Why TV Makes Us Fat

By Craig Ballantyne
One of my best clients grew up watching a lot of TV. In fact, he feels that he was practically raised by Cliff Huxtable (of the Cosby Show) and Meredith Baxter-Birney (from Family Ties). That’s how much TV he watched.

He finished college and started a real job. But he still rounded out his day with a nightly television marathon. So we shouldn’t be surprised that he “beefed up” to over 200 pounds. (He’s 5’10″.) Especially when we look at the results of a recent Australian study.

The researchers examined the connections between watching TV, eating, and exercising in young adults (aged 26-36). They found that the young women who watched more than three hours per day of TV had a higher prevalence of severe abdominal obesity when compared to the women who watched less than one hour of TV. For the men, only moderate abdominal obesity was associated with watching more than three hours of TV per day. Not severe – but still worse than the men who watched less than an hour per day.

The researchers also found that taking into account the daily physical activity levels of these men and women did not entirely explain the differences. What seemed to be more relevant was that the men and women who watched more TV also tended to consume more food and drinks.

Once my client eliminated sodas and foods from a bag or a box, he immediately started to lose weight. And fast. Plus, by adding three short strength-training and interval-training workouts per week, he got down well below his college weight, and is now as fit as he was more than 10 years ago.

The message for you? The same things we’ve been saying for years. Shut off the TV. Dump the soda. Eat fresh veggies and grass-fed meats instead of carbs. And get moving.

[Ed. Note: That TV contributes to weight gain should be no big shock. But you may be surprised to learn that you don't need hours in the gym to slim down. Discover more common fat-loss myths you may be falling victim to - and what really works - with Craig’s Turbulence Training for Fat Loss system.]

"Let all the learned say what they can, 'tis ready money makes the man."
- William Somerville

A Short, Real-Life Lesson on How to Bank 6 Figures in a Bear Market

By Justin Ford
A title company wired just over $97,000 into one of my bank accounts this afternoon [in early June 2008]. Once I get the insurance and escrow refunds, it will amount to a little more than $100,000. It’ll be my second six-figure payday in less than eight months. And it was the end result of a four-unit building I bought two and a half years ago – at the height of the bubble market where I live.

But I succeeded because I wasn’t stuck in my local bubble market. Instead, I went after the best values in the best non-bubble markets I could find. And, thanks to that approach, I’ve been able to bank a few of these types of checks in recent months.

The property I just sold was in Texas. In fact, just a few miles away, another Texas four-unit resulted in a $137,000 cash dump in my bank account… after just 14 months of owning it.

Unfortunately, many people who bought properties in January 2006… when I bought the first of these Texas four-units… are now struggling with falling values and rising interest payments. But if you understand market cycles, and how to evaluate properties correctly, you can consistently make money no matter what the real estate market is doing.

Here are the five key steps:

1. Find a good market at the right point in its cycle.

2. Find a property in that market that’s an exceptional value.

3. Find the right loan and investors for the property.

4. Find the right management.

5. Bank six-figure checks.

Now let’s go over them, one by one.

Step 1: Find a good market.

A good market offers growth and value. Both are easy to define. A good level of growth is one that exceeds the long-term U.S. national average – both for population and jobs. A good value market is one that still makes fundamental sense. People could still afford to buy the homes they bought years ago. Investors can get cash flow with normal leverage (80 percent loan to value) on an average property.

You can find good markets (with value and growth) today [in June 2008; check for current good markets] in select areas of Texas, Georgia, North Florida, and the Carolinas, to name a few places.

Step 2: Find a property in that market that’s an exceptional value.

Ideally, you want a property that (1) can be acquired at a substantial discount compared to similar properties, and (2) will comfortably cash flow. For the discount, it should be undervalued both on a dollar-per-square-foot basis and on a cap-rate (rental yield) basis.

Step 3: Find the right loan and investors.

Why play Russian roulette with real estate? Always fix your interest rate for at least two years longer than you expect to own the property. (You never know.) If you use equity investors, make sure they have at least a three- to five-year window. And make sure your deals are well capitalized.

In other words, don’t just get funds from banks and investors to cover the buy and fix-up. Get money to back up the property once it’s been rehabbed and leased.

Step 4: Put the right management in place.

Bad management is a cancer that must be gotten rid of immediately. Good management is transparent, reports clearly every month, provides itemized bills and competitive quotes. You want integrity, competence, and experience – in that order.

Don’t lock yourself into agreements. The contract should stipulate that you can cancel without penalty if the manager does not meet certain objective criteria of economic occupancy and maintenance.

Step 5: Bank 6-figure checks.

Do Steps 1 through 4 correctly, and this one is easy. Plus, when you invest this way, you don’t have to do a million deals, running around like a chicken with its head cut off to make some money in residential real estate. Instead, you can make well over a million dollars with a manageable number of smart investments in the right types of properties in the right markets at the right times with the right financing.

[Ed. Note: Real estate headlines may be full of doom and gloom. But if you know where to look, you can find tremendous opportunities.]

The World’s Toughest Girl Scout

By John Forde

Jennifer Sharpe can kick your butt.

Jennifer, in case you haven’t heard, is a 15-year-old Girl Scout [in 2008] from Dearborn, Michigan.

Girl Scouts, as I’m sure you know, have sold cookies – from the chocolate mint wafers to those puffy marshmallow things – for decades.

Maybe you’ve bought a box or 10 yourself over the years. If you live in Dearborn, however, there’s a chance you’ve bought even more than that – especially with Jennifer working the market.

See, Jennifer sold not just 10 or 100 or even 1,000 boxes of cookies, but a stunning 17,328 boxes.

How did she do it? Apparently, just by showing up.

According to MSNBC – and her mother – Jennifer was quiet and shy about talking to customers. But she set up on a street corner and just kept at it. Before long, she had her pitch down… her confidence up… and sales that would make a career pitchman green with envy.

And here’s my point…

So many of the great marketers and copywriters I’ve known over the last 15 or so years didn’t hone their chops in business school… or with the help of literary aspirations. Rather, they got good and then better at what they do by… doing it. Anyone who has ever sold anything door to door, for instance, is often a natural at copywriting.

There’s just something about selling face-to-face that polishes you and makes you focus on the person you’re selling to. The hesitation you feel when you’re just getting started is more often your own than it is the customer’s.

Before I got into copywriting, I wanted to write novels. Maybe I still want to someday. But, honestly, that didn’t do much for my copywriting. Much less, actually, than the time I spent during college summers working as a sales clerk in a hardware store and then as the owner-operator of my own house-painting business.

What if you have no sales background to draw from? Here’s one suggestion: Call your alma mater or a local charity and offer to get on the phones for the next donation drive. You’ll get to face up to the selling challenge – asking for donations – in a no-risk environment, where you can do some good without worrying about getting canned if you can’t master it.

Or, here’s another idea. Call the Girl Scouts and offer to sell some of their cookies. (I’m just kidding, of course. But if you do… I’ll take a box of the Thin Mints.)

[Ed. Note: Becoming a top-selling copywriter is as easy as getting out there and selling. And making money on the Internet can be as easy as pressing a button.]

Sending Clear E-Mails

By Jason Holland

When sending an e-mail to a colleague or co-worker, it is all too easy to mix irrelevant information with important points and questions that need answers. The result can be confusing. Instead, make requests and questions easy to find and read by setting them apart from the rest of the message with bullet points.

So, instead of this…

Hi Frank,

How are you doing? About that Asian market report… what is the deadline? And is the data you sent me last week still valid? I’ll be finished with the intro later today. Do you want me to send it to the graphic designer, or would you like to take a look first? By the way, I found some art that is perfect. I’ll send that over too.

Try this…

Hi Frank,

I’ll be finished with the intro for the Asian market report today. I have some artwork that I think is perfect. I’ll send it to you this afternoon. I also have a few questions:

1. Would you like to take a look at the intro before I send it to the graphic designer?

2. What is the deadline for the rest of the report?

3. Is the data you sent last week still valid?

When you number your questions, it allows the other person to reply to them in an easy way:

1. Yes

2. Next Monday 6/2

3. Yes

(Source: Lifehacker)

It's Fun to Know: How a Fly Lands on the Ceiling

So if it's flying around the room right side up, just how does a fly land on the ceiling? Here's how: It places its front legs above its head as it approaches the ceiling. Then it grabs the surface with the tiny suction cups on those front feet, and swings its body up until its back legs make contact as well.

(Source: The Straight Dope)

Word to the Wise: Maelstrom

A "maelstrom" (MAYL-strum) - from the Dutch for "to whirl round" - is a powerful or destructive whirlpool.

Example (as used by Farley Mowat in The Farfarers): "The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2372, 06-03-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.