The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, ” The first time a friend told me about The Secret, I knew it was bunk. “That’s not how success stories become successful,” I thought. But I gave it a chance and watched the movie – or at least tried. I’m certain I didn’t get through the entire DVD. You don’t sit in a chair and attract money into your life. Sure, sometimes checks will show up in your mailbox. But 99 times out of 100 you did something to earn that money in the past. You didn’t... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Jason Leister says, “When I was in elementary school, I always pictured the principal’s office to be this dangerous, dark and scary place where people went in but never came out. I was really scared of the principal. I don’t even remember if I ever actually visited his office. And that only allowed the picture in my mind to grow and to become more foreboding over time. Even now when I think back, I just get this image of an evil dictator sitting high up on his throne of judgement… watching everyone... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Mark Ford says, “I have always been a strong opponent of television. But, K and I recently started watching it together. Just a little bit here and there, but enough to get me thinking about the way people spend their recreational time… and make me wonder if the kind of activities we engage in during our down time really make a difference. I’ve also pointed out that the more time you spend working, the more successful you’re likely to be – but acknowledged that even the most ambitious and... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “One of the highlights of my trip to Germany was a visit to a secret test track at BMW. It was miles and miles away from their main headquarters, located beside a cornfield in the middle of the country. As soon as we arrived our cell phones were confiscated. “We can’t allow any pictures, yah?” our lead instructor, Stefan said in heavy German accent but with a smile on his face. The next four hours consisted of driving M3s (learning how to drift) as well as a range of cars... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “I woke up to paradise. It was a beautiful star-filled sky (it was 4:51 a.m. after all), there was a warm sea breeze, the sound of waves crashing into the beach was all around, and I could smell the Pacific Ocean’s saltwater. Yet, I felt irritable and stressed in paradise. As I meandered about before my morning writing ritual, my mind weakly wanted to lay the blame for this mood on others. “Grrr, Matt shouldn’t have convinced me to stay up so late drinking Coronas beside... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “Lazy holiday afternoons are perfect for lying on the couch, watching reruns of classic movies like “The Shawshank Redemption.” It’s one of my favorites (and the short story is even better). Plus, there are a few powerful scenes in that movie that can actually teach us how to work towards the life of our dreams. If you remember the movie or Stephen King’s original novella, you know that our “hero,” Andy Dufresne, goes to jail and eventually escapes by tunneling... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “”It’s a really great book,” my friend Rich told me at breakfast. We were sitting in the Cascades restaurant at the Opryland Hotel at a recent marketing seminar, and Rich was describing a recent family-bonding event he had been on with his brother and nephews. At the event, held on July 4th weekend in Park City with Yanik Silver’s Maverick Business Adventure group, Yanik had brought in parenting experts Richard and Linda Eyre to talk to the group about entitlement.... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “Several years back there was a woman in my fat loss membership site that had a fried chicken problem. Each day on her way home from work she would pass a shop, and no matter whether she needed it or not, her habit was to stop in and buy a piece of fried chicken to eat before dinner. As you can imagine, this had disastrous consequences for her health and fitness. “What can I do to break out of this bad habit?” she asked in despair. At the time, she felt like there was nothing... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Craig Ballantyne says, “On Saturday afternoon I met an Internet multimillionaire colleague of mine in Ann Arbor, Michigan at Qdoba. He was generous enough to treat me to a lunch of a Naked Burrito and water. But more important, we had a great conversation about what’s working in sales letters, copy, promotions, front-end sales funnels, and back-end upsells. We gave each other advice and held nothing back, and as a result we both walked away with fresh insights into how our businesses could grow”. Why... [...]

The latest issue of ‘Early to Rise’ newsletter has been released. Bob Irish says, “When she said, “twice the husband, half the income,” I had to laugh. I had just asked Jane, whose husband Phil had retired a few months ago, how retirement was going. Her answer underscored the two fundamental issues in retirement. One is psychological. The other is financial. We’ll be looking at both sides of retirement in this series of monthly essays. I had more than a passing interest in Jane’s response to my “How’s retirement going” question. I was... [...]