(taken from Weapons of Mass Influence – the Adonis Effect)

This is by FAR the biggest mistake of all.

Just as men loathe getting directions when we're lost, most men will never ask someone to help them get this part of our lives together.

Our egos prevent it… like asking for help reduces our manhood… or makes us look weak or helpless

This is the mistake that keeps most men from EVER having the kind of success that we truly want out of life.

Hey, I've been there myself.

But, let me tell you a little something about me that I think you'll be able to apply to your life.

About 4 years ago, I simply became frustrated with my lack in progress in life. After all, I have an engineering degree and was getting great marketing experience… I'm not bad looking and my body wasn't in god awful shape (just skinny).

Let's just say that frustrated is an understatement at this point… maybe you're feeling that way RIGHT NOW.

What I figured out was this, and I learned it because one smart man that I respect a bunch told me this when I asked him what he thought my problem was.

He said, "… your problem is that you're a loner."

"WHAT!" (I didn't know what to think)

"Your problem is that you try to do ALL the research, ALL the work, ALL the figuring out of things from scratch… but guess what… all of this stuff has ALREADY been figured out.

Your ego is making you take the HARD ROAD and you don't even realize it. You think you’re being honorable by "earning your stripes" but the simple fact is that instead of standing on the shoulders of those that have come before you or those that have already figured this stuff out… you're reducing yourself to mediocrity while everyone else passes you by."

Do you want to talk about a slap in the face… man… I felt it deep in my gut, and I knew that he was right.

It all made sense.

He went on to tell me that long ago, he quit worrying about what other people thought of him. If he didn't know something or wanted a desired result, he went and found the people that ALREADY knew how to get this desired result and one way or another… got the information… and therefore the result… that he was looking for.

And that, my friend, was the #1 key to his success.

Once I seriously grasped that… things started to RAPIDLY change in my life. My body improved, my finances improved, my love life improved.

Did I have challenges? You bet.

But I stopped trying to do everything myself. I learned to find the PEOPLE that could help me and leverage their results and expertise to get my results FAR FASTER than if I tried to do it on my own.

It has been a very rewarding experience.

I no longer feel that sick, insecure feeling… when I need to have an answer to a challenge because I KNOW that asking questions and going to the BEST PEOPLE is in my best interest.

And that comes from getting results… period.

With no results… there's no competence. Without competence… there's no confidence.

I know that without a doubt, I can find the answer to virtually any challenge that I have by finding the right expert to help me FAR FASTER than if I trying to do my own research, or search the INTERNET on any given topic.

So that's what I've done.

Ebook: Weapons of Mass Influence – the Adonis Effect

While looking through my logs, as I do on a regular basis, I noticed one very interesting keyword search that was done to find my website. More interestingly, it appears to have come from Microsoft’s Headquarters in Redmond, WA. While I have not updated my resume for sometime and I have not posted it any where recently, this particular search caught my attention:

WA (cv | vitae | resume) (C++ | C#) (blog | blogs) (comments | rss | feed | archives | posted | tags | trackback | “about me”) -free -jobs -find -send -submit -you

You can of course look into the search terms they used to find keyword optimized resume’s. And probably more importantly what words not to include (such as free, jobs, find, send, submit, and you)! I haven’t been contacted by Microsoft and although I interned for them in college, I doubt I will be moving to Redmond anytime soon. Heck, I was actually on page 2 of their Google’s search results for that query, but they still viewed my resume. But what’s also interesting is that they searched on Google instead of their own Bing search engine. Of course this could be nothing at all, but I found it interesting nonetheless!

(parts taken from the American Heart Association) — This is all so true!

Do you have trouble going for a walk at noon or after work even though you're truly committed to your program and it’s the only time you have to work out? Do you feel so exhausted that you just can’t get going? Your diet—rather than simple laziness – may be the problem. If you tend to skip meals in an attempt to save calories, you may be robbing yourself of important fuel for exercise. While skipping meals may temporarily make your stomach feel flatter, doing so can also leave you feeling tired, irritable, and unfocused. Then you'll be tempted to forego your noontime walk, or go home, eat and stretch out on the couch in front of the TV after work. If, however, you follow some simple, sensible dietary practices throughout your day, you'll get that brisk walk done. And rather than feeling lightheaded or exhausted afterward, you'll be energized and refreshed.

Stay With Feel-Good Foods

One key to staying motivated to exercise is to keep the amount of sugar in your blood – and thus, your energy level – stable. You can best do that by eating a series of small meals throughout the day – as many as five or six – that are composed of complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, beans and other vegetables, whole grain crackers and fruit. These foods help keep your blood sugar stable because they are digested and absorbed slowly into the blood and don't require your pancreas to produce much insulin. Refined carbohydrates, such as potato chips, doughnuts and cookies, are absorbed very quickly and trigger the pancreas to produce large amounts of insulin. So, while they may give you an initial boost, your energy will drop off quickly, and your mood will follow. Plus they pack on extra calories with little nutritional value. The amount of sugar in your blood is also related to the amount of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin is an important chemical called a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate mood. If your level of serotonin is where it should be, you'll have a sense of well-being and confidence – and feel ready to tackle the treadmill or sidewalk. Should it drop, you may feel tired and depressed. If you often experience a craving for carbs, this may be your brain's way of telling you it needs more serotonin. What about caffeine? Good question. Many people rely on caffeine for the initial kick it can provide. Remember, though, that caffeine can also affect the amount of insulin, and thus, sugar, in your blood. This can actually zap your energy over the course of a day. So, you'd be wise to limit the amount of coffee, tea and soda that you drink.

Handle Your Snack Attack

If you plan ahead and make time for grocery shopping, you can easily pack some simple meals and snacks to take to work with you. Here are some healthy snacks that you can keep in your desk drawer at work:

• Box of raisins
• Handful of nuts
• Fruits such as bananas, grapes, or an apple
• Granola bars (check the calories)
• Carrot sticks
• Light yogurt
• Wheat crackers + low far peanut butter
• Dried fruit
• Animal crackers
• Fig bars

Here are some quick options if you’re near a kitchen:

• Instant oatmeal
• Cereal and milk
• Frozen fruit bars
• Pita (or vegetables) with hummus
• Apple sauce
• Tomato/vegetable/bean soup
• Chocolate milk (low fat)
• Baked tortilla chips with salsa
• Low fat cottage cheese – alone or with fruit

Keep in mind that finding the right combination of food and drink to energize your workout – whatever time of day you choose – may take some experimenting. It all depends upon your individual tastes and your metabolism. With a little patience, an open mind and a little creativity, you'll determine which foods suit you best.

To skip the background and jump down to the my reviews:

• Solution
• Affiliate Marketing Online
• Niche Blitzkrieg Review
• LTD Review

Background

My parents gave me the advice a long time ago to never put all your eggs in one basket, and it still holds true today. I understood the basic concept even when I was young because if you put too much in a basket, quite literally the bottom could fall out, which results in no basket and a bunch of broken eggs. This analogy also happens all the time in people’s lives when they have only one source of income. The problem is not that most people only have only one job, the problem is when every month we spend all of that income. We tend to count on that next pay check to put food on the table and to maintain our lifestyle. In my personal life, I have occasionally noticed that some months my expenses creep up on the income I made for the month. Each additional dollar that is spent than the previous month just makes the basket less stable and as a result, our financial foundation is less stable. Even worse is when we spend more than was earned for obvious reasons. The worst case scenario when someone looses a job is that the basket is completely taken away, and unfortunately the bills still come in. One way most people start their second basket is through savings, whether it be a nest egg for retirement or even just for a rainy day. However, unless the baskets are consistently being filled at a rate greater than being spent, the problem still remains where if your main basket is taken away, problems arise quickly being able to support your current standard of living.

The Solution?

Put your eggs in multiple baskets to create a spare-income to protect yourself and create a safety net. There are a ton of businesses popping up everyday in the world, however, unless it is a franchise based system, there is a low chance for success after the first 5 years. In addition the average costs to start a business is $54,000 that it. McDonald’s franchises cost over $1.2M in the US, but also typically see yearly returns of over 250k per year after year 4.

Affiliate Marketing Online

Something that anyone can do is affiliate marketing online because . If you are reading this, then you have the skills to get around the web, and you have the potential to make huge profits. There are a lot of work-at-home businesses out there these days and they are growing at an astronomical rate because of the low overhead and the ability to make virtually any income you want. Although the way income is generated is simple, this is not saying these types of businesses are easy, because they do require a desire to learn and succeed. I have been told 98% of success in anything is attitude and the remaining 2% is the mechanics of how it works. In a nutshell, if you have a good attitude and determination to succeed, you will and if not, then I would recommend looking for a second job to fill that extra basket. With affiliate marketing online, you can have virtually and unlimited amount of baskets to fill, and they are only limited by your creativity and desire. I have some recommended books on success, if you are wondering what it takes.

When I started playing around with these concepts, I had no idea how to do this on my own and the information on the web was overwhelming. As a result, I looked to several systems that were already put in place that walk you each step of the process to yield maximum results. Of the systems I have been involved in, there are two which I highly recommend due to the extremely low start up cost and the high level of personal coaching.

Niche Blitzkrieg

The Niche Blitzkrieg System is, in my opinion, the #1 system to success in setting up online affiliate niche web sites. The best part of this system is that it works great for people, even if they have extremely limited time or knowledge of coding web sites. Also, throughout his system Michael provides both video and screen shots that walk you through every step of the process. Most people are concerned about these systems having reoccurring hidden costs, the great part about the Niche Blitzkrieg System is that there are both paid and free options given at every step that are extremely effective even for people on a tight budget. Personally, I have used both methods within his system, and have landed in the top ten of Google for several of my sites, which have resulted in many sales. It is a really cool feeling to get an email while I’m sleeping that shows someone purchased a product through my site. The owners of the system have been very attentive and have answered any of my questions typically within a day on their forum. This system is constantly being updated and improved on. I was able to get a link that offers a special rate and a free trail period to test the system out.

LTD

The other system that I highly recommend, and am also very involved in, is LTD. It is a system of business owners that have been helping people become successful for 50 over years. The concept that LTD uses is simple: buy the things you are already buying, but switch to companies that pay you for it and show other people how to do the same thing. This system is also available online, however it has more of a personal touch and absolutely zero online experience is required. People in this system only purchase things they need and don’t store any products, however there is also the ability to sell products if desired. similar to the niche blitzkrieg system above, the purpose is to simply connect things people are going to buy any way to what they need. This system also includes free personal mentoring through every step of the process in addition to a 100% money back guarantee for 6 months. For more information on this system checkout http://www.justreed.com and feel free to shoot me an email to justin@justin-reed.com.

Just to keep us all on the same page, below is a daily breakdown of Hung by the Tongue to follow. The chapters are very inconsistent in length. I’m simply providing this so we have natural starting and stopping points while we read the book. The length of many of these reading sections will not come close to out 15-30 minute standard for reading. However, at this point, it’s more important to reinforce the reading habit.

Read my comments on Hung by the Tongue

Here’s the Hung by the Tongue breakdown.

The next book will be The Magic of Thinking Big.