Let me give you an example from an email I received – from an investment advisor (to the rich and wealthy)…

________________________________________________

Good morning,

When you are next at a dinner party and the conversation slows, ask your fellow diners what is the all-time closing high of the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

The answer is 14,164, hit on the 9th of October 2007.

To keep the conversation going, then ask them what percentage the Dow is current below that record closing high and then what percentage it is above its Global Financial Crisis (GFC) low.

The answer is -10.2% and +93%.

I believe most people who aren’t as close to equity markets as the readers of these notes would be stunned to know the Dow is only -10% below its all-time high and +93% above its GFC low.

I realise there is a big business in the scaring the hell out of uneducated investors, but I believe over the short, medium and long term all those who have capitulated from equities to less volatile, yet grossly overpriced “safe” asset classes, will regret it in an absolute and real return sense.

I have seen others describe the switch from equities to other “less volatile” asset classes as “asset allocation”. That’s a very convenient way of describing what is a classic capitulation, but particularly by those approaching retirement who believe they are protecting their lifestyle expectations.

However, at the end of the day all investors must do what they are comfortable with. I have no issue with that and perhaps my relative youth leads me to be far more risk tolerant and volatility tolerant than my investment strategy writing peers.

________________________________________________

Interesting perspective isn’t it?

I’ve been advocating alternative investments to create wealth and abundance for years – with a contrarian approach that is endorsed by none other than Warren Buffett.

Of course the poor person might shout as loud as he/she can that it’s the perspective of a BILLIONAIRE… But how does one BECOME a billionaire?

Hmmm… Something to think about.

I just wanted to share this with you because when it’s all said and done, if you do what everyone else does, you get the same results they do – AVERAGE RETURNS.

To get BETTER results, you have to think differently. It’s what I call antimimeticisomorphism.

If you want to determine your Next Best Step, click on the hyperlink… There are a handful of financial advice bonuses available for you.

“Dear Friends,

He was surrounded by family and friends and achieved his wish to die peacefully and with dignity. He did this (as always) on his own terms, and those with him felt privileged to witness such a beautiful exit.

While his family is heart-broken and will miss him terribly, they are extremely proud of him. As Mal’s life was lived almost entirely in overdrive, with such passion and untiring focus, none of us really believed in our heart of hearts that he’d achieve the serene departure we were honored to be part of.

We invite you to the celebration of Malcolm’s life at 10.30am, on Thursday, February 2, at the Katsumata Centre at Kardinia International College, Geelong. Further funeral details will follow. See Saturday’s Age and Geelong Advertiser.

Love Ann and Family”

Please click here to access a Legacy Interview I recorded with Malcolm only a few short months ago, on 11 November 2011.

There is an audio recording you can download as well as a word-for-word transcript. It is Malcolm’s gift, part of his enduring legacy.

Lots of people TRYING to make a change, based on their New Year’s Resolutions…

What’s too bad is most will stop coming to class – probably before the end of January.

Not surprisingly, 88 percent of New Year’s Resolutions fail. Alarmingly, research shows that 25% of 1 out of every 4 people give up in the first WEEK.

Whether it’s yoga, a new diet (even though I don’t believe in diets) or something else, the odds are against you achieving your goals or dreams.

You need a SYSTEM, a PROCESS to take the guesswork out of it.

Too many people think that luck and chance are cornerstones of ‘success, wealth and happiness’… Even though luck and fate do have a role, the question is simple:

Are you the type of person who makes things happen?
Or are you a person that things happen to?

Out of the 20 ‘newbies’ at yoga today, only 1 will make it past the initial introductory period.

Of course for some, yoga’s not for them, I get that, but for the majority who do want the benefits of yoga – they’re just not going to make it. That is the fate of the majority of the population – it’s inertia that’s hard to overcome. Most succumb to its force – I call it the Vortex Of Mediocrity.

Will 2012 be your best year ever?

Why not this year? It’s a leap year – you have an extra 24 hours to make it happen!

Click here to make 2012 “My Best Year Ever“

One simple reason is that most people forget that decisions are made every minute of every day and they add up at the end of the week/month/year.

Non-decisions are the same – the decision NOT made to put your runners on to go for a run. The decision NOT to turn down the (extra) piece of pie. The decision NOT to get up early.

“It is in the moments of INdecision
that dreams are destroyed.” – Dr Marc Dussault

If you made a list of New Year’s Resolutions for 2012 – take them out right now and re-commit yourself to following through.

If you’re not motivated – the problem is you have impotent goals.

You need something that will MOTIVATE, INSPIRE and MOVE YOU TO ACTION.

Pick something exciting, but within the realm of possibility – something you can really get enthused about – something that would CHANGE you and your life.

I know too many “people who end up where they don’t want to be” simply through lack of planning and commitment.

No decision IS a decision – it’s the worst one of all – one made by someone else for all the wrong reasons.

There is no joy in living a life by default.

To live a life by design, you need to know what YOU want and desire.

You decide.

By NOT deciding, all you’re doing is letting yourself down – no one cares that you don’t make a decision. That’s why it’s so easy.

One day leads to a week then to a month and before you know it, another year has passed. If you get lulled into complacency, a whole decade can pass you buy.

That’s tragic.

Don’t just sit there – do something!

Anything!

If you didn’t create a list of New Year’s Resolutions – do it now!

Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty things.

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor.

One nice thing about egotists: They don’t talk about other people.

To be intoxicated is to feel sophisticated but not be able to say it.

The older you get, the better you realize you were.

I doubt, therefore I might be.

Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

More Time Honored Truths

If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?

If God dropped acid, would he see people?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest have to drown too?

If the #2 pencil is the most popular, why is it still #2?

If work is so terrific, how come they have to pay you to do it?

If you’re born again, do you have two bellybuttons?

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Why is it called tourist season if we can’t shoot at them?
Even More Time Honored Truths

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?

Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday.

If you ate pasta and antipasto, would you still be hungry?

A fool and his money are soon partying.

Women like silent men, they think they’re listening.

Men are from earth. Women are from earth. Deal with it.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Why is it called tourist season if we can’t shoot at them?

Do pediatricians play miniature golf on Wednesdays?

Afgani Saale Nao Mubbarak
Afrikaans Gelukkige nuwe jaar
Albanian Gezuar Vitin e Ri
Armenian Snorhavor Nor Tari
Arabic Kul ‘am wa antum bikhair
Assyrian Sheta Brikhta
Bengali Shuvo Nabo Barsho
Bulgarian ×åñòèòà Íîâà Ãîäèíà(pronounced “Chestita Nova Godina”)
Cambodian Soursdey Chhnam Tmei
Chinese Xin Nian Kuai Le
Croatian Sretna Nova godina!
Czech Štastný Nový rok ( Stastny Novy rok)
Denish Godt Nytår
Dutch GELUKKIG NIEUWJAAR!
English Happy New Year
Eskimo Kiortame pivdluaritlo
Esperanto Felican Novan Jaron
Ethiopian: MELKAM ADDIS AMET YIHUNELIWO!
Ethiopian RUHUS HADUSH AMET
Finnish Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
French Bonne Annee
German Prosit Neujahr
Georgian GILOTSAVT AKHAL TSELS!
Greek Kenourios Chronos
Gujarati Nutan Varshbhinandan
Hebrew L’Shannah Tovah
Hindi Naye Varsha Ki Shubhkamanyen
Hong kong (Cantonese) Sun Leen Fai Lok
Hungarian Boldog Új Évet Kivánok
Indonesian Selamat Tahun Baru
Iranian Sal -e- no mobarak
Iraqi Sanah Jadidah
Irish Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian Felice anno nuovo
Japan Akimashite Omedetto Gozaimasu
Kannada Hosa Varushadha Shubhashayagalu
Korea Saehae Bock Mani ba deu sei yo!
Lithuanian Laimingu Naujuju Metu
Madagascar Tratry ny taona
Marathi Nveen Varshachy Shubhechcha
Malayalam Puthuvatsara Aashamsakal
Nepal Nawa Barsha ko Shuvakamana
Oriya Nua Barshara Subhechha
Persian Sal -e- no mobarak
Philippines Manigong Bagong Taon!
Portuguese Feliz Ano Novo
Punjabi Nave sal di mubarak
Romanian AN NOU FERICIT
Russian S Novim Godom
Sindhi Nayou Saal Mubbarak Hoje
Singhalese Subha Aluth Awrudhak Vewa
Spanish “Feliz Año Nuevo”
Tamil Eniya Puthandu Nalvazhthukkal
Telugu Noothana samvatsara shubhakankshalu
Thai Sawadee Pee Mai
Turkish Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun
Urdu Naya Saal Mubbarak Ho
Vietnamese Chuc Mung Tan Nien

Though you can’t see it happening, every minute of the day we lose about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells off the surface of our skin. So just in the time it took you to read this far, you’ve probably lost about 20,000 cells.

That’s almost 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of cells every year! But don’t think your skin might wear out someday. Your epidermis is always making new skin cells that rise to the top to replace the old ones. Most of the cells in your epidermis (95%) work to make new skin cells.

The question is – which (new) body do you want?

Given the choice, which one would you prefer?

Here’s the thing – you have the choice… Click on the image to see how you can have a great ‘new body’ in 2012!

Deciding or NOT deciding are both decisions. One gets you the body you want, the other well…

“What if…”

What if… your childhood dreams actually came true…

What if… you could wave a magic wand and get anything you want…

What if… you could rub Aladdin’s Lamp and get any 3 wishes granted…

What if…

Those are two very powerful words.

Here’s the thing. Some people get what they want while others don’t.

• It’s infuriating to know someone dumber than you is out-performing you in business or school.
• It’s aggravating to have someone less physically capable beat you at your favorite sport.
• It’s perplexing to see someone who started with less money than you build a ‘fortune’ that allows them to have the luxurious, stress-free lifestyle you’d like to have.

What if… you could learn how to accomplish all your goals?

What if… it took less than 5 minutes a week to implement?

What if… the strategies were proven and tested?

What if… they cost LESS than going to McDonald’s?

Just let yourself imagine those words.

Let your thoughts wander.

Listen to what you would say in the privacy of your own mind.

Feel what it would be like to have those things most important to you.

What if… You believed it was possible.

What if… You learned the strategies, techniques and tips you need.

What if… You applied them, one day at a time.

What if… You achieved one goal, then another, then another.

How different would your life be?

How much more could you do and contribute to others?

What if… you had a system to make them all come true?

What if… I gave you the link – would you make 2012 your best year ever?

Why not give yourself this Christmas gift?

1- Find the C below.. Please do not use any cursor help.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2- If you already found the C, now find the 6 below.

99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
69999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

3 – Now find the N below. It’s a little more difficult.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMNMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

This is NOT a joke. If you were able to pass these 3 tests, you can cancel your annual visit to your neurologist. Your brain is great and you’re far from having a close relationship with Alzheimer.

Congratulations!

eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.

To my ‘selected’ strange-minded friends:

If you can read the following paragraph, forward it on to your friends and the person that sent it to you with ‘yes’ in the subject line.

Only great minds can read this
This is weird, but interesting!

If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too

Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!