Seeing it in Action
Topic: Newsletters
I've always read about article writing and trying to sell your articles to as many markets as possible and gearing the article to a specific market. So what a pleasure to get another newsletter in my inbox yesterday only to see the same article written by Michael Masterson that I'd posted yesterday and geared towards copywriters (which the newsletter caters to).
For any writers that are interested in comparing how the two articles, I post that here too...



IN THIS ISSUE:

* What can you do each day this year?
By Michael Masterson

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

ACCOMPLISH THE UNTHINKABLE:
WRITE WELL EVERY DAY THIS YEAR
By Michael Masterson

Yesterday marked the beginning of 2007. Like me, you may
have been thinking about what you can accomplish this
year.

You are a writer. A writer with goals. Unless I have you
mixed up with someone less ambitious, you want to
improve your writing skills and make more money. Both
are respectable, doable objectives for 2007.

In fact, let's make this a breakthrough year for you.

Let's talk about how you can do that.

I was inspired this morning by a piece I'd clipped from
The New York Times a few weeks ago. The article is about
Suzan-Lori Parks, a pretty, dreadlocked, 43-three-year-
old Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who, in 2002,
decided she would write a play a day for a year.

Think about that. A play a day for a year.

When it comes to goals (setting and accomplishing them),
I consider myself to be a strong player. Before my 40th
birthday, I met and surpassed all my business and
financial goals. Since then, I've been knocking off
other lifelong goals at a pretty steady pace - and many
of them involve writing.

To me, writing a short story a month is a very ambitious
goal. And although that's been one of my goals for at
least the last five years, I've never quite accomplished
it.

How is it possible to even imagine that you could write
a play a day for 365 days in a row? And even if it were
possible to imagine, how could it be done?

The New York Times article doesn't tell me that. It
talks about how, after Parks finished the project, the
manuscripts sat in her drawer for three years until she
and a theater friend hatched a plan to produce all 365
plays. (The plan is very complicated, opening them a day
at a time in 14 cities, using a network of hubs and
satellite theaters.) And the article tells me her
subject matter ranges from "deities to soldiers to what
Ms. Parks saw out of her plane window."

But how did she do it?

Did she wake up early every morning and get to it and
not stop until she was done? Did she work on other
projects first (she is also a screenwriter and novelist)
and then get to her plays at night?

And how much did she write? According to the article,
some of the plays were "only a few pages long" - but
that's still an amazing accomplishment. She gave herself
an almost unthinkable goal ... and went ahead and
accomplished it.

But she did it smart. She didn't put a minimum length on
each play. She let each one take its own length. That's
a clever way to approach doing something great.

Perhaps you can do something similar in 2007. Set some
unthinkably big task for yourself that, when completed
at the end of the year, will have made you a much
stronger and more highly compensated writer.

Let's think about some specific writing objective that
would be similar to writing a play a day for a year.
What could that be?

The obvious answer is to write a promotion a day - to
complete, by the end of the year, 365 new direct-
response packages. That would be an amazing
accomplishment, don't you think? When you consider that
even the most prolific copywriters write fewer than 59
packages a year, 365 seems impossible.

But it can be done by doing what Parks did: by narrowing
the scope of the goal and focusing on quality rather
than size.

In Parks' case, she defined writing a play as writing an
effective dramatic presentation - even if that
presentation was a single act that lasted no more than
five or 10 minutes. In your case, you could define your
copywriting objective as writing one effective mini-
advertisement per day.

Here's how you can do it in a way that might also
dramatically increase your income:

1. Get on the mailing lists (snail mail and Internet) of
six or eight direct-marketing businesses you'd like to
work for. (Long-term AWAI members should have already
done this.)

2. Build a "swipe file" (that is, a borrower's library)
of ads that these companies are currently using.

3. Every day, before you do any other work, take out one
of the ads from your swipe file and study it. Spend 15
to 30 minutes figuring out what the copywriter is
attempting to do, evaluating how well he's doing it, and
identifying other approaches that might work equally
well or even better.

4. Pick one of those alternate approaches and make that
your daily assignment.

5. Spend the next 30 to 45 minutes writing and editing a
little ad based on the theme you've chosen.

6. When you are done, file the completed mini-ad in a
large envelope addressed to the CEO or marketing
director of the company it applies to.

7. Once a month, send out all those envelopes (each of
which will contain one or several samples of your work).
Include a letter that briefly explains who you are and
why you are sending them this free copy. The letter
should be some version of: "I admire your business and
hoped that, if you saw what I could do, you might have a
spot for me on your freelance rotation."

Don't spend any more than 60 minutes a day completing
this task.

In the beginning, you will find that you will be able to
write only a limited number of words. But as the weeks
pass, you will see your speed improve dramatically.

You'll almost certainly double the speed at which you
write. You may quadruple or quintuple it. And you'll
also see that the quality of your writing will improve --
which may surprise you, considering how much faster you
are getting. You will have sharper, more tangible ideas.
Your language will be crisper and cleaner.

The trick is to focus on quality, not quantity. So your
daily objective will be to come up with just one good
marketing idea - and then, when you have it, to write it
as simply and powerfully as possible.

If you don't want to do this every single day of the
year, make it a workday goal ... which would mean you'd
be writing about 250 little ads this year and sending
them out to potential clients. That goal is plenty big.
And it allows you two days a week to do something else
first thing in the morning.

I am thinking about setting a goal like this to improve
my skills this year. I'd like to challenge myself to
write one good story every day. The story won't have to
be long. In fact, the first 100 or so of them will
probably be very short - but that's okay.

In addition to my "write one ad a day in 2007" idea,
here are some other "unthinkably" big goals to consider:

* Learn a marketing secret a day.
* Scan an educational book a day.
* Contact a potential client a day.
* Recite a poem a day.
* Call/write a friend a day.
* Practice a self-promotional speech a day.
* Sing a song a day.

If you would like more goal setting ideas, as well as a
step-by-step action plan to make 2007 your wealthiest,
healthiest, and most successful year yet, click here:
http://www.isecureonline.com/Reports/700SACP1/E700GCX5/

[Ed. Note: When you set your "unthinkable" goal for
2007, we'd like to hear about it. Please send it to
thegoldenthread@awaionline.com and we may publish it in
The Golden Thread as inspiration for your fellow AWAI
members.]

Pushing Ourselves Harder
Topic: Newsletters
I got this article from the Early to Rise Newsletter in my email yesterday.

"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination, and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan."

- Paul J. Meyer

Kicking Off the New Year With ETR: Prepare to Accomplish the Unthinkable

By Michael Masterson

I was inspired to ante-up the challenges I'm setting for myself this year by a piece I clipped from The New York Times a few weeks ago. The article is about Suzan-Lori Parks, a pretty, dreadlocked, 43-year-old Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who, in 2002, decided she would write a play a day for a year.

Think about that. A play a day for a year.

When it comes to goals (setting and accomplishing them), I consider myself to be a strong player. Before my 40th birthday, I met and surpassed all my business and financial objectives. Since then, I've been knocking off other lifelong goals at a pretty steady pace - and many of them involved writing.

To me, writing a short story a month is a very ambitious goal. And although that's been one of mine for at least the last five years, I've never quite accomplished it.

How is it possible to even imagine that you could write a play a day for 365 days in a row? And even if it were possible to imagine, how could it be done?

The NYT article doesn't tell me that. It talks about how, after finishing the project, the huge manuscript sat in Parks' drawer for three years until she and a theater friend hatched a plan to produce all 365 of her plays. (The plan is very complicated, opening them a day at a time in 14 different cities, using a network of hubs and satellite theaters.) And it tells me her subject matter ranges from "deities to soldiers to what Ms. Parks saw out of her plane window."

But how did she do it?

Did she wake up early every morning and get to it and not stop until she was done? Did she work on other projects first (she is also a screenwriter and novelist) and then get to her plays at night? And how much did she write? According to the NYT, some of the plays were "only a few pages long" - but that doesn't detract from her achievement. She gave herself an almost unthinkable goal and went ahead and accomplished it.

And she did it smart: She didn't put a minimum length on each play. She let each one take its own length. That's a clever way to do something great.

That's something to think about for 2007. What sort of incredible personal goal could you set for yourself? And how would it transform your life?

I've been asking myself those questions, because I'd like to accomplish something unthinkable myself. And I'm hoping you'll join me in making this one of your goals for the coming year. If you're not sure what to shoot for ... here are some ideas:

Learn a marketing secret a day.
Read/scan an educational book a day.
Write a story a day.
Study a promotion a day.
Analyze a stock a day.
Make a sale a day.
Contact a potential customer a day.
Recite a poem a day.
Call/write a friend a day.
Practice a speech a day.
Sing a song a day.
Practice a musical piece a day.
Exercise intensely each day.
During the next two weeks, we'll be offering many suggestions in ETR for how you can prepare to make this year your wealthiest, healthiest, and most successful yet.

To get started, you need to identify one significant goal in each of the four most important areas of your life:

Your health (without which most of the others don't matter)
Your wealth (which is undeniably important - so treat it as such)
Your personal self (your hobbies and interests)
Your social self (your friends, family, and community)
Each of these goals should be not only significant but also specific. That means you'll probably have to break each one into several smaller objectives. For example, you might want to resolve to become stronger, leaner, and more flexible. To make this fitness goal more specific, you could resolve to add three pounds of muscle to your body, lose four pounds of fat, and learn how to do a proper Sun Salutation in yoga.

Today, since you're not (and shouldn't be) working, your job is to set these four big goals for yourself - and to make one of them unthinkably great. Then, once you set them, commit to them.

You can use the ETR goal-setting system to convert each of your four major goals into monthly, weekly, and, eventually, daily objectives. By taking the time now to write down your goals and think about what it will take to accomplish them, the likelihood that you will accomplish them will increase dramatically.

Studies show it: People who make formal goals and write them down accomplish more. If you follow the ETR goal-setting system and stick to it, I am 100 percent sure that 2007 will be the most successful year of your life.

While you are picking one unthinkably great goal for yourself this year, why not allow me to suggest a second.

I'd like you to consider making a commitment to spend at least five minutes every morning skimming through ETR for ideas, tips, techniques, and strategies that can improve your life. You don't have to promise to spend any more than five minutes - unless you find something that is especially good and you want to slow down and study it.

I recognize that there are times when you don't feel you have a spare second to read another e-mail message. And I know, too, that not all of our articles will be particularly helpful to you.

But every day, Suzanne Richardson, Judith Strauss, Charlie Byrne, and I review all the many good submissions we get from the dozens of smart and successful people who regularly write for ETR - and we do our best to include the best possible information in every daily message:

1. to help you build your wealth

2. to make you healthier

3. to make you wiser

We won't always hit the bull's eye - but if you read ETR conscientiously and with an open mind, I'm sure you'll find plenty there to learn from. I know I do.

Five minutes a day. It is a small investment that will pay you back many times over.

[Ed. Note: When you set your "unthinkable" goal, we'd like to hear about it. Please send an e-mail to ReaderFeedback@gmail.com. Include your full name and hometown, and we may publish it in ETR.]

Blog run
Topic: Newsletters
2:50pm Saturday 7Oct07

I was catching up on my emails last night then checked out Shirley Jumps blogspot because I hadn't in awhile then followed a link from her blog to gawker.com and then ended up at the Assimilated Negro's blogspot. I read an entry laughed and decided to bookmark him.

Clicked in briefly today and checked out his archives. Wigger history month (just the title made me laugh out loud). "No he di' int"
So if you want check out the gawker piece that they got from TAN...

Wigger History Month

EY

Daily Tarot Readings
Topic: Newsletters
Tuesday 7:50pm
I belong to the Christin's yahoo group whereby she sends a daily tarot reading. Today's card feels appropriate for me...

Today's Card : The Hermit

The Hermit card is one of 22 major arcana which depict the life path
of the student(represented by the fool card) The Hermit card speaks
of coming of age, learning from experience, and coming to a place
where we truly value our uniqueness.

In this card the fool has traveled the path, and through experience
and knowledge has gained wisdom and insight. He stands alone,
holding the lantern that will reveal his inner wisdom. Time has
taught him that the answers he seeks, the higher calling and sense of
purpose, lie only within his own soul.

He reminds us of the necessity to connect with our inner spirit, to
put the conditioning of the outside world aside and figure out what
we believe in, what we choose to stand for.

Today's card speaks of a time to go within and sort things out. Time
to tap into your own inner wisdom and address any issues in need of
healing.

Hermit tells us that the answers we are truly seeking can not be
found by looking outside ourselves to other people, situations, etc.

The Hermit also reminds us that focusing on our personal needs is
not selfish. There are times when it is necessary. One cannot be an
effective parent, teacher, friend etc. for others when they are not
fully secure or fulfilled within themselves.

Sometimes focusing too much of our attention on the outside causes us
to avoid facing what is necessary. The end result is that we end up
postponing the inner peace that is the result of this solitary
reflection. Take some time for yourself today for introspection.
Reflect on how far you have come, and use this accumulated knowledge
and wisdom.

*~*~ Find insight into your soul purpose with a life cycle, tree of
life, or a Know Thyself spread. All of these spreads are designed to
help us discover our natural talents/strengths, challenges to grow
through, and actions we can take to empower ourselves.
View them all here:
Readings Services

Live readings also now available.
Live readings with Christin

Click on Forums on Christin's site if you want to join her Daily Tarot Readings yahoo group...

EY

Write One Page at a Time
Topic: Newsletters
Your Limitations Are All in Your Head

An excerpt from
Count Your Blessings: The Healing Power of Gratitude and Love
by John F. Demartini

Do the thing, and you will have the power.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dear Friends and Students,

Are you in your own way?

Many people have a long list of reasons to explain why they’re not doing what they love, but few of them objectively examine their reasons and look for underlying fears. The reality is that there’s a hidden fear behind every imagined limitation, including sickness. As much as we may be tempted to blame other people or outside circumstances for our current condition in life, sooner or later we realize that we attract and create our own limitations. And while that may be a humbling reality, it’s also an inspiring one.

Since we attract or create our own limitations, we can also break through them. Not by repressing, ignoring, or denying them, but by learning to love them. Yes! Love them. Because anything we don’t love runs us and inhibits our inspired actions with fear. Our limitations represent all the aspects of ourselves and others that we haven’t learned to love and appreciate yet. So each time we take an honest look at a limit or a block, we give ourselves an opportunity to love and to reach a higher level of awareness.

Every one of us has the creativity and ability necessary to rise above our own limitations. But sometimes the limitations feel comfortable and the idea of achieving our dreams frightens us, and that’s when we’re most tempted to sabotage our own efforts. That’s the frame of mind in which I found a young man named Jeremy when we met on an airplane. I was working on my laptop computer when Jeremy sat down beside me and introduced himself. When he asked what I was working on, I told him I was writing a book about the mind, body, heart, and soul connection, and the healing properties of inspiration and unconditional love. He nodded his head, but his eyes glazed over, and for the next half hour he was silent. It wasn’t until the flight attendant brought our meals that he said, “You know, I can’t believe I’m sitting here next to someone who’s writing a book. Do you know how long I’ve been wanting to write a book? How can I get from wanting to write a book, and talking about writing a book, to writing one actually?” he asked.

I explained to Jeremy that the only difference between wanting to write a book and actually writing one required taking action steps. “When I begin a book,” I said, “I know that it’s a process, and I know that the book will change as the process continues.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened. “So you just do it. You just write one page at a time and you like some stuff and you don’t like other stuff and you change things, but you just keep writing until you have the book that you want!”

“Yes,” I said, “that about sums it up.”

Jeremy shook his head, smiling. “You have no idea how much what you just said means to me! For years I’ve been afraid to type a single word on my computer as if it’s somehow getting chipped into stone or something. Writing a book is like doing anything else! It doesn’t have to be perfect from the start, nothing is. Everything I do is a process ... Wow.”

I haven’t run into Jeremy again since that conversation, but I’m sure that he’s much closer to writing his book than he was before he realized that he was creating his own limitations.

Feel the fear, but don’t let it stop you.
-Anonymous

Whatever you feel uncomfortable about – and don’t love – is stopping you.

Gratitude and Wisdom,
Dr. John F. Demartini.
DeMartini Newsletters