The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires & Middle Class

I recently purchased an audiobook from iTunes called "The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class" by Keith Cameron Scott. After one listen to this addictive book, I've found myself returning it to it several more times. It teaches some valuable concepts not only for making money online, but for success and finding financial freedom. I highly recommend it as a way to engage in your own introspection when it comes to your personal journey to wealth. You'll find the material easy to follow and some of the stories he gives quite enlightening if not very entertaining.

Scott provides his 10 distinctions as mini-lessons which illustrate what makes the rich wealthy, while the middle class struggles. The middle class seems to get a bad rep, but they often have financial dreams which they allow to dwindle because they go for comfort instead of freedom. Meanwhile the wealthy are busy working on ways to create more sources of income so they can enjoy that freedom that eludes many.

Overall, I found the 10 distinctions book to be well presented, and it won't overwhelm you. It's inspirational, and if listened to enough you can begin to adopt the mindsets needed for financial success. You'll be training yourself to think more like a successful millionaire, while discarding small-minded thinking. This is not to say "poor and middle class people are stupid", but that millionaires tend to have a different though process when it comes to money and how it's made.

Some of the things you'll learn about in Scott's book include the concepts of being generous, focusing on multiple sources of income (especially passive), working for profits vs wages, and focusing on the long term rather than the short term. If you read or listen to this work, you'll find yourself realizing just how many times you might have engaged in middle class thinking, which can be quite small minded at times. One of the best examples is when he points out that poor people talk about other people, middle class talks about things, and the rich talk about ideas. How many times have you found yourself gossiping about others? You've engaged in a poor-financial mindset at least a few times. He goes on to point out that the rich are the ones who have developed the ideas, which ultimately are the "things" middle class enjoy or talk about. These include vacation resorts, sports teams and movies, many of which are funded by and created from a rich person.

If you've read Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", you'll notice some familiar concepts in this book, such as the idea of owning your own company to become rich. If you're like me and engage in online moneymaking as your main profession, you're already partly on your way. You're focused more on creating profits, multiple sources of revenue and passive income. For me the next steps involve finding more passive income streams to start building my net worth. I currently receive at least 4 or 5 different payments a month based on my online work. To me that's a good start, but I know much more can be done. Also, I realize I may need to branch out into some real world income streams including the always popular, yet speculative real estate sector. I dabble in stocks, but after listening to this audiobook it makes me want to increase my knowledge in that area as well. The book's worth its price just in terms of its motivational and inspirational factors.

One of the greatest ideas Keith Cameron Scott gives in his book is the concept of rich people continuously read and invest in their personal finance/success libraries. He notes that the middle class believes learning ends with school, while millionaires are always learning more. This concept alone is priceless and actually gives you an excuse to buy Scott's book, "The 10 Distinctions" as it will provide a great basis for your successful path towards financial freedom.

Purchase The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and the Middle Class at Amazon.com for a low price.

Content, Competition, Comments & Copycats

Phew...Out of breath, but back again and still going strong! Last month was an extremely busy one for The Monetizer, but to sound like a broken record, it was my best month yet in terms of online moneymaking. Ever since I went on a tear with Hubpages and Infobarrel, I greatly increased my earnings, and have started working on additional income streams beyond just Google Adsense. It's great to generate all that money from Adsense, but it's also good to know there are other ways to make money online besides the big G. I'll discuss a few of those here today as well as some other things on my mind lately about MMO...

Make Money with Amazon Associates vs. EPN

With the recent banning of eBay Partner network links on Hubpages, Squidoo and Blogger, I worked feverishly to pull those down and in many instances replaced them with Amazon Associates. I have to say I'm quite pleased with the results as I focused on a specific product and made more money with Amazon Associates this past month than I ever did with EPN! With the Christmas season coming up, I'd recommend if you want to make money online you consider setting up Hubpages and Squidoo lenses to focus on Amazon. People shope there in droves for the holiday season, as well as eBay. eBay seems to be moving to a earnings per click structure in October though, so it may be best to work on Amazon-based content.

For a well-written, thorough post on how you can bank on AA with the holidays approaching quickly see Tracey Edward's article How to Make Money with Amazon.

Content Writing to Make Money

Don't get me wrong, writing is a passion, but even our passions can cause us to burn out and become drained. I have been doing A LOT of writing over the past several months, but the hard work has payed off. It's like they say if you do what you enjoy, many times the money will follow, and in this case it has. I haven't outsourced anything yet, although I tried to with Entrecard. Its marketplace seems to be full of ads that no longer are any good, as the few I contacted for directory submissions and writing eZine articles never answered their ads. No big deal, as for now I'm doing fine with writing my own stuff. On the recommendation of Ben at Make Money Online with SEO, I joined JetSpinner, which is an article spinning site. Basically you'll write or take your articles and insert special spin notation code into it, then press the button and BAM! It will generate 50 or however many your specify articles of unique content that you can use on various article sites. The paid membership will allow even more cool features such as a thesaurus and article directory submissions.

I'll be honest, it's all new to me, and as much as I love writing, setting up the spin notation can be quite a chore. An article that may take me 20-30 minutes would take an additional 15-20 minutes, but the results you'll get are 50 unique articles you can use for linkbuilding. If you're not outsourcing, you're going to do a lot of work, so consider it. Check out Jetpsinner here

Comments Probably Won't Make you Money

Comments on blogs are always a delicate situation, and I've been finding a lot of spammers lately as well as the "I just found your blog and don't know what to say, but really enjoy reading it and will be back again. - Betty ". I'm sure you've seen that one at least a few times if you have several blogs you run. I also have started getting a lot of link exchange requests on some blogs for subject matter that doesn't even relate to my blog. It's a sign of the times, as you increase your internet properties, you're going to find more and more spam, and lazy commentors looking for a quick fix of traffic. I'm not sure if the people commenting on Blogger blogs understand the concepts of DO FOLLOW and NO FOLLOW yet, but they'll learn. I'd rather spend my time writing articles with DO FOLLOW links then waste money on a program or service just to spit out the same comment on NO FOLLOW blogs. That's just me though.

Clickbank Update

Keeping with the C theme here on this post, I earned my first Clickbank check. Many people out there are great with Clickbank, and it's something I'm aiming to get better with. If I target the right products, I believe I can start earning extra income through that. As it stands now my top earners are Google Adsense, followed by Amazon Associates, then Linkshare, which is an affiliate program. Squidoo comes in here or there with a payment, but as we know their whole system is a mystery, because Seth Godin likes it that way.

Competition & Copycats

I've always enjoyed competition, but not when people become shady with it. I've read on blogs by several of the hard working moneymakers that people on various sites simply stole their niches or ideas. Well recently, I found someone went beyond that and actually stole a bunch of content from a website I run, and just plain pasted it as articles on Hubpages. I was flabbergasted, to use a favorite word, so I alerted the Hubpages staff about the culprit's articles. If you're reading this, shame on you, in the end you'll only lose out from being dishonest and lazy. Competition can be healthy, but online it can get downright dirty, because people just don't play nice. Hiding behind the computer monitor makes it easier for some individuals to be just plain lazy and sheisty. With that said, I won't let one or even a few dishonest individuals stop me from my quest to make money over the internet.

Here's to your success,
The Monetizer

PS: I want to recommend a free e-book I found that is well worth the read. It's called "You were Born Rich" by Bob Proctor. Yes, it's about the law of attraction, but it's extremely interesting and contains other insights into what could help you become a multi-millionaire. If you haven't read it, it's very inspiring and will help you determine just how successful you really can be, whether it be in this moneymaking online, your job, or life in general. To get the book go to www.bobproctor.com, enter your Name and Email, and you'll be able to download a free PDF copy of the great book!

Download Jean Chatzky's The Difference FREE!

There's a great free download available over at Oprah.com. Today until 10:59 PM EST, the website is offering a free PDF download of Jean Chatzky's 2009 book, The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even The Toughest Times. The book is a great look at the traits and habits that wealthy people have that we can all acquire as well as how to find the right career for you, how to take risks, working hard and working smart and making money work for you.

Here's Amazon.com's product description of The Difference:

Can you really start from nothing and become truly secure financially?

What’s the difference between you and Warren Buffett? Between you and your boss? Or between you and your successful neighbor? What do the financially comfortable have that you don’t?

It’s not that those people were born into money, caught a lucky break, or have an Ivy League education. It’s not even that they are smarter than you or make more money than you do each year. So what do they have that you don’t . . . at least not yet? What’s The Difference?

Trusted financial coach Jean Chatzky shares the secrets her groundbreaking research of the self-made wealthy has uncovered so that anyone can break through the barriers that stand between them and true financial freedom. Find out why it’s important to:

• Get happy, but not too happy
• Do what you love, but don’t quit your day job
• Read every day
• Remember that failure is not an option–it’s a necessity
• Harness your intuition to take risks that make sense
• Practice the Kevin Bacon Principle–make connections
• Say thank you–and mean it
• Make your money work as hard as you do

Through candid interviews and a study of more than five thousand people, Jean reveals the traits and habits of those who have moved from the lowest economic strata to the highest. The Difference helps you take a look at where you are now and offers simple strategies for going where you want to go. The Difference, you’ll see, is within you: You have the power to determine your financial future and achieve the next level of wealth.

From what I've read so far, The Difference is an interesting and entertaining book. One habit mentioned early on is the habit that many wealthy people have of constantly reading and learning. Definitely worth a free download, but it's a limited time offer. Download yours by heading to Oprah.com and registering for a user account.

Joel Comm's Twitter Power - Follow the Leader?

Once again one of the gurus of internet money making, Joel Comm, has released a book about you guessed it, making money on the internet. This time however, Joel has intelligently tapped into the Twitter craze with a book appropriately titled "Twitter Power". While I've yet to read the book cover to cover, from scanning the Amazon.com free preview "Surprise Me" sections and Table of Contents, it looks like a valuable asset. For some of us that is...

One thing I always recommend here at The Monetizer Blog is reading, but doing it as cheaply as possible. It's the best way to learn or research a subject you're interested. Others might tell you "no buy this special report or 100 page e-book, it's better". Many of the special reports and e-books that cost money are made up of information that's already floating around for free. You can find blogs about every subject, and while they aren't always expert opinion, you can gain all sorts of ideas. Libraries are free, unless you're late in returning books. It's good to be able to access just about any info you want these days for little money. Plenty of people have written about Twitter and Darren Rowse of Problogger has even created a site offering tips from himself and other Twitterers, called www.twitip.com.

Chapters of Twitter Power Include:

* An Introduction to the Social Media Landscape
* Getting Started the Right Way on Twitter
* Building a Following on Twitter
* The Art of the Tweet
* Leveraging Twitter for Team Communication
* Using Twitter to Drive Behavior

When it comes to Twitter, Joel covers the things that many bloggers are already talking about, such as making a professional looking background for your Twitter profile, linking to your blog or site on the profile, how to make your About Me memorable or descriptive in few words, and more about how to make Tweets that help you in marketing. Chapter 10 just by looking at the Table of Contents, may be a valuable resource but it lists out each of the various Third Party Twitter Tools you can use. Joel may offer insight into their uses or helpfulness, but you can also gain this through visiting the respective sites. Again, Joel is smart to capitalize off these topics by putting all the "ideas floating around" into book form and you've got to respect his business sense in profiting from the popular internet topic. It's always possible there are some "golden nuggets of info" in his book that make the book worth its current cover price, but I believe this book will be more valuable to those who are new to Twitter or businesses looking to gain an edge there. The rest of us have read these ideas on multiple blogs from John Chow to Problogger. So for the average Twitterer, we may already have the Power Joel is describing, without reading his book.

Follow the Monetizer at Twitter

Twitter Power: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time is currently available at Amazon.com

Free Money + Free Audiobook!

Extra, extra hear all about it...You may have heard about the recent class action lawsuit which allowed customers to line up for blocks at department stores and get free cosmetics. That lawsuit is still going on and customers can claim their cosmetic goods up until Monday. Well now there's another lawsuit settlement involving Bank of America and several other banks. The lawsuit applies to anyone who was a member of BOA or several other banks named, who had a debit card with their account and payed a late/overdraft fee within 5 days of it being assessed. This had to occur in the time period of December 6, 2000 to December 31, 2007 for you to be eligible.

The lawsuit if settled as planned could pay you up to $78. You must submit your claim by May 2009. If you qualify, simply fill out the online claim form or mail it in. Funny enough, MSN.com which reported on the story said these lawsuits may become the new way of passive income...hmmm. There's another one here for up to $35 if you bought a copy of the popular Grand Theft Auto San Andreas video game and were offended by "virtual sex"!

Today there's also a great freebie deal going on at Audible.com. The website which sells audio books is giving away a free download of Stephen Covey's popular title, "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People"! This book can help us all in the New Year to perform closer to our potentials. It's free so give it a try, download it to your iPod or make a CD and play it on your commute to work! Please note you will need to sign up for a free audible.com account (requires full name, email, password) and also download a very small audible installer to get your audiobook.

Synopsis of the audiobook which is 3 hours 24 minutes in length:

What are the habits all successful people share? In this audio presentation, Stephen R. Covey answers that question and teaches you how to make the Seven Habits a part of your life. Each audio system is designed to help you create an empowering center of correct paradigms from which you can effectively solve problems, maximize opportunities, and continually learn and integrate principles of effectiveness in an upward spiral of growth.

Follow this link to get your free download. Enjoy!

Free Copy of Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan!

Last week Oprah Winfrey had a week full of shows to help everyone get in gear for 2009. Included were important topics ranging from your health to spirituality to our favorite topic here, MONEY. Appearing on the show about personal finances was none other than financial guru and author, Suze Orman. As a gift to all Oprah viewers (and even non-viewers), Oprah & Suze currently have a free download of Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan for free until midnight this coming January 15th (Thursday).

The book is chock full of great financial advice especially now that we're facing some tough economic times. While Suze Orman does tend to stay on the conservative side with her money advice, I noticed some gems of advice regarding credit card debt, saving and investing while browsing the free PDF download of her book. Suze tells the younger population specifically that if they won't need their investment money for 10+ years, that they should be 80-100% invested in stocks. Suze believes that younger people can buy many stocks on the cheap right now (after doing homework) and profit greatly several years forward. After all the stock market won't be down forever, just as it wasn't down forever in the Great Depression. I couldn't agree more. If you're not investing during these times, you're doing yourself a disservice and will be kicking yourself 5, 10 or 20 years from now.

Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan is a 227 page PDF download offered for free right now via Oprah.com. It's ten chapters deep, featuring specific Q&A style paragraphs covering the essentials such as getting out of debt, saving, investing, paying for college and more. Suze's book offers solid advice to help people get on the right track for a healthier financial picture in 2009 and beyond.

Download Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan (PDF) here.

4 Books to Jumpstart You in 2009!

One of the best investments you can make in yourself is to continually learn through reading. That doesn't just mean reading blogs online, but even old-fashioned page-by-page books as well. There's some classic financial, business, entrepreneurial and "get rich" style titles out there as well as, dare I say it, self-improvement. Everyone can improve, so to think that genre is only for people with a thick psychiatric file folder is a huge misconception.

For this blog entry, I wanted to provide you 4 books in particular I've enjoyed that can help you along on your way towards more success in 2009. They provide positive insights into how our minds work and how to "re-wire" our thinking so that we can become more motivated and successful! While they may contain several overlapping principles amongst them, you can definitely jumpstart yourself in this new year by picking up any or all of these titles!

1) Think and Grow Rich! by Napoleon Hill - This book is considered the blueprint of most other success books that have been written, and also the blueprint for your own personal path towards riches (monetary or other). Hill studied the attitudes, traits, habits and skill sets of the most successful people he could find. From his findings he produced a fascinating book with recollections throughout US history telling how those individuals achieved sucess, and how you can translate that to your own success. This book includes everything from discussions of American History, to how to conquer your six internal ghosts of fear. If this book doesn't get you inspired with its nuggets of wisdom, nothing will!

2) Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Ecker - Ecker admits in the intro to this book that what he presents are merely truths about how the rich become rich, and why the poor stay poor. It's definitely an interesting read and gives you all sorts of great advice about how to plan, create and maintain a rich financial future. One of the things that separates the rich from the poor is that the rich manage money well while the poor mismanage money well. A great suggestion Ecker gives is to create separate accounts for necessity spending, luxury spending and investment spending, as well as the idea of dropping loose change into separate pots daily to help you learn to manage your money well.

3) The Success Principles by Jack Canfield - Canfield is famous for being one of the authors behind Chicken Soup for the Soul, which made him filthy rich. In this book, Canfield seems to have summed up many of his predecessors from the success genre, which makes the book extremely valuable. He'll teach you exactly how to go from where you are at this point in your life to where you really want to be by examining your life, goals, dreams and desires. It's a lengthy book, but you'll find that Canfield can propel you to set goals, motivate yourself and become the successful person you've always wanted to be.

4) Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy - Brian Tracy presents tips that other successful people have harnessed to achieve their maximum potentials. He also presents a look at how we turn out based upon our parents' attitudes and roles and how they've shaped us. It's a book which relies heavily on the "mind over matter" theory, like most success books do. Tracy discusses ways to focus on your goals, ignore negatives or overcome them, and even ways to handle personal relationships such as those with your parents, spouse or children. Tracy's book also encourages the reader to actively participate in the included steps and guarantees more success to those who keep with them. A riveting read that will put you in the positive frame of mind for achieving at your maximum success level.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up copies of the above and get started. Even better, find any of the titles at your local library and get a free investment in your own growth and future! The New Year is still young, so there's no better time than right now! Here's to your success!

Think Big, But Act Small...

The book I'm currently reading, and thoroughly enjoying, is Felix Dennis' How to Get Rich. While the title may not sound all too original as there's plenty of other books with that name, Felix is a straight-shooter with a no BS approach to telling people about getting rich. That includes the fact that getting rich isn't for everyone, and that you'll never get rich while working for someone else. Felix Dennis is the founder of the popular Maxim magazine, and several other publishing ventures including Blender magazine, a monthly Bruce Lee poster magazine, and several computer magazines. He estimates his wealth is somewhere over 400 million dollars, but he's not exactly sure of the amount. His book offers plenty of great advice from someone who's struggled to succeed, learned from his failures, and eventually became rich in the process.

One of the concepts in Felix' book which applies to entrepreneurial endeavors including your own start-up business and blogging for money, is the idea of "thinking big, yet acting small". Many entrepreneurs and bloggers think big. They see their blog or business venture as eventually producing a full time income so they can quit their day jobs. They want to be the next Donald Trump, or Bill Gates, John Chow or Darren Rowse. They mimic the traits and successful patterns of these people and start to see their own great success as they continue to believe in themselves more and more. Felix warns that once you start to see an idea or concept take off and become profitable, don't get sucked into the idea of wining and dining yourself, buying fancy toys and showcasing the arrogance of someone's who's a multi-millionaire. Doing this can cause resentment from your employees or network connections, or it can make your employees start to take the same attitude as your own, buying expensive toys and ignoring the important things, such as the business itself. You need to keep your eye on the prize while continuing to work harder than even your hardest working employee.

I extend this concept to blogging in the following way. Think of your blog as becoming the next big success, but continue to act as if you are still small. In reality, until any of us are earning more from a blog than John Chow, Shoe Money or Darren Rowse, we're small fish in the blogosphere. How do you act small? You need to focus on the basics for building success, including networking with other bloggers (also trying to make a name for themselves), giving out link love, responding to reader comments, giving away free stuff, and working harder than the rest to make your blog a huge success. Hard work combined with your vision will lead to that success, but never lose that concept in the process.

You'll often see the phrase "fake it til you make it" tossed around too, but this may display the very arrogance Felix Dennis warns against. There's no need to pretend you're bigger than the rest, because you'll ultimately need the rest to make it. I stronlgy advise any budding entrepreneurs or business-minded individuals to check out Felix Dennis' How to Get Rich for a riveting look at the trials and tribulations of a self-made millionaire.

Goal Setting & Maximum Achievement

Goals are considered the driving force in many peoples' successes. Most successful people who you read about had what many refer to as a "definite purpose" in mind. They knew what they wanted to do, kept at it constantly with a large amount of desire, and eventually they achieved something great. The success all started with a goal in mind.

According to Brian Tracy in his book Maximum Achievement, every successful person is a consistent goal-setter and achiever. Tracy goes on to state that there's more to goals than just setting them and maybe acknowledging them from time to time. There's actually a 12 step detailed process used for carrying your goals to fruition, aka the "Master Plan" which Tracey discusses in his book.

The 12 Steps in Goal-setting:

1. Develop an intense burning desire to achieve your goal.
2. Develop belief that your goal will be achieved.
3. Write down your goal.
4. Make a list of all the ways you will benefit from achieving the goal.
5. Analyze your position or starting point on the way to your goal.
6. Set a deadline for achieving your goal.
7. Make a list of all obstacles standing in the way of achieving your goal.
8. Identify any additional information you'll need to achieve your goal.
9. Make a list of all people whose help and cooperation you'll require.
10. Make a detailed plan for accomplishing your goal (including #3,4,5,6,7,8,9)
11. Use visualization of what it's like to have achieved your goal.
12. Make a decision in advance to never, never give up on your goal.

The idea is if you make a goal with at least a 60-70% chance that you can achieve it, and you follow the above steps, you are well on your way towards success! Thinking of the achievement of your goal daily is a great way to overcoming negative feelings too. And once you've achieved the goal, you're ready for even more challenging goals!

Tracey's Maximum Achievement is a great positive book about how to achieve success. There's more detail given on each of the above steps as well as questions to ask yourself to help identify the major goal you really want to achieve. The Monetizer greatly recommends the book as well as goal-setting! If you choose not to read the book, make the effort to set goals on short term and long term bases. Stick to them, refusing to give in to the temptation of "I Can't". If it's worth achieving, it's worth writing down, acting upon, believing in and eventually reaching!

50 Suggested Success Classics

A great way to pave your way towards success is one of the easiest things to do, and it's far from a secret. It's the good ol' fashioned concept of reading. Reading books on subjects such as success, biographies about perserverance and money making, as well as business and entrepreneurial titles can really charge you up. As many say, if you find at least 1 new nugget of wisdom in a book it can very easily pay for itself many times over.

The following is a list of "50 Success Classics" from butler-bowdon.com. Right now Monetizer is on a mission to read all 50. I'm about 1/5th of the way through the list. The titles with links are those that I've read, and recommend all of these. Maybe give yourself an assignment to read a book a month, or a week, or if you're a fast reader 2 a week. In no time you'll be giving yourself a great foundation for success!

50 Success Classics

1. Horatio Alger Ragged Dick (1867)
2. Warren Bennis On Becoming A Leader (1989)
3. Frank Bettger How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success in Selling (1947)
4.Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson The One Minute Manager (1981)
5.Edward Bok The Americanization of Edward Bok (1921)
6. Claude M Bristol The Magic of Believing (1948)
7.Andrew Carnegie Autobiography (1920)
8.Chin-ning Chu Thick Face Black Heart (1992)
9.George S Clason The Richest Man in Babylon (1926)
10. Robert Collier Secrets of the Ages (1926)
11.Jim Collins Good To Great (2001)
12.Russel H Conwell Acres of Diamonds (1921)
13. Stephen R Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989)
14. Michael Dell Direct From Dell (1999)
15.Henry Ford My Life and Work (1922)
16. Benjamin Franklin The Way To Wealth (1758)
17.Timothy Gallwey The Inner Game of Tennis (1974)
18.Robin Gerber Leadership The Eleanor Roosevelt Way (2003)
19. John Paul Getty How To Be Rich (1961)
20.Les Giblin How to Have Power and Confidence In Dealing With People (1956)
21.Baltasar Gracian The Art of Worldly Wisdom (1647)
22. Earl G Graves How To Succeed in Business Without Being White (1997)
23. Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich (1937)
24. Napoleon Hill & W Clement Stone Success With a Positive Mental Attitude (1960)
25. Tom Hopkins The Official Guide to Success (1982)
26.Muriel James & Dorothy Jongeward Born To Win (1971)
27. Spencer Johnson Who Moved My Cheese? (1998)
28. Robert Kiyosaki Rich Dad, Poor Dad (1997)
29.David Landes The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (1998)
30.Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz The Power of Full Engagement (2003)
31.Roger Lowenstein Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist (1995)
32.Nelson Mandela Long Walk To Freedom (1994 )
33. Orison Swett Marden Pushing To The Front (1894)
34. JW Marriott Jnr The Spirit To Serve (1997)
35. Margot Morrell & Stephanie Capparell Shackleton's Way (2001)
36. Donald T Phillips Lincoln On Leadership (1992)
37.Catherine Ponder The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity (1962)
38.Cheryl Richardson Take Time For Your Life (1998)
39. Anthony Robbins Unlimited Power (1986)
40. David Schwartz The Magic of Thinking Big (1959)
41.Florence Scovell Shinn Secret Door to Success (1940)
42. Thomas J Stanley The Millionaire Mind (2000)
43. Brian Tracy Maximum Achievement (1993)
44.Sun Tzu The Art of War (4 th century BCE)
45. Sam Walton Made in America (1992)
46. Wallace Wattles The Science of Getting Rich (1910)
47.Jack Welch Jack: Straight From the Gut (2001)
48.John Whitmore Coaching For Performance (1992)
49.Richard Wiseman The Luck Factor (2003)
50. Zig Ziglar See You At The Top (1975)

If you've read any of the above and particularly enjoyed them, drop a comment here to let others know your thoughts on the title. Here's to your success!

Is There a Formula for Success?

Many books have been written upon the topic of "Success" and just what it takes to achieve it. Everyone from philosophers to authors to presidents and athletes have published their own take on "what it takes". But there seems to be some recurring themes going on amongst all the works that people can take away and perhaps translate to their own success.

1 - Have a vision - Whether it be creating your own successful business, making a certain sports team, graduating college, getting the perfect job, dating a supermodel or whatever, the goal must be clear and in mind. Without a goal, what are you really working to be successful at? Make sure to define the goal, even write it down and keep it around in sight.

2 - Use visualization techniques - Athletes, businessmen and many others who have achieved success seem to use this technique alot. It's the idea of taking that vision or goal from step 1 and seeing yourself as "already there". Believe you've achieved it already and imagine how you feel, what it looks like. This makes movement towards that goal even more easier because it's fixed in your mind.

3 - Stay positive - Keeping the right mental attitude is the absolute key to success in life. While some try to argue that "oh he's just lucky" or "all millionaires inherited their money", the real key is that people who make it are those who keep a positive mindframe. You have to learn to bend with adversity and overcome it. Learn from it, and you'll continue to grow in leaps and bounds. Stay positive at all times as you work towards your vision.

4 - Be a constant learner - Constant learning is also essential to your success. Whether it means continuing to read blogs about making money, or devoting an hour a day to reading success and personal development books, you've got to continue to expand your ideas. Reading is probably the best way to do this, but a lot of success books also suggest the idea of finding a mentor to guide you towards your vision.

5 - Be a giver - Successful people learn that giving back is probably the greatest benefit of their success. It's not the money or the toys you buy, or the home you live in, but more so the ability to help out others. It's a satisfying end to all that hard work of achieving your vision.

Now these above principles are 5 very simple techniques to guide yourselves down the paths of success. The Monetizer never purports to be the guru or all knowing source on success, but believes these 5 concepts continue to show up in much of the literature written on the subject. You can find more within various books, but the 5 above seem to be the most common and widely used practices. Start applying them today and see yourself soar!

Feel free to add your own ideas below of the principles necessary to achieve success.

Also check out a great list of 50 Success Classic books to start on your journey!

The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Several posts ago the Monetizer revealed the 17 distinctions between rich and poor people, as written by T. Harv Eker in his excellent book. Eker's book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" is designed to put you right into the mindframe of a rich person. The basis may seem similar to other books on the subject with the motto "Think Rich, Get Rich". After all, people who think money is a problem and controls them, will have a very hard time getting rich. In Eker's book he outlines the various distinctions between rich and poor people and the end of each of them gives you some homework to do. For example jotting down phrases your parents used to say about money. Some parents might have thrown around phrases like "money doesn't grow on trees" or "you think I'm made of money?", and those impact how kids view money as they age. So if you get the book, consider getting a notebook or journal to accompany it.

Eker provides sound advice towards saving in terms of setting up various accounts for specific purposes, but overall he seems to teach positivity and money management. One technique is to get in the habit of managing every dollar you have by taking 10% of it towards investments or your savings accounts. You'll find some great tips and techniques to employ throughout. I enjoyed the book quite a bit, although at times it can get downright wacky. One example is Eker's suggestion for the reader to go out and buy a brand new tuxedo or elegant dress, then come home, put it on, get down on one knee and declare "I'm worthy from here forth!". It's silly, but it might be exactly what seem people need to get inspired for moneymaking.

I give the book a thumbs up, and if you can find a copy at the library or even buy it online at Amazon, you're doing yourself a favor. You're bound to get some interesting perspective and ideas from Eker. Also, with the more positive material you read, whether it's on money, personal development, health or any other positive subject, can only help you advance yourself. You don't necessarily have to subscribe to every word written, but there might be just one nugget of valuable advice that inspires you , so the book will pay for itself many times over.

Order Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth at Amazon.com to get yourself in the mindframe of a millionaire!

17 Principles of the Rich & Poor

The following principles are derived from T. Harv Eker's book called Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth (pictured above). They spell out the type of beliefs that separate the wealthy from the poor. You may agree or disagree with some of the items posed. Contemplate these and ask yourself which side you fall on for each.

1. Rich people believe "I create my life." Poor people
believe, "Life happens to me."

2. Rich people play the money game to win. Poor people
play the money game to not lose.

3. Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people
want to be rich.

4. Rich people think big. Poor people think small.

5. Rich people focus on opportunities. Poor people focus
on obstacles.

6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.

7. Rich people associate with positive, successful
people. Poor people associate with negative or
unsuccessful people.

8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their
value. Poor people think negatively about selling and
promotion.

9. Rich people are bigger than their problems. Poor
people are smaller than their problems.

10. Rich people are excellent receivers. Poor people are
poor receivers.

11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results. Poor
people choose to get paid based on time.

12. Rich people think "both." Poor people
think "either/or."

13. Rich people focus on their net worth. Poor people
focus on their working income.

14. Rich people manage their money well. Poor people
mismanage their money well.

15. Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor
people work hard for their money.

16. Rich people act in spite of fear. Poor people let fear
stop them.

17. Rich people constantly learn and grow. Poor people
think they already know.

The above principles definitely can be applied to blogging, your web-based business, or other online moneymaking endeavors. Fine tuning your beliefs so they are "richer" just may lead you on a path of riches! Eker also has developed a 3 day "intensive seminar" which deals with the topics above and those in his book. View more about Eker's Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar at www.millionairemind.com

Can You Become a Millionaire by Age 30?

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO USE THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO BECOME FILTHY RICH. - Product disclaimer from Amazon.com

If you're over 30, don't despair because this just might apply to you as well. There's a new book out by Alan Corey which was profiled in the latest US News magazine. It has the lengthy title of A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty. I like it.

Alan's claim to fame is that he gave himself a goal of being a millionaire by the young age 30. After finishing college he put the plan in motion, but not by creating a fancy business or viral dotcom idea. He didn't go around networking with bigwigs to secure startup funds, or finding lots of iPods to sell on eBay. He simply started to cut costs by being the ultimate cheapskate. That's right, Alan would reuse old popcorn bags for refills at the movies (ethical?), find thrown out or used umbrellas, never bought new bottled water and went on "cheap dates". He and his friends even made up a fake story to get themselves on the Jerry Springer show and win a free spring break trip. Now of course all those things won't make you a million alone, and Alan also realized he needed to produce some assets to get himself rich.

Basically, Alan worked a 9-5 job for 6 years, but was fed up with "working for the man" for peanuts, just like many of us are. He used to live in his mom's basement in Atlanta, but then decided to move to NYC to work on his goal of becoming rich. New York is far from a cheap place to live and Alan was making just 40 grand at his job. He realized his college degree was useless in terms of him making money, which may or may not be true. So he started cutting costs, saving, and then ultimately investing in real estate and other financial vehicles. There was luck involved, as he got into the right real estate deals at the right time (not to say there's no deals now). But now at age 28, Alan's happy to say he's retired (and still being a cheapskate)! (and by the way he claims that one of his cheap dates is now moving in with him)

The moral of the story here is that if you scrimp and save and make some wise investments with the money you do have, you have a good chance at using that extra money to build wealth. It's more of a mindset than anything to become rich. Alan even states in the magazine's interview excerpt that he just believed his goal was going to happen, and it has, 2 years early. Hmmm...so maybe that book The Secret really works?

Not that he needs the extra money, but Alan's now in search of his next million, and this sounds like one interesting moneymaking journey to read about...Alan's Book A Million Bucks by 30: How to Overcome a Crap Job, Stingy Parents, and a Useless Degree to Become a Millionaire Before (or After) Turning Thirty is currently available at Amazon.com.

New Problogger & Adsense Books

Apologies to anyone who's already read this news, but two interesting new books have recently been released to help moneymakers online. Joel Comm, Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett have lent their ideas and expertise to those looking for insight into blogging and making money online.

In terms of blogging, Darren Rowse is a household name amongst most bloggers. He and Chris Garrett recently released their book "ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income", which can be ordered at Amazon. You can also download a sample teaser chapter from the book. The Monetizer fully endorses Darren as he's always got great advice and inspiration on his blog. The PDF download chapter is well worth checking out as it talks about Darren having to work 3 jobs as he gradually worked his way into blogging, eventually earning 6 figures. The book should be a great read describing Darren and Chris' paths towards blogging success. It will also provide you a roadmap to success, along with some great new ideas and inspiration!

The other book which just recently arrived online is an e-book, Joel Comm's "Google Adsense Secrets 4th Edition". I purchased Joel's Adsense Code when I had first started in my online adventures. It definitely gave valuable advice and insight into how to integrate the most popular moneymaker online into my websites and blogs. I recommend Joel's new e-book at just $9.95 available here at his site. He's updated the advice and tips he gives to discuss working with today's version of Google Adsense. (Note: be careful as I have read you will be locked into a monthly or yearly subscription deal at Joel's site, so you need to cancel to avoid extra charges).

The Monetizer wanted to spread the news around because I believe in the products of these guys. I wouldn't be too surprised if John Chow and Shoemoney have their own books come out as well.. And who knows, but maybe one day you'll see a Monetizer e-book or real book selling at Amazon.com!

Creative Blogging Leads to Success

The Monetizer heard a lot about the book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki, who's been featured as a financial guest speaker on CNBC, and is well known as a business-savvy friend of Mr. Donald Trump. Unfortunately, that first book in the series wasn't available at the bookstore, so I picked up book 3 in his series, Rich Dad's Guide to Investing: What the Rich Invest in, That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!. Aside from the long title, its a book nearing 400 or so pages and packed with interesting anecdotes and tips. Now this book doesn't just relate to playing the stock market, finding the next hot company to invest in, or flipping real estate, but it also offers a very valuable piece of info relating to online business ventures.

One of the underlying keys of the book is that Rich dad points out you want to be on the Business/Investor side of the equation rather than the Employee/Student side of things. In other words you don't want to be working for someone else, because that won't get you rich as quickly. His best tip is that the best investments are not the ones you buy (like stocks or land), but rather the ones you create. And that may mean a farm full of livestock, hand knitted blankets, wooden furniture, a flying car, a full-fledged business, and even a website. Under website also falls the blog, which we all know can be quite the moneymaking tool, and in fact a business. The blog is your creation and can basically be done with little or no initial investment, making it a very smart choice for those who love to write and feel creative juices flowing. All you need is your brain, some time, effort and Blogspot or Wordpress to get it going. Or you could choose to invest a little and buy a domain with hosting, taking a bit more risk.

We are a long ways from the profitable industrial age, and now in the extremely profitable information age. If you think of some of the wealthiest and youngest entrepreneurs around, they are the people behind major, successful websites or technology ventures. Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, the Google guys...they all dreamed big and used internet real estate, creativity and an underlying desire to drive their products all the way to mainstream success. John Chow, Darren Rowse, Shoemoney and countless others have done so, or are doing so with blogs at this moment. There's no reason you or I can't do the same.

It always perplexes me when I see people doing blog entries about "Adsense doesn't work" or "well my blog isn't working out". The main reason I feel that they are even typing these statements, is a lack of passion or creative drive (which nobody really lacks). It's ok to point out the occasional mishaps or mistakes/failures, but giving up before you even see success is in my opinion the wrong way to go. Tapping into your creative thoughts and passions will almost always be rewarding. Having a blog in a niche can open up plenty of opportunities for other ventures as well via networking, collaboration and continued effort towards your blog.

I recommend to the people who are having trouble finding inspiration to continue with their blogging and online ventures, do more reading. Books like The Secret, "The Science of Getting Rich" and Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised are 3 I'd recommend which should supercharge you to start acting upon your passions and pursuing success.

Freegans & the Secret Science of Getting Rich

In today's lesson, the Monetizer will tie 3 concepts together: a “Freegan” episode of Oprah, "The Secret" and "The Science of Getting Rich", because they all relate, yet Freegans are in opposition to money making concepts.

First off, if you aren't familiar with a "Freegan" they are individuals trying to make a statement by living below financial means. They are trying to tell corporate America they won't be induced into constant buying to "keep up with the Jones's" or the latest trends. So what they do is go to great lengths to essentially "trash pick" for items that will be free. These items include furniture, office supplies, clothing and yes even food.

The food part is probably the toughest to "swallow", so to speak, because not many of us would go dumpster hunting for food, or consider it sanitary. The Freegans go to dumpsters outside of grocery stores. On Oprah's show, they went on a large group tour of one dumpster site at nighttime and were able to retrieve items like eggs, cupcakes, breads, vegetables and other thrown out foods. They amassed a pile of usable food, and even the host was ready to take some baked goods. They said that grocery stores throw out usable items which basically could go to the homeless, but supermarkets generally fear lawsuits. Oprah's message was to think about how much stuff we waste in our daily lives, and what it’s costing us. The Freegan truly wants to send the message that they don't need so many things at top dollar, and they don't need to live extravagantly. The Monetizer also believes that all consumers make choices of what they buy and what they have to have. The "freegan ideology" is really a personal choice and commitment to a certain lifestyle, just as making money is.

That brings me to an interesting book called The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles. Wattles' book opens with the chapter titled "Your Right to Be Rich". His main point is that we all should strive for success in our lives and not be limited by beliefs such as "there aren't enough resources for us all". Those beliefs cause people to "just get by" or sacrifice rather than trying to advance and live the best life they can. So Wattles says we should strive to accumulate the riches we want by forming a clear picture and not letting it go. He offers many other steps in his scientific analysis for how to acquire riches, such as showing gratitude, choosing the right profession, acting in a certain way and not focusing on money problems. It's also Wattles' overall belief that the more wealth you have, the more completely you can live and experience things. This is a complete opposite focus from the Freegans shown on Oprah who say wealth makes us greedy and prone to buy more, giving corporations control of our happiness.

Wattles' book is also what inspired Rhonda Byrne to write her bestselling book The Secret . If you've read that book or heard of it, you may know its basic premise; You can attract to you the things you want by focusing properly. It's been described as a self help book by some, but can be better summed up as personal development. It's not all about wealth either, as it covers the secrets of relationships, health, life and You. I enjoyed this book and it's what made me pick up Wattle's book next. Both books are generally encouraging, and while some may view Wattles' book as a greedier read it still offers plenty of positive advice beyond money.

So I'd recommend two of the 3 things above. Check out The Secret and The Science of Getting Rich, as each book will put you on a better path towards acquiring wealth and success. I'd recommend becoming a Freegan to anyone who has a strong stomach and isn't so interested in acquiring wealth.

The Bestsellers on Squidoo: Books

Here's something to pass along to all those interested in the moneymaking aspect of Squidoo.com. After receiving a recent payout from Squidoo, LLC, the Monetizer noticed in the email the following note:

"Quick tip for you moneymakers: Did you know that books were the bestselling product category for all of Squidoo in 2007?"

According to a Squidoo page "Book Report" no item sold more than books in 2007 on Squidoo. A total of 21,054 different book titles sold! On that note, here are...



The Top 10 Books which sold on Squidoo:

#1) Web Analytics: An Hour a Day
by Avinash Kaushik

#2) Rule the Web: How to Do Anything and Everything on the Internet---Better, Faster, Easier
by Mark Frauenfelder

#3) Gainsborough: Colour Library (Phaidon Colour Library)
by Nicola Kalinsky

#4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)
by J. K. Rowling


#5) The Japanese Tattoo
by Sandi Fellman

#6) The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
by Timothy Ferriss


#7) 50 Hikes in the Adirondacks: Short Walks, Day Trips, and Backpacks Throughout the Park, Fourth Edition
by Barbara McMartin


#8) A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
by Daniel H. Pink


#9) Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
by Elizabeth Gilbert


#10) Stylish Knits for Dogs: 30 Projects to Knit in a Weekend
by Ilene Hochberg

Interestingly enough, the top 2 books are all about how to analyze and conquer the World Wide Web, which is a great way to make money online. Of the titles above, I've yet to read any of the 10, but would most likely go for titles #1 and #6. I've heard the 4-Hour Workweek is a fascinating read, and actually made good Amazon Associates referral money for Mr. Problogger, Darren Rowse.

So if you're a Squidoo fanatic like the Monetizer, you just might consider incorporating more book titles with your Amazon Associates code into your lens pages. And if you want a great book to read, I will continue to highly recommend Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich which will get you on your way towards an even better life and moneymaking!