The Full Metal Investor's blog

TV Advertisements

2012-02-12T13:59:00.001-08:00

Guest post written by Joseph Finch

There are so many advertisements on TV these days. We use our direct tv packages just about every evening to watch different shows. No matter what channel we watch, there are, of course, always advertisements for something. Some of the ads are funny, but after seeing the same ones again and again, it starts to get old. There have been a ton of car commercials on this holiday season. Honestly, I cannot believe how many there have been. It seems like I have seen at least one or two for each different popular car brand. Lexus and Toyota probably have run the most in the past month or so. My dad thinks it is because this is not a good time for cars because people are spending their money on other things. I would have guessed the opposite based on how many ads. It seems like the ads are everywhere and cars too. It does not seem like the products with the most ads are not selling well to me. The ads I see the most are for things it seems like everyone has and buys. I guess that is why I am not in advertising.

Writer Tips

2012-02-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Social Media – Learn it. Use it. Master it. It’s that simple. You have NO choice nowadays but to be on social media. If you're a shy person, quit writing and expecting money to roll in.

Read editor blogs like mine and Guide to Literary Agents. The information there is jam packed with tips outside of my experiences. Also, don’t forget WriteSEX

Take classes on craft, marketing and education. This advice hails from the importance of learning and expanding your ability to write about various genres, cross genre write and refine your voice. Unlike investing and “Get rich quick” classes, the real profits belong to both the instructor AND the students. FYI, I teach two classes and that information can be found here

The Gift of Giving through Corporate Gifts

2012-01-31T11:47:00.000-08:00

I discovered a reason to post as of late! I know it's been awhile but with deadlines, holidays, events and such, time hasn't been on my side. Yet I've received presents from special folks and even a few Corporate Gifts. Those were nice, not because of the cost but rather the fact that someone decided to take time out and really show me they paid attention.

See, a big part of my belief system includes giving back to the community and the local economy but also the global economy. The practice of giving a unique corporate gift does this by helping circulate money. From your company, to the person purchasing the gift flows cash and while it's not as precious as a simple phone call, it serves a purpose.

In hurried times it doesn't require much thought to employ the practice of corporate gift giving. There are many fine sites to suit a variety of needs.

To have or not have an agenda

2012-01-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

That IS the question my publicist asked some time back in her facebook feed

The number of authors that responded about their beliefs and how they sneak into stories wasn't anything out of the ordinary and didn't raise any eyebrows from this editor until I received an email from one of my authors discussing his beliefs about our market at Sizzler Editions and m/m stories.

The way the email (to me) was worded made him sound like an uninformed writer so I politely set the record straight (haha) for him. He did some research and as I knew he would, he came back and confirmed my point on the topic.

I bring this up to make a point. When writing a story, the key thing is to ask yourself: Why are you writing this story? Is it to tell a great story of love gone wrong, gone right with the appropriate partner(s)? Or is it to advance an agenda?

The truth only really matters if we're talking about sales. If you've built up your audience the way any author should, then your only worry is whether your fans agree or disagree with your viewpoint. In the case of erotic romance, there IS NO ROOM FOR AN AGENDA OF ANY SORT.

Romance readers do NOT want to deal with the real world struggles of the day, nor do they want to hear some author, established or not spew forth an opinion. They want to escape into a fantasy world we create whereby the same sort of challenges can be overcome but the ultimate challenge is, can your couple make it til the end of the story?

The key of romance stories is that "love conquers all." The reason this is so popular is because our world, our reality is so fucked. As of this writing, there was talk about Prop 8 being passed AGAIN. IT failed. Three times. Gays in California do NOT want marriage. (based solely on the failure to pass this proposition) And there is talk of another proposition trying to legalize weed smoking in California, again an initiative that failed to rally enough votes to pass. On a larger scale, there's the stilted economy, trouble in the Mid East and more shit than we know what to do with.

Readers spend money on authors they trust to take them out of this nonsense. They're parting with dollars in hopes that you the author will take them on a magical journey of love, lust, ecstasy, grief, in short, an emotional gauntlet that ends with an HEA.

Yes I do occasionally sneak in my beliefs into my stories, usually as humor. How many people think John Kerry is dead and no one's told him yet? The answer? He's a vampire!

If you've got an agenda, save it for non fiction.

Husband hates facebook

2011-11-11T15:54:00.001-08:00

Guest post written by my buddy Keith Kramer
My husband thinks I have a serious problem. I will admit to it, to some degree. I have become obsessed with Facebook. While I do not look at it as a problem, he is starting to regret ever getting satellite internet. However, I love Facebook. I am easily able to talk to all my friends. I am able to keep up with people that are in different states and even different countries. It is an amazing site and I do not know how I would talk to some of my friends if it weren’t for Facebook. My husband, on the other hand, is completely against Facebook. He thinks people waste way too much time on it and share way too much personal information. To some degree, he is correct, but without all the sharing it would not be as interesting. I am hopeful he will one day get his own Facebook account, but I am not sure it will ever happen. I am convinced that if he sees all there is to offer, and then he will change his mind. I guess for now I will be continually arguing that my “problem” is normal.

Opening the Cafe

2011-08-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

Author: Dorsey Velasquez

We opened our French café a year back in downtown Houston and things have been going really well. The lunch and breakfast crowds are great and people really seem to be responding to the way we’ve set up the shop and how we serve our food which was my whole goal all along. I love being a small business owner and taking everything into my own hands and getting to work with my wife all day every day is actually working out better than I ever imagined. Someone told me about ShopElectricityRatesTexas.com the other day and I’ve been meaning to go since our electricity bills have just been out of control with all the baking and the lighting and such. And I’ve got to carve out some time to find some more part time help but you don’t understand how tough it is to set aside interview time and even to find quality people to interview! I love what we’re doing but it’s a lot more work than any other job I’ve had in my life.

Streamlining things

2011-06-14T15:44:00.000-07:00

I knew when we started having trouble last year paying our bills that it was time to streamline. We’d been living a little above our means for a long time and when the recession hit, my husband lost his job. It didn’t take long for us to realize we had to do something, so we started looking for areas we could cut some costs. I stopped getting my hair done at the salon and started doing it myself. It looks better and I’m saving us over a grand a year! I did some research at http://www.newyorkenergyrates.com/ to find us a company that could get a better energy rate and did a few other similar searches for our other utilities. We’ve got the house on the market and are looking to downsize, but it may be a while before it gets sold. Things are starting to look up and I’m not feeling so scared anymore, so that’s a good thing. I know it will all turn around again but we’ve got time!

I am here, sort of

2011-06-02T10:50:00.001-07:00

Mostly working on my other career stuff. I've pulled out of Real Estate, mostly due to impatience with realtors who I don't want to spend time training. I'm a full time romance author but will occasionally throw up the "sell out" post here when relevant. Or I might grab all this info, rework for writing and post it elsewhere. We'll see.

Best to you and yours

Grilled cheese sleepover

2011-03-26T10:34:00.000-07:00

Guest post written by Layla Lewis

I'm letting my daughter have a sleepover with her friends for her birthday in a few weeks. I'm letting her invite 4 girls over and I've never had that many of her friends sleep over before so I'm a little bit worried. But maybe taking care of that many 8 year old girls won't be too stressful. I'm planning some fun stuff for her and them to do though to keep them busy so they won't get into trouble while they're here.

I went online with our clear wireless internet to try and come up with some ideas and I found an idea to let them all decorate cupcakes. That scares me a little bit thought because I'm going to order her a birthday cake and they won't need any more sugar than that.

Instead, I'm going to let them put together their own grilled cheese sandwiches and then I'll grill them for them. I think that will be a neat and fun little idea. Plus, my daughter loves grilled cheese sandwiches, so this will be a little more exciting for her.

Desire for a Passionate Living!

2010-03-07T12:22:00.000-08:00

James Allen is quoted as saying “All that you accomplish or fail to accomplish with your life is a direct result of your thoughts.” I like that quote.

The key here is to first understand that what you think is what you have and are.

You’ve heard it before. Napoleon Hill wrote an entire chapter on it in his book Think and Grow Rich. While his examples are valid, they’ve lost some power over time. In most countries, a little black girl “overpowering” a fat white southerner means very little. It’s still a great story and a true one no doubt. But many feel Hill’s style is geared towards the rich or middle class white male.

That’s understandable. He worked for one of the largest corporations in America in a time when all we had were while males in power. But his statement that thoughts are tangible items that can become real is such a potent statement for any time period. Don’t believe me?

Look at Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinkingthe author of Blink. Here was a man who went out of his way to prove that thoughts were tangible via scientific method. His findings? The human instinct, a non tangible existence that we cannot see or touch, but often rely on is right 98% of the time. That’s like saying that the human mind is godlike!

I know that seems like a brash statement to make but human beings who rely on logic cannot help but see Gladwell’s findings and read Blink. Those who are emotional also have a backing as emotions can be based on fact.

We have a precedent set by both men that states that you are what you think. Ergo, if you think you’re a success, you are.

Herb Cohen, author of You can Negotiate Anything and the world’s greatest negotiator said there were three things needed in successful negotiations. Time, power and knowledge. Time and knowledge can be gained or lost but power is the one intangible thing that people either believe they have or have not. Sure you can see examples of power. Our president wields that power daily. Dictators, spouses, authority figures all appear to have power. Why not you?

Chances are because you believe you have none.

You’re right.

Without that belief that you have power, comes a lack of responsibility, loss of confidence and a whole slew of other troubles I don’t care to name. The lack of responsibility is in the form of “It’s not my fault I can’t do this or that, because someone else said so/didn’t pay me my worth/or whatever the lame excuse is. If you have a job that’s not paying you enough, it’s not your employers fault. It’s yours.

Brief Note on Active Listening to Improve Communication

2010-03-01T07:48:00.000-08:00

One of the most powerful speeches I ever gave was to my Toastmasters club in Oakland, Andeesheh chapter. Primarily composed of Islamic immigrants from various Middle Eastern countries, they weren’t born speaking English. Many of our members speak the language pretty well but still stumble from time to time as though they’re uncertain of the words they’re speaking. Many of them been here for over twenty years and still possess a thick Persian or Pakistani accent.

For the second speech in the Competent Communicator Manual, I had to research my topic and present a five to seven minute speech to a group of people I’d only met perhaps a month earlier. I needed to make an impact on this group that lasted and gave a positive message at the same time because that is the type of speaker I wanted to become.

So I chose Active Listening as my topic. The question I asked was: “Do you struggle with English and think that language is your barrier to doing business successfully?”

I outlined how verbal communication was only small part of the equation of successful communication and that most people are aware of the nonverbal portions even if they’re not acknowledging it. One of our speakers has a fairly thick Iranian Accent and seemed unsure of herself. She is in real estate and can’t afford to seem uncertain otherwise she’ll starve! And I don’t want that! I just met these people and at the time wasn’t sure what my perceptions were, but I knew one thing.

I wanted to help them feel more welcome in their own skin, continue to encourage them to learn better English and understand that grammatical mistakes happen but the subconscious mind pays attention to everything.

Our minds form opinions and ideas about what transpires before our eyes and it’s through our vocal communication that we express these thoughts. Trouble appears when we don’t actively participate in life.

When a speaker gives a statement such as “I did not steal that woman’s purse,” we must listen to the tone of their voice. Zig Ziglar talks about speaking voice and emphasis on words. I’ll outline this for you here to show how the meaning can change by putting emphasis on just ONE word in that sentence.

I did not steal that woman’s purse. – Indicates that it was stolen but I’m not the culprit.
I did not steal that woman’s purse. – Indicates that I may have had something to do with the purse, but stealing wasn’t it.
I did not steal that woman’s purse. – Indicates that I may have stolen something, but it wasn’t her purse.

Our minds pick up on this and only in afterthought do we often realize the message of a speaker. Combine their emphasis on certain words in speech with gestures, and facial expressions and we now have a complete picture to help our instincts form a clear opinion.

Successful people talk, but they listen more. They understand that looking at the way a client stands or how said client speaks is just as important as the words being spoken, if not more so.

There was a skit on Laugh In, the 1960’s sketch comedy show that emphasized this clearly. Just one word was used to communicate between two parties, but they could gesture and use vocal variety, along with facial expressions to show lust, surprise, dismay, appreciation and a whole wide range of other emotions.

That word was “Oh.”

Too many people fall short in the active listening arena. Have you ever had to repeat words or phrases to someone several times because they just didn’t seem to understand you? I have. It’s damn annoying. If I’m talking to a foreign speaker, it’s is okay, I simply remedy this by rephrasing what I’m saying and make sure I speak clearly, annunciating my words appropriately. If I’m with an English speaker who clearly was educated, I simply slap them.

Those who are not actively engaged in life miss out on a LOT of things. Opportunities and warnings are not always so direct. Other cultures do not always speak directly. For example, in Japanese storytelling, they rely on subtlety rather than direct language to illustrate a story. If you’re not paying attention or only giving half your attention to the story, you will miss out on important details.

The same is true with life. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve spoken to various people who miss out on my message not because I’m unclear, but because they are only half awake.

Handling Setbacks - a Quick How To

2010-02-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

From "Success is NOT a Problem" by Sascha Illyvich

You’re life is now going swimmingly. You’ve got a few more things in your life because of your desire. You understand that what you think, is real. You have a grasp on vocabulary and understand how to better describe your world to others around you.

You communicate effectively; you help others and don’t waste your time burning the candle at both ends.

Everything is great.

Then you hit a setback. A banking error on top of a missed payment from a vendor triggers a setback that puts you several hundred dollars in the hole. Then you can’t seem to find the words needed to tell your boss why you’re suddenly behind on your project. He’s threatening to fire you.

Then you miss paying rent. The management company has threatened to send the lawyers in NOW if you don’t respond.

Sounds like a lot of crap, huh?

It is. But with our newfound vocabulary and way of thinking, the ultimate question isn’t why is this happening to me, but how do I deal with this?

Sometimes we get hit with a ton of mess all at once and it forces us to stop our routines. It makes us uncomfortable and adds to our stress levels. Just when we’re at the pinnacle of success, it seems we end up with some setback to remind us that our goals are not for us. Doesn’t that sound about right?

That setback reminds us truthfully that we’re human and shouldn’t try to dream. Doesn’t that sound like some of our friends telling us we were wrong?

The above scenario is a large piece in this game called Life. Let’s do ourselves a favor and reverse chunk. If you’ve studied Anthony Robbins, he has a technique called chunking which helps us take large to do lists and make them more manageable by simplifying the goals and objectives we need to accomplish.

Reverse Chunking, as I’m calling it is taking that large pie of overload and cutting it up into more manageable pieces.

Let’s start with that list. What do we need as humans? We need shelter, so our first issue is to deal with rent/mortgage. A phone call or office visit may cost us time, but before we can do that, w need to find the source of financial falter. Did we spend too much? Did we balance our checkbook improperly? Once we figure that out, we can trace it back to the transaction that screwed us. In this case, it’s the bank who faltered. We now know that we need to call the bank and deal with them, find out what happened and get that issue reconciled.

The vendor who missed a payment is next as we’re counting on that income. Once we’ve opened dialogue with these two groups, we should probably contact our landlord/managers and set up an appointment. Since all of these groups are controlled by humans, this makes our lives much easier.

Computers can’t understand. Humans can.

Prepared with our story of the bank setback and vendor missing a payment, we’re now equipped to talk to our landlord/manager and give them a rough date as to when the issue with them will be remedied.

Because of all this mess, it’s probably a good idea to call your boss and ask them when they have some free time to talk about your situation. I have our boss last to call as he may pay our salary but he does not provide a roof over our heads in most cases. And in most cases, we have thirty to sixty days to find a new place to live, as opposed to thirty to sixty seconds to find a new job.

Do you see what I just did there?

I broke down a huge scenario and got to the problem at hand, alleviating my stress a problem at a time. People can be stubborn it’s true, and frustration will threaten to consume us but because we’re not like everyone else, we know that we can negotiate with anyone, anytime. We can play this game of life, and we can ultimately win. Remember the lessons I had you do earlier? I set those up for a reason and it wasn’t just to extend the book.

Each of those lessons built on a skill that would ultimately prepare us for hardships. Some things are just out of our control. The economy outside is one of those things. The economy between our ears, as Zig Ziglar says, is completely under our control.

Self Knowledge and Confidence

2009-12-13T15:11:00.001-08:00

By
Sascha Wayne

The other day I was asked about my knowledge of cigars and what smokers like, by the owner of a new cigar shop in Oakland. She’s not a cigar enthusiast but she is learning. I have been smoking cigars for over 5 years now, learning about flavor, texture, profile, construction and all that’s involved in the making and enjoying of a cigar.

She asked my opinions on things and what I think a new shop should carry once she starts to phase out her current stock. I started to tell her my thoughts, what I enjoy, what I’ve seen others enjoy and then I began wondering something.

Am I imparting more than my knowledge to this woman? Could I be trying to bias the shop so that it’ll carry the cigars I really like at better prices than the shop I normally go to in San Francisco?

I suppose it’s possible but my real and true motives are to help a local business owner grow. She’s providing a real resource for cigar enthusiasts in Oakland and the surrounding area that can’t or don’t go to Grants. She’s giving Oakland a new smoking room and place to relax, talk business, or just hang out with others who enjoy cigars.

I have a great deal of knowledge on the subject but what struck me as odd was how vastly my own knowledge has grown and how I word things when I talk to her. She recently asked about a particular gift set and what I thought about her picking that up and selling the cigars individually. My answer was, “You’ll have to run your numbers.”

Typical real estate answer, right? I don’t know the retail end of a business like this. I DO know what my friends or acquaintances enjoy. I do know what’s big in the markets and what’s hot right now. I know rough price points for online stores vs. the Brick and Mortar establishments (at least in California) and what markups occur and are reasonable.

In short, I have something of value to add to a new shop owner. I can contribute my time and resources to help build her store into a success that makes Oakland look better overall. Oakland has a rough image to overcome for a variety of reasons but a cigar friendly shop downtown is a definite plus whether you are a cigar smoker or not.

What I was truly questioning were two things: One, my knowledge of the leaf. And two, my motives.

But I always have things like Zig Ziglar to fall back on. It’d be nice to have a store that caters explicitly to Sascha, but how big is my ego? (it’s pretty big but NOT that big) It’s better to serve the needs of many, and when I deal with the owner of this new shop, I tell her honestly when I either don’t know the answer to a question or she’s asking about a cigar I’ve never smoked.

That’s honesty. So my motives aren’t in question.

When it comes to my knowledge, she reminded me that she learns a lot from me and other aficionados tend to back me up when it comes to cigar profile and knowledge. So we’re good there.

I think everyone should perform a self check every so often. Ask yourself, what are your motives in doing business or passing on knowledge?

And I think we should toot our horns a little more than we do. Hey, if we don’t, no one else might know that we have something of value to contribute!

When we know what we’re after, and how we can get it by giving, we’re living more passionate lives!

Art of the Salesman

2009-10-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

The Art of the Salesman
By Sascha Illyvich

If you’re having a tough time getting sales this in our troubled economy, maybe you should take a look at your sales team. If the right attitude and desire to serve the customer aren’t coming out, then you’re probably suffering now.

People like to blame tough financial situations on a difficult economy but that excuse only washes so far. Let me illustrate with a story.

Some of you may recall that last year I bought a singletail whip from Victor Tella, owner of Snakewhips.com. I spent $235 on the four foot beauty when money in our household is tight because my significant other has been forced into a reduced pay state and even my main source of income has also taken a hit. Prior til that, I purchased a Utilikilt (to the tune of $135) and in both cases, I didn’t even bother to haggle.

I met Victor at Folsom St. Fair last year and let me tell you, that guy is a salesman! He’s charming, polite, and when you visit his website, the words he uses are welcoming. He invites you to let him customize a whip for you. He promises a full refund and a guarantee if you’re less than perfectly happy with what he’s crafted for you.

In every instance dealing with the Utilikilts people, I have also felt welcomed. They offered that I strip off the confines of pants and step into a new kilt and feel the freedom. I like freedom. Hell, they even let me swing directly from the bottle of Jameson (I’m a Scotch whiskey drinker) and welcomed me to the Clan!

Having talked to a few close friends of Victor’s has done nothing but reinforced the abovementioned statements. I’ve been wearing my kilt daily for three years now and have plans to buy a second and third one.

There are other more “mundane” examples of good customer service around. The fine folks at Grants Tobacconist in San Francisco are not only knowledgeable but friendly and open about their trade. Joe Varron, the younger owner is eager to share and please the customer as are the other two employees. Even though I’m paying more for my cigars at a brick and mortar shop, the customer service makes it worth it.

My friend Mike works at an auto body shop that is still family owned to this day in Oakland. They do the job right the first time or until the customer is satisfied.

When you provide excellent customer service, people talk about it. Word gets around. Some folks might still hold onto their money, but in the end, a smile goes a VERY long way. Take a look at your people, especially your salespeople. They are not only the backbone of the company, but of this country and if they’re working hard at giving the best customer service possible, then they’re patriots for helping to make our economy better by encouraging folks to spend.

When you smile at your customers and treat every one as though you’re here to serve them, then the impact is big on them.

Those people are the passion behind the company and should be remembered as such!

Starting a Company During Troubled Times

2009-09-24T12:06:00.001-07:00

Starting a Company in the Safety of Toastmasters
By Sascha Wayne

How many of us are afraid to start our business, especially during these turbulent times? Do you fear that you lack leadership skills? Are you afraid to speak in any capacity? Or worse yet, you have great ideas but have no idea how to communicate those ideas to others who would be perfect for your idea?

Toastmasters can provide a haven where you learn by doing. The program puts emphasis on two parts. The first part is the doing, ie giving speeches or filling various roles in club meetings. The second part holds emphasis on evaluations, in other words how well did you do what you set out to accomplish?

The benefit of something like Toastmasters is evident within the first meeting because of the meeting structure. Each club has a variation on the structure of their meetings but the same basic activities are involved.

Leadership – The Toastmaster must use leadership skills such as communication, delegation, planning and implementation to have a successful meeting. His team of players assist him in accomplishing the goal of a successful meeting.

Oddly enough, the same things that the Toastmaster is required to do in order to plan a successful meeting are the same things your typical Chairman of the Board or CEO must do in any Fortune 500 company.

If either of them fail or fall short, it’s evident immediately. The difference is that in the Toastmasters club, the Leader can get immediate feedback and improvement can happen without costing the Leader or the club anything but time.

Speeches – Giving speeches is the key focus for many in the group as we strive to improve our communication skills. Because speeches are given and then evaluated at the end of the meeting, we are given instant feedback once again. The key difference here and in the Corporate Life is the cost. For the Speaker, it’s a matter of time. Most speakers take pride in crafting prepared speeches because an award like Competent Communicator holds a certain prestige. The skill set used to craft speeches for Toastmasters can carry over into EVERY other aspect of your life.

Evaluations – How are you evaluated in the corporate world? Often times harshly and by your higher ups in management who may have no real clue as to what you do for them. In Toastmasters, evaluation by your peers occurs because they are just like you. Sure we all have different jobs (some of us have REALLY different jobs!) but we’re all out fostering the growth and learning experience at the expense of time.

This may sound like a commercial for Toastmasters and while I’ll admit that I AM a member of the Andeesheh Club in Oakland, it’s not. The club atmosphere is open, friendly and safe. The learning experience may be priced as much as $4.50 a month but cost you nothing. You stand to gain confidence, competency and support from your peers who are in the end, just like you.

People striving to make this world a better place by using their talents, given or learned to inspire passion throughout this life!

Worried? You shouldn't be!

2009-04-02T14:19:00.001-07:00

Hello Readers,

I'd like to make a key point that might upset some of you. But it needs to be said.

If you're worrying, you're hurting me.

Woah, slow down there Sascha. I know you're a little radical compared to the normal image of an investor, but you just insulted me.

No.

I didn't. I said in effect, you're wasting my time. And here's how:

Worrying about problems you don't believe you can fix causes stress, which causes panic. If you panic, a natural response is to do NOTHING.

THe body reacts by either reacting or responding based on what's going on between your ears.

If it's good stuff like motivational support or positive input, then you're probably not fearing or freetting, nor are you worried.

But if you're not getting anything but what goes on during the day, you're probably getting an earful of bad news. This wave of bad news we've seen in the media with our economy has hurt us more than it's helped us. True, the economy is in the tank, and that a lot of crinimals are not being properly punished. But that's the feederal governments problem, not ours.

ARe we taking care of the economy in our head?

If not, I can guarentee your business will struggle to succeed EVERY step of the way. And I don't want that.

So take a moment to "get a check up from the neck up" so we can avoid "Stinkin' thinkin'.

And with that, I wish you a prosperous day.

Strengthening our Weak Points!

2008-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

The New Year is upon us and it’s time for all those wonderful new years’ resolutions, right?

Wrong! The thought of trying to make one actual change that’ll stick actually doesn’t set well with me. Imagine everyone who actually sets out to do something like lose weight or donate more to charity or spend smarter in our tougher economy. Didn’t we say all these things at the beginning of ’08?

Well, many of us did. In fact, I did too, but what I did differently was to set goals I could actually achieve. I hit most of my targets, many of which I didn’t realize I had hit until months after the fact because I was so busy working I didn’t have time to notice. Goal setting is the process of setting a realistic goal that you can accomplish in a given time frame that’s clear and concise. Knowing how I write, I knew I could write 8 novels in a year, and though I only finished and released 7, that’s’ pretty damn good!

New Years resolutions often seem far fetched and without aim other than for generic goals, like “I want to lose 50 pounds by summer.” Come on, we’ve all heard those, right? And we’ve seen the results. Start strong, finish weak in many cases.

So I’m calling for more goal setting with a focus on strengthening our weak points. We’re only as strong as our weakest aspects and for many of us, this could make a huge difference in our lives. Let me explain:

My bench is roughly 155 lbs. I weigh 15 lbs more than that and have a goal of being able to bench 210 by summer using resistance training, proper diet and a proper regimen of lifting. What makes the difference in all of this is my weaker muscles; my biceps and triceps. And my shoulders thanks to a shoulder injury from last March. If I strengthen my arms, I will attain my results much faster because the weaker parts of me are now better equipped to deal with the workload being placed upon them.

We have this problem in sales. Some of us are confident speakers, others could benefit from Toastmasters International. Imagine how much more business and opportunity you can create if your speaking voice is polished even just a little?

On the Real Estate front, who couldn’t use more education? These are tough economic times as I mentioned earlier, so why not buckle down and get back to the basics? I’m sure there are things we all missed when we began this journey.

The point is, that if by discovering and strengthening our weaknesses in one area of life, we’ll find that we improve all around. That can help lead us to a more passionate life!

New Tools!

2008-12-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

Well folks, it’s the last month of 2008, how have you done? If you think this is going to be a blog about reflections, you’re probably partially right! I’m big on results, seeing as my mentors and all the gurus preach about results.

Instead, I’ve come to you to discuss a new idea that came to me from my other career and has found a purpose in real estate.

New Tools. We need new tools oftentimes becuase the old ones aren't working any longer.

Let me explain: As a writer, I used anger as my primary emotion to pull from in order to raft passionate, powerful romances that had a point. That point was that no matter what your state of mind, you can overcome any obstacle if you let a little love and faith into your heart.

The problem is that I pulled a lot of that aggression from my past and from stored up anger, which had somehow managed to disappear in April of this year. In short, after almost 18 years of being pissed off and angry and using that to fuel the last 8 years of my romance writing career, I had no anger. My darkest romance written to date was finished in July or thereabouts and had been given the angst and annoyances that I had felt in the past as well as most of my aggression as of late, but the old stuff in me was gone.

This made me feel like I’d had no more creativity since that came from that dark, angry place sometimes labeled a dark night of the soul. Except that I willingly gave that part away and back to where it belonged and had managed to craft four more stories since July. A very dear friend of mine told me that it was time for new tools for both of us as writers.

Does that make sense? Our old ways are of no use anymore and in whatever profession we’re in, be it real estate, writing, sales or you name it, the tools of old will get us only so far. But if we find a way to utilize those old skills, we’ll invent new tools to suit our purposes and allow us to help others as well as ourselves. Is there a way you can use old technology in a different manner to get business accomplished? Can you take a new method and put an old spin on it to create a more unique tool for your purposes?

That’s what’s involved in helping others. We’re all problem solvers, whether we realize it or not. The way in which we go about creating our solutions can be an intense journey that challenges our minds and provides us with a bit of fun if we let it.

So I’d encourage you to seek out new tools for business, for living, for enjoyment of life. Did you realize that this blog was my first new tool of 2008? Based on the feedback I get occasionally and the stat counter, I see it’s serving some purpose, which is good.

Since we’re winding down, I’ll ask you the standard questions. Have you had a great year? Did you do bigger things, help more people for the greater good? Did you learn your purpose and start applying it to all aspects of your life?

If not, that’s okay. Just look at your results and your tools. A simple evaluation will tell you where you’re going. I’d stress that you keep the evaluation easy and not too concise, lest you get bogged down in over analysis. Spend maybe an hour at most, no more on self reflection. If you trust your instinct, which I encourage, you’ll figure out what you need in order to end this year on a good note and start the next year with a bang!

Things coming around full circle!

2008-11-03T11:54:00.001-08:00

It's November here in California and that means the weather is...interesting to say the least! I'm used to Texas weather in some regards I guess, the humidity that lingers in teh air while it rains and remains hot for much of the year.

WHereas living in Oakland, it's cold and rainy now LOL!

But, back to business. Have things come full circle for you this year? Have you set goals only to find yourself waning on them early on or in the middle of the year? If so, now's the time to take a moment and re-evaluate those goals, see where your preformance is.

I bet you'll be surprised. I was.

I origionally planned to have 8 releases out this year. At last count I'll have 7.
I planned to make a LOT of money in real estate. I gained a LOT of education this year.
I planned to lift stronger this year. I'm in pretty good shape according to my cardiologist.
And next year is setting up to be a better year for me.

Does your list look like mine? Is it similiar? I hope so. See, when we lose sight of our goals, things tend to fall apart. But a quick glance at our goals and progress can be seen in a new light. It's the second to last month of the year and we're getting ready to wind down. Can you look at your goals and set reasonable progress markers?

The end of the year is coming and I'm tring to slow down, just to have a bit of peace of mind over the holidays. HOw about you?

Sorry for the repost...

2008-10-21T13:57:00.000-07:00

But I'm kinda sick still.

Anyway, with the economy in turmoil, I figured the best thing I could do was remind everyone that we need to continue to spend money in order to stimulate the economy. I did my part, and for those that are opposed to kink, forgive me. But using the same style of storytelling that Zig Ziglar uses to get his point across, I have theorized that buying a new singletail whip will help stimulate the economy.

In these troubled financial times, it's neccesary for Americans to have trust reaffirmed by our government. Since they've let us down, it's up to the backbone of our country, the SALESMEN, to once again reaffirm our faith in the capitalist society.

So I have a plan.

Some of you know I've been playing with singletails recently. Now for those not in the know, a singletail is a 4 ft bullwhip used in the vanilla world for hearding cattle, driving sled dogs, etc. In the BDSM world, it's used for enticing and punishing, turning on and arousing, sexy little submissives.

One of the FINEST singletail makers in the country is Victor Tella. I met him recently at Folsom St. Fair but have been playing with his 8 plait whips occasoinally at Whip Works singletail workshop once a month. These whips are fluid, very snake like and are just works of art. I plan to purchase one.

Now some of you already know I own one. And I'm happy with my singletail, it's been good to play with and learn on, but as with anything, why not buy the best I can afford!

How can my singletail purchase help the economy you ask? Very simple. Money isn't backed by gold anymore. It's backed by people's confience and is a representation of said confidence in the government and our system. (There is nothing else backing money if I remember Rich Dad saying)

So...I give Victor Tella $235.00 for one of his beautiful, handcrafted made in America snake whips. I trust him, in otherwords.

My payment is hopefully processed online by machines running some form of a database, probably Oracle or some version of Linux/Unix, here in America. IT guys run those machines and do tech support, thus earning a living.

He in turn orders leather from his vendor, then has to possibly order knives to cut the leather into strips. Victor doesn't take short cuts and use precut leather or pre dyed leather, so there's another thing he's got to order. Dye. I want a black and purple whip, or perhaps two other colors. I am the dark wolf prince...after all.

AFter he's painstakingly crafted my beautiful whip, he then must purchase a box to send it to me in, at the post office. Then, that post man(or woman) must go through the ordering process, using computers (again set up and supported by IT people emoployed in THIS country) to get my order onto a truck/plane or other vehicle to deliver it to my door.

Money has changed hands so many times in the above scenario that I couldn't tell you exactly WHERE my final dollars ended up, but I can tell you that I have put money back into the economy, all becuase i like a little kinky sex.

Oh, and this purchase is "research" oriented so I get a tax write off, which helps ME save more money to put back into the economy.

Make sense?

Winton Churchill - Salesman and Author of Email Marketing for Complex Cycles!

2008-09-18T15:08:00.000-07:00

Thought we'd try something a little different here on the White Wolf blog. This interview is geared towards the sales part, an importantp art of our careers in most businesses I can think of. So we spent a few moments with Winton Churchill, a leading sales expert for some advice and to talk about hiw new book "Email Marketing for Complex Cycles"

Let's start with the book:

This book contains information which is beneficial to the following people and businesses: small business owners, professional consultants, marketing executives, sales executives and people in technology companies. Most have complex sales cycles which simply means, they form a relationship with their prospects before the prospects make a purchase.

These topics and themes are in your book.
• Building rapport with prospects
• Presenting information in a way that they don't drown
• Reducing tedious and demeaning sales tactics
• Closing more sales
• Shortening sales cycle
• Reducing stress in sales organization
• Reducing uncertainty about meeting forecasts

The content is easy to understand and it is packed with great information for any business that wants to use email to reach prospective clients. When done right, email is a very powerful marketing medium - Winton Churchill knows how to do it right.

You Will Discover:

● 3 keys to improving the quality of your leads
● 5 techniques to increase the number of leads you get
● 3 little-known conversion tactics that turn leads into revenue
● 1 mistake that dooms most lead generation to anemic results
● 2 unconventional ways to shorten your sales cycle
● 3 ways you've been brainwashed when it comes to email
● 6 special needs shared by all complex sales cycles
● 3 critical stages of success (and what to do at each one)
● 18 essential components you need to get going
● 8 indispensable "fast track" strategies to get you on the road to success

Level the playing field!...Compete with your strengths.

About Winton Churchill
Winton Churchill is Founder and CEO of Churchill Method, Inc. , an international sales and marketing consulting firm that helps clients improve their sales and marketing processes. He is the author of "Email Marketing for Complex Sales Cycles." He has held senior positions in both F500 technology firms including Apple, Oracle, Spinnaker and Sun. He headed sales & marketing as VP at Contact Software, the developers of ACT!. He is Past President of the South Bay Association of Chambers of Commerce. The SBACC serves 18 Chambers and more than 53,000 businesses in coastal Southern California.

For More Information and A Special Offer For Each Person Who Purchases Email Marketing
For more information, visit www.churchillmethod.com. Visit www.virtualblogtour.blogspot.com for the most up to date information. His full tour schedule is posted at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/winton-churchill-email-marketing-for.html. Winton Churchill is offering a wealth of free gifts for every person that purchases his book Email Marketing. Visit www.churchillmethod.com/bookbonus for full details about how to download all of these free gifts.

Now let's talk about HIM! Here's the Interview!

1. Tell us how you became involved in marketing and sales

Just after college I co-founded an electronics company. We built digital test equipment for digital design engineers. My partner was a college friend. He was the engineer and I was everything else!
Our early days involved developing a product. Once the product was complete I began to generate some leads. The next step was to go sell those leads. The only practical way to do that was to get on an airplane and go see the prospects where ever they were.
I quickly learned that if I could produce better leads before I went on those trips, I would sell more on the trips. So my early success in marketing had a very positive impact on my sales. Throughout my career (even as VP Sales & Marketing) I have worked to keep that linkage tight so good marketing work translates into sales.

2. Tell us, why sales cycles? What does that mean exactly and how can your book help sales professionals to understand their importance?

Many businesses look at the sales process as one giant hairball. Sales are either good or bad or maybe something in between. We have found in our consulting work, that by looking at an entire sales process from beginning to end, and breaking it up into discrete sections, we can often make a series of small improvements that add up to a big improvement in the overall functioning of the sales and marketing part of the company.
Too often sales professionals are too close to the action to see how the different parts can be improved. By following our process of breaking the sales cycle into 3 main categories then breaking those components down even more you can often quickly repair a faltering sales proccess.
Its like a car with an engine that doesn’t function properly. It may only be the fuel filter, but that can bring the whole car to a stop. Once the problem is properly diagnosed, it is easy to make a simple repair.

3. Was Zig Ziglar an inspiration of yours?

That is a great question! Yes... I have found Zig's work on goal setting to be very effective. His warmth, insight and experience make him a great teacher. Over the years I've listened to many of his audios and given them to members of my sales team when it seemed like their sales performance was not what it could be. It is so important for high performers to always improve their skills and I suspect Zig has helped more than most.

4. How do you think technology is changing the face of sales? How do you feel about this?

Technology has certainly made it much easier to identify and attract prospects.
This is good.! Too many small businesses in particular struggle with their sales. Their cycles tend to be uneven, and the revenue ups and downs can make life miserable in a smaller company.
The good news is that the technology available today means no company should ever have to worry about those problems again. By taking a few simple steps they can ensure their sales and their marketing processes are as reliable and effective as they can be.
But I feel sorry for the business owner or executive who doesn't embrace this technology or is slow to come to it. A lot of times our consulting work is helping just such a company get caught up... bringing them into the new millennium in terms of using the tools that are available.
The transition can be painful and awkward at times but the rewards are astounding for the company that sticks with it. We work to take some of the sting out of the transition.

5. Can you give us a powerful excerpt from your book for the blog?

Yes...when I speak I am always asked when is the best day of the week to send an email. Get this right and your responses can be double what they are if you send your email at the wrong time. Here is the excerpt:
What you send is important.
When you send it is almost as important—and in some cases, it might even be more so.
Schedule your outbound email when it has the least competition from distractions:
• Don’t send email on Monday or Friday.
• Don’t send the day before a holiday or the first day back after a holiday.
• Don’t send on an election day.
• Morning arrivals tend to get the best responses. The email should be seen as a “recent arrival” to the inbox.
• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings are good.
• Don’t send if a disaster is in progress, or a riveting news event is capturing everyone’s attention.
You can’t always anticipate the best timing. But as a general rule try to avoid times when people have other things on their minds. You just don’t want to be in somebody’s hair during a terrorist attack or some kind of other emergency that’s consuming their attention or causing them anxiety.
Be careful not to fall for “opportunities” to get lists from brokers during those times either.
A number of disreputable vendors offered discount rates on mailing to their lists after the attacks in September 2001, hoping to catch some people who would say, “Oh gee, we can save 50% on so and so list if we go with it next week.”
In cases like that, you might think you’re saving money, but you’re actually wasting it. You’ll get a very low response rate.
6. Where can people learn more?
Well probably the best thing they can do is take a look at the book. It’s been engineered to help the typical business reader get a firm grasp on how this technology can specifically help them in their business. I took great pains to keep it in terms a business person would understand rather that so many of the jargon-filled, mathmatically complex books on the topic.
Most people can read it in about 2 hours and walk away with a much clearer idea of how they can apply the prinicples and tactics in the book.
Purchasers of the book also get free electronic access to the following:
1. 12 Emergency Tips For Improving Response To Your Direct Mail or Direct Email Lead Generation Programs. Audio mp3
a. If you've developed an e-mail campaign, designed a white paper, developed a new web page and aren't seeing the results you want, this CD can help. Most marketers throw the baby out with the bath water. With this CD you'll learn how to spruce up that program that isn't living up to your expectations. Don't start over, just tweak what you've got.
Retail price $125

2. 7 Fatal Mistakes Senior Executives Make With Their Complex Sales Cycle ...And How You Can Avoid Them. Audio mp3
Because complex sales cycles are so tricky and individual, it is no wonder that senior executives have a hard time getting a handle on them. Often times their "vision" is obscured by days to day operations. The Churchill Method has identified 7 common mistakes most likely to mess up your sales cycle with concrete, action-oriented ideas than can help you avoid those mistakes.
Price $65
3. Sales & Marketing Diagnostic—A 12 factor, self-scoring spreadsheet that will help you identify the weaknesses in your sales and marketing.
The checklist helps you rate your own sales and marketing process with respect to the things that matter most when the economy turns sour. And keeps you from getting caught “flat-footed” when the turbulence hits. Run this periodically to keep yourself on track.
Price $29
These bonuses add a new dimension to the content of the book. It helps people take the thoughts and ideas from the book and gain more clarity on how to put them into action.

Here is the link for the sample chapter:

http://churchillmethod.com/chapter.html

The book is available at:

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/5rv7t5

Barnes & Noble: http://tinyurl.com/5jykgy

My main website is here:

http://www.churchillmethod.com

And my blog is here:

http://churchillmethod.net/blog/
If you look through our website (http://www.churchillmethod.com ) you find a number of reports, audios and resources that will help you begin to analyze and improve your whole sales process.

For more information, visit www.churchillmethod.com. Visit www.virtualblogtour.blogspot.com for the most up to date information. His full tour schedule is posted at http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/winton-churchill-email-marketing-for.html. Winton Churchill is offering a wealth of free gifts for every person that purchases his book Email Marketing. Visit www.churchillmethod.com/bookbonus for full details about how to download all of these free gifts.

Thanks and best of luck to Winton Churchill!

Missing updates!

2008-09-04T16:59:00.001-07:00

Hello Passionate Peoples!

I apologize for the lack of regular updates, you see I've been under severe deadline with two publishers and have been deling with edits and cover art etc. The beauty of this is that I"m living my dream of being a full time writer and my results are impressive as I spend more time devoted to just my writing!

I'm lacking in real estate progress it seems.

Or am I?

Well, in my spare time I've managed to make some contacts that'll help me by allowing me to help them. Realtors, network marketing people, other investors and of course, distresssed homeowners.

So there has been progress, thankfully. But not much, it's been slow. I can deal with slow results though, even in this tough economy.

I promise there will be more regular updates probably starting next month. I'm kinda free for a few days at the end of September so we'll make some powerful posts for you to pass on :)

Cheers!

Sascha Wayne

Visible Results!

2008-07-07T15:07:00.001-07:00

Visible Results
By Sascha Wayne

It’s July and things have been pretty busy for me this year. How about you? Have you seen results in your endeavors? I mean, actually SEEN results? Are you making more money? Living more passionately?

Can you measure your results?

That’s what I like about weight lifting. When I started lifting again back in January with the desire to increase my overall health, I realized one of the things I enjoyed about this particular activity was that I could see results immediately. From the morning soreness after my first day of a familiar yet new routine to the muscle gains I’ve achieved over the last six months, the results are plainly visible.

Each day I look at myself in the mirror and see something new. As of this writing, I realized my shoulders are massive compared to what they were this time last year! A few days before that, I noticed more definition in my shoulders, more tone in my chest. When I perform certain exercises, I can feel the weight becoming too easy to lift for that particular exercise.

When I screw up, boy do I know it!

I ask you, with this short blog, are your results in the activities you do daily visible to you? To others? Compliments from others help keep us motivated and we get more compliments when our results are visible to the world.

If there is an activity you could think of that would make people take notice of you, any activity that would garner a great response from those around you, would you do it? Would you find the courage to step out of your mold and perform that activity, knowing full well that in doing so, you would benefit from it?

I would. And I bet if you did just one thing out of the ordinary to gain very visible results that the world around you, your personal sphere of influence, would take notice. In doing so, they’d be keeping your name (and possibly your business) in the front of their mind and the minds of others.

How would that make you feel? Pretty good, huh?

I hope so. By living our lives with results that are so visual that they cannot be disputed, we encourage others to follow suit and reinforce our personal goals, enhancing our chance for living the passionate life. I know I’m living pretty passionately, how about you?

Knowing Your Audience

2008-06-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the June Edition of the Full Metal Investor blog! How is your summer going so far? This weather in the Bay Area is a little confusing to my Texas mind but different is good, right?

As May came to a close, I was scrambling for something to blog about in the spirit of passion and came to the realization that I had nothing important to contribute this month. I’ve been so busy with my seminar that I haven’t even touched Real Estate in the last two months. Then when I was out on the balcony earlier (June 1st) it hit me. Why not talk about the seminar and knowing your audience!

For those who do not remember, I am an erotic romance author as well as an investor. Back in January of this year, I had set a goal to create two more seminars that were dedicated to adding value to the writing community while generating cash. I came up with the idea to host a BDSM in Romance seminar and with the help of a few key people in my life, set out to outline it, demo it, collect feedback and then present it for a reasonable fee to romance writers who are looking to expand their current knowledge about a topic I know plenty about!

BDSM is a hard topic to cover, particularly because of the negative stereotype that it has associated with perverts and the dregs of society, but once people understand the inner workings of the Lifestyle, it often becomes more palatable. I know there are a few of my blog readers who may be turned off at the fact that the Full Metal Investor is kinky and while I make no apologies for who I am or what I write, I do have to bear in mind the following:

I must know my audience.

In order to sell them a product I find of value (an education, in this case) I must know and respect the fact that many romance writers are scared of the topic so much that even those who ask me for advice, help and the like are scared to do so for fear of discovery. I had to come up with a few different sales pitches in order to attract the largest group possible and make the sale with each and every one of them. The tactics I used ranged from some of Zig Ziglar’s closing techniques to pure showmanship using the bravado I’ve developed and honed over the past few years as a writer and investor. But the one thing that was key for me was knowing my audience.

In short, I had to make the material presentable and understandable. I had to convey that I could be trusted to guide them in the right manner. I had to trust in myself and be confident that I could provide these people with information that would enhance their writing, all for a price I considered (and by last count, my first 15 students) reasonable.

In our society, to talk about money, sex or politics is still considered taboo in some circles. But what if you deal in that? Some of you are realtors and investors who deal with not just your own funds but other people's money as well. In short, you are sales people.

Your clients must trust in you and your confidence with their money as they make some tough decisions. If you fail to convey that trust, the sale is lost, is it not?

You can study your markets, know your clients buying patterns, understand demographics and scientifically slice said clients into groups that you can pinpoint certain sales techniques to. But without that human connection, that deep understanding that comes with being honest and authentic, your client will most likely shy away from you, thinking you’re a shyster.

With my workshop, one of the aspects we talked about was pain. That’s an easy concept to mislabel and misunderstand if one isn’t careful in their wording. How did we broach the subject of why some of us like whips and paddles, while others prefer different stimulation? I observed real life.

I related pain in the Lifestyle to pain in an athlete, something that every one of us could understand even if we've never been the athletic type. I didn’t dumb things down, but I brought to light the similarities (there are many) between the two seemingly different aspects of existence. Most of my readers had read some books on the subject or done research on the internet, but no one actually conveyed having talked to an actual “expert” on the subject for fear of rejection.

The same technique could be applied to your clients. How do you get them to trust you? Jerry Vass, author of Soft Selling in a Hard World talks about building rapport with your clients through commonality.

Interesting, Zig Ziglar talks about the same thing, only he mentioned it thirty years earlier. And Herb Cohen, the world’s greatest negotiator makes the same claim.

This is not all that difficult if you pay attention to who is sitting in front of you. How are they dressed? What is their demeanor? How are they posturing themselves? It only takes a few minutes of conversation to figure out where your client is coming from and how you can best serve their needs all while making that sale.

The more people you build rapport with, the easier it becomes for you to live your life passionately!

A note on Self Care

2008-05-21T15:43:00.000-07:00

A Short Note on Self Care
By Sascha Wayne

These are hard times no matter how you look at it. Foreclosures are on the rise, the job market is not what it should be, gas prices are rising, all of this and more creates a massive amount of stress that hurts us, ages us and does us no good.

So what can we do to mitigate our stress levels and keep our health and sanity?

We can take care of ourselves.

Sometimes in this lesson I hear people talk about how selfish self care can be. So, let’s define selfishness. Word Web defines Selfishness as: Stinginess resulting from a concern for your own welfare and a disregard of others.

That suggests a two part formula to being selfish. The blatant stinginess for our own concern is the first part. The second is a disregard for others.

Being investors, realtors or anyone who is reading this blog suggests that none of us have a disregard for others. So that leaves us with dealing with the first part of the definition.

Concern for your own welfare. When we are stressed out and not taking care of ourselves, our mindsets are directly affected. I used to experience this frequently when I would sit at my computer for hours on end writing and working on various projects. At one point I would stop and realize that I was so hungry that my stomach literally hurt. My mind was frazzled, any responses to serious questions I was asked were not answers worth giving.

At the end of last year, I decided that I was going to reaffirm my commitment to my self. I have some very important people in my life who know about my physical limitations. Those same people are heart mates, loved ones who know how important my goals are to me. But to ignore my health is to step on our friendship in a manner of speaking. My behavior says to them, “You are not important enough for me to care about how you feel about me.”

That’s not something I want to convey to them or to my business partners, future and present. With proper self care, problems and worries can be dealt with in an appropriate and efficient manner.

Proper exercise and eating habits help our minds to function at peak levels. We’ll feel better, sleep better and be able to deal with our lives in a manner that lets us live passionately!

They're out watching you!

2008-05-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

You may walk invisible in the crowd, but beware! People are paying attention to you! Perhaps you’re the office clown in public but you work really hard for your church or non profit organization. Maybe you’re the quiet type who handles business efficiently. Or you’re me, the loud mouthed yet hard working Type A person who handles a lot of projects at various times.

The point I’m making is that no matter who you are, people are watching. Observing, if you will. To illustrate my point better I’ll use an example from my writing life.

Many of you know that I spend most of my time immersed in romance novels. Reading them, writing them, talking with authors and readers about them, I do it all! Well I try to anyway. When I first started writing, I had a lot of unchecked aggression and a take no prisoners attitude. As I’m sure you guessed, this caused me a lot of problems over the years due to the fact that male romance writers are rare and the industry is in an ever changing state. But I was pissed off at personal issues and professional issues that felt out of my control. Boy did I hold onto those old values and beliefs for the longest time!

A few years after I started writing, I started my journey into investing. We all know that includes self teaching through books, tapes, seminars, etc. One of m favorites is Zig Ziglar, who often talks about helping others in order to help ourselves. This led me to start helping out a lot of other authors with projects, which left little time for vehement Sascha. The amazing thing was, that I kept hearing little whispers from friends who have more successful careers than I had at the time. The whispers included things like, “So and so publisher wants to see a manuscript from Sascha,” or “I’d like to write with Sascha some day.” The frequency of these comments was very low, but over the years I started to collect them and realize that while I spent all this time trying to better establish my writing career, people were watching. After a debacle with a former publisher that left tons of authors without homes, I ended up talking to the PR person at another publisher who gave me one great idea to really get my name out there! She suggested I start teaching seminars on things I know about.

Two seminars later, I’ve developed more of a following and have attracted some bigger names who in the future may be tied to me, because I paid attention to what I was doing and who was watching.

People don’t mind the vehemence as long as it’s in moderation and directed appropriately, but there’s always going to be that someone important who says “I want to work with this person, but this ‘thing’ is too much.”

We’re surrounded by the people we hold company with, be it our personal groups, friends, profession, etc. A good leader knows when to recognize the quiet person, or the person who appears seemingly insane. Great leaders will cultivate that person.

I’d invite you to ask yourself, who is watching me? What am I doing to impress us both? Or, who are you watching? What traits can they bring to you to help your purpose?

PS, I’m still passion filled, it just comes across as less angry these days!

Interview with Dyan Garris

2008-04-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

This month on the Full Metal Investor blog, we have an interview with author Dyan Garris, author of Money and Manifesting, a book that I beileve may hold some interesting things about well, money and manifesting :) Enjoy!

Interview with Dyan Garris

Hi, my name is Sascha Wayne and I’ll be your interviewer for this part of your tour. My blog is geared towards real estate people, but more generally towards people living passionately. So,

1. Tell us about Dyan Garris.

I could give you the formal bio, but I think you want something different than just that. I’m a clairvoyant counselor. I’m an energy worker. I’ve created a series of music and meditation CDs for Automatic Chakra Balance.™ My music has been nominated for several New Age Reporter Lifestyle awards and my song “Illusions” was recently #1 on Soundscapes cable TV music channel. I’m the author and developer of “Voice of the Angels – A Healing Journey Spiritual Cards,” which are based on scenes from “A Healing Journey Guided Fantasy.” The cards are uncannily accurate and “speak” to the user. They each have a message from angels in quatrain verse. This is the “voice.” I’ve also written several other books, one of which is “Money and Manifesting.” All of the things I’ve created work together as integrative tools for helping with spiritual growth and transformation. My work is about helping people move forward. I’m married and I have one son. I live part of the year in Arizona and part of the year at the beach in Florida.

2. What are you passionate about?

I’m a passionate, creative person.
I think I’m passionate about everything. On a physical level I’m very passionate about swimming. On a spiritual level I’m passionate about life. It is an amazing gift.

3. How did you come into learning about money manifestation?

I’m a person who has spent a lifetime creating. Through the course of my life’s work I came to study patterns. One theme that kept coming up in readings over the years was people being blocked financially. When I really studied that, I figured out what the real problem was. Then “The Secret” came out and the laws of attraction began resonating as truth in collective consciousness, which is what needed to happen at this time. I counseled many people for whom these just were not working. When I put that all together, I had “Money and Manifesting.” The goal was and is to help people learn to create their reality. My life’s work is about helping people unblock what is in their way so they can move forward on the path.

4. What advice would you give to investors in this economy?

I’m not a financial advisor. But one of the biggest issues that I see regarding the economy is that the whole system is based on fear. When we fear losing our pieces of paper and our material things, that is what we’re creating, of course. We have a lot of people putting a lot of energy on that. And then the universe will simply follow suit by presenting us with the opportunity to discover who we are without our money. My advice for everyone is to get the concept of money into perspective. Money is energy and a means of exchange. It should not define who we are to the point of creating abject terror if we find ourselves without it. We’ve allowed the concept of money and our belief in its “power” to hold us hostage at a level of basic survival. This is where we give our power of creation away. There is no power in fear. And there is no real power in pieces of paper. It’s an illusion.

5. What has manifested itself unknowingly to you in the last thirty days?

Nothing really manifests unknowingly. I’m very conscious about what I’m creating, because I’m to the point where I’m living in synchronicity most of the time and therefore whatever I put energy on manifests pretty quickly.

6. What was the change you may have made to bring about this manifestation?

I’ve spent a lifetime basically creating things out of nothing. So, I can’t really say there was one particular change. Once you disentangle your self-worth from your pieces of paper and from underlying belief systems that were taught to you regarding money, manifesting, self-worth, power, and so forth, you then have opportunity to move forward. What you’re doing then is creating an open pathway for the energy of money. You’re creating an open pathway for everything.

7. A lot of people have blocks in their mind when it comes to manifesting anything, how would you suggest they start to overcome those blocks?

It is important to note that we do not create with only the power of our minds. We cannot manifest with just the mind. Manifesting is an integrative process and the power of the mind is only one part of that. If the goal is to move forward and if someone has blocks in their mind toward manifesting, then it would be helpful to first get to the root of where those blocks originated from and eliminate them. Truly, sometimes we get in our own way.

8. I thought you could just follow the advice of The Secret in order to gain things in this life. Was I wrong? What does your latest book, Money and Manifesting teach us that we did not know?

The basic principles in “The Secret,” i.e., the laws of attraction and the power of positive thinking, needed to filter into our consciousness so that we can use these universal laws to take the next steps in moving forward. In and of themselves, these are not really enough to manifest because manifesting is an integrative process. Think of it this way: You can read words in a book, but that doesn’t mean they make sense to you. If and when they make sense, you then have to go out and apply them in a practical manner in order to get the result you want. It isn’t enough to think about those words. So no you weren’t wrong. It’s just that this isn’t the entire story about manifesting. It’s only part of it. My book teaches what is missing and what exactly to do about it to create a positive shift in your life.

9. What makes your latest book Money and Manifesting stand out from the other books on the same topic?

One of the most important differences is simply the way that it is written. I’ve written it in such a way so that while you are reading it you are already having an automatic shift. Parts of the book are fictionalized and the fiction is wrapped around the information. It’s an entertaining and effortless way to take the first steps toward manifesting. Plus I’m teaching exactly what steps to take to manifest your desires. There isn’t anything missing. There is no endless seminar attending or DVD watching. When you’re done the hope is that you close the book and say, “I get it!”

10. Leave us something powerful to share to the Full Metal Investor blog readers!

There are no limitations in creating anything that you desire to create unless you believe there are. Those that keep telling themselves that someday, someday, you will go and live your life the way you want, have missed the point of your life. The pursuit of money in and of itself is not a “bad” thing. It’s when you truly believe that money is real power that you are stuck in the illusion. Love is what everyone goes out of here saying and thinking about. There is no power in fear. There is no power in pieces of paper. The power is in the love.

11. Lastly, where can we find you on the internet?

I spend most of my time at the main site www.voiceoftheangels.com. There are free angel card readings, a Daily Channeled Message and much more there. “Money and Manifesting” has its own dedicated site www.moneyandmanifesting.com. And you can visit me at www.myspace.com/voiceoftheangels to listen to my music and that is where we can become friends!

Thank you Miss Garris for taking time to let the Full Metal Investor blog interview you and a special thanks to Nikki Leigh for bringing this to my attention. I am glad to share with my readers such a powerful message!

Thank you for your very thoughtful questions, Sascha. This was a very interesting interview and I appreciate the opportunity. It was a pleasure and I hope your readers learned something new and helpful.

For much more information about Dyan Garris and Money and Manifesting, visit http://inspiredauthor.com/promotion/Dyan+Garris for complete tour details. To learn about the products Dyan offers, visit her website - www.voiceoftheangels.com. You can order your copy of Money and Manifesting from her website or from http://www.amazon.com/Money-Manifesting-Dyan-Garris/dp/0977614069

Book Summary

Money and Manifesting - Summary
By Dyan Garris

Money and Manifesting is more than a manual about how to apply the laws of attraction and think positively. It teaches you the real secrets of manifesting. Here you will learn what really stands in the way of manifesting, how to unblock the energy flow of money, and how to actually transform energy to get what you desire.

The Law of Attraction is part of what you need to know to manifest, but it is only one part of the process. We do not ultimately create anything with just the power of our minds. While the power of the mind plays a very important part in manifesting, the very seat of creation is in our base chakra.
In the book Money and Manifesting you will learn how to unblock, activate, and integrate the energy of every chakra so you can effectively create exactly what you desire to create. For those that have tried in vain to implement the Law of Attraction, this book will help you understand exactly why this hasn’t worked for you. And it will teach you exactly what you need to do to learn to manifest.

In addition to this, parts of the book are fictionalized. There is a good story here too that anyone can relate to. When we can relate, identify, and see ourselves reflected, we then have a platform for change. The book is written this way so that while you are reading it, you are already actively engaging in the process of left brain/right brain integration. This is a first and necessary step to manifesting anything. When you’re done reading, you’ve already had an exercise in integration and you’re on your way to manifesting. You will feel an automatic shift.

“It is not enough to think positively, repeat affirmations, and attract positive energy. We must implement and integrate this learning into our daily lives. This is the real secret of manifesting money. It is the real secret to manifesting anything.” – Dyan Garris, author of Money and Manifesting.

CONTENTS

Nicholas Fortuna...............................................1
What’s Wrong With Positive Thinking? .........7
The Root Chakra.............................................10
Why Positive Thoughts and Passion Are
Not Enough............................................12
The Other Chakras and The Law of
Attraction ...............................................13
Success – The Measure of Success .................14
Carla ...............................................................17
Barriers to Manifesting – Patterns,
Belief Systems, and Illusions.................23
Poverty Consciousness....................................23
Fear.................................................................24
Duality Consciousness.....................................27
Karma .............................................................28
Entitlement .....................................................29
The Illusion of Separation ...............................31
The Illusion of Limitation................................33
Fifteen Million Dollars.....................................37
Illusions of the Linear Mind – Perceptions.......39
The Khaki Shorts.............................................39
Person A & Person B.......................................41
The Illusion of Time........................................43
Lucky ..............................................................45
Chakra Balance and Stuck Energy ...................51
The First Chakra .............................................53
The Second Chakra.........................................55
The Third Chakra............................................58
The Fourth Chakra..........................................61
The Fifth Chakra.............................................63
The Sixth Chakra ............................................65

The Seventh Chakra........................................67
Yantras and Mantras........................................69
Elayne .............................................................77
Chakra Balancing – Part I................................85
Breathing & Relaxation Techniques.................87
Prana Breathing...............................................88
Grounding.......................................................89
Centering ........................................................90
Create a Sanctuary...........................................92
Nicholas..........................................................97
Chakra Balancing – Part II.............................101
Carlos............................................................105
Patterns, Habits, Change and the Mind, Body,
Spirit Team...............................................107
The Integration of Mind, Body, and Spirit......112
Bobby............................................................117
Money as Energy – Breaking Down the
Barriers to Manifesting..............................123
The Feng Shui Money Tree – Something Out
of Nothing................................................127
Lucky ............................................................131
Working with the Energy of Money...............135
Debt and Financial Responsibility .................137
Lucky ............................................................141
Manifesting 101 ............................................143
Responsibility and Choices............................145
Lucky and Nicholas.......................................147
Green Lights..................................................149
The Basic Principles of Manifesting................151
Detach...........................................................152
Don’t Give Up – Let Go and Release..............153
Lucky ............................................................157
Carla .............................................................159
Being Grateful ...............................................165
Judgments .....................................................166
Forgiveness ...................................................167
Carla .............................................................169
Epilogue........................................................173

Introduction
The very ﬁrst thing to understand about money is that we do not “make” money. We create and open pathways to the ﬂow of the energy of money. Money is energy. In and of itself it has no power. The power it has is our perception that it has power and this is what fuels the energy of money. These perceptions stem from illusion, perspectives, and deep seated belief systems.
If we understand these concepts as a basis, then we can begin to understand that we need to learn to open pathways of energy ﬂow. Part of that process is learning how energy works, how we can utilize that energy, and subsequently learn to manifest.
What makes this book different is that you will learn how to actually transform energy and learn how to integrate energy and align the mind, body, and spirit so that the things you are manifesting can actually occur. This is called synchronicity.
The magic of synchronicity can’t happen if your will isn’t aligned with universal will because we cannot manifest from a place of ego, which is the place of wants, needs, and desires. This is the place where the mind decides what it wants irrespective of what the spirit came to do.
And synchronicity can’t happen if you don’t integrate and implement the learning. Reading about how to manifest is one thing. Thinking positive thoughts is another thing. But actually implementing, and clearing a pathway for the energy to travel on and then integrating, is quite another matter.
The energy of money resides in the root chakra. In order to manifest anything we need to understand the chakra system, why it’s a factor, and learn how to balance and clear our chakras and chakra system. You will learn how to do that here as well. It is not difﬁcult. But it is integral to the process of manifesting anything.
And we will be breaking down the illusion of money as it relates to self worth. Money as we know it is basically pieces of paper. Those that have learned to equate their intrinsic value and ultimate “success” with money should seriously consider when they became pieces of paper.
These illusions and perspectives have to do with learned patterns and belief systems; and here you will learn about these things, where they originated from and what to do about them too.
We will go beyond positive thinking and “you are what you attract” and “you are what you think about.” While those things are certainly true, just knowing about those or engaging in positive thinking doesn’t take you to the next steps.
Positive thinking and afﬁrmations do not necessarily lead you to learning how to actually create money ﬂow in your life. You have to integrate the positive thoughts into your belief system as truth. They have to take true form in the chakra system and replace the old patterns. This is what we can then build a foundation on, and subsequently an amazing new house.
You will learn how to integrate the energy of mind, body, and spirit and thus be able to attract and create anything you choose, not just money.

I wrote the book the way I did for a reason. That is so that while you’re reading it you’re engaging left brain, right brain, and the different chakras as well. The book itself is an exercise in integration. And the characters each have blocks to manifesting. In one way or another they are each in their own way of getting what they want.
Everything is a reﬂection; and if you can see yourself reﬂected here even in one small aspect, you will then have the keys to unlocking the doors to manifesting. All it takes is the knowledge of how to connect the dots, the ability to turn the key in the lock, and the willingness to step through
the doors.
Synchronicity is what happens when the mind, body, and spirit are working together as a team.
Manifesting is bringing all layers of the etheric body, mind, physical body, and spirit together in synchronicity.
Value and worth are perceptions.

~~Fin

Time management

2008-03-13T13:45:00.000-07:00

So we've heard a LOT about this over the years from the Gurus regarding time management, tricks to help us find and keep the balance between work and our personal lives. They always give little tips which enhance our lives. Such phrases as:

You only have time for the things you do first

Which is actualy one of my favorites. I cannot remember the author's name, but I saw her at a Toastmasters presentation and it stuck with me.

Time management is one of the things that sticks with us throughout our careers. Develop it early and you're set, learn it later in life and recoup your losses by making up for lost time. Either way, a win, right?

But it's not as easy as it seems for the creative person. I routinely have five or six projects going on at one time as a writer. And yesterday, a friend of mine and I broke down what a wholesaler does while building our marketing plans.

A partial writers to do list:
Marketing online
Business Card design
Edits first round for my Nectar of the Gods story
Write - new story called Covenant of Wolves 1: Stalker (Dub Mix)
Plot the above mentioned story
Cover art design/selection for "Lost"
Blogging for Midnight Seductions Authors (new trend in writing is to partner)
Finish developing BDSM in Romance seminar
Update Writing from Male POV/Creating better heroes seminar
Market for both

Then there's my Wholesaling business
Create lists
Analyze deals
Prepare offers
Get prequal letter from Les
Submit offers
Follow up on previous offers
Create buyers list
Marketing for deals/buyers

And onward I could rant.

But I won't. Because it's obvious to you that I keep a full plate as do many createive people. Investors are creative people, one friend called them Money magicians. I'd agree with that term. He's a powerful, wealthy man with a purpose that has included spending time with his adorable children. I'd wager that the wealthier you are, the more time you can call your own, right?

The problem is that a lot of people do not understand the type of hard work that goes into beginning a business of any sort and see it as pointless. I've been writing for almost 8 years and only NOW is my career begining to spiral upwards. I've been in real estate for three years and things are just beginning to take off as well.

Now it didn't have to take this long but humans often increase the difficulty of activities to the point of ridiculousness.

I believe if a little more understanding were given to all of us who are doers, we'd all probably have a litle less stress on our shoulders. True, we as entreprenuers placed it there and it IS manageable as this stress is stress we asked for, but damn it gets tiring after awhile. I need a break!

And I'll get that break soon. I take one weekly. Remember that second post about the cigars? I ordered them, smoke one a week (maybe two sometimes) and there's two hours of ME time. NO phone, NO job, NO spouse/significant other (unless she enjoys the cigars as mine does occasionally) but time to destress and remember why I do what I do in the first place.

To live my life fully, experiencing everything I can and enrich the lives of others through wealth creation or emotional entertainment. In short, to live and inspire others to live passionately.

Yet we still have to address the issue of time management, don't we?
What DO we do with it?

We make sure that in the conundrum of things going on in our lives that we take a little self time off to recharge and remind ourselves why we do what we do as creative individuals. Also, we remind our partners, our coworkers, our friends and associates to do the same so they can benefit from a little recharge.

Next, we all make a plan to slow down earlier in the day. More than likely we'll follw it only for a short while, unless you're the type to hold strict to time management. The point isn't that we actually take the time of consistently. Consistency truly is this: In life, a series of random events will occur at all hours, any hours, when we least expect it. But if we've planned for time off, and have taken a "little" break, then we're able to attack or problem solve more efficiently.

With that in mind, I think it's time for a beer! Slainte!

Creating Wealth by Thinking Outside the Box!

2008-02-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Creating Wealth by Thinking Outside the Box!
By Sascha Wayne

With the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch, and downturn in the real estate market, a lot of people are getting scared, missing out on countless opportunities to make money. Stocks are taking a beating in some instances too. Just recently, the Dow plunged another 300 points in one day, a big deal to many, not so much to me. I know the markets correct themselves when we overvalue things and those who bought without a clear exit strategy.

Can you still create wealth in these times? You bet! I’m going to share two real world examples that are not related to investing (monetarily anyway) in order to show you just how powerful the concept of thinking differently is.

One of my ex girlfriends is an ex felon. She’s recovered from her egregious ways but is having trouble finding a job in today’s market. She interviews well, is a natural saleswoman, and has an impressive resume from the jobs she has held in the last twelve years. But once a background check is completed, she has to be let go. Company policy. She spends eight to ten hours a day faxing resumes, emailing resumes, calling employers, scanning the papers for job listings, going on interviews, all for the same end result. She’s spent time in school educating herself on computer tech skills to go into LAN management but funds ran out for her to complete her education. All of this depresses her and old habits start again, but are quickly broken due to her getting older and paranoia that occurs with older age and wisdom set in. So back to the drawing board, picking up the paper, faxing, calling, wasting time only to get rejected.

One day in a fit of boredom she picked up beadwork, making little necklaces for her children, bracelets for them as well. I even have a bracelet she made with beautiful colors and beads. She gets bored and does this.

Her husband occasionally gets old, outdated computers that usually need slight upgrades to put them in perfect working order. We talked one evening on the phone and I was telling her about my new marketing plan for real estate and writing as well as her job situation when it hit me.

“Chris,” I said, “You’ve got a mountain of gold beneath you!”

“What do you mean,” she said, inquisitively.

Then I told her. “You can fix computers, put those on Craigslist for quick cash. Always looking for a replacement laptop for my old thinkpad, I know she could easily get $500 or more for one laptop depending on specs, upgrades etc. You could advertise your basic services as a PC tech. I made $25 an hour for one company here in the bay area and I under billed them and you could too! Sell one laptop, get your DBA in Texas, open up shop! While you’re at it, take your beaded jewelry, and with my help (or the help of another) create a simple, yet effective website and sell your stuff there as well as on Ebay.”

“But what about job hunting? Won’t that take away from my time job looking?” She asked.

“YES!” I was excited now, because she had a new method of generating income to support her family. It’d take about the same time the results would be much better! Marketing would be a little time consuming, but no more than if she were spending all that time looking for traditional work. This circumvents the felony charge. And because all of those skills are skills she is good at and enjoy, the reward would be much greater.

The other example I will use is my significant other. She’s been a corporate slave, a saleswoman and pastry chef, and now is a deli sandwich maker. Spending time in the workforce has translated into a huge pain in the you know what, because her spirit is more entrepreneurial. She comes home from work tired and feeling dejected on days when either her customers are difficult, or her co workers are.

Her mountain of wealth is in her ability to do things differently. She can make healthy desserts for those with difficult diets, is working on her cookbook, has a radio show in the works, a Youtube broadcast in the works on cooking and is becoming more prosperity oriented. She will create her wealth also by thinking outside the box.

Both examples serve Zig Ziglar’s message of helping others. I love the jewelry bracelet my ex made me, always enjoy my significant other’s cooking, and can’t wait to watch them both prosper in an environment where uncertainty in job security is an issue. Neither of these examples are without their own difficulties but a different set of difficulties will allow for greater growth by challenging us all.

So my question for you readers, is how are you thinking differently to enable yourself to create wealth?

Hint, this blog was part of my different thinking.

Happy New Year!

2008-02-08T00:48:00.000-08:00

So it's Chinese new year! What does that mean to you? To me, it's a celebration of abundance, prosperity and wealth in all regards.

So to recap the previous year, I am thankful for the following:

The loved ones I have, for they make me feel
The prosperity I can create, for it helps make me wealthy
The actions I can do, for those actins help me help others
The beauty I see in life, for it helps me see the beauty in others even when I wish not to

I ask you, what are you thankful for? How is abundance revealed in your life? Comment freely!

Sascha

A little Humanity, please?

2008-02-01T16:08:00.000-08:00

I know this subject has been beaten to death by the Gurus and you’d think by now that your average investor, realtor, whomever would have it ingrained. But yet I walk down the street and see people looking at the floor, rather than making eye contact.

I’ll admit, I’m guilty of it too. And I used to have an excuse. Being legally blind, it makes sense that I keep my head down and watch where I walk. Except that I run without my glasses on, lift weights without my glasses, get around in the dark just fine with or without them, and am often seen late at night wearing my dark sunglasses (I’m just that cool! Haha!) so I no longer have an excuse, especially after I realized I didn’t need to look down.

So instead, I walk straight, trying to look at people and either nod or smile. Many men, maybe a third nod back. Some speak to me; others just give me that silent hi. Women on the other hand, avert their eyes, look down, etc. I won’t go into which race is the worst offender of this, because in the end, it doesn’t really matter. Cultural conditioning can be broken and in some cases, should be.

Human contact is an essential part of who we are, a dire need if you will. Think about it, the road investors have chosen is one which only few survive, hence the saying about the wealthy controlling 95% of the wealth in this country. Whom do many of them accredit their success to? Other people. Steve Cook, of Flipping Homes attributed much of his wealth to other people who helped him by bird dogging leads to him. Donald Trump mentioned in an audio book about his secretary (it may have been another woman, but a woman he’d hired and trusted for a very long time no doubt!)

Obviously in those two scenarios money was involved, but was that the key? Steve Cook could have shot down those leads brought to him, but I would wager that he believed in people enough to give them a chance, which I think it what we all really want.

I read an article recently on how we’re so connected to our email, our work, that we’re so disconnected from reality. From humanity. Why? Is what we do so much more important than the comfort of others? Aren’t we working hard as investors for our own comfort and the comfort of our families, be they present or future?

Lastly, I have a friend who is both an investor and someone I like to think of as a friend who is going through a really hard time in his life. Well, he’s actually got a LOT on his plate right now and it’s causing him pain. I’ve said my piece to him, offering him solutions and the like, but he’ll hear what he wants to (like we all do) until he has that a-ha moment where he figures out the solution that works best for him. What is the best thing I can do for him? Offer to bring over a six pack of beer and just hang out, for company’s sake. This way we’re not alone, together.

Why do we alienate ourselves from others in public? Are we afraid of rejection? Or judgment? Are we so wrapped up in self defeating behavior that we automatically assume that everyone else hates us too? I am a passionate person, sometimes taking emotions to the extreme, but I have learned over the years that it’s not always about me. Sometimes it’s about them, and their need to connect, even if it’s just for a moment.

Remember this next time you’re in public, smile. It won’t piss me off!

Self Trust and Intuition

2008-01-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

Self Trust and Intuition
By Sascha Wayne

First, I'd like to give a shoutout to some new friends at Allied Tax Planning for hosting a great CASHFLOW game last night. The group was energetic, fun and eager to learn! If you need tax planning and live in the Bay Area, check them out! Great group once again!

You hear a lot about trust these days, especially in the investment community. It’s a big thing when you’re handing over control of your money/time/resources or being given control of above mentioned. But what about trust in ourselves? Does intuition play a key role in that?

I believe it does. Without a firm trust in our self, we lack the ability to make solid judgments about our deals and our lives. Sure, we can make decisions but often we end up questioning them later. Did I do the right thing? Am I going to be punished for this, or am I causing someone else pain by my actions?

When you’ve developed a sense of self trust, you know the answers to these questions and can act accordingly with integrity. The question is how do you develop that self trust?

Actively listening to others when you talk will give you great feedback to help hone your skills. Whether you’re dealing with everyday life or giving a presentation, people will give you visual clues or audio clues indicative of their response. Sometimes we’re so caught up in the moment and our own fear that we often miss these clues, but they’re important. So, when you’re talking, make sure to look your audience in the eyes. I’m visually impaired, so that’s a little more difficult for me, but having open body language can help overcome that.

Another way to develop a strong sense of self trust is by actually paying attention to all the good stuff in your life! It’s happening for a reason and that reason may be that the Universe trusts it’s time for you to win! Accept it and be proud, then continue acting with integrity as you thank the universe for the gifts you’ve received.

Asking questions is the best way I’ve found to develop self trust. Using negotiation tactics to ferret out the truths behind people’s true needs and wants makes them feel a certain way. Often people express their feelings. But with enough feedback, you’ll eventually figure out that what you’re doing is the right thing for everyone involved.

When you can confidently answer questions such as: Is what I am doing beneficial for everyone involved, OR am I acting in a manner that I would want my spouse/loved ones/family to be proud of, with a solid YES, congratulations! You probably have a strong sense of self trust.

But how do you get others to see that? Again, with your words and actions. But what does intuition have to do with all of this?

WordWeb defines Intuition as: Instinctive Knowing, without the use of rational processes. Malcolm Gladwell covered this extensively in his book Blink. Using scientific research from a variety of experiences, he determined that the mind makes snap judgments in literally two seconds, but society (I believe) is the reason we often ask so many questions that by the time we’ve come to a logical conclusion, we’re either missing out on an opportunity, or possibly in danger.

I know an investor I brought deals to some time back who told me after a lengthy phone conversation that he didn’t trust the realtor I’d selected in because he didn’t trust him. I asked why, naturally. Said investor couldn’t put his finger on it; just felt the guy was a snake.

When I analyzed past actions of the same realtor and realigned my focus I recognized that my friend the investor had cause for concern. Things might have worked out or not. But because intuition and self TRUST in that intuition were prominent things this investor has working for him, we avoided a loss of almost a million dollars.

I believe that when you can confidently convey your level of self trust, people will start to trust you as well. It may take time, many of us have a lot of noise in our heads to deal with, but remember, the person we have to deal with day in and day out is the person we see in the mirror. Shouldn’t we trust that person the most?

Value Living!

2008-01-03T17:15:00.000-08:00

As value investors, we look for deals that strike a good balance between a perfect price and terms we can live with. In trying to emulate investors like Warren Buffet, we purchase undervalued companies or do deals in real estate that we picked up for a substantial discount (often for pennies on the dollar) because we were able to convince someone else that their version of value was perhaps too high.

And we make great money much of the time in doing so. By being value oriented, we’re allowed to enjoy the most precious resource we have: Our time

But do we carry those lessons on investing over into our personal lives? Are we living a life of value?

I know people who can make money out of anything but refuse to spend it on quality when it comes to their personal lives. They refuse to value shop and I have to wonder why?

Is it because they don’t have the money or incentive? I doubt that. Money is generally not the problem for anyone once they realize it, but that’s a hard lesson to learn. Do they lack incentive? Well, not if they have children!
So what is it that causes people to be cheap? Because that’s the opposite of value living, being so unaware of what one is doing so as to just throw money/resources willy nilly as though it doesn’t matter. Spending more money than is required to attain a simplistic goal. Or just not spending money period when the need feels greater than the desire to have cash in the pocket.

I’ll share an example before I explain why I believe people do not value live. I am a cigar smoker, which depending on how much I smoke could be a very expensive habit. My favorite cigars, Cuesta Reys can be bought from any tobacconist online for around $75 a box, plus shipping and handling. That’s 10 stogies which gives me pleasure at about $9.10 a stick. (I included shipping and handling and/or gas)
But I found a retailer online who wholesales tobacco, cigars and the like. I can purchase the same box of cigars for about $37.00, and shipping is only $2.00. That cuts my cost down to $3.90 a cigar. That’s a 42% difference now! But have I purchased my box from the discount retailer?

No, not this time.

Instead, I did nothing. The same way a lot of us do when it comes to giving ourselves pleasure. I asked my significant other if I was being cheap or searching for the best value on this particular pleasure and she answered me straight up: Sascha stop being cheap. That’s sending a message to the universe that you do not value yourself enough to spend a relatively small amount of money on YOU!

The focus thrown back in my face about self value stung! I’ve craved and wanted these cigars for a long while, they’re my favorites. I was given permission by the significant other (which for this is a huge thing!) but did I give myself permission to enjoy something?

How often do you give yourself permission to value yourself? Do you find yourself driving out of your way for something you could have purchased closer to home at a better price? Or do you find yourself settling for the same old restaurant where the quality is just ‘okay’ when you really want something different and spectacular?

If as value investors we know money is no object, then what’s the problem?
So, what’s stopping YOU from valuing yourself more? Because that’s what it truly boils down to in the end.

Welcome to the White Wolf Investing Blog!

2008-01-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

My name is Sascha Wayne and I'm an investor! I currently like stocks and real estate because they're great, solid ways to build up wealth. Both allow me to create the life I want to lead by creating passive income so I can get out of the rat race!

First, a little bit about me and why I started this blog. In the late 90's, I became fed up with trying to find a job in IT, having been laid off by a Microsoft contract when the company I worked for actually needed MORE employes! After struggling with the search for employment, I started talking to my hairdresser about my pasion, which was writing. She encouraged me to follow it, saying I could probably make a decent living if I had talent (which I do!) and became dedicated to it.

But writing erotic romance is not the key to wealth. None ofthe authors you know and read are truly wealthy, though they do have passive income. Later, while talking to my hairdresser's husband, who owned a pizza business next door, we discussed business and my passion for creating wealth through investing. He later passed on the Rich Dad pood dad book, which I dwevoured because it all made sense to me!

I formally jumped head first into real estate investing two years ago, and stock investing a short while before that. Having learned a great deal of lessons through experience, having various a ha moments and meeting some truly increbidle people have taught me quite a few lessons that I hope to share with you here. Writing is my passion and something I'm good at. I use my talents as a writer normally to amuse, inspire and create passion and escape for a lot of people, but decided at the end of 07 that I needed to expand and follow the advice of someone I believe is an extremely wise man.

His name is Zig Ziglar and he's the World's Greatest Salesman! His message of helping others to achieve their dreams in order to achieve yours is one that's hitting home to me right now, so I'm sharing lessons designed to help realtors, newbie investors, experienced investors and anyone who has a passion and desire to succeed.

I took the name White Wolf Writer as an investor because I indentify with the wolf. Gracious majestic, sometimes a loner, but travels better in a pack, what a great metaphor for investing! I named this blog the Full Metal Investor Blog after my affinity for passionate heavy metal music which often inspires me seek all things this life has to offer!

This blog is for you. All of you, because without you, it would not matter as much. I welcome your feedback!