Friday October 19th, 2007: Issue #853
Thanks go to everyone who offered suggestions about my computer. If you remember I wrote that when I powered up or restarted it it was hanging for 15 minutes and more at the Compaq splash screen. That’s the screen that comes up before Windows even starts to load.
I dismantled the poor old PC, but the only thing wrong I could see was that the box was inches thick with dust. A good vacuuming sorted that out, but not the original problem.
While I had the case open I checked that all the memory cards and other boards inside were properly seated. They were.
Then I cloned the entire hard drive using the extra easy to use Acronis software (I had a spare 160gb hard drive that I used for backups, so that was easy) and replaced the original hard drive. I didn’t really think that would help and it didn’t, but at least the new hard drive is bigger and faster than the old one. And I now have the original hard drive as the ultimate backup!
Finally, in desperation, I did what I really should have thought to do in the first place: I unplugged every peripheral device that was attached to my computer. The only thing left plugged in was the transmitter for my wireless keyboard and mouse.
Then I powered down, waited a few minutes and powered up again.
Bingo! Problem solved. It was like having a brand new machine! The Compag flash screen stayed up for all of two seconds and Windows opened faster than I can remember.
After that it was a case of plugging things in one at a time and doing a restart after each one. The problem re-emerged when I connected my external DVD burner. I don’t know why it was interfering with my computer, especially as it wasn’t even powered (I haven’t used it for years). But now it is interfering with my garbage and all is well with the Avis computer again!
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Delia and I popped out to lunch at a local garden center yesterday and what a disappointment it turned out to be. We often pop over there for a quick baked potato with baked beans and cheese because the price is always very low. A potato and a coffee for two would normally run to about £10 ($20).
Today though, the prices have gone up. It now came to £16 ($32), which frankly, is way too much for a spur of the moment snack.
It is a shame for us because we will now find somewhere else to eat, and a great shame for the garden center because we rarely manage to leave without spending £30 or £40 on plants or pots or something that takes our fancy.
Sometimes businesses should ask themselves what the real cost of a 60% price hike will be.
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Way back in the mists of time, when Kickstart was still fairly new and hadn’t quite found its feet (or very many subscribers) I was approached for one of my very first JV (joint venture) deals.
The guy told me he had the rights to a wonderful book called “The Midas Method” by a man called Stuart Goldsmith and that he’d packaged it up with some bonus books. He was putting it out for sale for $97, but the deal was that after three days the offer would be closed.
As it turned out, The Midas Method is one of my all-time favorite books. My dog-eared copy was (and still is) always on the shelf nearest to my desk where I keep my top books that are referred to often. So promoting it was a no-brainer for me.
It turned out to be the biggest promotion I’d ever done and to this day still ranks as Kickstart’s third highest promotion in volume of sales.
As an aside, that promotion nearly got me into a world of trouble! One of the bonus books was by a guy who is a brilliant marketer, but a highly irascible chap. Out of the blue I got an email from him berating me for giving his book away free, telling me I had no right, to cease and desist immediately or risk his legal wrath.
I emailed back, pointing out that the promotion was not mine, that I was a JV partner, and that surely he had already given permission.
His reply was along the lines of , “Oh. You’re part of that are you. OK.”
It’s funny looking back, but at the time I was such a novice that the mere threat of legal action had frightened the life out of me! 
Out of interest, this is what I wrote way back then, and what caused so many of my few subscribers to find out more:
Some years ago I bought an astonishing book. Of all the
thousands of books I own, it’s one of the very few that
stays permanently on by desk.
In many ways, it’s like ‘Think and Grow Rich’, but with
important differences.
I was sad when I heard that the author, Stuart
Goldsmith, had ‘retired’ and that his book, ‘The Midas
Method’ was no longer available, but glad that I had my
dog-eared autographed copy to re-read on occasions.
The information in this book works. Period.
In fact, it’s been proven to work by the author, Stuart
Goldsmith. He was an ‘average Joe’ who used his ‘Midas
Method’ to make himself £10 million ($17m) in just 8
years - starting from scratch! (He’s from England).
So I was very excited a couple of days ago to be
contacted by the distributors saying that ‘The Midas
Method’ is being released in ebook format - and even
more excited that they are allowing me to make
Kickstart readers a very special - time limited - offer
indeed.
The Midas Method is a great story - but more than that,
he explains in complete detail how you can create
whatever it is that YOU want in life using this same
method that he used.
The current publisher says this:
”Now let me warn you - once you have this e-
book, I doubt that you’ll make it past the
first half of the book.
Why?
Well - it’s not because you’ll become bored -
but more because you’ll become overwhelmed with
all the new doors of opportunity suddenly
flying open for you. I mean it - it’ll blow
your mind what happens!
Think of it like this - you’ve probably had
that feeling before - you know, when you come
up with what you know is a great idea and you
become so excited pursuing it that you forget
about everything else? It’s sort of like
you’re daydreaming. But you’re not.
Well, whenever I get that burning passion for
something in me … I ALWAYS SUCCEED BIG!”
The first time I read ‘The Midas Method’ I knew that I
was holding a book that was head and shoulders above
all the other ’success’ books that I’d ever read (and I
collect the things!). The wisdom that it contains not
only teaches how to ‘add fire’, excitement, joy and
happiness to your life - but it also teaches you how to
control your mind and achieve anything you possibly
want.
It will accelerate your success by a factor of 10.
‘The Midas Method’ was written before there was an
Internet, so this book isn’t specifically about
Internet marketing, but once you’ve read it you will
succeed in that area if you choose - what you learn
from it will affect every single aspect of your life!
Everything!
This is a book about success - and once you have
mastered that secret, it never leaves you.
Back to today. The reason I’m telling you all this is because of a coincidence.
A couple of days ago I started re-reading The Midas Method. I still enjoy its style, the content never gets tired, and sometimes we all need to be reminded of the important stuff.
Then this morning I was browsing the ClickBank marketplace to see if anything took my fancy to read over the weekend and there was The Midas Method! I’ve never seen it there before, and wondered if it was the same or just one with the same title.
It turned out to be one and the same. This time it is being offered by a different publisher and with a different set of bonuses, but the core product, The Midas Method by Stuart Goldsmith is one and the same.
And a lot less money than it was when I promoted it way back!
To my mind, this is one of the most important books you can read. It ranks alongside ‘Think and Grow Rich’ and ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ as one of the few books that can, literally, change your life.
If you were with me way back when I first talked about The Midas Method and bought it then, please dig it out and re-read it. It’ll be well worth it.
If not, here’s the link: http://www.kickstartdaily.com/midas/
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Just for fun, and because I’m off to Las Vegas next week, check out this site: http://www.reviewjournal.com/webextras/implode/
I love the way they blow things up there! I just wish that one day I can get to see one in real life!
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An Inspirational Thought
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A few words of wisdom from Buddha:
“Overcome anger by peacefulness; overcome evil by good. Overcome the mean by generosity; and the man who lies by the truth.”
“The wise one does not judge others, not their words or deeds or what they have done or not done. The wise one only contemplates her own words and deeds.”
“Arise! Rouse thyself by thy Self; train thy self by thy Self, and ever watchful, thou shalt live in supreme joy.”
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Who do you know who would love Kickstart Today?
Don’t keep it to yourself - send them to
http://www.kickstartdaily.com today!
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The Quote of the Day
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A Chinese rhyme goes like this:
“This one makes a net,
This one stands and wishes.
Would you like to make a bet
Which one gets the fishes.”
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Today’s Power Thought
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T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) said “All men dream, but not all equally. Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake to find was all vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, and make things happen.”
What a wonderful quote!
I love that last part: ‘act their dreams … and make things happen.’
That’s what this motivation stuff is all about. Making things happen.
And as Lawrence says, it all begins with a dream.
Dreams with purpose are the most powerful driving forces in nature.
Henry Ford said the same thing a different way: “You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do. It’s simple: fantasize, rehearse, then go out into the world and DO IT!”
Somewhere along the lines - probably in school - the habit of daydreaming was given a negative connotation for us. It became something that we really shouldn’t indulge in. Something bad. But how silly is that? Without those daydreams how can we ever hope to get the ideas to build our goals upon. Without the ability to see the world differently, to dream different outcomes, to imagine better situations and to fantasize about changing our lives, our very humanity is compromised.
So dream your dreams. Create your castles in the sky. Imagine the promised land. But don’t stop there. Don’t wake up and forget. Build your dreams into action points. Make goals out of your fantasies. Put your life into the path of your dreams and, as T.E. Lawrence said, make things happen.
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Fascinating Facts
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When he was 47, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman married 19-year-old Mandy Smith. They divorced a year later.
Shortly after that, Bill’s 30-year-old son married Mandy’s 46-year-old mother.
If Bill and Mandy had remained married, Steven would then have been his own grandfather.