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	<title>Business Growth Strategies &#187; Personal</title>
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	<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com</link>
	<description>Ryan Healy on Copywriting, Advertising &#38; Business Growth</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:48:12 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>The Illusion of Democracy</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/the-illusion-of-democracy/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/the-illusion-of-democracy/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:23:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Caucus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Democracy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fraud]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iowa]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nevada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Republicans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ron Paul]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vote Fraud]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=4447</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the best things that could happen for entrepreneurs and private businesses this year is for Ron Paul to win the Presidency. While I hope this happens, I&#8217;m doubtful that it will. Not for lack of support either. (Ron Paul probably has more supporters in this country than any other candidate, including Obama.) The [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>One of <a href="http://www.ronpaul2012.com/the-issues/ron-paul-plan-to-restore-america/" target="_blank">the best things that could happen for entrepreneurs and private businesses</a> this year is for Ron Paul to win the Presidency.</p>
<p>While I hope this happens, I&#8217;m doubtful that it will.</p>
<p>Not for lack of support either. <em>(Ron Paul probably has more supporters in this country than any other candidate, including Obama.)</em></p>
<p>The trouble is the whole system is rigged.</p>
<p><span id="more-4447"></span><a href="http://www.prisonplanet.com/republican-insider-gop-establishment-planning-to-subvert-iowa-to-prevent-ron-paul-win.html" target="_blank">Republican party insider Dee Dee Benkie revealed</a> before the Iowa caucus that they would do whatever was required to prevent Paul from winning. She revealed they were exerting undue influence to sway large blocks of voters and would manipulate the vote counts if necessary.</p>
<p>In her own words:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve talked to the party officials, I know they&#8217;re concerned about it,&#8221; said Benkie, adding, &#8220;Ron Paul doesn&#8217;t do us any good in Iowa, doesn&#8217;t do the country any good, will never get there, so let&#8217;s figure out what we need to do.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Just a few days later, evidence began to emerge that the Republican party had done exactly what they said they would do. They had committed vote fraud.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s more, the people running the <a href="http://truthalliance.net/Archive/News/tabid/67/ID/8639/Iowa-vote-fraud-official.aspx" target="_blank">Iowa caucus confessed the results could never be certified</a>, and the vote counts continued to shift days after voting had ended.</p>
<p>The whole thing was a farce.</p>
<p>Now, there is <a href="http://www.examiner.com/conspiracy-in-denver/nevada-vote-fraud-official" target="_blank">strong evidence that vote fraud has been committed in the Nevada caucus</a> as well, and this time the fraud is even more blatant.</p>
<p>Of course, fraud in Iowa and Nevada was no cause for alarm among the mainstream media because <a href="http://nobodybutpaul.com/ron-paul/electability/" target="_blank">&#8220;Ron Paul is unelectable,&#8221;</a> and who cares about vote fraud anyway?</p>
<p>I started thinking about this again last night because of the Colorado caucus. My precinct polling location was a short drive away. But I didn&#8217;t go.</p>
<p>I didn&#8217;t go because I don&#8217;t feel like it matters. Even becoming a delegate might be a huge waste of time if they&#8217;re manipulating delegate votes later in the year.</p>
<p>(And if manipulating votes sounds far-fetched to you, believe me, it is not far-fetched in the least. Some say it&#8217;s even easier to manipulate votes on a &#8220;Lie-bold&#8221; machine.)</p>
<p>So&#8230; I&#8217;m hoping Ron Paul wins. And I&#8217;m doing what I can to change people&#8217;s minds and educate them.</p>
<p>Ron Paul as President would be good for business. It would be good for the economy. It would be good for the country.</p>
<p>At the same time, I&#8217;m not so ignorant to believe that my vote counts in any way, shape, or form.</p>
<p>What we have in America is an <em>illusion</em> of a democratic process. We have selfish leaders who will do anything to maintain their own power, even if it means committing fraud and changing votes to fit the outcome they want.</p>
<p>At a time like this, it&#8217;s important to remember <a href="http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/dubiousquotes/a/stalin_quote.htm" target="new">what Joseph Stalin reportedly said</a>: &#8220;I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this &#8211; who will count the votes, and how.&#8221;</p>
<p>So long as the Grand Old Party is counting the votes, the outcome will be a Grand Old Joke.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/media-spin-vote-bad-candidates/" rel="bookmark" title="January 24, 2012">How the Media Tries to Get You to Vote for Bad Candidates</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriting-lesson-courtesy-of-rick-santorums-nephew/" rel="bookmark" title="January 5, 2012">An Ancient Copywriting Lesson for Modern Times, Courtesy of Rick Santorum&#8217;s Nephew</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/you-have-to-read-this-now/" rel="bookmark" title="April 1, 2008">You Have to Read This Now</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/secrets-never-go-out-of-style/" rel="bookmark" title="August 26, 2010">Secrets in Selling Never Go Out of Style</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/best-mac-tips-software-shortcuts/" rel="bookmark" title="September 28, 2010">Best Mac Tips, Software &#038; Shortcuts for Internet Marketers</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>A Few Thoughts on Snow, Focus &amp; Motivation</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/snow-focus-motivation/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/snow-focus-motivation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:33:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[copywriter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Denver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[domain names]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[freelance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Motivation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=4404</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;m drinking a cup of coffee and typing at my computer. This is what I do eight hours a day, five days a week (the writing part, that is; I&#8217;m usually done with the coffee by 11 a.m.). Today is a little different because there&#8217;s a big storm system sitting over Denver. It&#8217;s dropping all [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/snow-feb-3-2012.jpg"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/snow-feb-3-2012-225x300.jpg" alt="snow feb 3 2012 225x300 A Few Thoughts on Snow, Focus & Motivation" title="snow-feb-3-2012" width="225" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-4416" /></a>I&#8217;m drinking a cup of coffee and typing at my computer.</p>
<p>This is what I do eight hours a day, five days a week (the writing part, that is; I&#8217;m usually done with the coffee by 11 a.m.).</p>
<p>Today is a little different because there&#8217;s a big storm system sitting over Denver. It&#8217;s dropping all kinds of snow right now.</p>
<p>We&#8217;re approaching a foot of accumulation, with somewhere between 18 inches and two feet projected.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I&#8217;m a freelance copywriter, so I get to carry on with my work and enjoy a cozy day in the office.</p>
<p><span id="more-4404"></span>Better still, I&#8217;ve stayed exceptionally focused this week, so today I can take some time to read, tidy up the clutter in my office, and spend some time pursuing one of my many pet projects.</p>
<p>I seem to have a lot of those.</p>
<p>One of my friends asked me recently, &#8220;How many web sites do you own?&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;Do you mean how many domains have I registered&#8230; or how many web sites have I created and are live on the Internet? Either way, I don&#8217;t know.&#8221;</p>
<p>It was a pretty short conversation.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s see&#8230; just looked it up because now I&#8217;m curious. 130 domain names registered. (I have set some to expire, so that number will go down this year.)</p>
<p>And it looks like I have 21 web sites that are actually up and running. (This doesn&#8217;t count a few I&#8217;ve pulled down because I felt they had outlived their usefulness or never achieved their purpose.)</p>
<p>If you accused me of not being focused enough, I couldn&#8217;t deny it.</p>
<p>What I&#8217;ve realized in the time I&#8217;ve been working online is that I&#8217;m not primarily motivated by money.</p>
<p>Sure, I like to have enough to pay my bills. (Who doesn&#8217;t?)</p>
<p>But beyond providing for my family and having a little extra for date nights, vacations, and field trips, I&#8217;m more interested in creating impact&#8230; changing minds&#8230; getting people to see things they haven&#8217;t seen before.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s what really gets me excited.</p>
<p>That, and snow.</p>
<p>I love snow days.</p>
<p>Talk to you next week,</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/trash-on-my-door-mat/" rel="bookmark" title="January 17, 2011">Please, Don&#8217;t Leave That on My Door Mat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/coffeewriting-magic-routine/" rel="bookmark" title="October 29, 2009">Coffeewriting and the Magic of Routine</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/the-yin-yang-of-focus/" rel="bookmark" title="January 13, 2009">The Yin &#038; Yang of Focus</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/a-tale-of-one-client-three-copywriters-and-a-space-ad/" rel="bookmark" title="February 12, 2008">A Tale of One Client, Three Copywriters, and a Space Ad</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/damn-that-ray-edwards/" rel="bookmark" title="August 28, 2009">Damn That Ray Edwards!</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Stop Daily Emails: Get Updates Once Per Week</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/stop-daily-emails-get-updates-once-per-week/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/stop-daily-emails-get-updates-once-per-week/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:11:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[daily emails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Email Frequency]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[subscribe]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=4304</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the beginning of the year, I began publishing five days a week on my blog. I plan to continue publishing daily, Monday through Friday, for the remainder of this year. I also plan to send out short email notifications to let you know when new blog posts are published. I began doing this January [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>At the beginning of the year, I began publishing five days a week on my blog. I plan to continue publishing daily, Monday through Friday, for the remainder of this year.</p>
<p>I also plan to send out short email notifications to let you know when new blog posts are published.</p>
<p>I began doing this January 1st, which triggered a higher-than-normal unsubscribe rate. This is because historically I&#8217;ve only sent out a couple emails each week. So five emails a week &#8212; even if they&#8217;re brief &#8212; is a big increase.</p>
<p><span id="more-4304"></span></p>
<h2>How to Decrease the Number of Emails You Get from Me</h2>
<p>After about a week of the new schedule, a friend and subscriber sent me this brief note:</p>
<blockquote><p>I love your stuff but I&#8217;m getting too much too fast, friend.</p>
<p>Is there a sub-list that slows it down? I hate to just unsubscribe.</p></blockquote>
<p>Up until now I&#8217;ve not had a sub-list. I thought it was a good idea, so I&#8217;ve now created one.</p>
<p>When you subscribe using the form below, two things will happen:</p>
<ol>
<li>You will be automatically <em>unsubscribed</em> from my primary email list.</li>
<li>You will be added to my &#8220;once per week&#8221; email list. This means you will get no more than one email per week.</li>
</ol>
<p>So&#8230; want to decrease how often you hear from me? Just subscribe to my &#8220;slow it down&#8221; list below.</p>
<h2>&#8220;Slow It Down, Ryan! I&#8217;d Prefer 1 Email a Week or Less&#8230;&#8221;</h2>
<p>Sign up here to get on the &#8220;once a week&#8221; email list:</p>
<p><script type="text/javascript" src="http://forms.aweber.com/form/43/2097640743.js"></script><br />
As always, thank you for being a subscriber. I value my relationship with you.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/important-blog-updates/" rel="bookmark" title="September 23, 2008">Important Blog Updates</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/email-subscribe-button-gone/" rel="bookmark" title="January 17, 2012">Bye-Bye Email Subscribe Button</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/updated-copywriting-check-list/" rel="bookmark" title="December 31, 2009">Updated: Copywriting Check List</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/reasons-people-unsubscribe/" rel="bookmark" title="April 30, 2010">Reasons Why People Unsubscribe</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/is-it-spam/" rel="bookmark" title="August 15, 2011">Is It Spam or Is It Something Else?</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Vote on New Blog Header</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/vote-on-new-blog-header/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/vote-on-new-blog-header/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:01:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=4204</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This year one of my goals is to make incremental improvements to my blog every single week. With that in mind I had two new blog header graphics designed. Both are fairly similar. My goal was twofold: To get rid of the red subscribe button and to make the header graphic load faster. Please vote [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>This year one of my goals is to make incremental improvements to my blog every single week.</p>
<p>With that in mind I had two new blog header graphics designed. Both are fairly similar. My goal was twofold: To get rid of the red subscribe button and to make the header graphic load faster.</p>
<p>Please vote for the one you like best after looking at each one. (Each graphic opens in a new window when clicked.)</p>
<p><span id="more-4204"></span></p>
<h2>Blog Header Graphic #1</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ryan-healy-business-growth-header.jpg" target="new"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/ryan-healy-business-growth-header-300x39.jpg" alt="ryan healy business growth header 300x39 Vote on New Blog Header" title="Ryan Healy Business Growth Header #1" width="300" height="39" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4205" /></a></p>
<h2>Blog Header Graphic #2</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ryan_Healy_795x180.jpg" target="blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Ryan_Healy_795x180-300x67.jpg" alt="Ryan Healy 795x180 300x67 Vote on New Blog Header" title="Ryan Healy Business Growth Header #2" width="300" height="67" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-4206" /></a></p>
<h2>Vote for the One You Like Here</h2>
<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/5846296">Take Our Poll</a>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your help.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/email-subscribe-button-gone/" rel="bookmark" title="January 17, 2012">Bye-Bye Email Subscribe Button</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/quantum-improvements/" rel="bookmark" title="December 13, 2008">Quantum Improvements</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/traffic-patterns-what-influences-traffic/" rel="bookmark" title="January 31, 2011">Traffic Patterns &#8211; What Influences Traffic</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/stop-daily-emails-get-updates-once-per-week/" rel="bookmark" title="January 23, 2012">Stop Daily Emails: Get Updates Once Per Week</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/media-spin-vote-bad-candidates/" rel="bookmark" title="January 24, 2012">How the Media Tries to Get You to Vote for Bad Candidates</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Unexamined Opinions</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/unexamined-opinions/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/unexamined-opinions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:28:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mindset]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[History]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Howard Zinn]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Raw Mettle]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Truth]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=4027</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The world is full of unexamined opinions. If you doubt this statement, here&#8217;s how to prove it to yourself: Educate yourself deeply on just about any subject, then go engage somebody in a discussion. After that discussion, go have another. And another. And another. Over the course of these discussions with your friends and family [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p><strong>The world is full of unexamined opinions.</strong> If you doubt this statement, here&#8217;s how to prove it to yourself:</p>
<p>Educate yourself deeply on just about any subject, then go engage somebody in a discussion. After that discussion, go have another. And another. And another.</p>
<p>Over the course of these discussions with your friends and family members &#8212; maybe even a few neighbors and co-workers &#8212; you&#8217;ll quickly discover just how common unexamined opinions are. You may even quietly wonder to yourself, &#8220;How could these people be so ignorant?!&#8221;</p>
<p><span id="more-4027"></span>The thing is, we all have blind spots at different points in our lives. We&#8217;ve accepted certain things as truth &#8212; we&#8217;ve blindly accepted &#8220;the way things are&#8221; &#8212; without subjecting these assumptions to any kind of rigorous &#8220;truth filters.&#8221;</p>
<ul>
<li>Would you be willing to challenge some of your cherished &#8212; but potentially unexamined or under-examined &#8212; opinions?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Would you be willing to read an author who has a contrary opinion?</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Would you be willing to fully investigate a serious issue &#8212; reading even those opinions and theories that differ from yours?</li>
</ul>
<p>I used to be afraid of such mental exercises, but no longer. Over the course of the last 10-plus years, I&#8217;ve become willing to examine my beliefs at a very deep level.</p>
<p>Now I relish this kind of self-examination. It challenges me. It pushes me to greater levels of understanding.</p>
<p>But not everybody can tolerate different viewpoints. <a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/poore-endebted-discontented-and-armed/">When I quoted Howard Zinn recently</a>, a disgruntled reader unsubscribed and lashed out at me. He wrote:</p>
<blockquote><p>I don&#8217;t want my box cluttered by someone who appears to think Howard Zinn was a historian. Even liberal historians such as Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., have harsh words for him. Marxist historians like Zinn create &#8220;false consciousness&#8221;, not understanding.</p></blockquote>
<p>Ignoring the fact that this reader contradicted himself in the span of three sentences and knows nothing of how much history I read, perhaps his criticism of Zinn is legitimate. That is why I still intend to examine his allegations in the near future.</p>
<p><em>Because I want to know the truth.</em></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve found very few people actually want to know the truth. Many claim they do, but their actions prove them otherwise. They&#8217;d rather read gossip mags, watch ESPN, and research their next big purchase.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m hoping you&#8217;re different.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m hoping you have the guts&#8230; and the raw mettle&#8230; to closely examine your opinions and pursue the truth no matter how much discomfort it causes you. Make this one of your resolutions for the new year.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/creating-a-common-enemy/" rel="bookmark" title="March 13, 2008">Creating a Common Enemy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriters-guilty-as-charged/" rel="bookmark" title="April 10, 2010">Copywriters: Guilty as Charged?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/ive-made-my-decision/" rel="bookmark" title="January 19, 2008">I&#8217;ve Made My Decision</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/should-prices-end-in-7/" rel="bookmark" title="May 29, 2008">Should Prices End in 7?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/jeff-walker-damage-control/" rel="bookmark" title="November 20, 2010">Jeff Walker: Disingenuous Damage Control</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/mini-retirement-in-florida/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/mini-retirement-in-florida/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:04:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Awai]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Faraway Places]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Florida]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freelance Copywriting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Groupon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Location Independence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Magalog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mini-Retirement]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ocean Shore]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Promises]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Siesta Key]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[St. Louis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tim Ferriss]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unexpected Challenge]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[vacation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[White Sand]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=3780</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[About seven or eight years ago I bought AWAI&#8217;s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting. I still have the magalog that sold me on buying the program. When I got it in the mail, I literally blocked out the next evening to read it. So when I got home from work the following day, I sat [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>About seven or eight years ago I bought <a href="http://clickora.com/awai" target="_blank">AWAI&#8217;s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting</a>.</p>
<p>I still have the magalog that sold me on buying the program. When I got it in the mail, I literally blocked out the next evening to read it. So when I got home from work the following day, I sat down on the couch and read the 60-odd-page magalog start to finish &#8212; including every sidebar and testimonial.</p>
<p>I bought the course and dove into it immediately. But it took me more than a year to complete it because I was dividing my attention between multiple programs and projects. Nonetheless, the knowledge I learned from the program gave me a much-needed advantage when I finally quit my job in 2005.</p>
<p>Now, some of the promises in AWAI&#8217;s marketing quickly came true for me. Others took some time. Here&#8217;s a snippet from their current sales letter:</p>
<blockquote><p>In this world [of copywriting], it&#8217;s not unusual to have a shiny new car (or two) in the driveway every year&#8230;</p>
<p>To take exotic trips to faraway places several times a year (often for free&#8230;)</p>
<p>To be strolling on some ocean shore or tossing a ball with the kids while most people are slaving away in some ever-shrinking cubicle or driving to their next sales call.</p></blockquote>
<p>Have I tossed a ball with my kids during the work day? Absolutely. We&#8217;ve gone on hikes, played at parks, and done all sorts of activities while most people are working.</p>
<p>But I didn&#8217;t truly experience the &#8220;strolling on some ocean shore&#8221; part until just last month &#8212; nearly six and a half years after launching my freelance copywriting career.</p>
<p>I want to tell you more about that story. But first I need to back up to the beginning of this year when my wife and I were faced with&#8230;</p>
<p><span id="more-3780"></span></p>
<h2>An Unexpected Challenge</h2>
<p>The year 2011 did not start well for us.</p>
<p>In January we discovered that the fourth child we were expecting had died. My wife had to go through a long and drawn out late first-trimester miscarriage that was more challenging than we ever expected &#8212; both emotionally and financially.</p>
<p>With my vision for the year totally blown to pieces (I thought I was going to be raising a newborn and experiencing sleepless nights in August), I spent a couple months envisioning what I wanted the rest of the year to look like.</p>
<p>During that time, I re-read <em>The 4-Hour Workweek</em>.</p>
<p>I started the Product Creation Work Group to motivate me (and a select group of entrepreneurs) to develop more low-maintenance sources of income based on the sale of products.</p>
<p>And I came up with <a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/lifestyle-design-product-creation-and-profit-sharing/" target="_blank">a rough plan for the year</a>, which I shared here on this blog.</p>
<p>Thankfully, my plans slowly fell into place. Before I tell you about all the things we did, let me explain a little bit of my thinking&#8230;</p>
<h2>Examining the Facts of Your Life</h2>
<p>Most of us have a tendency to restrict what we&#8217;re capable of doing and accomplishing to what we observe other people doing and accomplishing.</p>
<p>If all the people in your life are working 9-5 jobs and sending their kids to public school, then it&#8217;s easy to decide &#8212; unconsciously, of course &#8212; that you should be doing the same thing.</p>
<p>And if everybody in your life thinks it&#8217;s crazy to go spend a month on a beach, then you&#8217;ll probably think it&#8217;s crazy, too.</p>
<p>But by unemotionally examining the facts of your life, you may discover you have more opportunity, flexibility, and untapped potential than you realize.</p>
<p>With that in mind, here are two facts about my life:</p>
<p><strong>Fact #1:</strong> I&#8217;m a freelance copywriter. I don&#8217;t have to be in Denver to do my work.</p>
<p><strong>Fact #2:</strong> My wife homeschools our children. We don&#8217;t have to be in Denver for our kids to receive an education.</p>
<p>Based on these facts, I thought: <em>Why not leverage our location independence to realize a seemingly unattainable dream? And why not do it this year?</em></p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The guard is changing. Being bound to one place will be the new defining feature of middle class. The New Rich are defined by a more elusive power than simple cash &#8212; unrestricted mobility. This jet-setting is not limited to start-up owners or freelancers. Employees can pull it off, too.&#8221; -Timothy Ferriss, <em>The 4-Hour Workweek</em>, p. 209</p></blockquote>
<p>I was especially motivated to travel and do more recreational activities because I knew we might still try for a fourth child after summer.</p>
<h2>And So the Adventures Began&#8230;</h2>
<p>For a brief period this past spring, I went on a Groupon-buying binge. As I wrote at that time, &#8220;By buying Groupons, I&#8217;m not only saving money on fun activities&#8230; I&#8217;m forcing myself to make time for activities I enjoy doing.&#8221;</p>
<p>Plus, every Groupon has a deadline, so I was forced to plan out the entire summer just to squeeze in all the activities I had signed up for.</p>
<p><strong>Here&#8217;s a quick summary of the things I did with my family and friends:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>We spent a weekend in <strong>Steamboat Springs</strong> to participate in my wife&#8217;s cousin&#8217;s wedding. Great time with friends and family.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/020.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/020-225x300.jpg" alt="020 225x300 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="Deep Snow on Trail Ridge Road" width="225" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3793" /></a>
<ul>
<li>I went on a <strong>2-day biking trip</strong> with two of my brothers, my friend, and his dad. We started in Granby, bicycled over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_Ridge_Road">Trail Ridge Road</a> (at 12,183 feet above sea level, it&#8217;s the highest continuous highway in the U.S.), then dropped down into Estes Park where we stayed the night. We rode back the next day. More than 140 miles and 9,000+ vertical feet in two days.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Spent almost a week working on-site with a client in Illinois. I really enjoyed this. While I was there, I <strong>boated on the Mississippi River</strong> and took a long leisurely bike ride on the trails that run along the Mississippi.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Took the family up to Granby and stayed overnight. <strong>Spent a day in Winter Park</strong> doing the alpine slides, miniature golf, a maze, the climbing wall, and the trampoline jump where you&#8217;re hooked into a harness attached to bungee cords. The kids LOVED the alpine slides. We&#8217;re going to go again next summer.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Watched a <strong>UFC fight on an iMax screen</strong> with a few of my neighbors.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/viper.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/viper-300x225.jpg" alt="viper 300x225 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="Ryan about to Drive a Dodge Viper" width="300" height="225" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3820" /></a>
<ul>
<li>My dad turned 60 this year, so I bought tickets for us to drive exotic sports cars at Pikes Peak International Speedway. I <strong>drove a Dodge Viper at 100+ mph</strong> three times around the track. My dad did the same, except he drove a Corvette Z06 and Shelby GT500.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>My wife and I went <strong>white water rafting down Clear Creek</strong>, which runs alongside I-70 as it winds up the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>That same night, my wife and I stayed in downtown Frisco, then <strong>biked from Frisco to Breckenridge</strong> and back the next morning. Gorgeous scenery. (We drove back into Breckenridge for a little shopping on Main Street later that day.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Enjoyed a night of <strong>improv at the Impulse Theater</strong> in downtown Denver. (Impulse Theater is the longest running show in Denver. It&#8217;s hilarious.)</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Went <strong>downhill mountain biking at Sol Vista</strong> with my brother and friend. Another perfect day in the mountains.</li>
</ul>
<p>Of course, all of these activities were leading up to</p>
<h2>Our 1-Month &#8220;Mini-Retirement&#8221; in Florida</h2>
<p>In the spring, I negotiated a deal with my uncle to stay at his <a href="http://www.siestakeycondo.org" target="_blank">condo on Siesta Key</a> for a whole month. I made the reservation and paid a deposit months in advance, so we were committed to go no matter what.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/071.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/071-225x300.jpg" alt="071 225x300 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="Pool and Beach at Sarasota Surf &amp; Racquet Club" width="225" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3798" /></a>So in early September we packed up the Odyssey and left the rarefied air of Denver for the sun-baked beaches of Siesta Key.</p>
<p>It was a three-day drive across eight different states: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida.</p>
<p>Once we arrived, we unpacked and settled in for a full month on the beach. We practically lived in our bathing suits and went down to the beach and pool twice every day.</p>
<p>Of course, during this time, I still did some work. I bought an iLugger bag for my iMac and hauled my computer down to Florida. I worked 3-4 days a week for about 4-6 hours a day. Just enough to keep my business running.</p>
<p><strong>This made me realize:</strong> I have more time flexibility than I think I have. I don&#8217;t need to be in front of my computer eight hours a day, five days a week. It&#8217;s just not necessary. One of my goals now is to better utilize work time so that I can pursue more recreational activities.</p>
<p>Anyway, while we were in Florida, we decided against visiting the big amusement parks. Not only were they a two-hour drive from where we were staying, they were also exorbitantly expensive. One day at Disney World was going to run us $407 for the tickets alone. Tack on parking, food, and souvenirs, and it would have topped $500 easily.</p>
<p>If we had hit three big amusement parks, that would have cost around $1500 to $2000 &#8212; a price I was not prepared to pay, especially given the age of my children.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/056.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/056-300x225.jpg" alt="056 300x225 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="View of Sarasota from the Bay" width="300" height="225" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3795" /></a>Ultimately, we decided to do some less expensive &#8220;non-touristy&#8221; things.</p>
<ul>
<li>So we went to <strong>Lowry Park Zoo</strong> in Tampa, Florida &#8212; the same zoo I had visited as a 4-year-old child.</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>We went to the <strong>Mote Aquarium in Sarasota</strong> and took a boat tour of Sarasota Bay. We saw dolphins playing, dozens of blue herons and cormorants, as well as fish, crabs, and sponges that are native to the bay. (Catching the sea life and holding it up close was Owen&#8217;s favorite activity.)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/276.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/276-225x300.jpg" alt="276 225x300 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="The Dali Museum - Helical Staircase" width="225" height="300" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-3791" /></a>
<ul>
<li>To cap it off, Steph and I dropped off the kids at my aunt&#8217;s house in Tampa and visited <strong><a href="http://thedali.org/" target="_blank">The Dali Museum</a> in St. Petersburg</strong>. The Dali houses &#8220;the most comprehensive collection of original Dali artwork in the world.&#8221; And, as you can see, the building itself is a work of art.</li>
</ul>
<p>A month is an ideal length of time for a mini-retirement. It was a great experience, and I do miss the white sand beaches and brilliant sunsets. But I&#8217;m also glad to be home. I&#8217;m a social person and being away made me realize how much I value my family and friendships. (My wife, on the other hand, fell in love with the beach and would have been thrilled to stay another week or two.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/072.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/072-225x300.jpg" alt="072 225x300 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="The St. Louis Arch" width="225" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-3788" /></a>Oh, we did one more thing before we got back to Denver.</p>
<ul>
<li>We stopped off in St. Louis for a day and <strong>went to the top of the St. Louis Arch</strong> &#8212; the Gateway to the West. The arch is 630 feet wide and 630 feet tall. And did you know there&#8217;s a free museum under the ground underneath the arch?</li>
</ul>
<p>As I&#8217;ve reflected on our summer of adventure &#8212; and our month-long &#8220;mini-retirement&#8221; in Florida &#8212; I&#8217;ve realized we&#8217;re all capable of doing much more than we think we can.</p>
<p><strong>The key is to live intentionally.</strong></p>
<p>Certainly, you will face obstacles just as we have.</p>
<p>But you don&#8217;t have to let obstacles dictate how you will live. Instead of letting life happen to you, you can make life happen.</p>
<p>What&#8217;s stopping you?</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy</p>
<p>P.S. A parting thought for you:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;Sabbaticals are often viewed much like retirement: as a one-time event. Savor it now while you can. The mini-retirement is defined as recurring &#8212; it is a <em>lifestyle</em>.&#8221; -Timothy Ferriss, <em>The 4-Hour Workweek</em>, p. 235</p></blockquote>
<p>I&#8217;m already thinking about what we&#8217;ll do next year. :-)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/168.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/168-300x225.jpg" alt="168 300x225 How I Managed to Spend a Month on the White Sand Beaches of Florida" title="Playing on the Beach" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-3801" /></a></a><strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/lost-in-my-own-house/" rel="bookmark" title="November 30, 2009">Lost in My Own House</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/how-to-keep-a-business-running-while-traveling/" rel="bookmark" title="November 15, 2011">Lessons I Learned While Running My Business from a Florida Beach</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/auto-tune-your-sales-copy/" rel="bookmark" title="October 15, 2011">Auto-Tune Your Sales Copy!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/commitment-and-consistency/" rel="bookmark" title="October 15, 2008">Commitment and Consistency</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/lifestyle-design-product-creation-and-profit-sharing/" rel="bookmark" title="May 19, 2011">Lifestyle Design, Product Creation and Profit Sharing</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Finding the Right Emotional Trigger</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/finding-the-right-emotional-trigger/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/finding-the-right-emotional-trigger/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:37:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Psychology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Authority]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Belief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Embarrassment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Emotional Trigger]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Humiliation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Persuasion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Secret Techniques]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Status]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tricks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Veiled Threat]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=3634</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Have you ever tried to persuade somebody of certain belief or to take a specific action? It&#8217;s rarely easy. For the most part, us humans are hard-headed creatures set in our ways. I was reminded of this when we went to get our family photos taken this morning. We all got dressed up (our three [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>Have you ever tried to persuade somebody of certain belief or to take a specific action?</p>
<p>It&#8217;s rarely easy.</p>
<p>For the most part, us humans are hard-headed creatures set in our ways.</p>
<p>I was reminded of this when we went to get our family photos taken this morning.</p>
<p>We all got dressed up (our three young kids included), and then headed off just shy of 10 a.m. When we arrived, they let us take a few minutes to peek in the mirror and make sure we all still looked good.</p>
<p>At that point, my wife decided to apply some lip gloss to my 8-year-old daughter&#8217;s lips.</p>
<p>Now, my daughter likes to wear dresses, but she&#8217;s still a bit of a tom-boy. And she doesn&#8217;t like lip gloss.</p>
<p>She started to cry.</p>
<p><span id="more-3634"></span>Of all my kids, the last one I expected to cry was my daughter. She&#8217;s my oldest! I thought for sure it would have been my three-year-old son. But my daughter??</p>
<p>Anyway, my wife was upset and told our daughter to stop crying&#8230; that her eyes and nose would get red and it would mess up the pictures.</p>
<p>Of course, every time we told her to stop crying and that she was acting like a three-year-old, she would just cry more.</p>
<p>I quickly realized appealing to our authority was not going to work. I also realized that appealing to her &#8220;status&#8221; as the oldest child in our family wasn&#8217;t going to work either.</p>
<p>So that&#8217;s when I said, &#8220;It&#8217;s fine. Let her cry. When we show the pictures to her friends, we&#8217;ll just have to explain that she decided to cry and throw a fit about wearing lip gloss for an hour.&#8221;</p>
<p>Immediately, my daughter&#8217;s demeanor changed.</p>
<p>Most of her friends in the neighborhood are &#8220;girly&#8221; girls who like wearing lip gloss and make-up. My daughter knows that her friends would laugh at her if they knew she was crying about wearing lip gloss.</p>
<p>Authority didn&#8217;t work. Comparing her to her younger brothers didn&#8217;t work. But the veiled threat of embarrassment and humiliation in front of her friends &#8212; her <em>peers!</em> &#8212; worked instantly.</p>
<p>Persuasion is not so much about &#8220;tricks&#8221; or &#8220;secret techniques&#8221; as it is about knowing what matters to the person you are trying to persuade. Once you know what the person cares about, you can zero in on the emotional trigger that he or she will respond to.</p>
<p>Have you spent enough time finding the right emotional trigger?</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/commitment-and-consistency/" rel="bookmark" title="October 15, 2008">Commitment and Consistency</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/selling-lessons-my-daughter-learned/" rel="bookmark" title="July 20, 2009">Selling Scuba Gear to Ski Bums: 3 Sales Lessons My Daughter Learned</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/tis-the-season-to-tell-lies/" rel="bookmark" title="December 9, 2009">&#8216;Tis the Season to Tell Lies?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/summer-in-the-rockies/" rel="bookmark" title="August 22, 2009">Summer in the Rockies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/lost-in-my-own-house/" rel="bookmark" title="November 30, 2009">Lost in My Own House</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Quick Poll: Which Topics Should This Blog Cover?</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/poll-topics-for-this-blog/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/poll-topics-for-this-blog/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:50:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Blogging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[advertising]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[business growth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Direct Response]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Focus]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freelance Copywriter]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freelance Copywriters]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Makeover]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Options]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quick Poll]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Typepad]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=3400</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I started my first business blog on Typepad. I called it &#8220;On Copywriting.&#8221; It was about copywriting, advertising, and marketing. But because I&#8217;m a freelance copywriter, I attracted mostly other freelance copywriters as readers. In January 2008, I started my new blog here at RyanHealy.com. I decided to reposition my blog to focus on business [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>I started my first business blog on Typepad.</p>
<p>I called it &#8220;On Copywriting.&#8221; It was about copywriting, advertising, and marketing.</p>
<p>But because I&#8217;m a freelance copywriter, I attracted mostly other freelance copywriters as readers.</p>
<p>In January 2008, I started my new blog here at RyanHealy.com. I decided to reposition my blog to focus on business growth, with copywriting and advertising as sub-topics.</p>
<p>I did this because I wanted potential clients to read my blog. People who want to grow their business may be more inclined to hire a direct response copywriter. That was my thinking.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m now strongly considering a redesign of this blog (this will be redesign #4). As part of that makeover, I&#8217;m also strongly considering changing the focus of what I write about.</p>
<p><span id="more-3400"></span>With that in mind, I&#8217;d like to ask for your input. I&#8217;ve already got three overarching ideas I think would be good for me to focus on &#8212; mostly because I have experience in these areas and they are topics of interest that I would enjoy writing about.</p>
<p>But just because I think the ideas are worth pursuing as the topics for this blog doesn&#8217;t mean they&#8217;re the ones I should pursue.</p>
<p>So&#8230; of the topics I&#8217;ve listed below, which ones should I be focusing on? You can select 5 different options in the poll below. You can also see the results if you are interested.</p>
<a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/5153162">Take Our Poll</a>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks for your input. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/silence-about-my-copywriting-business/" rel="bookmark" title="July 29, 2009">Why I Avoid Talking About My Copywriting Business</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/mix-politics-and-marketing/" rel="bookmark" title="November 8, 2011">Is It Ever a Good Idea to Mix Politics and Marketing?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/writing-warm-ups-turn-on-your-writing-mind/" rel="bookmark" title="June 30, 2011">Writing Warm-Ups: How to Turn on Your &#8220;Writing Mind&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/wanted-copywriters-who-want-more-clients/" rel="bookmark" title="June 9, 2008">Wanted: Copywriters Who Want More Clients</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriter-life-stages/" rel="bookmark" title="April 8, 2008">The 3 Stages of a Copywriter&#8217;s Life</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Lifestyle Design, Product Creation and Profit Sharing</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/lifestyle-design-product-creation-and-profit-sharing/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/lifestyle-design-product-creation-and-profit-sharing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2011 18:26:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Lifestyle Design]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[4hww]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Buzz]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Client Work]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Creating Memories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Florida]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Four Hour Workweek]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun Activities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Groupon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Product Creation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Profit Sharing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Recreational Activities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Reflection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saving Money]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=3301</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sorry I&#8217;ve been more quiet than normal lately. I&#8217;ve been blogging once or twice a week over on the BoostCTR blog, not to mention blogging on my survival site, blogging on the Paid On Time blog, and writing copy for clients. So there&#8217;s been a lot going on. I have a few things I&#8217;d like [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>Sorry I&#8217;ve been more quiet than normal lately.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve been blogging once or twice a week over on the BoostCTR blog, not to mention blogging on my survival site, blogging on the Paid On Time blog, and writing copy for clients.</p>
<p>So there&#8217;s been a lot going on.</p>
<p>I have a few things I&#8217;d like to share with you today &#8212; just some ideas I&#8217;ve been thinking about lately.</p>
<p><span id="more-3301"></span></p>
<h2>Lifestyle Design</h2>
<p>First of all, I started re-reading <em>The Four-Hour Workweek</em>. It&#8217;s one of the better books I&#8217;ve read in the last few years and worth reading a second time.</p>
<p>I find that it&#8217;s easy to always be reading new books &#8212; the latest and greatest stuff. That&#8217;s because first-time readings are generally more exciting and stimulating, kind of like an &#8220;intellectual buzz.&#8221;</p>
<p>But it&#8217;s harder to re-read a book and actually put it into practice. It requires effort. More thinking, more reflection. But that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m doing with 4HWW.</p>
<p>As part of my quest to mix things up and actually do the things I&#8217;d like to do, I&#8217;m taking my family down to Florida at the end of summer. We&#8217;ll be staying in a condo right on a white sand beach&#8230; <em>for an entire month</em>.</p>
<p>Reservation is already locked in, so we&#8217;re committed.</p>
<p>During that time, I&#8217;ll be working some &#8212; but not too much. The important thing is that we&#8217;ll be doing exciting things and creating memories NOW instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity (which never seems to come, by the way).</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve also recently become an avid Groupon buyer. I&#8217;ve gotten deals on rafting trips in the mountains, all-day bike rentals in Frisco (near Breckenridge), racing exotic sports cars at Pikes Peak National Speedway, and more.</p>
<p>By buying Groupons, I&#8217;m not only saving money on fun activities&#8230; I&#8217;m forcing myself to make time for activities I enjoy doing.</p>
<p>There are generally two types of people out there: those who like to <em>have</em> and those who like to <em>do</em>. I fall into the latter category. Recreational activities and traveling are what get me excited.</p>
<h2>Product Creation</h2>
<p>On the freelance front, I&#8217;m still doing a lot of client work. For the most part, I enjoy it. But I am actively trying to develop more passive income through automation, outsourcing, and the creation and sale of products.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve created the Paid On Time Affiliate Trust Seal, and I&#8217;m in the process of marketing it and making it successful.</p>
<p>And I&#8217;m nearing completion on a new information product all about how to start, manage, and improve an affiliate program. (I&#8217;ve registered AffiliateProgramTraining.com to sell this new product.)</p>
<p>The funny thing is, this new product was entirely accidental. I had intended to give it away as a free report to promote Paid On Time. But as the report became longer and longer and longer, I realized it no longer made any sense to give it away.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ll tell you more about this product later.</p>
<h2>Profit Sharing with Clients</h2>
<p>Another development&#8230; I&#8217;m now doing more profit-sharing deals with clients. So instead of collecting flat fees for my copywriting all the time, I&#8217;m setting up profit-sharing arrangements where I get paid a percentage of the results I produce.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve done this in the past &#8212; but the profit-sharing has usually been capped to a brief window of time. These new arrangements are longer term and have the potential to be quite lucrative.</p>
<p>The more I can make these types of arrangements work, the less fee-based copywriting I&#8217;ll need to do. And that&#8217;s ideally where I&#8217;d like to be: with a mix of income coming from the sale of products and from profit-sharing with my best clients.</p>
<p>This will also free me up to travel more and take more time off &#8212; and design the lifestyle I&#8217;d really like to live.</p>
<p>So that&#8217;s what&#8217;s on my mind &#8212; and on my plate &#8212; right now.</p>
<h2>2 Questions to Ask Yourself</h2>
<p>Here are a couple questions to ask yourself so you can begin to design and live the lifestyle you want:</p>
<p>1. &#8220;What do I need to do differently so I can earn the same income without working as hard as I&#8217;m working today?&#8221;</p>
<p>2. &#8220;How can I design my lifestyle so I can do the things I&#8217;d like to do THIS year instead of putting them off until some long-distant retirement?&#8221;</p>
<p>Hope you&#8217;re doing well.</p>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/copywriter-burn-out-big-push/" rel="bookmark" title="February 21, 2011">Copywriter Burn Out and &#8220;The Big Push&#8221;</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/patience-and-persistence/" rel="bookmark" title="July 12, 2011">Patience and Persistence</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/dead-affiliate-links/" rel="bookmark" title="November 10, 2011">How Many of Your Affiliate Links Are Dead?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/affiliates-ripped-off/" rel="bookmark" title="May 16, 2011">Affiliates Are Still Being Ripped Off</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/hello-world/" rel="bookmark" title="December 20, 2007">Same Ryan, Different Blog</a></li>
</ul>
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		<title>Why I Don&#8217;t Use My iPhone Much</title>
		<link>http://www.ryanhealy.com/why-i-dont-use-my-iphone-much/</link>
		<comments>http://www.ryanhealy.com/why-i-dont-use-my-iphone-much/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:33:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ryan M. Healy</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Productivity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Success]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cell phone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Email]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[iphone]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ryanhealy.com/?p=3056</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have an iPhone. Only my immediate family members and closest friends know the number. I often leave my iPhone in the car when I&#8217;m out. I rarely ever use it to access my email; rarer still that I use it to access the Internet. In fact, my brothers tease me because of how little [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p></p><p>I have an iPhone.</p>
<p>Only my immediate family members and closest friends know the number.</p>
<p>I often leave my iPhone in the car when I&#8217;m out.</p>
<p>I rarely ever use it to access my email; rarer still that I use it to access the Internet.</p>
<p>In fact, my brothers tease me because of how little I use my iPhone.</p>
<p>You may think I&#8217;m a little crazy for my behavior. But after you read this, it will all make sense:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.jasonleister.com/being-unreachable-and-totally-accessible/">Being Unreachable and Totally Accessible</a></li>
</ul>
<p>-Ryan M. Healy<strong>Similar Posts:</strong>
<ul class="similar-posts">
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/missing-out/" rel="bookmark" title="March 3, 2011">Are You Accidentally Missing Out?</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/stuck-on-a-sales-letter/" rel="bookmark" title="June 21, 2010">Stuck on a Sales Letter? Then Do This&#8230;</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/finding-the-right-emotional-trigger/" rel="bookmark" title="August 23, 2011">Finding the Right Emotional Trigger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/unexamined-opinions/" rel="bookmark" title="December 19, 2011">Unexamined Opinions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.ryanhealy.com/naming-names-calling-names/" rel="bookmark" title="January 26, 2010">Naming Names vs. Calling Names</a></li>
</ul>
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