This averages to only 10 minutes per day.)
. Exercise at an easy pace at first, and increase it gradually.
. As your fitness improves, increase the intensity of each session.
. After a few weeks, break each session into two short bursts of exercise - two six-minute sets separated by six minutes of focused recovery at a gentle easy pace.

Eventually, you can go with even briefer episodes of gradually increasing intensity.

The most common error people make is assuming you must work at a higher level of perceived exertion to get results. This is not true. The point is to start with what is a comfortable level of exertion for you. Then, as that level of activity gets easier, you focus on increasing the level or resistance of the activity rather than the duration.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears is a practicing physician and a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health. Short bursts of activity form the basis of his PACE program. You can get more information about it HERE.]
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It’s Fun to Know: About Genetically Engineered Silkworms

Dyeing silk may become a lost art - if, that is, a group of Japanese scientists succeed in their plan to genetically modify silkworms.

Silkworms spin cocoons that produce natural white, yellow, straw, salmon, pink, or green fibers. But the scientists have identified genes in silkworms that control pigment, and are attempting to modify those genes so they can get the silkworms to produce just about any color.

(Source: Agence France-Presse)
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Word to the Wise: Supposititious

Something that’s "supposititious" (suh-poz-uh-TISH-us) - from the Latin for "to put under" - is either hypothetical or isn’t what it purports to be.

Example (as used by Stephen Jay Gould in a Natural History article titled "The Lying Stones of Wurzburg and Marrakech"): "He has threatened to write a small treatise exposing my stones as supposititious - I should say his stones, fashioned and fraudulently made by his hand."

Michael Masterson

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2046, 05-19-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Steve Sjuggerud's Top Wealth-Building Books

Steve Sjuggerud, whose knowledge of the stock market is prodigious (see "Word to the Wise," below), recommends the following books for investors:

."Adventure Capitalist: The Ultimate Road Trip" by Jim Rogers
."Devil Take the Hindmost" by Edward Chancellor
."The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization" by Thomas L. Friedman
."A History of the American People" by Paul Johnson
."The Art of Short Selling" by Kathryn F. Staley
."Investing in REITs: Real Estate Investment Trusts" by Ralph Block
."The Research Driven Investor: How to Use Information, Data, and Analysis for Investment Success" by Timothy Hayes
."Financial Freedom Through Electronic Day Trading" by Van K. Tharp
."Trader Vic II: Principles of Professional Speculation" by Victor Sperandeo
."Stocks for the Long Run" by Jeremy Siegel
."Technical Analysis Explained" by Martin J. Pring
."What Works on Wall Street" by James P. O'Shaughnessy
."What Has Government Done to Our Money?" by Murray N. Rothbard

(Ed Note: Dr. Steve Sjuggerud is the editor of the True Wealth investment-advisory service.)
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Word to the Wise: Prodigious

Something that is "prodigious" (pruh-DIJ-us) is enormous -- impressively great in size, force, or extent.

Example (as used in our intro to Steve Sjuggerud's top wealth-building books, above): "Steve Sjuggerud, whose knowledge of the stock market is prodigious, recommends the following books for investors."

Michael Masterson
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1033, 01-05-04], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins."

- Benjamin Franklin

Making a Business of Your Passion

By Michael Masterson

One of the most common recommendations that you will hear from business-opportunity "experts" is to "find something you love" and make a business out of it. In fact, I used to make that recommendation myself, arguing that turning your passion into a career is a good way to make a good living.

This is the kind of advice that feels right and inspires loyalty. But when I thought about the successes in my own business career, I didn't see that pattern.

When I decided to get rich back in the early 1980s, I didn't stop to ask myself "What do I love?" I set to work the very next day transforming myself from a sometimes-good, sometimes-disgruntled editorial director into a 24/7 marketing maven, and I boosted a marginally profitable, million-dollar business to a $135 million cash machine. I didn't love the products we produced, but I loved the process.

I retired from that business - but didn't stay retired for long. With my second career, I was determined to stay a little closer to my childhood dreams by selling publications instead of products, ideas instead of things. Because I partnered with someone who shared that mindset, I have been lucky. I've made as much money this time around, and without the emotional conflicts over selling products I was less than enthusiastic about.

But even as a publisher, I haven't really "followed my dreams." My true passion - in terms of publishing - would be fiction and poetry. I can say without any doubt that had I followed that road, I would be running a much smaller, much less profitable business. And it might not have given me any more pleasure than I get now.

As a recommendation, "turn your passion into a career" no longer rings true to me. As I said earlier, it's the kind of advice you want to believe... but it doesn't take reality into consideration.

Proceeding with a pragmatic purposefulness, it seems to me, is the best course of action.

By "pragmatic purposefulness," I mean an ounce of passion and a pound of practicality. I mean facing the facts and making a realistic assessment of the business idea you love so much. Will it really work in the marketplace? Will it really live up to your dreams?

The usefulness of this approach was made clear to both me and the businesspeople who attended my Business-Building Retreat last month. Of the 30 people in attendance whose business plans were scrutinized, at least six realized that the financial expectations they had attached to their dream projects were totally unrealistic.

"You have to adjust your wealth expectations or change your business," they were advised. It would be silly for them to push ahead, following their passion, when it was easy to see, by putting pen to paper, that the businesses they had imagined could not work.

That's basically the same advice I have for LG, an ETR reader who recently wrote to me. LG has been advised by a well-known guru (who shall remain nameless) to "find something I love and make a business out of it." He says he has found a business for sale that matches one of his favorite hobbies: golf.

"It is a patent for a machine that uses sonar to clean golf clubs. Attached to the machine is an LCD screen that displays ads. The money to be made is not in the actual cleaning of the clubs but the selling of the ad space. It is an absolute novel idea, and the owner claims that he has patented it all over the world. My only problem is the cost for the patent in my country. He is selling it for what would be about five million in U.S. dollars. I've done a couple of sums, and I can see this business paying off itself after 3-4 yrs. My only problem is finding an investor that would possibly want to fund this. I know that the investor would make a very good ROI, but I somehow need to find that person."

LG "really wants" to get this patent, and is hoping I can tell him how to go about looking for the five million bucks in start-up capital that he needs.

This is precisely the danger you face when you follow your passions into business. You make these kinds of mind-bogglingly foolish mistakes. Invest your time and someone else's money into a machine that spits out advertising as it cleans golf clubs? Are you nuts?

If I had to list the top 10 stupid business ideas I've ever heard, this would make it onto that list. It is stupid not just because the idea itself is so idiotic, but because the person behind the idea - the person supposedly holding the patents - thinks he will find investors to buy into it.

Maybe that guy isn't so dumb. He has found, in LG, somebody who is seriously considering it.

I don't have space here to list all the reasons why this is a completely crazy business idea. But let me use LG as an example for any other ETR reader who may have bought into the "follow-your-passion" fancy.

Listen, I know that it IS possible to turn your passion (a hobby or lifelong dream) into a way to earn a good living - but ONLY if there's a good business idea to support it.

How do you find out if your passion makes business sense? Start by asking friends and colleagues what they think of it. Tell them to be brutally frank. Then look around and see if there's anything like your idea out there in the marketplace. If there isn't, chances are it's not going to work.

Unfortunately, because there are so many stories about entrepreneurs who succeeded against all odds, the idea of pursuing a screwball idea is often lauded. But following your passion when it makes no sense... makes no sense. And if you have a family to support, it's irresponsible.

The first and most important rule of entrepreneurship is this: Never invest in anything unless you understand it extremely well - unless you have the kind of knowledge about the business and the industry that you can only get by working in it, on the inside, for several years.

Staples founder Thomas Stemberg said it this way: "I think following your passion is a really dumb idea. I follow a great market that provides an opportunity to satisfy customers and to make money."

LG has a passion for golf, but what does he know about selling advertising? Does he have any idea of the kind of advertisers that might be interested in this kind of program? Does he have any idea what kind of numbers such advertisers would need before investing their money? Does he know anything about the size and volatility of his target market?

I don't need to ask him to know that he doesn't know these things. The way he talks about this business makes it clear to me that he is a total tyro.

The good news is that LG will not find the start-up capital he needs unless he hooks up with a Nigerian direct-mail scamster and steals it from some rich old lady in Pittsburgh. The bad news is that LG may continue to believe the foolish mantra his guru has been chanting and continue to follow his passion... instead of learning something about business before he jumps into it.

LG and others like him would be well advised to hold their passions in check until they've asked all the right questions and thoroughly researched their market.

If there are other people out there making good money doing more or less what you want to do (but your idea is better), by all means, go out and try it. But if no one is doing it - and people you trust give you that distant stare when you tell them about it - be smart and put your energies into a business that has been proven to make money.
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Industrial Strength Food: Not for Human Consumption

By Jon Herring

I often advise ETR readers to eat a diet of whole, organic, unprocessed foods. Not only are these foods healthier - without the added sugar, fats, and sodium prevalent in processed foods - but you also know exactly what you're getting. An apple is an apple. A steak is a steak.

Not so with processed foods. For example: Did you know that a McDonald's Chicken McNugget contains 38 ingredients? In fact, about 56 percent of a McNugget is derived from corn, not chicken. But that's not all. In his book The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan points out that this "food" also contains several synthetic ingredients that come not from a plant or an animal but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plant.

Two of them - dimethylpolysiloxene and tertiary butylhydroquinone - are known to be harmful. According to the Handbook of Food Additives, the former is an established carcinogen. And more than a gram of the latter is known to cause "nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse." More than five grams can be fatal.

Doesn't exactly sound like dinner, does it?

I'm not trying to pick on McDonald's. Just about any processed food is bound to have a label full of incomprehensible ingredients. In his book Twinkie, Deconstructed, Steve Ettlinger decodes the ingredients in those little snacks. He also asks the question: "If we can bake a cake at home with as few as five ingredients, why does a Twinkie require 39?"

The answer, of course, is that most of those ingredients contribute to a Twinkie's "shelf life." Do you really want to eat something that can stay "fresh" on a shelf for a decade? Certainly not. Stick to whole, unprocessed foods.
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It's Good to Know: About Air Travel

The next time you fly, strongly consider limiting yourself to carry-on baggage. That's because, according to USA Today's "Today in the Sky" blog, the bags of over 11,000 fliers on U.S. airlines wind up missing each day.

In fact, maybe you should just drive to your destination. On-time airline arrivals in 2006 were the worst since the travel boom prior to 9/11.
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Word to the Wise: Tyro

A "tyro" (TIE-roh) - from the Latin for "young soldier" - is a novice.

Example (as I used it today): "I don't need to ask him to know that he doesn't know these things. The way he talks about this business makes it clear to me that he is a total tyro."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2047, 05-21-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"It is easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel." - Benjamin Franklin

"Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration and expectation." - Jack Nicklaus

"My fee, if I select the subject, is $150; if your committee selects the subject, the charge is $250, but in either case the speech is the same." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with the first step." - Lao Tzu

"We live in the midst of alarms; anxiety beclouds the future; we expect some new disaster with each newspaper we read." - Abraham Lincoln

Don't Let Your Brokerage Account Get Ripped Off

By Charles Delvalle

Thanks to the convenience of online trading, millions of people check up on their brokerage accounts online, even while on vacation. But if you're trusting public computers to keep your account information secret, think again.

According to the FBI and SEC, criminal rings in Russia and Eastern Europe have stolen tens of millions of dollars by breaking into online trading accounts. They do it by bugging public computers with software that records every keystroke you type.

Once they have your private information, they sell it to others who liquidate your account or send in buy orders for "pump-and-dump" schemes.

To avoid becoming a victim, just follow these five simple steps:

1. Input your account information only on a computer you can trust. Usually, that means your home computer.

2. If you're on any type of public network (airport, Internet cafe, etc.), assume that it's not secure.

3. Regularly look over your financial statements (at home) to make sure nothing fishy has been going on.

4. Change your password frequently.

5. Make sure you've got antivirus protection on your computer.
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."

- Oscar Wilde

Monkey See, Monkey Do

By Larry Fredericks

Imitation is the highest form of flattery, right? But that's not all. In the wild, imitation is the way many animals - particularly primates - develop the skills they need to survive. For example, in a study of capuchin monkeys in the jungles of Brazil, juveniles were observed banging rocks to alert the group to the presence of an intruder after they'd watched adult monkeys do the same thing.

Human beings, too, learn by mimicking others - not only to survive but also to prosper. In business, that's what we mean when we say "Why reinvent the wheel?" As Michael Masterson advises, one of the quickest ways to get a new business going is to pattern it after a successful business that's already up and running.

If someone else is doing something that works - just about anything - and you'd like to achieve the same results, just do what they're doing. Copying other successful people can often be the key to becoming successful yourself. And that may be why so many people allow the actions of others to influence their decisions.

But it goes beyond that. Because sometimes people are not even aware that they are being influenced by others. We seem to have an instinctive desire to do what others are doing. And if you understand how powerful that urge is, you can use it to your advantage.

In one study, researchers divided a group of children who were having difficulty socializing, and one-half of the group was shown a video of other children playing with each other and laughing. All of the children in the group that did not watch the video chose to play by themselves. But those in the group that saw the video behaved much differently. Almost 90 percent of them approached other kids and were soon playing together.

This study gives us some insight into why the human instinct to mimic the behavior of others can be a tool that you can use to help change another person's behavior.

Your efforts may need to be more sophisticated when you're dealing with an adult instead of a child. But you can certainly find a way to use the instinct to mimic in order to persuade others to behave in a certain way or get them to buy into your point of view.

Let's say you are a manager and want to get an employee to be more productive. Instead of simply asking her to work more efficiently - say, by taking fewer coffee breaks - you could seat her next to another employee who is already very productive. If you make sure your target employee sees that her efficient neighbor is reaping rewards for his behavior, there's an excellent chance she will adopt the same behavior.

Here are the basic steps for using mimicry to persuade people in all kinds of situations - at work or at home - to change their behavior:

. Identify the behavior you'd like your target to emulate.

. Create a situation where your target will be able to see the desired behavior.

. Make sure your target is clearly able to see the rewards associated with that behavior.

You don't need to be a natural salesman to master the art of persuasion. All you need to do is learn a few of the many proven techniques that are already available.

[Ed. Note: Larry Fredericks is an entrepreneur with a history of successful business dealings in retail, direct mail, the Internet, and real estate.]
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Notes From Michael Masterson's Blog: Get Yourself a Little Life Adventure

I want to recommend a book to you. It's called Sea Venture. It was written by Kieran Doherty, an old friend of mine.

At first glance, Sea Venture is not the sort of book you'd expect me to recommend. It's not about building wealth or improving your health or increasing your personal productivity. It is a book about a group of English adventurers in the early part of the 17th century who risked everything to win a stake in the New World.

But reading this book will improve you. It will remind you of the extraordinary things ordinary people can do if they are willing to endure pain and overcome temporary obstacles.

You will think about the troubles you have overcome, the pain you have endured, the accomplishments you have achieved... and you will compare yourself to the people in this story. If you have the experience I had reading this book, you will come away from it more willing to struggle to reach whatever goals still exist for you.

Sea Venture is a dramatic, psychologically compelling story of 600 men and women who, in 1609, boarded nine ships in England and set sail for America. Their objective was to bring supplies and new life to the colony of Jamestown, which had been ravaged by disease, political mismanagement, and repeated attacks by native Americans.

The expedition's flagship, Sea Venture, was shipwrecked in a hurricane. It wound up in Bermuda, where it was disassembled and rebuilt into two ships that - after more than a year - landed in Virginia. There, Sea Venture's passengers found a town on the verge of extinction. Undaunted, they remade the town charter, established better relationships with the Indians, and replanted the colony's farms and gardens, bringing life and hope for an English presence back to the New World.

One reviewer called this a "fast-paced and colorful blow-by-blow account," and a "swashbuckling tale of adventure in the age of exploration." Another said it was exciting and dramatic. I read it in the first draft and loved it then. "Some publisher is going to buy this," I told Kieran.

The publisher that bought it was St. Martin's Press - one of the most prestigious of the small, private New York houses. Landing a contract with St Martin's is like getting accepted into Harvard or Yale. For someone who has always aspired to be a writer, there is no better standard of accomplishment. And based on early reviews of Sea Venture, St. Martin's has already increased the first-edition print run. I am happy and proud to recommend this good book to you because:

. You will enjoy it.

. It will inspire you.

. It will be a good financial investment.

- Michael Masterson
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Women: Just Say No to Cholesterol Drugs

By Al Sears, MD

Despite spending their money on millions of prescriptions, women continue to die in record numbers from heart disease. And don't expect the American Heart Association to tell you why. Their new guidelines for women sound like they came directly from the drug companies and processed-food manufacturers.

Their advice? Avoid nutritional supplements... take aspirin... eat more low-fat foods... and have your doctor "monitor" your cholesterol. (That's just asking him to hand you a prescription.)

This advice is troubling. For one thing, cholesterol doesn't cause heart disease. New science shows that abnormal inflammation inside blood vessels is the underlying cause of our epidemic of heart disease. This inflammation then acts upon cholesterol to cause diseased arteries and plaque build-up.

Cholesterol is a central part of your metabolism, not the enemy. You need cholesterol to make cell walls, vitamin D, and hormones. Yet, many doctors put their patients on statin cholesterol drugs without even considering the alternatives. This is unwarranted and dangerous - especially for women.

Women have different risk factors for heart disease than men. For them, triglycerides and HDL are far more important than total cholesterol or LDL (bad cholesterol). What's more, there is currently no evidence that lowering cholesterol in women with no history of heart disease has any benefit.

Unfortunately, most doctors still recommend statin drugs when they see a "high" LDL result on a woman's blood test.

HDL is your trump card, especially if you're a woman. Keep that number high to stay out of danger. The best way to raise HDL is with brief, energetic exercises. And if your triglycerides are high, you can drive them down by decreasing your consumption of starchy, hi-carb, and high-glycemic foods.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
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It's Fun to Know: About Buying an Island

Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates, has been in the midst of a unique construction boom for the past several years. In an effort to attract tourism and foreign investment, the government has encouraged the creation of several man-made archipelagos off its shores. They are to be the sites of luxury residences, shopping and entertainment facilities, and resorts.

Nakheel Properties is currently developing The World, which will consist of 300 islands (each available for purchase at an average price of $25 million) that form the shape of a world map. They are also developing a trio of palm-tree-shaped islands: The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali, and The Palm Deira. The first residents have already moved into luxury homes on the first Palm island.

(Source: Wikipedia)
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Word to the Wise: Martinet

A "martinet" (mar-t'n-ET) - for General Jean Martinet, an officer in the French army under Louis XIV - is a strict disciplinarian.

Example (as used by David Quammen in The New York Times): "He is an unmitigated tyrant, a martinet, the sort of man who disapproves of his son's eating the morning oatmeal with sugar - instead of salt, which he himself prefers."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2044, 05-17-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"He liked to observe emotions; they were like red lanterns along the dark unknown of another's personality, marking vulnerable points." - Ayn Rand

A Peaceful Mind Shouldn't Come With a Sore Back

By Jon Herring

Pulled muscles ... damaged joints ... sprained necks, wrists, and knees. Yoga-related injuries have increased dramatically in recent years - and yoga's growing popularity is only part of the reason.

Many injuries happen when people force themselves into positions beyond their physical limitations. Yes, you have to challenge yourself ... but just a little at a time. Yoga is not a competition.

Another reason yoga injuries are on the rise is because, with increased demand, there are lots of new, inexperienced, and badly trained instructors. Some of them get their training in weekend workshops or even online. (In Message #1632, Michael Masterson warned about the same thing with personal trainers.) To enjoy the benefits of yoga safely, you should learn from someone who is well-qualified.

Here's what to look for:

. Your instructor should have extensive education in anatomy, physiology, and (of course) yoga postures. That training should span years, not weekends.

. Your instructor should have extensive teaching experience - and clients who are willing to tell you more about his or her teaching style.

. Your instructor should teach you to "listen" to your body - to identify signs of discomfort and know when to stop.

. Even in a group setting, your instructor should provide personal attention.

. Your instructor should ask about any previous injuries you have, and take special care to make sure you do not develop overstretching injuries at the wrists, shoulders, neck, hamstrings, or along the spine.

Practice yoga under the tutelage of an instructor with these qualifications, and you're much more likely to have all the physical and spiritual advantages without any of the pain.
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It's Good to Know: A New Credit Card Scam

By Will Newman

Never give any information about your credit card accounts to anyone who calls you. That seems obvious. But now there's a scam that works because the scam artists already know your credit card number.

The scammers call you and pose as agents from your credit card company. They say your card is being used fraudulently and they need to verify some information. They then read you all your pertinent card information, except for the three-digit security code. They ask you for this so they can "verify that you have the card in your possession." Once you give them that number, they now have everything they need to charge purchases on the Internet or over the phone using your card.

We repeat: NEVER give out any information to someone who contacts you and claims to be from your credit card company. Tell them you will call the company yourself. Then call the number on the back of your credit card and report the phone call.
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Word to the Wise: Nimiety

"Nimiety" (nih-MY-uh-tee) is another word for "excess." It is derived from the Latin "nimius" ("very much, too much").

Example (as used by James J. Kilpatrick in a National Review article titled "Buckley: The Right Word"): "What a nimiety of ... riches have we here! I am quite undone."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1699, 04-10-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

More Evidence Against Pharmaceutical Hormone Replacement

By Jon Herring

In ETR #1657 and #1658, I told you about the efforts of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals to restrict your access to safe, natural hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The drug giant was petitioning the FDA to prohibit bio-identical hormones. As you might expect, the stated reason was that these products "endanger human health."

Wyeth has never proven that statement - but it is quite clear that these increasingly popular products endanger the company's multi-billion-dollar revenues in the HRT sector. And, not surprisingly, it is Wyeth's products that appear to "endanger human health."

I've told you before about studies showing that taking synthetic hormones can raise a woman's risk of heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer. Now you can add ovarian cancer to the list. Results from the UK-sponsored Million Women Study, published in The Lancet, suggest that synthetic HRT has resulted in approximately 70 deaths per year due to ovarian cancer.

To be fair, there are some who question the results of this study, and certainly much is still to be verified. But it does seem to confirm what has already been shown: that synthetic HRT drugs come with significant potential risks. So why take the risk when a safer, natural alternative is available?

If you are considering HRT to combat symptoms of menopause, do it with bio-identical hormones. Here is what Dr. Sears recommends:

"You should get your total estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA-S tested before considering any hormone therapy. So ask your doctor for a blood test to look at your 'hormone panel.' Once you begin real bio-identical hormone therapy, you should get a hormone panel every three months until your levels are in balance."
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A Surprising Link Between Lifestyle and Work Ethics

By Suzanne Richardson

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." Or so the saying goes. But too much work can do more than make you feel a little boring. It can make you tired, stressed, neglectful of your health and family, and... unethical?

In a Deloitte survey of employed adults - conducted by Harris Interactive - a whopping 91 percent agreed that having a good work-life balance makes people more likely to behave ethically on the job.

What's behind this curious connection?

Deloitte board chairwoman Sharon L. Allen suggests that someone whose time and energy is too invested in work may actually become dependent on that job. Not only is the job responsible for a regular paycheck, it becomes a source of the person's personal worth. "This makes it even harder to make a good choice when faced with an ethical dilemma if they believe it will impact their professional success," says Allen.
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It's Good to Know: A Plan to Take Away Hitler's German Citizenship

Members of a regional branch of one of Germany's main political parties, the Social Democrats, are seeking to strip Adolf Hitler of his German citizenship. Hitler, born in Austria, gave up his nationality in 1925 and became a German citizen in 1932 with the help of Nazi officials in the state of Braunschweig. Modern day Braunschweig Social Democrats, whose party was outlawed under Hitler, are hoping not only to erase the stigma of its role in the dictator's rise to power, but also to inform people about this little known detail of history.

(Source: Reuters)
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2041, 05-14-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." - Charles Mingus

"Buy land. They ain't making any more of the stuff." - Will Rogers

"Speak properly, and in as few words as you can, but always plainly; for the end of speech is not ostentation, but to be understood." - William Penn

Since When Is a Rock a Medical Device?

By Jon Herring

In ETR #1996, I wrote a health brief titled "Since When Is a Cherry a Drug?". It was about the FDA’s insane, overarching plan to regulate foods as drugs. Well, they haven’t stopped there.

A new FDA document reveals a plan to reclassify virtually all vitamins, supplements, herbs, and even vegetable juices as drugs. It also calls for items like Pilates machines, massage rocks, and acupuncture needles to be classified as "medical devices," requiring FDA approval and regulation.

If this draconian proposal succeeds, vitamin shop owners could be jailed for "practicing medicine." Running an unlicensed juice retreat would make you a criminal. Supplements and functional foods would all be stripped of their function claims. And growing and selling garden herbs would classify you as a drug dealer.

In an article on this subject, Mike Adams of NewsTarget.com reminds us that the FDA is the same agency that:

. Reapproved the drug Vioxx, even after it killed over 50,000 Americans
. Carried out gunpoint raids on vitamin shops and natural health clinics as direct intimidation against those who practice natural medicine
. Wants to label irradiated foods as "pasteurized"
. Openly allows corrupt experts to vote on new drug approvals, even when those experts are taking money from the same companies impacted by their votes
. Refuses to legalize the use of stevia as a sweetener, even though it is used for this purpose virtually everywhere else in the world.
. Ordered the destruction of recipe books that mentioned stevia (as part of a campaign to keep the public ignorant of the herb and to protect the profits of aspartame and other chemical sweeteners)

This proposal by the FDA is a desperate attempt to save the failing industry of conventional medicine. It is meant to ensure the monopoly profits of the drug companies and expand the influence of the FDA, all at the expense of your God-given rights and freedoms.

If you would like to lodge a complaint with the FDA, you can do so here: http://tinyurl.com/35ftp7. Reference docket number 2006D-0480 in your complaint.
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"Never underestimate the effectiveness of a straight cash bribe."

Claud Cockburn

Should You Charge Vendors for Client Referrals?

By Bob Bly

For decades, I have made it a practice to refer my clients to vendors who can provide services those clients need… and that I don’t or can’t offer myself. I have also made it a policy never to accept a referral fee from any vendor. Many offer it, and some even argue with me when I turn it down.

I do not accept referral fees for this reason: My primary mission is to give my clients the best recommendations and advice I can - and that means I have to be totally objective. Even when what’s best for the client isn’t profitable for me.

For instance, many people call me, eager to pay me thousands of dollars to write a promotion for them. But if I don’t think their idea will work or their product will fly, I turn them down, explaining why I won’t do the job. By doing this, I am saving them from financial disaster… but I am also talking myself out of a nice, fat copywriting fee.

When I tell someone not to proceed with a promotion, my recommendation is based on my nearly three decades of marketing experience. Therefore, the advice is valuable to them. But since they didn’t engage me on a consulting basis, I don’t get paid a dime for it.

I want my clients to know that the advice I give them is always in their best interest… and if I took referral fees from vendors, it would create a potential conflict.

I sincerely believe I would always recommend the best vendor for the job - not the vendor who paid me the highest commission. But could I… or my client… be 100 percent certain I was always motivated by their interest and not a juicy referral fee?

Now, while I am against taking referral fees, I do make it a practice to send a small thank-you gift to people who refer business to me. So if it’s okay for me to send a small gift to a referral source, it seems like it should be okay for vendors to send small gifts to me when I am their referral source.

I don’t want them to do it. And I openly discourage it. But if a nice little gift arrives in the mail, I usually don’t send it back. I keep it and thank the vendor.

The reason I bring this up is that PF, a copywriter, recently contacted me asking for referrals. But unlike the many other copywriters who want referrals from me, PF was offering me something in return for each new client I referred to her - a free lobster. Or, rather, a $50 gift certificate to a website selling Maine lobsters.

Actually, I don’t eat lobster, which I know is unusual. Any food that comes in its own armor is not for me… and, truthfully, I don’t even like the texture or taste. But my oldest son Alex loves lobster… and a $50 lobster would put a smile on his face.

So, did I take PF up on her offer?

Frankly, yes. I referred a few potential clients to her. But I tend to do that for new freelancers anyway.

Did the lobster bribe influence me unduly?

I like to think not. But I am human, and we all like to get what Michael Masterson calls "glicken" - a little something extra.

Should you take referral fees from - or give referral fees to - other vendors?

That’s up to you.

But here’s my position on this issue: Make sure your recommendations are "pure," unbiased, and objective - and make sure your clients know it. That way, you get something far more valuable than the referral commission the vendor wants to pay you. You get your client’s trust - and a reputation in your industry as someone who is honest and trustworthy.

That’s something - unlike a lobster - that money can’t buy.

[Ed. Note: Bob Bly is a popular Early to Rise columnist, self-made multi-millionaire, and the author of more than 70 books.]
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Notes From Michael Masterson’s Blog: The Value of Higher Education

It’s more important than ever to have a college education. But the best thing is to have a graduate degree. Here’s why…

According to a Harvard University study, employers are paying college graduates 75 percent more than high school grads. Twenty-five years ago, they were paying only 40 percent more.

That’s good news for anyone who has finished college. Bad news for anyone who hasn’t. People with graduate school degrees have done even better.

That doesn’t surprise me. Education is pretty bad in America. It was much better 100 years ago. Today, a high-school degree doesn’t even guarantee that you are literate. And you can get a bachelor’s degree with huge gaps in what you know - without having read Shakespeare or mastered algebra or learned to speak a foreign language, for instance.

Getting a college degree today is like getting a high-school degree in 1890. Getting a master’s degree today is like getting a bachelor’s degree in 1950.

At the turn of the 20th century, the average American had only eight years of formal schooling. By 1930, this figure was up to about 11 years and today it is 14 years (a high-school diploma plus two years of college).

Although the general trend is up, "the quality and quantity of educated workers isn’t growing nearly as fast as it did in the past nor as fast as it needs to if the fruits of today’s prosperity are to be widely shared." So says David Wessel, writing for The Wall Street Journal. The U.S. ranks well, but not at the top of the list of countries that have seen an increase in higher education. A study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development says that six countries have equaled us and six have surpassed us.

Income is up for college grads, but only on a relative basis. If you take inflation into account, the increase in income that college graduates have enjoyed in recent years has not quite kept up with inflation. This is not true for people with graduate degrees.

That’s one of the reasons why, when I’m asked, I recommend that young people stay in school or go back to school at night till they have a master’s degree. Neither of my two older sons has done that yet. I hope they do.

My third son is thinking of attending the University of Denver, which has an interesting five-year degree that I like: four years of liberal arts education and then a master’s degree in business. That’s a combination I’d recommend to anyone who wants to be optimally competitive in today’s economy. Get your bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, because that is the best way to achieve the basic skills: reading well, writing well, speaking well, and thinking well. And then get a master’s degree in business so you don’t have to play catch-up, like I did, when you get serious about a career.
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Word to the Wise: Eviscerate

To "eviscerate" (ih-VIS-uh-rate) - from the Latin for "internal organs" - is to disembowel.

Example (as used by Jennifer Senior in a New York Times review of The Lady Upstairs, a biography of Katherine Graham): "Because she wrote a Pulitzer-winning memoir and presided over The Washington Post’s evisceration of Richard Nixon, Katherine Graham is probably the best-known woman to have published an American newspaper."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2030, 05-01-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
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Beware of Young, Enthusiastic Fitness Coaches

By Michael Masterson

I was lifting weights in 1962, and have been reading about physical fitness for 40 years. Most of the personal trainers I talk to don't know a fraction of what I know. And yet, I wouldn't pretend to be an expert.

As my friend JM says, "A personal trainer is just someone who takes a six-week course and gets a certification. Six weeks doesn't teach you s___." (JM is a physical therapist, a qualified Pilates instructor, and has been teaching fitness to Navy Seals and professional dancers for many years.)

The worst kind of fitness trainers are the young kids who believe their mission is to get you to work harder than you've ever worked before. They yell at their clients and encourage them to do more reps with weights, without having any idea of how the body really works or how it ages.
I watched a terrible example of this - a clip of "The Greatest Loser" - on the plane recently. "The Greatest Loser" is a reality TV show that challenges extremely obese people to lose maximum poundage. The very idea of the show is stupid - and one of their instructors is an absolute maniac.

She was screaming at some pathetic 275-pound woman to run faster on the treadmill without using her hands. The woman kept saying, "I can't! I can't. If I let go, I'll fall!" And the 116-pound fitness instructor screamed even louder, "D___ it! If I tell you to release your hands, release them!"

So the dangerously obese lady - whose tendons and ligaments were not ready for this kind of running in the first place (forgetting about the pace) - did what she was told ... and promptly fell off the machine and hurt herself.

My good friend EP and his wife had a similar experience. Their trainer was in incredible shape and believed that they should be in the same shape. Why? I don't know. Because he worked out two hours every day ... and EP and his wife are 50-something professionals.

They were challenged by his tough workouts, and kept with him for several years. But they were always in pain and/or injured. Finally, I told them, "Don't you think it's stupid to be walking around in pain all the time? What's the purpose of all this working out, anyway? Yes, it can get your bones and muscles working better. But that's not happening for you. You are walking around crippled. And it won't help you defend against heart attacks or cancer. (You need to use Dr. Sears' PACE program for that.)

They took my advice - which was to dictate the lessons themselves, to slow them down, to lift less weight, and to spend much more time stretching. Now, they are pain-free and looking better.

Not all fitness trainers are bad. On "The Biggest Loser," one of two trainers was very good. He took time to interview his clients, assess their fitness, and determine their goals. He didn't treat them like soldiers in his private platoon. He treated them like the enormously obese and unhealthy people that they were.

The bottom line is this: Don't expect your personal trainer to know what kind of workout is best for you. Rely on what you read in ETR and on what your body is telling you ... and adjust your workout accordingly.
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Today's Action Plan

If you are overweight, over 40, or over-stressed don't allow your personal trainer to push you too fast. Moving too quickly is a great way to get injured. And getting injured is a great way to sabotage your chances for success.

It's your body. Be in charge of it.
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Word to the Wise: Operandi

A person's "modus operandi" (moh-dus op-uh-RAN-dee) is the way he functions or operates. The phrase is derived from the Latin: "mode" + "operari" ("to work").

Example (as used by Robert Ringer today): "I'm proud to say that I stuck to my modus operandi, which was somewhat similar to the soon-to-be-born Ronald Reagan philosophy: Trust, but verify."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1632, 01-21-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
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Synthetic vs. Natural Hormones ... BIG Difference

Yesterday, I told you that Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is pushing the FDA to restrict your access to safe, natural hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). They're doing this because the natural alternatives are so far superior that they've cut into Wyeth's sales by more than a billion dollars.
So, what's the difference between the natural and synthetic versions of HRT?

Bio-identical hormones are derived from plant compounds. As the name implies, they are identical to the hormones produced in the body. Unfortunately (for the drug companies), these hormones cannot be patented. On the other hand, the synthetic versions (which are derived from the urine of pregnant mares) are altered in the lab to produce a patentable - and profitable - product.

Women by the thousands are choosing bio-identical hormones to avoid the side effects of synthetic hormones. For example, the following was posted in the Health Sciences Institute (HSI) Forum.

"I have been on a variety of hormone replacement options over the years. Regardless of what I tried, I had many unwanted side effects (acne, sweating, fluid retention, etc.). After reading up on bio-identical estrogen, I asked to be switched to a bio-identical tri-estrogen compound. All side effects I experienced with other therapies went away almost immediately. I have been very happy with the results, whereas I had been miserable for years with other therapies." ...

- Jon Herring
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Notes From Michael Masterson's Journal: Love Isn't the Only Thing That Money Can't Buy

Ads for "Meals on Wheels" programs often say things like "Dignity is life without hunger." This illustrates, very plainly, something that I think is wrong with contemporary liberal sentiment: the idea that virtue is a material commodity.

If dignity is nothing but a full belly, why are there so many well-fed people out there without a shred of it? Likewise, if dignity is the negation of hunger, was Gandhi's fasting undignified?

It's so dumb. So predictable. Today's do-gooder thinks the world is better if it has more material goods. The mission of such a person is to give everyone a minimum level of material comfort. The impulse itself is myopic and self-indulgent. The actions that come from it are futile at best and most often destructive.

You can't buy dignity. And you can't pay for it either.

- Michael Masterson
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Word to the Wise: Bellicose

"Bellicose" (BEL-ih-kos) is another way of saying "warlike." The word is derived from the Latin "bellum" ("war").

Example (as used by Walter McDougal in Promised Land, Crusader State): "And John Adams insisted that where European diplomacy was secret, bellicose, and riddled with intrigue, American policy would be open, peaceful, and honest."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1658, 02/21/06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things which should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other." - Reinhold Niebuhr

3 Reasons to Go Organic

By Jon Herring

Most people who eat naturally raised meats and organic produce do so to avoid pesticides and antibiotics and because these foods are more nutrient-rich than conventional meat and produce. But there is another important reason: to avoid genetically modified organisms (GMO).

If you eat processed food - particularly foods that contain corn, soy, canola, or their derivatives - you are almost certainly consuming genetically modified ingredients. Not surprisingly, the industry behind these products claims that the technology offers vast benefits, poses no health risk, and has never been shown to contaminate the environment. The record suggests anything but.

In numerous cases, modified genes from genetically modified crops have mixed with wild plants and created herbicide-resistant "superweeds." But that’s not all. At least seven independent studies have shown that genetically engineered food can cause skin lesions, allergic reactions, cancers, altered blood chemistry, and diminished organ size. And in a recent animal study, published in the Archives of Environmental Contamination and Technology, rats developed liver and kidney toxicity when they were fed a genetically modified type of corn (one that has been approved for human consumption).

There is certainly the potential for benefits to come from the scientific innovations associated with genetic modification. But there is also significant potential for risk. So don’t be a guinea pig. Whenever possible, choose whole foods, organic produce, naturally raised meats, and wild fish.
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It’s Fun to Know: About Stamps

The rarest stamp in the world (one copy is known to exist) is the Treskilling Banco Yellow. The stamp, printed in error (it was supposed to be green) in Sweden in 1855 and quickly discontinued, was sold for $2.3 million in 1996.

(Source: American Philatelic Society)
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2018, 04-17-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Ditch the Soy Burgers

By Jon Herring

If you think soy burgers are a healthy alternative to the real thing, think again. Not only does soy contain compounds that mimic the hormone estrogen, a recent study also shows a link between soy and heart disease.

When researchers at the University of Colorado fed soy-based foods to mice that had a genetic heart condition (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy), the animals developed heart failure, and many died. The results of this study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, contribute to our understanding that soy is not a "heart healthy" food after all. In fact, soy increases levels of homocysteine, an important risk factor for heart disease. (Interestingly, when the sick mice were fed raw milk protein, their condition improved remarkably.)

The only soy products that are truly healthy are those that are fermented. These include tempeh, soy sauce, and Japanese natto or miso. Aside from those products, it's best to avoid soy altogether. For a real heart-healthy burger, sink your teeth into grass-fed beef. It's full of omega-3 fatty acids and heart-healthy nutrients like CoQ10.
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This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1818, 08-26-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Since When Is a Cherry a Drug?

By Jon Herring

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates, the "Father of Medicine," wrote, "Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food." This is wise advice, indeed. Just don't try to market food as medicine. The FDA might not approve. Recently, I read that more than 20 companies that produce and market products made from tart cherries and cherry juice concentrate were issued warning letters from the government agency.

Tart cherries contain numerous antioxidants and flavonoids that are known to promote health and have been shown to improve certain conditions, including arthritis pain. But according to the FDA, advertising the healing properties of tart cherries causes them to be considered a "drug." And any company that sells a "drug" must have an approved "New Drug Application" on file, proving that its drug is safe and effective.

Do you really think this is about "proving" that cherries are safe? Of course not. This is Big Brother running interference for Big Pharma. It is especially telling that the FDA singled out several offending claims where customers of these companies "stopped taking drugs for arthritis pain" after consuming tart cherries.

Hippocrates was right. Food is medicine. But today's medical profession barely works with diet, instead promoting the prescription of profitable chemicals to repair the damage done from decades of poor lifestyle choices. And the pharmaceutically compliant FDA ensures that foods (real medicine) cannot be advertised in any way that might compete with these profitable chemicals.

But you know better, dear reader. It takes research to discover what is good for you and what could prove harmful, and it takes vigilance to avoid deceptive marketing (whether by food and supplement manufacturers or the drug companies). When in doubt, follow the advice of Hippocrates. Eat whole, natural foods and generally avoid chemical "solutions" for health issues.
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Word to the Wise: Regale

To "regale" (rih-GAYL) - from the French for "entertain" - is to provide with great enjoyment.

Example (as used by Lucy Calkins in Raising Lifelong Learners: A Parent's Guide): "If I've been away, and the boys do remember to ask about my trip, I remark on their thoughtfulness by saying, 'Thanks for asking!' and then regale them with stories about my journey."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1996, 03-22-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Big Pharma's Latest Attempt to Restrict Your Right to Choose

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals has petitioned the FDA to prohibit compounding pharmacies from providing natural, bio-identical hormones. (Compounding pharmacies are regulated by the states and create custom medications for patients.)

Wyeth charges that these pharmacies are "trying to dupe" unsuspecting patients, and that bio-identical hormones "endanger public health." These charges are groundless. First, compounding pharmacies only dispense hormones with a doctor's prescription. So how is the pharmacy trying to "dupe" the public by filling a doctor's order? Also, when prescribed properly, bio-identical hormones are highly effective and have a low incidence of adverse effects.

So what else might be behind this initiative? Here's a clue: Bio-identical hormones compete with the synthetic hormones manufactured by Wyeth. And the evidence suggests that it is Wyeth's drugs that "endanger public health."

In 2002, the Women's Health Initiative (WHI), a long-term national study, demonstrated that Wyeth's fake hormones (Premarin and Prempro) cause significant increases in breast cancer, blood clots, heart attack, and stroke. Since then, sales of these products have declined by 68%, equating to over a billion dollars in lost revenue. To stem their losses, Wyeth has petitioned the FDA to restrict access to natural alternatives, thus eliminating the competition. And if their petition is successful, women may lose the right to choose between a safe natural therapy and a proven synthetic menace. ...

- Jon Herring
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Word to the Wise: Fungible

"Fungible" (FUN-juh-bul) is another word for "interchangeable." It is derived from the Latin "fungi" ("to perform [in place of]").

Example (as used by Eugene Ludwig in a Forbes interview): "People think this tax is for Social Security. But tax monies are really fungible. They get raided all the time."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1657, 02-20-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Say No to Cholesterol Drugs for Kids

By Al Sears, MD

The American Heart Association now recommends statin drugs (cholesterol-lowering medications) for children with "high cholesterol." That's hard for me to stomach. Kids need cholesterol to grow into healthy adults.

Your brain is mostly fat, and cholesterol is essential for brain function - especially for developing children. Studies prove it. For instance, doctors at the University of Pittsburgh revealed that patients taking Zocor didn't perform as well on mental tests while taking the drug. They experienced a loss in attention span, memory, and overall mental efficiency that they didn't have before they started Zocor. That could be a big problem for children in school.

You see, statins mess with your body's chemistry, namely by affecting the way you metabolize fat. Even though many think this is good for lowering cholesterol, it's bad for your brain. Your brain needs fat to function, and without it memory starts slipping.

So instead of using statins to "treat" children with high cholesterol, try to eliminate trans-fats from their diets. The worst offenders are French fries and fried fish and chicken. Instead, increase their omega-3 fatty acid intake. This is as easy as including more fish oils, avocados, nuts, olives, and eggs in their meals. Yes, I said eggs. Despite what you've heard, eggs improve cholesterol ratios. Not to mention they're loaded with heart-healthy omega 3s and CoQ10.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
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It's Good to Know: Chopstick Etiquette

When eating in a Chinese restaurant, have you ever stabbed your food with your chopsticks or used them like drumsticks on the table? Tsk tsk. Those are major violations of etiquette in the Asian countries that use chopsticks as eating utensils. Other actions to avoid include pointing with your chopsticks, using them to move bowls or plates, or letting the points touch the table. And when you're done eating, never leaving them standing vertically in a bowl of rice, which can be associated with certain funeral rites. Chopsticks should instead be placed horizontally on the plate or on a chopstick rest.

(Source: Wikipedia)
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Word to the Wise: Triage

"Triage" (tree-AZH) - from the French for "to sort" - is the process of allocating treatment to patients - especially battle and disaster victims - according to a priority system designed to maximize the number of survivors.

Example (as used by Marc Charles today): "What Ryan needs is business 'triage' not 'advice.'"

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2040, 05-12-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
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"An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he'll quickly learn how to chew it." - Roy Ash

"The man who does not make any mistakes does not usually make anything." - William Connor Magee

"Desperation is the raw material of drastic change. Only those who can leave behind everything they have ever believed in can hope to escape." - William S. Burroughs

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

"A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning." - Pat Riley

"Competition is easier to accept if you realize it is not an act of oppression or abrasion - I’ve worked with my best friends in direct competition."

Diane Sawyer

A Business Lesson Every Entrepreneur Should Learn

By Michael Masterson

A recent Wall Street Journal article about a joint venture in China highlights a couple of ideas that we have been talking about in Early to Rise for many years:

1. Many businesspeople (and apparently some business writers) think competition is bad and that reducing or eliminating competition is good. This is an enormously stupid and dangerous idea. Competition is good because it expedites natural economic selection, weeding out bad companies and bad products and promoting good ones.
2. When some people say they favor "win-win" deals, what they really mean is they like 90/10 deals - i.e., we both win, but I win much more than you do. This, too, is stupid thinking.

The best and smartest businesspeople welcome competition because they know it will make them perform better. They bend over backward to make every deal they do good for their partners because they understand that, over the long run, it is much easier and more profitable to grow a business when everybody wants to work with you.

To build better cars, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. teamed up with General Motors Corp. in 1997 to produce Buicks, Cadillacs, and Chevrolets for China’s booming middle class. During that time, GM became the biggest car maker in China and SAI learned a lot about the manufacturing and marketing of American-quality cars.

Now SAI, using the knowledge it gained and the money it earned by working with GM, is producing its own line of mid-priced luxury cars… and they are selling well.

Does this bother GM?

Not at all. GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner told The Wall Street Journal, "We made a big bet back in 1997, and it’s paid off for us very well."

The Journal wonders if GM gave away too much. "Its Chinese partner could end up competing against GM both in China and, someday, abroad. SAI, owned by the Shanghai city government, already makes cars that rival GM’s in a joint venture with Volkswagen AG."

And SAI probably will end up competing against GM. Hu Maoyuan, Chairman of SAI, is clear on his ambitions. "We want to build a global Chinese brand," he says. His company intends to "take full advantage of the technical and management experience that [they’ve] accumulated" in the GM and Volkswagen joint ventures.

Does that mean GM shouldn’t have gotten involved with SAI?

Of course not. During the last 10 years, GM made hundreds of millions of dollars a year in profits. Plus, it took a first position among Western car manufacturers in the world’s biggest market. Finally, it learned a great deal about selling to the Chinese people. Yes, it will have to compete with its ex-partner in the future, but it will do so from a much stronger position than it would have ever gained had it not made the deal.

The Journal’s question - Did GM give away too much? - reflects the kind of thinking that is very common in the business community. I call it "I win a lot. You win a little."

Here is a situation where GM learned lots, made tons of money, and is now in a great position to do well in the future … and the Journal is wondering if it "gave away too much." A better deal, that kind of thinking implies, would have been one where GM’s partner was never allowed to learn anything - just take its profit share and be happy.

I don’t look at business that way. What’s the fun in running a monopoly? Sure, you can make a lot of money. But you can make a lot of money competing for it too. And the difference between competing for money in a free market and taxing consumers in a controlled market is that you are much more likely to produce good products if you have competition.

Now that its partner is competing against it, GM will have to start making better cars and pricing them more competitively to maintain its dominant market position. That will be good for GM because it will have better cars to sell all over the world. GM shouldn’t - and didn’t - shy away from this competition.

I’m surprised that the writer who covered this story didn’t see that.

In making this case, I am assuming the Chinese government will not subsidize SAI and will maintain a free market. Interfering to artificially make SAI cars more financially attractive would be bad for GM in the short run but disastrous for SAI over time. Its products would degenerate from Cadillac to Lada quality.

Competition is good. Good for the consumer. Good for the economy. And good for business.

When I think about some of the businesses I’ve been involved in, this lesson is easy to understand. The nutraceuticals business, for example, was an easy business to make money in 12 years ago, when I got into it. There were only two or three players to compete with and a big and growing community of people who were willing to buy natural supplements. You could sell pretty much anything and make good money. And to cut costs and boost profits, many of the businesses operating at the time sold inferior products.

But you can only fool people - even eager, enthusiastic people - for so long. Eventually, the nutraceuticals market became sophisticated and much less responsive to hyped offers for products that didn’t have quality ingredients in optimum dosages.

As the market became more crowded with producers, consumers had more choices and so it became a lot tougher to sell cheap products at high prices. In fact, it became tougher to sell cheap products at low prices, too.

All the second-rate companies were complaining about the fall-off in the market and predicting a gloomy end to the industry. Meanwhile, some businesses were making money and growing fast. Who were they? What were they doing? They were quality-oriented businesses that were spending more money on their products and delivering nutraceuticals that really worked!

Competition weeded out the charlatans and the cheapskates but gave fertile ground to the companies that were brave enough to invest in better products.

I had two separate conversations this past week with owners of supplement companies who complained about the "decline of the market." I nodded sympathetically. Then, this morning, I met with Dr. Sears, who is committed to quality products, and was not surprised to hear how fast his supplement business is growing.

To stay on top of the Chinese market, GM will have to be very good. But that’s a good thing, being very good, not a bad thing.

Could GM have squeezed a better deal out of SAI than the one they got? Could they have persuaded SAI to sign a non-compete clause, for example? Not hardly. The Chinese government is very aware of how attractive its market is and very sensitive, because of its history, to being exploited by the West. If GM hadn’t agreed to the deal they were offered in 1997, some other large car company would have been happy to stand in their place.

But even if SAI were willing to give GM a "better" deal, it wouldn’t have been good for GM. Sooner or later, SAI executives would have learned every detail of the GM process - and when they did, they would have been ready to compete. Having some legal document in their way at that time would have been merely a legal impediment - an impediment that they would have sorely resented and perhaps used as justification for canceling the joint venture and sending GM back to America.

A deal is only good if it is good for both parties all the time, not just for a little while. When I make a deal, I ask myself, "How could this relationship become unfair to my partner in five or 10 years?" And if I can foresee a potential problem, I fix it then, at the beginning of the relationship. If I were to wait to see if the problem actually developed, it could only result in animosity toward me later on.

Just yesterday afternoon, I helped negotiate a deal between two businesses that I mentor. The deal that had been proposed was going nowhere. One party felt it was unfair to him, and the other party felt it was unfair to him. It was partly because certain assumptions hadn’t been spelled out - but it was also because neither was trying to take care of his partner.

I did my best to show them that the last thing they wanted was a deal that would be unfavorable to the other guy down the road. "Relationships that are forced are not good for either party," I told them. "Make sure your partner is happy and - if he is the kind of person you should work with - he will make sure you are happy too."

Weak people like controlled situations that protect weaknesses. Strong people are happy to subject themselves to competition. Smart people want their partners to share fairly in their profits.

Be your best self in business. Welcome competition. Make your partners happy.
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Are You Over-Exercising?

By Al Sears, MD

Too much exercise can be worse than a waste of your time. I see it in my patients daily. Muscle strain, torn cartilage, sprained ankles… all because they overdo it.

When it comes to exercise, there’s a common misperception that more is better. But your body wasn’t designed for long-duration exercises like aerobics or cardio - especially jogging and marathons. Aside from common overuse injuries, going overboard with your exercise routine creates more oxidative stress. That means you create a flood of free radicals that cause DNA and cell damage - wear and tear that can lead to chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Too much cardio also shrinks your heart and lungs. It happens when your body adapts to long-duration exercise by downsizing your cardiovascular system. This "streamlining" helps your body cope with the stress of long workouts.

Here’s the good news: You can prevent disease and get into the best shape of your life by exercising less. All you need is 10 minutes three times a week. By focusing on intensity instead of duration, you can burn fat and strengthen your heart and lungs with minimal effort.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears’s high-intensity, short-duration PACE program has helped thousands of his patients burn fat, lower their blood pressure, and prevent heart attacks.]
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Simplify Your Life: Leave Your Pillow at Home… but Bring the Case

By Lori Appling

Make airline travel more comfortable by remembering to bring a pillowcase in your carry-on bag:

. If they run out of pillows before you get one, stuff your pillowcase with a jacket or sweater to create your own.
. If you need to remove your jacket or sweater during the flight, protect it by putting it in the pillowcase and storing it at your feet.
. Turn the pillowcase into a leg rest by filling it with the pillow and blanket provided.
. Use it as an extra bag. When it’s time to de-plane, take a quick look around and throw in any of the belongings you might have taken out during the flight - book, book light, headphones, iPod, snacks, etc.
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It’s Good to Know: About i.e. and e.g.

Although "i.e." and "e.g." are often used interchangeably, they shouldn’t be. Use "i.e.," from the Latin id est ("that is to say"), to explain something you just said. Use "e.g.," from the Latin exempli gratia, when you mean "for example."

(Source: Dictionary.com)
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Word to the Wise: Lassitude

"Lassitude" (LAS-uh-tood) - from the Latin for "weary/exhausted" - is a lack of vitality or energy.

Example (as used by George Eliot in Romola): "The feverish excitement … had given place to a dull, regretful lassitude."

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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2033, 05-04-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.
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