Before You Turn to the Experts

Before You Turn to the Experts

Experts perform a valuable function in our modern world. Whenever we get into an argument,
whether heated or as a diversion, it isn't long before we reach for a forceful quote or two from an
expert.
Experts strengthen our confidence in views we've chosen to defend. Experts supposedly know
what they're talking about because they've got the inside track on specialized knowledge. Experts
are called upon to give us the final word in matters both obscure and self-evident.
And sometimes experts are wrong.
IT CAN HAPPEN
Minnesota's 1998 governor's race is a prime example of the experts being wrong. Polls consistently
showed Jesse Ventura to be running third and the pundits gave him no chance of winning. Jesse
was almost always discussed in terms of whether his candidacy would hurt the Republican Coleman
more than the Democrat Humphrey. A former Navy Seal and WWF “wrassler” his candidacy was
seldom taken seriously by the mainstream media. I turned on the TV in my Las vegas hotel room
the day after the election and saw the polished bald pate and dimpled chin on national news, and I
knew the pros had been wrong.
History shows us that misguided predictions are nothing new. In 1876 an internal memo at Western
Union declared, "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a
means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
According to Dr. Lee De Forest, inventor of the vacuum tube and father of television, man would
never reach the moon regardless of all future scientific advances.
In 1949, Popular Mechanics boldly asserted that "computers in the future may weigh no more than
1.5 tons."
Actually, there have been a lot of embarrassed experts when it comes to assertions about
computers. The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall in 1957 said, "I have traveled
the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that
data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
Commenting on the microchip, an engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM
said, "But what . . . is it good for?" This was in 1968. By 1977, the chairman and founder of NEC
Ken Olson expertly demonstrated his prescience by exclaiming, "There is no reason anyone would
want a computer in their home." I still remember hearing opinions of people who shared this
sentiment.
The entertainment industry has produced a few guffaws as well. "Who wants to hear actors talk?"
said H.M. Warner of Warner Brothers in 1927. Gary Cooper, in turning down the leading role in
"Gone With the Wind" said, "I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary
Cooper."
And when the Decca Recording Company rejected the Beatles in 1962, their in-house experts
assured management that, "guitar music is on the way out." Yeah, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
In fact, misguided experts embarrass themselves in nearly every field of endeavor.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value," said Marechal Ferdinand Foch, French
Professor of Strategy of the Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
In 1899 Charles H. Duell, Commissioner of the U.S. Office of Patents, declared "Everything that can
be invented has been invented." I suppose the inventiveness of 19th century inventors left him
pretty much blown away and incapable of conceiving anything new. Hmmm.
If you listen around, you'll hear experts cited in the marketing and advertising industries, too.
NOW LOOK
This year Al Ries, the guru of branding, along with his daughter/business partner Laura Ries, wrote
a book called The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR. Quite naturally the book produced some
buzz in advertising circles. This was an expert in marketing who seemed to suddenly shift his
allegiance from advertising to PR. Is advertising really dead?
Advertising Age magazine wrote articles about the bombshell, with illuminating views from both
camps. And where does that leave American businesses? Which experts should we trust? The
ones who say skillful PR is the critical key to success? Or the ones who ante up in the advertising
camp?
Stop and think about it. Since when has it ever been an either/or type of game. This is not the
same thing as a family vacation where either we do or do not go to Europe. Marketing has always
been a mix.
The key to success is not either advertising or PR. Instead we draw from a host of tools to generate
interest, generate leads, orchestrate buzz, and create sales. Success is built around an integrated
mix of all the ingredients at our disposal. Before the internet I used to call it my “Lucky Seven”:
articles, PR, advertising, direct mail, telemarketing, trade shows, and face to face direct sales. You
can have all this and still fail if you do not have systems in place to capitalize on all your marketing
actions.
All that aside, the real key to success is an awakened mind, directing all this activity based on
observation and critical thinking, focused on satisfying the wants and needs of one’s customers.
Ultimately, the right way is the way that works. For this reason, think through WHY you are doing
what you are doing.... analyze YOUR situation.
Test ideas and measure results, evaluating and making adjustments accordingly. Learn from your
experiences and apply what you have learned.
We live in a very complicated age. You, as advertising and marketing professionals, are perceived
as experts by those who entrust their strategic advertising and marketing plans to your direction.
You have a responsibility to your companies or clients to become truly informed so that your advice
is reliable and trustworthy. You certainly don't want to be numbered with those who must later eat
their own words.
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support: santo.plus@gmail.com

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I Want Free Advertising!

So you`ve got your website all set up. You know what you`re promoting and it`s looking good. You
know you need to advertise and promote as much as possible to actually get your website seen.
You`ve tried the normal avenues such as classified ads, safelists, ffa`s. etc, but now you`re ready to
try something else, right?
There IS another way of getting free advertising. It`s called Bartering. It basically means to
exchange goods and/or services without using money. Bartering, also known as Trading, Exchange
or Ad Swapping comes in all shapes and sizes. Many small sites use banner exchanges as a way to
reach more people. Ezines often swap sponsorships in an effort to gain more subscribers etc.
The terms of a trade are usually only limited by the creativity of those taking part. The main
consideration is to make sure it ties in with the goals of the site. Also, making sure that everybody
involved has a clear understanding of the agreement details.
Here`s a list of 5 different ways to "ad-swap" for free.
Reciprocal Links:
Basically, this is where 2 sites agree to show a link to each other. This can work wonders for search
engine ranking, so long as the site you swap links with is relevant to your site. To find potential
linkswap partners for free, do a search on say www.google.com for sites similar to yours. Mail the
webmaster a nice friendly mail, telling them what you like about their site, and asking if they might
be interested in exchanging links with you. Don`t worry if some of them say no, keep trying, and
you`ll be surprised at how many will actually say yes.
Banner Exchange:
In laymans terms, the concept behind a banner exchange is "I`ll put your ads on my site, if you`ll
put my ads on yours". Banner exchanges are differnt to simple link swaps in terms of how many
potential site visitors can be reached. Members of large banner exchanges have the potential for
their ads to be shown on thousands of other sites. Also, unlike simple link swaps, banner exchanges
result in your ads rotating through many many different sites, sometimes with the benefit of
sophisticated targeting.
Here are some free banner exchanges for you to check out:
http://www.bxmegalist.com/
http://www.bcentral.com/products/bn/default.asp
http://www.bannerswap.com/
Button Exchanges:
Button exchanges are similar to banner exchanges in all ways apart from the size of the graphic
displayed. Button exchanges usually have smaller membership numbers than banner exchanges.
As a result, they tend to come and go, with very few of them lasting and/or become much used.
Some niche exchanges, particularly webmaster related, have used the micro-button (88x31)
effectively. While small in size, the micro-buttons allow a site to earn more views (and credits) per
page.
http://www.adbility.com
Text Link Exchange:
This is pretty much the same as reciprocal link swapping, apart from here there`s a whole Network
of sites, where all participants display text ads in exchange for credits which are converted into ads
to be displayed on other sites.
http://www.txtswap.com/
Web Ring:
Web Rings are basically a group of like-minded sites all linking to each other. Web rings are usually
made up of small/midsize sites. The number of web rings and member sites runs into the millions. A
web ring can be created on just about any topic, by just about anybody. After creating a ring, the
ring owner is responsible for attracting and approving applicants. Approved sites become part of the
web ring.
Navigating through webrings is normally done by using the "next", "previous" "random site" and
"complete list" links. The first original web ring system, which is now part of Yahoo! is still the most
popular and can be found here: http://www.webring.org/
Web Site Award:
A Web Site Award is basically an award given from one Web site to another, as a means of creating
linkswaps. They range from great big events like the Webby Awards to thousands of smaller sized
link exchanges from small sites.
A lot of the Web site awards are really more about attracting site visitors than they are about
competition. Sites that GET awards hope to attract visitors from the award sites, and sites that GIVE
awards hope to attract visitors from the recipient sites.
http://www.webbyawards.com/
http://www.awardsites.com/
http://www.awardsscoop.org/background/history.html
And there you have it. Maybe not the easiest ways of getting free advertising, but most definitely
not the hardest. Try them out, see what works, and stick with it. Remember, as with all advertising,
you need to do a lot of research, homework, and testing to find out what`s right for you.
Good luck in your promotions!
JAMAL UDDIN SANTO

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THE 8 MOST DANGEROUS MISTAKES OF FOREX (AND HOW TO AVOID THEM)

INTRODUCTION
With my little years in FX Trading, I sat down one day to cross check the causes of my SUCCESSES & FAILURES. The personal determination to reflect on this was driven by my desires to improve on my performance in the future. I now ask the Question “what makes a good Investor?” pondering on that question I discovered that the 8 most dangerous mistakes of FOREX that I am about to write on are what they totally avoided in the course of their trading experience. I discovered that their no.1 ingredient is PATIENCE. Often, beginners to the game always hope for annual returns in hundreds and thousands of percents and then you will see many snake-oil sales men that are willing to encourage them with impossible promises. Success in FOREX TRADING requires a certain amount of psychological devotion, and a well long-term outlook.
Now let’s take a look at the 8 most dangerous mistakes of forex.

IMPATIENCE:
Traders of all markets and levels tend to fall victim to impatience when it comes to expectations on returns. An attitude that exists among newbies. The notion that success is a given, and that it must appear quickly and without much effort is nothing but a lie.
Success in investing is measured in years and not in weeks or months as some has been made to believe. Any successful trader will tell you that investment in the market is a long term proposition.
Names like Soros and Buffet are often mentioned when it comes to success in the investment world, but their seeming overnight success was in fact not overnight at all, far from it, but it was the result of years and years of steady, compounded returns.

SOLUTION:
Let us ask ourselves the following questions?
1. Are my expectations realistic?
2. What are my Long-Term financial goals?
If those questions have been settled (i.e. has a realistic expectation and having/ planning a long term financial goal) then 90% of the problem of impatience has been settled.
For a more practical challenge of impatience, namely impatience with a particular trade, CONFIDENCE is the key. How does someone gain CONFIDENCE? It is simply by practice. PRACTICE, PRACTICE AND PRACTICE. This is when the issue of PERSEVERANCE comes in, because during practice, inevitably there will be mistakes and mistakes are part of the learning process in life. So you need to PERSEVERE during the practice. Remember; no stain no learning. So exercise enough PATIENCE and you will see your dream coming true in the world of investments with a Long-Term Financial Goal.

NOTE: Did you know how much $1,000 with a return of just 3% per month compounded over the next seven years will be worth?

2. OVER RELIANCE ON EXTERNAL SOURCE
This is another problem of traders and investors, because investing successfully is a difficult task, so the bias that every trade or investment that they make must be right makes the investor or trader begin the search for the HOLY GRAIL.
They (traders and investors) now begin to fall prey to those predators that gives mouth watering advice/ advert. I don’t know many people who have made money consistently following other peoples advice- be it the advice of Brokers or Investment advisors. Generally, most people either lose all their capital or get discouraged and get out of the picture.
When others teach you how to approach the markets, chances are they only superficially teach you what they actually do. It is not that they mean to deceive you. The only problem is that they usually find it difficult to transfer that information to someone else. But what I believ is that if at least two people can do something well, then that skill can be taught to other people with that person developing and improving on the skill.

SOLUTION
To unlock the “HOLY GRAIL” you need to appreciate your own ability to think and be unique. People make money by finding themselves, achieving their potential, and getting in tune with themselves so that they can follow the flow of the market. Getting in tune with yourself means finding a balance between your profits and losses and still remain calm.
So don’t sell yourself short! Practice, practice and practice in a demo account till you gain the confidence in yourself(showing a consistent pattern of profit) and not on an external source for trade executions.
If you want any advice , please seek advice on skills and not what to do in the markets.

3. LACK OF CLEAR OBJECTIVE
Objectives are a critical part of any system, and yet few traders bother to spend time working on them.
Traders and investors merely understand this part of system development and usually fail to spend more time on it. Once an investor or trader lacks a clear objective there is the tendency of Flip- Flopping.
A trader or investor who doesn’t know what he or she wants to accomplish in the market will continue to change from one trading system to another. Until a trader or investor knows where he or she is going, he can never get there.
I can not overemphasize the importance of establishing trading related objectives. They are the foundation upon which all successful trading is built. They are also the most easily neglected area.

SOLUTION
Set trading related objectives and give it enough time for maturity. Then assess yourself for strengths and weaknesses, for time, resources, capital and skills.
Set for yourself a realistic objective.

4.UNDERCAPITALIZATION IN MARKET
This is another mistake traders and investors make. Because traders know that trading is a low barrier business, (you basically need a computer connected to the internet, a broker and a modest amount of capital) makes them come in to the market with very little capital believing that they will become rich in no time forgetting the importance of the size of the starting equity.
Most investors / traders doesn’t have the psychological strength to stand just 3 straight losses in a row which is not uncommon with many profitable strategy. The trader that comes into the market with very little start-up capital might have lost very substantial amount during this string of losses. This can make the trader lost confidence in himself and the strategy. To now break even becomes a very difficult task. Good start –up capital makes Position sizing/pyramiding viable.(I will discuss on position sizing/ pyramiding in my sub sequent article).
SOLUTION
The only conspicuous solution to the problem is just simply coming into the markets with capital that will make you and your strategy stand the tests of the market. i.e that will make you stay in the market while taking some small losses before the expected big move comes.

5. LEVERAGING (THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD)
The issue of leveraging, or to be more exact OVER-LEVERAGING has taken on greater importance. It is one of the least understood concept in forex.
Leverage allows you as a trader to be able to trade more than the equity in your portfolio. Account leverage is the leverage that your broker gives you to trade with, while the real leverage is the one that you use in trading at anytime relative to your account size.
Let us illustrate this with the following example.
If the market were to move 100 pips (1%), your account will react in the following ways based on your real leverage.

REAL LEVERAGE %PRICE CHANGE IN MARKET % PRICE CHANGE IN ACCOUNT
100:1 1% 100
50:1 1% 50
30:1 1% 30
20:1 1% 20
10:1 1% 10
5:1 1% 5
1:1 1% 1
In other words, if you real leverage was 30:1 (your position in dollars is 30 multiply your portfolio), your account will fluctuate by 30% with just a 100 pips move in the market. And we know that this that it is not really hard for most currencies to have a 100 or more pips move in a day and yet most traders ignore this aspect of real leverage.
Real leverage is important because it create the equity swings which are terrifically exiting when in your favour, and terrifically frightening when against you. That is why I call it a double edged sword.
Over-leveraging multiplies the effect of drawdown when you guess incorrectly.
SOLUTION
Don’t over-leverage your account. If you want to leverage at all, 50:1-100:1 is ok. Calculate your full exposure and always remember that less is more.
You mat hit a home run with trades that are over-leveraged but think of it, if the trade doesn’t work out as initially planned. So try as much as possible to be on the safe side.

6. INADEQUATE RESEARCH
This is another mistake most traders and investors make. The rush that oh I need to get into the market and start trading on any currency and make money is always the cause of this. Instead of the trader to make thorough research on the kind of currency he is willing to trade, to know the currency behavioural characteristics, the economies of the currencies involved in the pair, where the current price is, what has been the main trend for some time now e.t.c he just jump in and out of trade without any clear picture of what he/she is trading on.
SOLUTION
Do your research on the kind of market you will be thoroughly and properly. Know the currency you are investing on inside out. Concentrate on 2-3 currency pairs and you will see that your trading ability on them will increase dramatically and your success ratio will improve.

7. OVER-TRADING
In the Forex market today, most brokers promote short term day trading systems because they know that the more positions you open the richer they become charging their own commission.
Many traders don’t understand this. They convince themselves that spread and slippages is an irrelevant cost of doing business, but it is an important part of your trading equation (spread+ slippage =?). When a trader over-trades, the cost of these might add up and become a headache during losing strings.
SOLUTION
Be wary of systems or techniques that promote excessive trading. The commissions and slippage will all serve to erode your eventual profit. So, try as much as possible not to over-trade.

8. CHOICE OF BROKER
The problem of the choice of broker is a very common one, especially among new traders. Traders/ investors always fail to do the research on the broker they intend to choose. Once a broker can give mouth watering offers lie low spreads, 30% of your first deposit, instant trade execution, no delay in withdrawal, a trader will be tempted to open a live account just to get these entire offers neglecting the fact that they might just be ordinary screen offers. So as a trader/ investor one needs to be very sure.
SOLUTION
You need to make sure that you choose a broker that is registered with the relevant regulatory bodies. Test them on a demo account. Virtually all brokers have a demo account for clients now. So, before you fund your live account check for some of these:
1. Trade execution
2. Customer support relationship
3. Spreads
4. Registration procedures
5. Make sure you know to details the safety of your funds
And for traders that has already opened a live account with any of these brokers, make sure you as well check all these things with your broker. If you suspect unfaithfulness it is better for you to withdraw your funds and trade with a credible and trustworthy broker.

REMEMBER: People tend to gravitate towards the things that don’t work. It is human nature. You can learn the real “success secrets” to the markets only if you pay attention to what really works. The HOLY GRAIL is not what you would expect it to be. It is something that is different for each person. It is a hidden secret that you will have to discover for yourself, but it is obvious once it is realized.
Like JP Morgan said “To be a money master you must first be a self master”. So, the most important factor in your success is YOU.
Have a splendid time TRADING.
Thank you

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If You Want to Be Rich…Practice this One Habit

this is another good article for us traders especially beginners.
    Article lifted straight from Adam Khoo's website.All contents of the original article has remained unchanged.If You Want to Be Rich…Practice this One HabitWhat keeps most people from becoming rich is the habit of wanting instant gratification. Instant gratification is the habit of always wanting to enjoy now and not having the patience to wait for future benefits. As a result, these people spend a lot more than theyinvest. By spending on that new car, new widescreen television set or designer watch they get instant gratification. When it comes to investing in books, seminars, stocks or insurance products, they will think twice as they have to wait for future benefits. It is precisely for this reason that whatever money comes into their hands will soon be frittered away and not multiplied.People who want instant gratification will always look for quick and easy ways of making money rather than building a sustainable business that adds value to (repeat) customers. They tend to cut corners on quality and deliver shoddy products to save money and boost short term profits. As a result, their profits rarely last and they will soon go out of business.At the same time, those who desire instant gratification lack thepatience to allow their money to grow and compound through investing. When they don’t see huge sums of money in a few weeks, they abandon their investments and never get to reapthe benefits. They have no patience to wait for the seeds theysow to grow into huge money trees that bear fruit.You see, there are only two ways you can use your money. You can either spend it or invest it. When you spend $100, you get gratified from whatever you bought but that $100 is gone! You get zero returns. When you invest that$100 in a seminar, books or stock, it will grow into $120, $200, $500 or even $1000, depending on yourrate of return.Delayed GratificationOn the other hand, all millionairesadopt the habit of ‘delayed gratification.’ They have the patience to wait for greater abundance in the future. Whether in business or in investments, you must delay gratification in order tocreate massive wealth.People with delayed gratification invest a lot more than they spend. Again, they know that by spending a dollar, they may feel good for aninstant, but their future wealth willbe destroyed. When it comes to spending money, they are extremely frugal. However when itcomes to investing, they do not think twice about writing a check for a few thousands dollars. They know that through patience, that money will multiply into a future fortune.Millionaires never take shortcuts in business. They always look at giving the best value to their customers, even if it means earning less at present. They knowthat by building their reputation, itwill lead to huge profit streams in the future.I cannot emphasize this value enough because I feel that it is what has really set me apart from all my peers. It is why I earn manymore times than most people my age. You see, when I was in collegeand university, most of my friendsspent their holidays partying and having fun. They experienced instant gratification.Instead of partying, I would spend all my holidays taking up speaking engagements to hone my presentation skills, reading investment books, analyzing company reports and writing chapters of my first book. I knew that by ‘sacrificing’ my immediate enjoyment, the rewards in the future would be tremendous! Sureenough by the time I graduated from University I had streams of passive income from my best-selling book and two businesses that I had set up. I was earning more money than many ofmy lecturers while many of my friends were struggling to get theirfirst job with their first paycheck.Frankly, I never felt deprived. I had so much passion for what I was doing that indulging in drinking and idle lounge-lizard chatter just seemed like a huge waste of time. Nor did I miss social companionship. I had a steady, supportive girlfriend (now my wife), and a core of close buddies in these businesses we ran (and had so much fun and profit), while still studying. In fact a couple of them are still working with me today.Let me give you another example. When it comes to spending money, I am extremely hesitant. Once I saw a mobile phone that I really liked. It was priced at $800. I kept staring at that phone over and over again but eventually walked away. I found it just too painful to part with $800 for a phone. My friends thought I was crazy as I was earning over $1,000 an hour at the time, whenever I spoke. But then again, I knew that the moment I spent that $800, it would be gone!On the other hand, whenever I go to a bookstore, I think nothing of spending $800 buying a whole series of marketing, business and investment books. In fact, I once spent $12,000 attending an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) training course in the United States, without even thinking twice.Why? Because I know that if I spend that $12,000, the ideas that I get from those books and seminars, when applied, will generate me millions and so they have! But most people do the exact opposite. They think nothing of squandering $3,000 on a ring but think twice before buying a good book for $30! No wonder they are poor! So, develop the habit of delayed gratification – andspend wisely – and you will see your money multiply.

[COLLECTED]

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