FREE teleconference this Wednesday evening, January 23 - 8pm to 9pm eastern
"How to build a $50,000 to $100,000 lifetime recurring income in three years."

Details and phone number here...

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. LIFE SKILL FOR BUSINESS!

Flex Your Finance-Ability... Seven Cures for a Lean Purse!

2. BUSINESS SKILL FOR LIFE!

Love is Blind... Don't Fall in Love with Your Product!

3. IMPORTANT TAX TIP

Give Your Kids a Pay Raise!

4. MASTERMIND YOUR WAY TO MILLIONS

Become an Information Millionaire!
Details here...

5. GET MEGA-REFERRALS

Click here for training now on CD

==========================
1. LIFE SKILL FOR BUSINESS
==========================

Flex Your Finance-Ability... Seven Cures for a Lean Purse!

"Money is plentiful for those who understand the simple laws which govern
its acquisition. It's governed today by the same laws which controlled it when
prosperous men thronged the streets of Babylon, six thousand years ago."
From The Richest Man in Babylon

Originally published in 1926, I first read The Richest Man in Babylon in 1979.
On New Year's Day, I re-read it again for the umpteenth time. Seventy-six years
after its original publication, it still remains one of the simplest, yet most profound
preachments on the basics of earning, using, saving, investing and growing money.

Two chapters, "Seven Cures for a Lean Purse" and the "Five Laws of Gold" should
be required reading for everyone from grade school children to adults.

Finance-ability is one of the most important of all Success-Abilities™. Money is very
much on the mind of most of us these days. New books about making, saving,
investing and accumulating money are published every week, but few have the
ageless wisdom contained within the pages of The Richest Man in Babylon.

In coming issues, we'll explore the seven cures for a lean purse and five laws of gold.

Here is Cure #1... Start thy purse to fattening!

"If you desire to build a fortune, is it not wise to start by utilizing that source of wealth
which you already have established?

"Now I shall tell thee the first remedy I learned to cure a lean purse.

"FOR EVERY 10 COINS THOU PLACEST WITHIN THY PURSE, TAKE OUT FOR USE
BUT NINE. THY PURSE WILL START TO FATTEN AT ONCE!

"Decide not what I say because of its simplicity. Truth is always simple!

"When I ceased to pay out more than nine-tenths (9/10) of my earnings, I managed to
get a long just as well. Also did coins come more easily than before. Likewise, him
whose purse is empty does gold avoid.

"Which desirest thou the most... things quickly gone and forgotten? Or is it substantial
belongings, gold, lands, herds, merchandise, income-bringing investments?

"The coins thou takest from thy purse bring the first.
"The coins thou leavest within it will bring the latter."

THE FIRST CURE FOR A LEAN PURSE...

"For each 10 coins I put in, I spend but nine."

This week's life skill for business:

Flex Your Finance-Ability... Start Thy Purse to Fattening

Live on 90% of your income.
For each 10 coins you put in, spend but nine. Start this week.

===========================
2. BUSINESS SKILL FOR LIFE
===========================

Love is Blind... Don't Fall in Love with Your Product!

One of the main reasons people DO NOT succeed in business is because they fall in
love with their products. What? Aren't you supposed love what you do or what you sell?

Do people buy McDonalds franchises because they love the hamburgers? Hardly.

Falling in love with your product can be very dangerous to your health and wealth, and
especially devastating to your bottom line.

Here's why. Love is blind. When we fall in love we can't see anything but the good. There are
positives to that. It stimulates passion and a fervor to share what you have with others. It keeps
you moving forward in times of trouble, and gives you the energy to keep on keepin' on when
things turn downward. That's all good stuff.

But the downside of falling in love with your product can have far more debilitating effects. For
one, we take rejection personally. When we feel vested in what we say, what we do or what we
offer to others, it can create all kinds of negative emotions in us if others don't respond, or worse,
outright reject our offer or proposition. For some people, they never get over that snub. Just ask
the tens of millions of people who have come and gone in network marketing how much their
families and friends contributed to their demise. I'm sure they believed strongly in what they
offered, but they were driven out of the business by a handful of naysayers.

Just because we like (love) what we do, what we sell or what we offer, doesn't mean it's going to
result in a viable or profitable venture. I've asked the question many times in my training:

"Would you rather have a product that you love and others don't, or a product others love and you don't?"

For many people, that's a tough question. It strikes at the heart of reality in business. Too many
people have gone to the poor house trying to persuade others to feel the same love they have for
their products. Like much of life, this is a paradox. We want to love what we represent. On the other
hand, who really cares whether we love it or not.

What matters in the "real" world of business is whether other people love it enough for you to earn
a profitable living offering it.

Representing a product you love is NOT A BAD THING, it's a good thing. But "falling in love" can blind
you to whether that product or service has enough market demand for you to succeed at it long term.

How many burger joints sell better hamburgers than McDonalds? Most.

How many are as successful and profitable as Mickey D's? Tain't the quality of the burgers that makes
for their success. I doubt many owners of McDonalds bought the franchise because they fell in love with
the taste of the Chicken McNuggets.

On top of that, when we fall in love with our product or service, we tend to present it from OUR point of view.
Yes, we are passionate and excited, and that' s fine. But that passion and love can cause us to miss the
faults and/or shortcomings of our products and services. We lose sight of the most important person's
perspective of what we offer, the person whose voice matters most: the customer. Passion is wonderful,
and I wouldn't want to leave home without it. It certainly gets attention, and even people's interest.

But contrary to conventional wisdom and the old world sales training model called...

AIDA = attention, interest, desire, action, the real truth is...

WE DON'T BUILD DESIRE IN PEOPLE. It must already exist for them to take action.

Their desire, not ours is what creates a buying state. No matter how much we love it,
or want them to have it...

THEY MUST WANT IT, OR FEEL THEY NEED IT OR THEY SIMPLY WON'T BUY IT.

The cold hard truth is, after you get someone's attention, the buying decision is NOT based on
YOUR feeling about the value of the product or service you offer. Old time sales training taught all
kinds of techniques to "cause" a person to buy. That model went out with the second millennium.

There are millions of businesses that had GREAT products and services that went belly up. Many did
so because the owner fell too deeply in love with the product, and couldn't see the forest for the trees.

No matter how much you love what you do, offer or sell, if the public isn't buying it you'd better have a
good backup plan. Companies fold every day because they don't test the waters before spending a
king's ransome creating, developing and launching a product (can you say dot.bomb?).

We have a little luncheonette on one of the biggest and busiest corners in town. You'd think it was a
slam dunk home run. In the last two years, two store owners have come and gone. Now, a new guy
owns the place. It's empty most of the time. Think he did his due diligence? The sign in the window
says something to the effect of, "Open under new management. Chef at XYZ (famous) restaurant
now running the ABC Deli." I give him six months, if that. Why?

1. Lousy parking. A few street side parking spaces and no separate parking lot, therefore no walk-up traffic.
2. Busy corner doesn't allow for easy access. People blow right by it, and by the time they see it, oops!
3. NO less than eight other eateries, take-out and fast food restaurants within two blocks.
4. Bad history - nobody succeeded in that location after a popular candy store folded a few years ago.
5. He fell in love with it.

Love is blind. He thought people would rush in because he's a great chef. He severely miscalculated.

I could go on, but it pains me. I know the guy sunk his life savings into the place, renovated it nicely,
works ungodly hours, and has high hopes because he loves to cook and serve good food. He will
probably be looking for work before the leaves turn green. How sad. He'll have a hard time recouping
from this venture financially, but an even harder time recovering emotionally and psychically.

No matter how much you love your product or service, you'd better make sure enough others feel the
same way before you sink your heart, soul, time, energy and money into it. Too many people fail because
they fall in love with their products, only to find themselves jilted at the alter of public acceptance.

Final point: if what you are doing right now DOES have public appeal, be ever vigilant to adapt, change,
alter, even "kill off" the product if it's not producing a profit or earning you a living.

After all, you wouldn't buy a McDonalds because you love the hamburgers.

This Week's Business Skill for Life:

Love is blind.

DON'T fall in love with your products. Be willing to let them go and find something people want.


======================
3. IMPORTANT TAX TIP
======================

NEW for 2002... higher deductions for home businesses.

GIVE YOUR KIDS A PAY RAISE
By Ron Mueller, Author - Ultimate Tax Reduction System

If you have kids who are at least 6 years old, you can pay them up to $4,700 (the new
Standard Deduction for 2002) this year to work in your home business -- with the entire
amount tax-deductible to you and the income completely tax-free to them. It's their money but,
since they are minors, YOU can control how their paychecks are spent. That means school
clothes, DVD players, even your teenager's car can be purchased with tax-free dollars.

How much is $4,700 tax-free dollars worth? The average person would have to earn about
$6,800 in wages in order to have the same $4,700 (after-tax-dollars) show up in his or her
paycheck.

Re-read pages 75-80 of 'It's How Much You KEEP, That Counts! Not how much you Make'
to make sure that you are complying with the tax laws. The IRS requirements are easy to meet,
but there are specific steps you must take to be legal and audit-proof.

Sign Up Here for: 'Tax Tips You Can Bank On' newsletter.

If you don't have a copy of 'It's How Much You KEEP, That Counts! Not how much you Make,'
you can still get the electronic downloadable version for only $37 or the printed and bound edition
for just $49, all inclusive and 100% tax-deductible.

The author promises: "If this step-by-step guide does not introduce you to new tax deductions
worth at least 50 times what you paid for it, I'll buy it back from you for up to one full year!"
THAT's a
guarantee you won't see anywhere else!

Order today and maximize your tax savings LAST year, this year, every year...

====================================
4. MASTERMIND YOUR WAY TO MILLIONS!
====================================

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====================================
5. MEGA-REFERRALS TRAINING NOW ON CD
====================================

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income using the MEGA-Referrals system. Amazing. It was easy, like shooting fish in a barrel.
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===============================
6. SHARE peace with someone today
===============================

Make peace with someone, today.

If you haven't been there, please visit and sign our guest-book.
Visit PeaceOffer.net

Please share peaceoffer.net with someone else.

===============================
EARN REFERRAL COMMISSIONS
===============================

You can earn a 10 - 25 percent commission for referring
Mitch for speaking engagements and bulk product sales.
Commissions can start between $400.00 and $1,000 and
increase from there depending on your level of involvement.

For more info email:

===================================
FREE ARTICLES FOR YOUR PUBLICATIONS
===================================

We have many articles available for reprint in your publication,
company newsletter, etc. You may use articles written that you
see published on any of our websites.

AxelrodLearning.com - ValueProfiles.com - SalesAlchemy.com

View samples of back newsletter issues here...

See our extensive list of written titles here...

All you have to do is print the article in its entirety along with the by
line at top and the credits, and complete contact information at the
end of each article. I would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy too.

EMAIL... your special request of articles on topics you can use.
Thanks.

Until next time...

Start fattening your purse.

DON'T fall in love with your products.

Mastermind Your Way to Information Millions

Maximize Your Tax Savings.

Get MEGA-Referrals starting today.

Sign up for peace.

Make this week, a WONDERFUL week.


Mitch Axelrod
Axelrod Learning
Voice: 973-736-1304
Fax: 973-736-3930

Contact Mitch

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