I had no clue I was in another book until today.  I got an e-mail from a real estate broker trying to jumpstart a new information product business and he mentioned he saw me in Yanik Silver’s new book called “Moonlighting on the Internet“.

Click below to see the write up on page 229…

I’ve bought some of Yanik’s stuff and he does know what he’s talking about.  I consider him a real marketer and student of the game. Looks like I’m going to have to pick up his new book at Amazon as I haven’t had a chance to read it yet.

To learn more about Yanik, definately check out his blog. He just had a chance to meet Richard Branson and has been doing some really cool stuff lately.

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I like what Keith Goodrum said in his latest blog post.

He’s stayed on many e-mail lists because he thought he’d learn different marketing processes.  That’s normally the way people justify staying on an e-mail list.  It’s not big deal really, we all come to this realization sooner or later.

But the sooner you realize most of these marketers e-mails are trash, the better.

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I live in South Carolina so you know the Democrats are pounding me hard with direct mail pieces.  Check this latest one from Hillary Clinton…

Notice how they have a picture of Hillary looking directly at you with a warm smile.  And look at the picture they used for Barack Obama.  Hillary’s camp used a picture where he’s looking not at you, but at something far away.  Kind of like he’s “dreaming” or “hopeful”.

I have a feeling the picture they used of Obama and the text under his picture that says “A Record of Hoping for Results” was very well planned.

Get ready for one of the nastiest political seasons in recent memory. 

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The biggest mistake I see people make when they write to their newsletter subscribers is that they write like they’re writing to 50,000 people on a huge list.

If you don’t mind making each person on your list feel like a nobody, keep on doing what you’re doing. And as long as you’re cool with watching your newsletter subscriber value drop like a rock–until it’s eventually nothing—I recommend you keep going in the same direction you’ve been going.

But I have a better idea…. What if you write to just ONE person. What if you knew EXACTLY who you were writing to every time you sat down at your computer to type an e-mail?

Get this wrong, and it will cost you thousands of dollars.

Well, I’ve got excellent news for you. In the very near future I’m going to share with you exactly how I determine who I’m writing to. And no, I’m not guessing. I have a specific, detailed process I use to get these vital details.

Once I know the details, I create a name for the person to whom I’m writing. I even have a process for choosing a name.

So, when you’re finished putting into action what I give you, you’ll be able to identify the exact person you’re writing to every time you sit down and create e-mails.

Stay tuned…

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I’m fat.

Yup, I weigh 271 pounds. And starting soon I’m going to document every step of the way toward my weight loss.

I’ve looked around online. I don’t think anyone has ever filmed a documentary during their entire 12-week body transformation.Considering how fat and out of shape I am, this won’t be easy. One of the reasons I’m documenting everything on video and showing the entire world just how fat I actually am is for personal accountability. But another important reason is that hopefully others will follow me through this short 12-week journey and decide to do the same and change their lives.

This won’t be like anything you’ve probably seen. You’ll be getting an inside look at my entire life. You’ll be going through every step of this with me, as if it were you holding the camcorder.

The way I’m going to do it is simple. Jamal, who works for me full time, will be documenting my daily life for 12 full weeks. Every week, we’ll upload a 10-minute video showing my progress.

And the end of the 12 weeks, we’ll have a 2-hour DVD of my journey. You’ll be able to track everything on my blog for free, but I’ll probably have my journey replicated on DVD for anyone who wants to buy it as motivation.

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A while back, I was seriously thinking about becoming a lawyer. I was very close to doing all the paperwork, finding a college, etc.

This was before my wife and I started our business, and I didn’t know what I didn’t know yet. At the time, I didn’t realize the power of a product-based business, so my thinking was off. Way off.

After my wife and I started our product-based business, everything changed. Being able to make money without my presence or without intensive labor transformed my mindset. That’s why—if you’re still working a J-O-B—you should seriously consider your other options. You will never think the same way about money ever again once you have a fully automated, money-making business machine in place.

The first time I went to sleep and woke up $1000 richer the next morning, I knew my life would never be the same. And it wasn’t just because of the money. It was the freedom I knew that money would bring. Having plenty of money allows me to spend more time with my family and do exactly what I want when I want.

This is why our business has transformed my life: Time is scarce, but money has unlimited potential. So any time I’m fortunate enough to spend more time the way I want to instead of the way I have to, I value that freedom more than the money. Money is just a means to the kind of life I want to live.

These facts made me rethink my entire position on becoming a lawyer. Being a lawyer is a lucrative profession, but it doesn’t have the same benefits that my business allows me to enjoy.

Let’s break it down to dollars earned and hours spent on the job….

My current lawyer charges $275.00 per hour and bills by the minute. I’m sure he does quite well financially. I consider him a good friend and he’s a great lawyer. But if he works 2080 hours in a year at his current rate, the most he’ll ever make is $572,000. That doesn’t include settlements, but you get the point. That’s okay, but you have to understand the stress, time involved, etc., that comes with the job. It’s just not worth it to me.

Now, consider how different life could be for you if you made the same amount of money—or more—but had less stress and could live the kind of life you really want to live instead of slaving away for someone else and following someone else’s job demands.

Let that sink in for a moment….

See what I mean? There’s just no comparison. So if I were you, I’d focus more on freedom than the money. If you manage your business well, you’ll earn more than just a paycheck; you’ll get your life back.

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I’m going to show you how to save 50% off every information product you buy and save an enormous amount of time while you’re at it.

But let me first set the foundation because without this, there’s no point in buying any information product ever again.

I do believe that constantly consuming good information, whether it’s marketing, financial, health, etc., is very important. But even more important is how you separate the actionable information vs. the crap that’s out there.

Unfortunately, most of the online marketing information is crap. Here are the two biggest reasons why…

1. We have “top marketers” helping unproven newbies become Internet marketing “consultants.” This is terrible news for the good-hearted people trying to build a real Internet business. They’re trusting advice from those who have no business giving advice. I feel sorry for anyone who entrusts the success of his or her business to someone who can’t even make $10,000 per month online.

2. The amount of rehashed business-building information that’s circulated depresses me. I work with newbies and experts all the time, and almost all of them are so confused by the so-called “secrets” to success. Fortunately, I set them straight before they enter a world full of fake businesspeople who only focus on positioning themselves as experts as opposed to actually proving themselves with real-world results.

Learning how to market effectively and successfully requires that you strategically plan the way you consume information. Today will be the last day you’ll ever invest the full price into an information product just because you feel it’s the next hottest thing. Beginning today, you can save 50% off all information products if you integrate three important concepts into your business education.

So… let’s dig into this concept quickly. Here is my process for consuming information, implementing information, saving 50% on the information I buy, and deciding whether the information is applicable to me or my business.

1. How I Consume Information

I’ll make this quick because that’s exactly how I consume information. If I buy something, I consume it in 30 days max. If I’m not able to consume it that quickly, it means that someone died or I got lazy. Under all other circumstances, I just make sure I get it done.

2. How I Save 50% On Every Information Product I Buy

This is very simple. I’ll give you a specific example of how I do this. I bought Jeff Walker’s Product Launch Formula. When it arrived at my house, I put it on eBay not long after to force myself to go through it as quickly as possible. When you have a seven-day auction, guess what? You have seven days to get off your butt and get through it. I bought the course for $997.00 and sold it on eBay for $580.00. That’s how I save 50% off information products. I buy them, consume them, and sell them. One of the big keys is to buy at the product launch, go through the material quickly, and sell it fast while the material is still “in demand” in people’s minds.

3. How I Decide Whether Information Is Applicable To Me Or My Business

Yes, most information, especially on the Internet, is regurgitated crap. It can sometimes be hard to filter all the bad information from the good. This is why I recommend not getting caught up in the hype. Marketing and business processes at the core are simple. The key is to put these simple processes in motion and stay consistent. So to get a specific example and to piggyback off the Product Launch Formula course I bought, I’ll explain how I break the information down.

Once the course arrives at my house, I open it immediately and determine how I want to “attack” it. I do this by shutting my bedroom door and popping the first DVD in my player. I lay in my bed with a notebook and a pen. I then watch the DVD with the remote control close by. When I find gold, I hit “pause.”

When I hear something that I can apply specifically to my business, I write it down in detail. Unfortunately, much of what I see is fluff. I find, on average, about 85% of all marketing information is unnecessary filler since it’s all stolen from about 100 different hardcover books written between 1910 and 1998. That’s why I find most of these products extremely boring.

But when you already have a money-making business, it is possible to integrate techniques from these information product creators into your own way of doing business. That’s what I’m specifically looking for.

Please understand that you’re not buying these products for a life-changing breakthrough (this can happen, but it’s very rare). You’ll never get that for the most part. What you are buying them for are techniques you can integrate quickly into your business so you can see results.

And contrary to what you’re sold/told, some of these “secret” techniques will NOT work. But some will, and that’s why I still purchase information products. Sometimes there’s a nugget of gold hidden within the fluff, so I’ll continue to buy smart, consume quickly, and sell the information to someone else while the product’s still hot.

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People are always asking me how I get to travel so much. It’s easy, and I’m going to let you in on a few tips and tricks of getting your money’s worth—plus more—when you plan your next trip. In fact, if you use this information wisely, you can travel the world without spending a dime.

Awhile back, my mom–who travels more than 200 days per year in the medical research industry– begged me to let her set up all my frequent flyer programs and teach me how she has been traveling for free for the last 10 years. Finally, I agreed…and I’m glad I did.

What I’ve learned has saved me thousands of dollars in airline, hotel, and car rental fees, and I’m going to pass on my simple 3-step program for the right way to charge business expenses and how to travel the world for free.

1. Use An American Express Gold Card

Most people think the American Express Platinum Business Card is the way to go. Actually, for travelers it’s not. With AMEX Gold you get better points. You get 5,000 bonus points when you spend $20,000/year and 20,000 more bonus points when you spend $50,000/year. So if you charge $50,000 per year, you’ll get a free domestic ticket every year. With the AMEX Platinum, you don’t get this perk.

Another thing I like about AMEX is that their points never expire. You can have 700,000 points and guess what? They aren’t going anywhere.

One thing to remember about AMEX and their membership rewards is they have partnerships with 7 specific airlines: Delta, AirTran, Continental, Frontier, Jet Blue, Hawaiian, and Southwest. When it’s time to order tickets and transfer your points to the airline, simply call AMEX customer service and they’ll transfer them for you. The transfer is instant, so there’s no waiting around for your points to show up in your account.

2. Set Up Accounts With All Airlines And Hotels

This is the tedious part. Thank goodness my mom did it for me. I paid her fee of $399 to set this up and it was worth every penny. She even knew a few tricks to start out my Northwest Airlines account with 500 miles right off the bat. It would take someone who has no experience at least a week to do all this.

Basically, since my mom has over 12 years of national and international business travel experience under her belt, she has developed a solid system. She can set up accounts for all airlines, hotels, and rental cars in less than 8 hours, have it to you on a 1-page, 2-sided PDF with all of your Frequent Flyer numbers, Internet logins, customer service numbers, PIN codes, passwords, etc.

To hire my mom to do this for you, simply e-mail frequentflyerqueen@gmail.com, pay her crazy, low fee of $399 via Pay Pal, and wait about one week for your final document to arrive in your e-mail. Honestly, she will transform the way you look at travel the rest of your life. That’s a promise.

The reason you want to have accounts with every airline and hotel is because you never want to use your points at the AMEX website. Their prices and exchange rate are too high. You always want to transfer your points to an airline.

So to break it down, your new travel process goes like this:

> Use AMEX Gold For Business Purchases > Let AMEX Membership Reward Points Pile Up > Find A Flight pan > Call AMEX To Transfer Points To Your Preferred Airline > Fly Free!

3. Set Up A Separate Gmail Account At travel.yourname@gmail.com To Monitor Travel Deals

This is where it gets fun. When you have true freedom in your life–meaning you can make your own decisions concerning when you wake up, when you eat, what you do with your time, etc.–you can then maximize what I’m about to tell you to the fullest extent.

So, by now you’ve set up your separate Gmail account for travel at travel.yourname@gmail.com. This will help you set filters and prioritize your travel.

Now, go to every single airline site to sign up for their frequent flyer program and sign up for their e-mail promotions: American, Continental, United, Delta, British Airways, Qatar Airways, US Airways, Frontier etc. Do them all. Or, do like I did, and hire the “FrequentFlyerQueen” to do this tedious legwork for you at frequentflyerqueen@gmail.com.

Do the same with Hotels. Some great ones are Marriott Rewards, Starwood Preferred Guest, HHonors, Priority Club, etc. You can also do the same with all of the Rental Car companies: Hertz, Avis, National, Alamo, Enterprise, Budget, Thrifty, Dollar, etc. There’s more, but you get the point.

Finally, go to the websites below and sign up for each and every one of their e-mail promotions. Again, if your time is as valuable as mine, you want to give serious consideration to outsourcing this task as well.

- Side Step
- Qixo
- Fare Compare
- Smarter Travel
- Business Travel
- Kayak
- Travel Zoo
- Cheapo Air
- Sherman’s Travel

Now that you’ve signed up for everything you need to take advantage of the best deals on earth, you’re ahead of 98% of the population who whines and complains about never getting to travel.

You may be wondering why I didn’t mention Priceline or Expedia. It’s because from what I’ve heard from inside sources, they are owned by the airlines. You won’t get your best bargains there.

I also want to speak briefly about Fare Compare. This site isn’t affiliated with any airlines and isn’t biased like almost every other website you go to for airline tickets. This is my favorite site for research.

My favorite feature about Fare Compare is you can get specific alerts using any parameter you want. For example, if I want to fly first class to Frankfurt, Germany from Charleston, SC, I can have an alert set to e-mail me the moment the price drops. Keep in mind that many times a significant price drop in airfare may last for only minutes or hours on these crazy deals.

I absolutely have to mention Flyer Talk, a free web site that has an excellent frequent flyer forum. Another is Inside Flyer. Their forums are very active with up-to-the minute information relating to travel, specifically air travel. Unfortunately, to fully utilize this site, you have to become a paid member, but they do offer a few options for membership and it is well worth it.

Another free site with a decent frequent flyer forum is Frequent Flier. While all of these sites provide you with a wealth of information, the “flyertalk” and “insideflyer” sites are by far the ones with more cutting edge info.

At this point, my final recommendation is to go to this web site and download a free utility called the MilePort Mileage Manager: This cool little tool sits on your desktop and will retrieve all of your frequent flier account info, hotel frequent stay info, and tons of other points programs simultaneously from over 120 different online accounts.

That’s it! It really is that simple. If you have a business or even if you decide to use your AMEX for personal reasons, there will always be expenses that HAVE to happen.

With this information under your belt, there’s absolutely no reason you can’t start traveling for free like me. So what are you waiting for? Happy traveling!

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Everyone I know who has significant freedom has a paid-off mortgage. This is a goal my wife and I have for 2008. We’re already debt free, but it’s never really felt like it because of our mortgage payment; it still feels like bondage.

Now I don’t get into the “Keep the mortgage because it’s a good tax break” argument. To me, that’s just plain stupid. If you want to stay in debt, go ahead. Stay a slave. Stay in bondage. We refuse.

Within three years, my wife and I want our business and personal lives totally outsourced and automated. With our mortgage paid off, we’ll only have a few bills.

1. Car and House Insurance — $250.00/month
2. Electric Bill — $250.00/month
3. Gas Bill — $70.00/month
4. Kids’ Private School — $1,300/month
5. Trash Pickup — $18.00/month
6. Water — $40.00/month

As you can see, we’ll maintain our current lifestyle for just under $2,000 per month, and most of that is our son and daughter’s private school bill. All of the bills above–except our water bill–are on automatic payment.

Since we have a two and three-year-old in school, we can’t just pick up and take a vacation whenever we feel like it. So we’re limited to mini-vacations, Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, and their three-month summer breaks.

By having our mortgage paid off, this considerably simplifies our lives. Now, all I have to do is see if I can pay all our bills one year in advance. But I don’t see this being a problem. I know our kids’ private school allows this payment method, and I’m positive the others would be okay with it too.

We’ll also be outsourcing our mail to Earth Class Mail. This is an online postal service that scans images of incoming envelopes so we can see them online. We can then choose to have the contents of those envelopes scanned into a PDF file, shredded, forwarded, or recycled. In fact, we’re going to have both our personal and business mail handled this way.  Once we do this, our outsourced life will advance to an entirely new level.

Every decision I make and every action I take is toward personal freedom and flexibility. If it can’t be automated and requires my personal presence, I usually decline whatever “it” is. Another question I constantly ask myself on a daily basis is this one: “If I decide to get on a plane right this minute and fly to Germany for a month, will everything still be okay?”

The answer should always be yes. If it’s not, I find a way to outsource everything and pay someone to do whatever it is that is holding me back from that freedom.

It’s all about flexibility and freedom. And paying off the mortgage is just another step toward that.

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There’s more to running a successful business than the obvious day-to-day operations. A business is an investment, so you’ll need to protect your assets. If you’re earning a significant amount of cash from your online business, there are three things that you must have in place to ensure your livelihood.

1. A Lawyer

I’ll tell you what my lawyer tells me…. “It’s not IF you’ll get sued; it’s WHEN.” Okay, I know what you’re thinking… “Of course he’s going to say that. He wants your money!” Sure, there’s some truth to that statement. Lawyers are in business to make money, too, but I consider hiring a good lawyer just as important as keeping insurance on my vehicles. Although I don’t dwell on the thought of potentially getting sued one day, it’s always in the back of my mind. One thing is for sure: If you offer products or services, you’re vulnerable to a lawsuit. You need to find a good lawyer now.

I recommend Martindale when looking for a lawyer. I’ve talked to several lawyers from many different states, and they’ve all had good things to say about Martindale. We also keep a trademark and patent attorney on retainer at all times. There’s no better feeling than having a bulldog lawyer on speed dial. Next to owning a loaded gun, it just makes you sleep better at night.

2. Great Insurance

Your insurance carrier is your personal choice, but we have all of our insurance at State Farm. We’ve been with them for 10 years. We carry a lot of insurance, but it’s more for asset protection than anything else. We’ve never filed a claim for anything, and I don’t recommend you do either unless it’s for a significant amount of cash. Personally, I would never file any claims for less than $10,000. It will just hike up the rates so it’s not worth it.

Obviously, you need personal insurance, but I also recommend having business insurance. For instance, did you know that under State Farm’s Liability Umbrella Policy you’re covered for “Advertising Injury” in $1 million increments? If you’re a copywriter or marketer, you’d be crazy not to own this umbrella policy.

Every serious businessperson should have $1 million worth of business insurance, preferably $5 million. (To go from $1 million to $5 million is actually very inexpensive so it’s worth the investment.) Get it today. Also, don’t forget to add an umbrella policy on top of these policies. An umbrella policy is cheap and will give you even more protection. If you purchase the insurance mentioned above, you’ll be ahead of 95% of all the other lazy business owners who’ll never take the time to properly protect themselves. But there’s one more suggestion I’d like to offer: Buy specialty insurance. You’ve got to have it. It’s more important than you might realize.

Let’s put it this way. Say you’re selling an adhesive to assist women with attaching wigs to their heads. A lady comes to your store and buys the adhesive; she applies it to her head and attaches the wig. A week later the adhesive rips the skin off her head. She decides to sue you.

Now, you probably feel pretty good about having $5 million dollars of business coverage and an extra $2 million dollar umbrella policy, right? Guess what? The basic business policy and umbrella policy don’t even cover this scenario. Bottom line—you’re screwed.

Just so you know…I own a company that has to have specialty insurance. So if you sell a product that you even THINK could result in a lawsuit, get specialty insurance. Two companies I recommend are The Markel Corporation and The Nautilus Group. Before you make a decision, call them and get advice regarding your individual needs.

Start taking your business seriously in 2008. Purchase the correct insurance, so you don’t throw away all your hard work over one lawsuit.

3. A Mentor

Stop being cheap. Quit thinking in terms of money “saved.” Spend the money now, and you’ll be rewarded in the long run.

We all love bargains, but being cheap can backfire on us. For instance, how many times have you replaced something like your vacuum? In the last five years alone, we’ve had to buy four new vacuums. It’s crazy!

So last week we spent nearly $900.00 on a brand new vacuum and attachments for our stairs, hardwoods, etc. It’s the Oreck XL 21, and it was the best investment we’ve ever made. I’ll bet you I won’t be buying a vacuum for at least 20 years because we finally invested in a high-quality product, not to mention the 21 year guarantee.

Here’s my point… Stop thinking about money spent, and start thinking about money invested. Pay what you can afford for quality mentorship. If you’re making $1000 per month, then you may want to find a mentor who’s doing six-figures. If you’re already in the six-figure range, find someone whose doing seven-figures. Do your research. Just find someone who’s where you want to be and hire him or her to coach you.

That’s why I paid $30,000 to be in a one-year coaching program. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Starting this year, pay for the best advice you can afford. I know many people who have paid for top quality mentorship, and they haven’t regretted it. I don’t believe you will either.

Look, there’s much more to running a business than meets the eye. Protect yourself from lawsuits, insure yourself from the unexpected, and prepare yourself for success by hiring a coach who has achieved the level of success you want to achieve. Retain a lawyer, purchase a sufficient amount of business insurance, and hire a good mentor to guide you toward the pinnacle of success you deserve.

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