Let's Start Talking About Money



Good morning. Let's start talking about money. How to make more money, that is.

I am assuming a few things.

1. You have some money, but want more.

2. You know something about money, but think you want to know more.

3. You know money is important, but true wealth is more than money. And you can feel this.

Now, this newsletter is not going to be very long. It is intended to be so. This article would kick start some ideas inside you and slowly along the way, while we learn and grow together, we reach our destination. If you think that getting rich is "15 minutes away" or "parting with $69", then kindly unsubscribe. However, there is certainly a science (or art) of getting wealthy. And we are going to look at how some rich and wealthy become "who they are".

Again, I am assuming these:

1. You do not have much hope of an inheritance.

2. You do not have much luck at the lotteries.

3. You may not have the chance to marry rich.

Let's begin with a simple concept. Sales. Yes, we hate this word. We loathe to be doing sales. We despise salespeople. I can understand where you are coming from. There are many tools to rich our destination, and I'll explain some of those tools another day. For now, I would like you to concentrate on what exactly makes money.

All of us came to this world with nothing. Technically, we started off at the "same playing field", although some had fathers (or mothers) who had gained advanced foothold. However, we do see people getting rich and wealthy from scratch. I am not suggesting that you will not benefit from networking, far from it, but if you start with little, you have little choice. Or is that so? Maybe, maybe not. Let's see. (I'll cover how to network in another setting.)

Back to sales. Imagine I sell you a pen (or pencil). I am a sales person. I will sell you $X dollars and make $Y profits. Assuming simplicity, $X-$Y would be the cost. I made a profit. Notice the above 5 sentences. It is all about me. Or "I". Nothing about "you". Where do you come into the picture, except that you bought a pen? You bought it because of necessity. You bought it because you needed to write or whatever. You get the point. Do you? Read on.

Base on the reasons that I wrote above, do you think that selling pens would really have a huge profit margin? The $Y would be small, isn't it? How do you really profit? Yes, by adding value. "Function value", I say. Let me illustrate a function value first. If you advertise your pens and explain that the 'function value' of the pens can write me books or bestsellers that will bring me huge economical value, would that reaffirm my decision? No doubt I would not pay more "cash value" than the marketplace, but "function value" is something that you need to provide, to add value to that sale. And the good news is, function value is really up to you imagination.

What do the rich and wealthy have in common to the above "sales talk"? They create value. Let me drum this in. They "invent" value. Who has not used paper to write and post it on the desk or the kitchen door to inform that beer has ran out? Well 3M created the "Post It® Note" and sold millions. Hence, I am not talking about how to sell better, or how to be a better salesman. No doubt these sales skills would be handy, but do you really think that you can outsell and sell to millions worldwide just because you are a good salesman to begin with? Your function value must speak for itself.

With the advent of the Internet, we can have a better chance (note, better and not surefire) to reach out to millions and advertise our function value, whatever that may be. Do kindly digest this before I write to you again. Let your imagination run wild a little. As I said, there are no quick-get-rich-schemes. You have to depend on yourself. But I am here to help and will reveal more opportunities. See you soon.

Meanwhile, if you have any questions, I would try to answer. Thank you.

Going Bonkers With Baubles, Berries & Bells

Going Bonkers With Baubles, Berries & Bells --Or, Beware of BlackBerries, Cellphones and Laptops!--

If state-of-the-art "wireless technology" has given birth to such tawdry taskmasters as BlackBerries, cellphones and laptops, the Universe has also seen to it that such man-made devices would come packaged with an invisible, immutable, and infernal operating system deity named, "Calamity, Chaos & Confusion".

It seems that happiness today has been reduced to acquiring newfangled gadgets, gizmos or gigagobblers that do absolutely everything but clean the kitchen sink.

Speaking of scruffy sculleries, your best bet would be to a visit your local "Tabernacle of Tetrachloride" where you can request a private audience with the "Wizard of Washbasins". Failing that, consult the "Diva of Drudgery"* (who usually has all the quick and dirty answers to the western world's most innocuous conundrums!)

Sadly, my days as a professional cherry-picker in Peach Bottom, Virginia are over ...which brings me in a round about way to my favorite comfort food ..."passion fruit". Besides consuming far too many succulent seeds and passion pits for my own good, I also enjoy the occasional shopping-spree for trendy fruit of the loom drawers in the "Big Apple". However, that doesnt leave me much spare time to pursue pleasure unless you include such delightful diversions as a fruitless game of tiddlywinks or a toe-wrestling tournament in the "Old Country".

To those byte-inclined "Bluetooth" folk who can't live without their BlackBerries, I say get a life! These gizmos do not impress me in the least. For one thing these "robust" packages of tutti-fruit technology are worth a king's ransom. And for another, hanging them on your lapel makes you look like a dork, or worse yet a loon. More to the point, unless you enjoy low-impact digital workouts with your thumb and index fingertake my humble advice, be a dweeb and forget about them!

Celluar telephones, the smallest of these dastardly digital devices, are a melodious menace to mankind. Besides making their owners look divinely self-important in a world of wannabes and winners, they also lurk surruptitiously about in the bottom of pockets, packsacks, and purses offering melodrama at its best for bystanders. And, as my dear Mum used to say, "anything that vibrates, sings, and talks back when you least expect it should be potty-trained".

So, to avoid being zapped by alien airwaves, I recommend using "Semaphore". This low-tech communication method is a lot cheaper and more fun than a bag of juicy-fruit bubble-gum. After all, how many people do you know who carry around flags all day long, flap their arms, and look a tad miffed when cab-drivers interrupt their train of thought and terse text messages?

As for "laptops", they seem to languish about every prominent place under the sun. Have you ever noticed how they invite unwanted attention from sticky-fingered sorts who can't wait to abscond with them when you're responding to the call of nature? Then of course there are curmudgeons like me who think it's a waste of time to invent something that helps nincompoops organize their recipes, play solitaire, or set a trap for a wireless mouse.

Being from the old school, I was always taught that children should be seen and not heard. Now if only that credo would apply to all these modern communication tools, the world would be an infinitely quieter place.

Just imagine a world without wireless windbags, wonky windows, or wicked weirdoes fingering the fruit ...where we would all be free to follow our bliss ...be it picking four-leaf clovers, drawing dorky droodles, coloring outside the lines, or maybe even tickling someone pink for a change!

Negotiating Tips When You Buy A Car

Negotiating a good deal can be very profitable when you buy a car.

Being a good negotiator doesn't have to be difficult. And when you consider that negotiating will almost always get you a better deal, you'll be more inclined to try it.

When you are trying to negotiate with a car dealer, you're dealing with an expert. You will need to know how to get through their "car speak" in order to be successful.

Once you learn to calculate your offer and know what the dealer paid for it, you should get a copy of the paperwork from a friend that recently bought a car, so that you can become familiar with what you will see on your paperwork. They are all generally the same.

If you've followed these tips, and are pre-approved for a loan, you must next focus on getting in and out of the dealership as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the salesman will certainly find more loopholes to hike up your costs if you stay.

Here are a few tips to successful negotiating.

- Remain positive and confident

- Don't talk down to your opponent

- Show up prepared and ready to counter anything that may come up

- Bring ads from other dealerships with you

- Finance your loan before you arrive at the dealership so as to avoid paying unnecessary extra fees

- Bring a friend with you for extra support

Les Paul Vintage Gibson Guitars- A History

Les Paul vintage Gibson guitars were first produced in 1952. These guitars were the first solid body electric that Gibson had made. The 1952 version of the Les Paul vintage guitar has a gold top nitro-cellulose lacquer finish, and no serial number. This Gibson was designed by Les and included Kluson tuners, a pair of P90 pickups, and retailed for $210.

These Gibson vintage guitars were simply called 'Les Paul' models, and later became known as Gold Tops because of the finish. Most Les Paul Gibson vintage Gold Tops have a gold colored maple top with natural back, a few guitars were made that had the gold finished all over.

In 1954 Gibson launched the Les Paul Custom vintage guitar. The Les Paul Custom has an ebony fretboard, with elaborate bindings on the guitar body and headstock. Among some guitarists this Gibson vintage acquired the name 'black beauty' because of its gold plated hardware and black finish. The Custom was the first fitted with a tune-o-matic bridge and tailpiece.

The Les Paul Junior has a flat, uncarved mahogany body with no binding. The Junior guitar is equipped with a single P90 pickup, along with an old wraparound combined bridge/tailpiece. Some Les Paul Juniors were referred to as Les Paul TV models because of their blond/yellow finish instead of a sunburst.

Trip to the moon: $100 million

Company that sold International Space Station trips for $20M eyes lunar orbits as early as 2008.

The firm that already arranged for two millionaire space tourists to visit the International Space Station is getting ready to sell trips to the moon for $100 million each.

Space Adventures, an Arlington, Va., company, is set to announce plans Wednesday morning for two passengers to ride a Russian Soyuz rocket to the moon and back as soon as 2008. The spacecraft would orbit the moon and not land, according to a company spokeswoman.

The firm arranged for American Dennis Tito to ride a Soyuz to the International Space Station in 2001, followed by South African Mark Shuttleworth, who visited the following year. American Greg Olsen is set to make the third privately-paid trip in October. Each paid $20 million.

The Soyuz doesn't have the capacity to reach the moon in its current configuration. It would have to attach to a booster in low earth orbit or at the International Space Station, according to a Space Adventures spokeswoman.

There has not been a manned mission to the moon since Apollo 17 in December of 1972. A total of 24 men have traveled to the moon, with half of them walking on the surface.