The Moral of My Story
For the first several years of our lives, pretty much everyone lies to us. We’re taught to believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and, of course, the monster under your bed who’ll nibble your feet if you get up after you’ve been tucked in for the night.
READ MOREThe Ninja Turtle Marketing Strategy
About 15 years ago, traveling to California with K and Number Three Son, I met one of the originators of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
He was sitting next to my son. We got to talking. My son was a big fan of the turtles back then. This guy, I forget his name, drew a turtle for him.
I asked him how he came up with such a creative idea.
“It wasn’t creative at all,” he said. “It was a calculated marketing strategy.”
READ MORETrue to our name, we’re early risers here at ETR
True to our name, we’re early risers here at ETR.
You are too, yes?
So what’s your morning routine like?
Michael Masterson practices yoga for half an hour, first thing.
I walk my dog by the beach, then down a few cups of coffee.
Managing Editor Jason Holland puts in a few miles on his bike.
We believe what you do in the first hour or two of your waking day largely determines your day.
READ MOREThey Pay You to Do What?
December 1988: I’ve got no job, no money, and seemingly no prospects. Maybe you’d rate digging around in an organic vegetable plot in western Ireland as a fantastic prospect, but not me. I can tell you that organic gardening is bloody hard work for little reward. Rain… mud… frostbitten toes. Slugs… snails… rabbits. The end result? Lettuces and cabbages that resemble lace curtains.
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: When You Seek a Venue
Consider the following sentences:
“Want close parking to the venue and priority exiting from the parking lots at the end of the event?”
READ MOREThe Easiest Extra Income You’ll Ever Make
So it’s Sunday. The roast is in the oven and it’s going to take a few hours.
You set the timer, pop into town, and drop into your local charity shop. That’s a thrift shop to you U.S. readers — but either way, I like to call them “surrogate stockrooms.” You’ll see why.
READ MOREYour Next Cruise — Free
“That’s impossible. No one can cruise to those places for free!”
My friend was astonished when I showed her several ways to get luxury cruises to Bermuda, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, or the Mediterranean absolutely free.
READ MOREAccessing Your Inner Guidance
You’ve heard of Murphy’s Law: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. Well, there’s a similar law. This one states that, left to themselves, things have a tendency to go from bad to worse. When something is making you unhappy, for example — for any reason — the situation will tend to get worse rather than better.
READ MOREA Checklist for Breakthrough Sales Copy
I have always seen myself as a kindly, helpful soul — but clearly my memory fails me.
Back in my Ogilvy & Mather Direct days, people quickly turned their computer screens blank whenever I materialized in the creative department. Seems I had the nasty habit of reading the sales copy they were writing out loud and making derisive comments.
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: Eschew Ambiguity
Here are four passages I encountered in newspapers. Observe how, in each case, poor wording creates an ambiguity that can lead the reader astray.
READ MOREWho Is Celebrating the Euro’s Fall?
Up, Down, or Sideways By Jason Holland There is a certain type of investment that will thrive whether the market is going up, down, or sideways. In today’s essay, Andrew Gordon, Research Director of our sister publication, Investor’s Daily Edge, tells you what it is. And he introduces you to…
READ MOREThe Only Business Start-Up Strategy I Recommend
When Mary Kay Ash retired from her job in 1963, she took her life savings, $5,000, and opened her own business. Boy, did it pay off! Mary Kay Cosmetics is now a billion-dollar company.
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