The Diet That Cardiologists Are Being Urged to Recommend

By James B. LaValle, RPh, MS, ND, CCN
What would you do if you were a researcher and you realized that a diet that had been accepted for years is all wrong? Would you write letters and more letters, urging your colleagues to be aware that research is showing the need for a change? That is exactly what some of the country’s top researchers have been doing, including Dr. Walter Willett (who chairs Harvard’s Department of Nutrition) and Dr. Frank B. Hu.

Research has clearly shown that the low-fat and low-cholesterol diet that many doctors have been recommending since the late 1980s has done almost nothing to prevent heart disease. Meanwhile, scientists have discovered that a diet with high levels of carbohydrates, specifically those with a high glycemic index and load, is hard on the heart.

Studies as far back as the 1940s show that low-carb diets are effective for fat loss. And epidemiological studies from the 1970s showed a correlation between high carbohydrate intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. But those results were ignored, because everyone thought fat was the lone culprit.

Low-carb diets have now been validated in study after study – not only for weight management, but to control insulin and glucose elevations. This means they are also very effective for controlling Type II diabetes and hypertension. And that is why researchers and some members of the medical community are urgently calling for a change. But will anyone hear them?

A diet that is higher in good fats (not harmful trans-fats) and protein but lower in high glycemic index and high glycemic load foods is the diet that is best for lowering what is now being called cardio-metabolic risk. This new term implies what I and other experts have been teaching for years. The best way to control your weight and reduce your risk of diabetes and coronary disease is to control your glycemic response.

If you haven’t yet gotten serious about a low-carb approach to health, it is time for a change.

[Ed. Note: By modifying your diet, medications, lifestyle, and exercise habits, and with nutritional supplementation, your health is largely in your control. James B. LaValle, RPh, ND, CCN – the founder of the LaValle Metabolic Institute and a nationally recognized expert on natural therapies – has come up with an approach to health that has worked for thousands of patients. And it can help you, too. Learn how right here.]

Professional Stock Pickers Are Failing Their Test

By Andrew M. Gordon
Chances are your actively managed mutual fund is disappointing you. You’d probably get better returns investing in an index fund that charges lower fees.

An index fund goes up and down with the index it follows. If it’s a large-cap growth fund, for example, it follows an index made up of large companies in traditionally high-growth sectors like tech and health care. A managed fund picks its own big growth companies. If it picks them well, it does better than an index fund. If it doesn’t, it does worse.

For a managed fund to stand out, all it has to do is perform better (or less poorly) than its related index. It doesn’t necessarily have to make a profit. For example, if the index falls 10 percent and the managed fund drops “only” 7 percent, that fund is considered to have done well.

It seems that the bar has been set pretty low, doesn’t it? Maybe we should set it even lower…

So far this year, in only three of nine categories have the majority of funds managed to beat their index. If you have invested in a large blend fund (blend incorporates both value and growth), a small blend fund, or a small value fund, congratulations. More likely than not, your fund is outperforming its related index. (More than 50 percent of these funds do.)

But if you have invested in a growth fund, your investment could be in trouble. Less than 30 percent of those funds are beating their index.

Does that mean you should switch to a large or small blend fund or a small value fund? No. These three fund categories are beating their indexes by a mere half-percent or less. It’s hardly worth the effort.

But when considering funds in the future, remember that the higher fees you pay for actively managed funds don’t necessarily get you better results when the market goes down. Index funds do just as well – or just as poorly.

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
- Walt Disney

How a Funeral Turned Joe Girard Into the World's Greatest Salesperson

By John Wood
Joe Girard knows how to sell cars.

In fact, he’s listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the world’s greatest salesman.”

To become the world’s greatest salesperson, he used what is perhaps the most underused lead-generation technique in the world. Yet it’s probably the most effective way of getting new business that there is. It gives a salesperson instant credibility with a prospective customer – making the prospect more likely to buy.

The idea came to Girard while he was attending a funeral.

Before I tell you what it is, let’s take a look at some of the most notable selling statistics from Girard’s 14-year (1963 to 1977) car-selling career (courtesy of Tom Sant’s book The Giants of Sales, in which Girard is profiled)…

• In total, he sold more than 13,000 vehicles. That’s an average of six cars per day.
• On his best day, he sold 18 vehicles.
• His best month, he sold 174.
• In his best year, he sold 1,425.
• By himself, Joe Girard has sold more cars than 95 percent of all dealers in North America.
• To make his feat even more incredible, he sold them at retail – one vehicle at a time.

Amazing. Especially when you consider that when he first applied for a job as a car salesman, no one would hire him. At the time, he was in debt and struggling to keep his family fed.

The sales manager who finally hired him at first said “No,” explaining that if he hired Girard his other salespeople wouldn’t like it because their share of walk-in traffic would be reduced. It was only when Girard said he wasn’t interested in the walk-in traffic – he would generate his own leads – that he was hired.

He quickly found that selling without access to the dealership’s walk-in traffic was more difficult than he had hoped it would be.

The first thing he did was grab a phonebook and started calling people randomly. He made some headway, but it was tough slogging.

The Funeral That Changed His Approach to Sales

It was around this time that he attended that funeral. It was a Catholic funeral. Mass cards were given out to all those in attendance.

Girard asked the funeral director how he knew how many mass cards to have printed up for each funeral.

The funeral director told Girard that the number of people attending a funeral always seems to average out to 250. So that’s how many he prints up each time.

Soon after that, Girard sold a car to a Protestant funeral director. When he asked how many people typically attend a Protestant funeral, he got the same reply: “About 250.”

When he attended a wedding, he asked the minister the same question. The answer was about 250 on the bride’s side and 250 on the groom’s side.

Joe Girard’s “Law of 250″

It was then that Girard came up with what he called the “Law of 250.”

The basic principle is that most people have about 250 people in their lives who would show up at their funeral or wedding. There are exceptions, of course. Some have more, some have less. But the average seems to be 250.

So how did he use this information?

First off, he realized that if he did a crummy job of selling a car to somebody, he could potentially lose 250 more customers.

But, more important – if he did a great job, he could gain 250 more customers.

So Girard reasoned that if he consistently built strong relationships with his customers and treated them fairly, it would make his job a lot easier in the long run.

So he set his sights on getting referrals. How did he go about it?

Here are the three main ways…

• First, within a few weeks of selling a car to someone, he would call them up and ask how the car was running. If things were going well, he’d ask for a referral. If they weren’t, he’d fix the problem – then ask for a referral.

• He kept a file listing personal information about each customer – such as the names of their children, what they did for a living, their birthdays, their kids’ birthdays, etc. He’d use that information to personalize his conversations with them. He sincerely cared about people, and made them feel so special they couldn’t wait to recommend him to a friend or relative.

• Every month, year after year, Girard would send a greeting card to every customer on his list. Inside would be a simple message. He knew they’d need a new car one day, and he wanted to keep himself top of mind. He was careful not to include anything that might sound like a sales pitch. Just an anecdote, a new idea, a news story, a book review, a birthday greeting, or a tip he knew they’d be interested in. (Eventually this task became so big, he had to hire someone to do it for him.)

Girard’s dedication to keeping in touch with his customers instilled in them a psychological obligation to do business with him. His customers would never even dream of buying a car from someone else.

Girard has often said he doesn’t believe in hard work. That what he does believe in is working smart. And no one approached selling cars any smarter than Joe Girard did.

No matter what product or service you sell, if you don’t have a referral and repeat-business strategy in place, you’re working too hard.

Here are a few referral-related tactics you can start using tomorrow:

1. Go the extra mile for your customers and prospects.

Do things that will make you stand out from the pack. If you see an article that you feel may interest one of them, mail it (or e-mail it, but sending something in the mail tends to have a greater impact). A good way to find appropriate articles is to set up a Google News Alert for topics you feel would interest your customers. If you think a story is relevant, send them the link.

2. Make sure your customers know about every service you provide.

If you sell Product A to someone, make sure they also know you carry Products B, C, and D. The more solutions your customers know you provide, the more likely it is that they’ll know someone who will benefit from getting a call from you.

3. Establish relationships with people who sell complementary products or services.

For example, if you sell boats, contact the local marina and introduce yourself. Tell them you’ll be referring your customers to them, and make them aware that you’d be open to any referrals from them.

4. Ask for a referral.

If you don’t ask, chances are you’ll never get a referral. Customers usually don’t volunteer them on their own. When the time seems right, say something like “Do you know anyone else I might be able to help out?”

5. Always thank your customers for their referrals.

Obviously, say “Thank you.” But then take it one step further. Send a thank you note or a small gift. It could lead to another referral.

6. Keep your customers informed.

Let your customers know what happened when you called the person they referred you to. Offer to keep them in the loop as things progress.

Develop and follow through on a referral and repeat-business strategy and, like Joe Girard, you’ll make more sales… and have an easier time doing it.

[Ed. Note: John Wood is a Marketing Strategist and Freelance Copywriter.
Anyone can become a selling superstar – it’s not a talent you’re born with. Discover hundreds of sales secrets from master copywriters like Michael Masterson.]

Living Rich the Wrong Way: Nate’s Dream House on Oprah

By Judith Strauss

I recently [in June 2008] watched a disturbingly warm and fuzzy Oprah show. One of Oprah’s cohorts, Nate Berkus, had been directed to take a schlocky tract house in Seattle and turn it into a “dream home” for an admittedly lovely family. Were they deserving of such largess? I don’t know. I’m guessing Habitat for Humanity chooses the recipients of their good works without so much concern about how camera-friendly they might be.

Nate worked his magic with a lot of help from Pottery Barn and funding by several corporate sponsors. (Can you say “product placement”?) And it was magical.

Ooh, Ahh. No question. The results were spectacular! The modest 1,400-square-foot house had been gutted and pretty much rebuilt from the ground up. A second floor – a snazzy master suite – was added, doubling the living space. And the kids got their very own playhouse in the backyard. Brand-new furniture. Brand-new, top-of-the line appliances. Nate even had a buddy fly in from Australia to completely re-do the landscaping.

And Nate did it all in 15 days. (With no mention made of how many people were on his building and design “team.” You can imagine.)

The family was dazzled. And I’m sure most of Oprah’s viewers were as well. But I was appalled.

Is this a home?

In these pages [on the ETR website, but recent search could not find the source], Michael Masterson has said, “I have lived in a mud hut in Africa and a 5,000-square-foot mansion – and I can tell you this: The quality of a home has very little to do with how much it costs or how big it is. Think about the houses you most admire. They are probably NOT huge and flashy.”

Michael went on to say, “One of my favorites is a modest three-bedroom in Cleveland which has been transformed by the lady who owns it into a luxurious museum of her love of travel, dance, and learning. Every room is a gem. I am completely comfortable and endlessly amused in this rich and interesting home.”

Isn’t that what you want your home to be? A sanctuary made up of things you put together yourself. Choose. Collect. Oprah/Nate’s presentation was beautiful – but so impersonal.

You don’t want to feel like a guest in your home, you want to feel like it’s yours.

How are you making that happen? How are you building your dream house?

Word to the Wise: Lambaste

To "lambaste" (lam-BAYST) is to beat or scold severely.

Example (as used by Noboru Yoshimura and Philip Anderson in Inside the Kaisha): "Evening after evening, Hiro and his teammates were lambasted for their failures and shortcomings."
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2380, 06-12-08], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.