Burton Kent

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If you’re like me, you ignore politics and are only registered for the general election. That’s a mistake. It will be harder for Ron Paul to beat several candidates in the primaries, than to beat a single Democratic candidate in the national elections.

So please register Republican and help him win the primaries. Time is running out - see Republican For A Day for the deadline for your state. And spread the word.

Thanks!

A friend of mine asked me a question about investing. Here’s my answer.

Hey buddy,

You were asking me about “Your rate of return of investment in the foreign currency trade” and “How should I start?”

I’ll tell you what I think about investing in today’s market, and you can do what you want about it. Right now we’re at the edge of a cliff. There are derivatives totaling hundreds of trillions of dollars. They seem to be a form of insurance against market volatility. One party lowers their risk in exchange for the potential of higher returns. I don’t really know enough to say. But I do know that it’s going to have a domino effect. Some corporations buy one derivative and sell another to offset that risk. Bankruptcies mean that the risk they thought they had insurance for is still there - and when they find out they’re not insured after all, they’ll go into bankruptcy too.

Plus we have many other problems like the housing market meltdown, the national debt, the national deficit, the possibility that countries that have huge foreign exchange reserves in dollars may try to cash it in. If this doesn’t lead to an outright crash in the market, it will lead to hyperinflation as the central banks try to flood the markets with more money (credit) so that the economy can spend its way out of the problem.

So the bottom line is, there’s a very big chance that the markets will crash. [Read more →]

I was just reading Ron Paul’s weekly articles archive over at http://www.house.gov/paul/legis_tst.htm I couldn’t find a single thing to disagree with. What really hit me was this:

“…by digging our economy into a deeper hole, they would create a lot more demand for the social programs they propose.

Tax and spend policies create needs they can never satisfy. A government check does not make up for a lost job. Americans do not want more of this. Americans believe in hard work and self-sufficiency, not standing in line for government hand-outs. We are supposed to be living in a land of opportunity, but opportunities fade fast if more tax and spend policies are enacted. The more Congress meddles in the economy, the bigger the problems get.”

He’s probably the only politician that really understands that you can’t spend more than you earn. I’ve also read that Dr. Paul has pictures of classical economists on his walls, and has written SIX books on economics (reference Wikipedia). We’re at the brink of a recession, if not a financial crisis. I can’t think of anyone more qualified to lead this country out of the hole we’ve dug ourselves into.

I’m a libertarian, and that means I’ve got a lot more opinions on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (Notice the categories on my posts). I’m not going to even try to cover any of that here. Let’s just say it becomes really difficult to pursue happiness when it’s a struggle just to make a living.

Anyway, check out http://www.teaparty07.com/. I never thought I’d ever even be interested in politics again - because I never thought I’d find someone I believe in.

I believe in Ron Paul. I think he’s our only chance to leave our country better off for our children, instead of worse.

Special thanks to John Manley for writing about Ron Paul, Ryan Healy for pointing out what John wrote, and James Brausch for pointing out the Tea Party link (which I missed).

James Brausch is having an open question time for search engine rankings. As far as I can tell, most SEO “experts” use SWAGs (Scientific Wild-Assed Guesses). James actually used his background in reverse-engineering to discover how search engines really determine ranking.

My question is, have you found any evidence that sites that link to each other, and appear to have the same owner (the same hosting provider, domain registry contacts, IP address, etc.) are penalized in some way? I’m following your content vs. product site separation explained in the June issue of your newsletter, and wonder if there’s a penalty if the search engines notice this.

Thanks.

Well, Tim Ferriss asked about dream dates over on his blog.   Here’s mine:

(Assume it’s summer) Start at the Art Institute of Chicago.  They have a really cool collection of medieval weapons, katanas, etc. in the lower level.  They usually have an exhibit or two I also want to see.  

Then a walk along Michigan avenue to the Chicago Summerdance.  They have a HUGE 3,500 square foot open-air dance floor.  They have a lesson starting around 6, then live dancing from 7:30 to 9:30. There’s all different kinds of music, but I love their tango and salsa nights the most.

I usually skip the lesson, since I know how to dance.  But that means the best spots to sit near the dance floor are taken.  My solution?  I usually bring chocolate fondue and wine, and make friends with some older people already seated.  They keep an eye on it for me.

After the dance is over, a carriage ride up Michigan Ave (also called the Magnificent Mile) to the Signature Room on the 95th floor of the  Hancock tower.  For dinner reservations, ask to be seated in the southeast corner of the restaurant for the best view of Navy Pier. 

After dinner, have your date scout the woman’s room for you.  When it’s empty, have her sneak you in for the best view of the city anywhere.  

(Optional – if you have a bike or don’t mind a 4 mile scenic walk, start earlier.  Go to the Lincoln Park Zoo and admire all the animals.  I like the seals and polar bear the best.  From there, exit to the north and go east to the lakefront.  Head south on the bike paths - it’s usually crowded but not so much that it’s annoying.  Then head over to Navy Pier for the Ferris wheel and other entertainment.  After that, head to the Art Institute.)

I’ve ordered stuff for years and years online. It’s all too easy to forget what you ordered. This means if it doesn’t show at all, you don’t remember until it’s too late. So here’s my simple system for remembering.

I’ve got three folders:

• Ordered
• Received
• Registration

Here’s how it works:

Ordered: Stuff that gets ordered goes in the Ordered folder unless it’s instantly downloaded. Even then, if I think it might be crap, I’ll put it in Ordered. Once a month I go through the Ordered folder and see what I’ve actually received.

Received: Once a month the Ordered stuff goes in Received, if I want to keep a receipt. Otherwise I’ll delete it entirely. If I don’t have it and should have, I just move the email from Ordered to my inbox, and send a follow up message.

Registration: Stuff that’s registered goes in Registration. This is usually memberships, web hosting information (with passwords, setup info and such), or links.

One last note:

Sometimes if I need to follow up with someone in a month, I’ll also put the email in Ordered. That way I’ll remember to follow up. Nothing to it.

The system works great and keeps my inbox squeaky clean.

Andres from Latin Street Dance told me that Thanksgiving is a good day for dancing.  I’ll probably go.

This week is Thanksgiving.  We have a family tradition that makes it better than Christmas - we get together. 

Anyway, it’s supposed to be a time of gratitude.  There’s four people I’ve “met” online that I’ve been grateful for, three of which I can tell you about.  They all have blogs.

Tim Ferriss wrote the Four Hour Workweek, and is a master of figuring out how to make the best of situations.  I really wish I had Jon McCulloch’s (see below) turn of phrase ability here, because my description doesn’t do him justice.

Tim has lived more in his 30-something years than most people will live in 10 lifetimes. 

Jon McCulloch is an irascible (in a good way) marketer and copywriter living in Ireland.  He’s a hoot to read, and is really good at turning a phrase.  He’s a diehard libertarian too.  My favorite quote from him is “I’m deserving but not entitled.” 

My take on this: Entitlement is for wimps - it’s getting something for nothing.  Deserving is the result of effective action.  (I’m signing up for Jon’s newsletter today.)

James Brausch is an “Internet Marketer” who is an expert on reverse engineering.  He’s worked for the military and on medical devices, and turned that skill into figuring out what works for marketing online. 

James was also a drug addict who recovered.  VERY few people hooked on drugs ever kicked the habit, far fewer than you’d think.  This experience made James pretty worldly.  Like Jon, he’s irascible as all get-out.  Points his finger at the stupid stuff people do, and doesn’t care if he pokes an eye while he does it.  (I’m in James’s coaching program.)

All four have blogs, all four are very independent thinkers, all four make me think.  And my life is better for ACTING on what they write.  (Thanks, guys!)

Check them out.  You may just learn something.

A couple weeks ago I read Rebel Without a Crew by Robert Rodriguez.  Amazing book about how he put together an award winning film, El Marachi, for just $7,000.  People in the film business thought his trailer (advertisement for his movie) must have cost him more than he paid to have the whole film made.  (BTW, the trailer kept him motivated to keep editing his movie.)

 It’s an amazing story about how he challenged assumptions to make his movie quickly and on the cheap.   People complicate things - Robert made it simple.  He couldn’t afford for it to be complex.   In fact, his equipment was horrible - the camera was LOUD so he had to shoot the scene first, then later dub the audios.  Since the audios tended to drop out of synch, he would have to cut away to a different shot to avoid the rubber lip problem common to dubbed videos.

 There’s at least one lesson to be learned here.

 I saw El Marachi long ago, and his movie Desperado (with Antonio Banderas) has the best, most fun gunfight scene ever.  I’m looking forward to seeing what else he’s done.

I’m a former magical email address customer of James Brausch.  I liked it, but thought he didn’t like me.  I didn’t really take it personally - and his post The Magical Email Address program is back! explains that it wasn’t personal.   

Would I do it again?  Yes.  He’s tough.  I’m guessing his coaching style came from his experiences recovering from substance abuse.  But it’s worth it.

 So here’s the warning label I’d give James:

• Expect tough love, without the love.  Don’t try justifying yourself to him.  There’s a quote on my wall “The truth is, there are only two things in life, reasons and results, and reasons simply don’t count.” - Dr. Robert Anthony.  James hates reasons.  If you expect him to be reasonable, you’re in the wrong place.  Do what he says and get the results.
• He’s got a specific program he recommends.  It’s based on the Freedom Business System - a system for quickly creating your own product.  Forget membership sites, anything he doesn’t specifically recommend.  Expect to follow his system and get his results.  If you talk about anything else, he may call you a forum junkie or worse.
• Only email a maximum of once per day.  If you email more than once, he’ll answer only one each (of his) business days.
• Stick to the point.  Don’t expect a discussion, expect direction.  The man only works a few hours a day, a few days a week.  He doesn’t have more than a few minutes to devote to your email. 
• Don’t take anything personally, unless it will motivate you.

The funny thing is, I’m still doing what he teaches in his Freedom Business System.  It’s going well, in part because of the attitude he gave during my one month with him.  I’m running into obstacles, but obstacles aren’t allowed - only results are.  So I’m finding myself getting the results I need.  Nice.

 If you’re familiar at all with James’ methods, you’d be a fool not to jump on this at this price.