The Rising Phoenix

Once Upon A Time

2011-10-05T12:27:00.000-07:00

Not so long ago, a lot of you were looking at some home business opportunities, most likely to secure your family's future, because the economy was in turmoil, job security became an oxymoron and your 401K, retirement plans, stocks, bonds and real estate values, were in the toilet, waiting to be flushed.

Has anything changed? I mean for the better.

Seems to me that in a lot of ways, things have become worse. The real cost of living has increased 16-18% in the last three years. That means things like food, rent, gas, child care, health care...the things you need to pay for to survive life, not enjoy it.

Need more scary numbers? The news keeps telling you that unemployment is hovering around 9.5%, nationwide. The truth is, unemployment among men, ages 24-54, is at 37%, and for women in the same age group, it's at 33%. So, if you have a job, and I don't mean you're "under-employed", count yourself very lucky.

Now, I don't mean to be a Dudley Downer, I just want to point out that there are a lot of people who are in trouble, looking for a way out, knowing that they're probably not going to be on the list for the next government bail-out. Maybe you're one of them, or maybe you're on the edge. I hope not, because something needs to get the economy moving and more unemployment isn't the answer we're looking for.

So, why am I writing to you, today?

Well, I kind of went on a mission, about a year ago, to find a way to help some people who were looking for a business opportunity that made sense. And, I know, there's a ton of stuff out there that doesn't, because I tried a bunch of 'em. I heard the Internet was the new Network Marketplace and "all you gotta do is put a fan page on Facebook and you'll get rich giving away a free thingamajiggy because you'll have a million friends who want to buy whatever you put in front of them!" Come again?

Or, "all you gotta do is build a website, write articles, submit to directories, build Squiddoo lenses, hub pages, start a bunch of blogs, do guest posting, comment on forums, bookmark, host video sites and webinars, figure out double opt-in auto-responders and web hosting, do media buys, PPC advertising, CPM advertising, build back linking strategies..." and on, and on, and on... "and then maybe you can build a list of names, giving away a thingamajiggy!" Good Lord!

Well, I spent a lot of time and I spent about all the money I had left at the time and learned to do all that. But, there's no way it's duplicatable! I can't teach you how to do all that and guarantee that you'll have any success. It's hard, it's expensive, it's confusing and it's frustrating!

So, I stepped back from the all the pandemonium . I didn't quit everything, I just reevaluated what I think it takes to succeed in any business, especially a home based business, and I came up with a little list.

You have to have a product you can believe in
It has to be a product people want and are already using
It has to work in this economy
It has to be simple
It has to be affordable
You have to be able to start making money, fast
It needs to have some sort of residual income, for security
You have to believe that it's something you can do and succeed at

I don't know how many things you've looked at, that fit that list, but I'll bet it's not a whole bunch.

But, I came across one, and I wanted to share it with you, on the off chance that you're not giving up on your future, and that you're still looking at opportunities with a critical eye, not a cynical one.

The Company's been around about five years, it's part of an $8 Trillion industry and has about 200,000 members, so far, so it's not a shiny new toy! Costs about $200 to enjoy all of the benefits of membership, and there are many, and another $100 if you want to build a business with it. People already do it and people will always want to do it.

Take a look at it, and let me know if you can see yourself in the picture. If so, great. I've always been a nuts and bolts kind of guy and I'll give you as much information as you can stand. If not, no big deal. I wish you and your family the best for the future.

http://www.wvondemand.com/index.php?video=Mg==

If you are interested and want to get involved, either for the membership benefits, or to build a business, you can email me and we can talk it all through, or you can hit the sign-up and enter this number 26529701, and I'll be in touch. There are a lot of really good people who want to work with you.

One more thing: One of the major pieces of information I was astounded at, because I asked, was how few people need to get involved before you start making some real money, and I'll be happy to share those numbers with you.

The Way I See It

2011-09-26T11:41:00.000-07:00

I don't need to tell you that the economy has been less than stellar over the last few years. Most likely, you're either slaving extra hours at your job for free, for some sort of job security; your under-employed (that polite term for those not working enough hours to be comfortable or those who have stopped looking for work), or you're unemployed, riding out your benefits and unemployment checks, hoping something comes up before it all comes crashing down.

I was in that boat, not so long ago, and it was for that reason that I ventured into the world of Internet marketing. I have to say, it's been an interesting ride, with highs and lows, and I've spent pretty much everything that I had to figure out how to make a go of it.

One of the appealing things about this new business model is the incredible amount of money it can generate, obviously, but the concept behind it is not so new. For anyone who has ever been in a Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing business, the concept of "residual income" will always have a certain draw. Set it and forget it. Do it once, get paid for a lifetime.

When you think about it, that's really what websites do. Now, of course, we know that sites need to updated with new content and back links for SEO purposes, and you may be doing ad spends and media buys to get your traffic, but if you have affiliate links on your site, then all you need to do is drive traffic and, hopefully, some percentage of your visitors will buy whatever you are selling, and you get a slice of the pie.

Now, I've taken a fair number of courses and learned a lot from a bunch of "industry experts", and I've built a lot of niche sites, IM training sites, Squidoo lenses, YouTube videos, Facebook Fan Pages, written articles, set up blogs, used paid and free traffic generation strategies, and guess what? A lot of them don't work. At least, for generating income.

So, I sat back and looked at everything I've learned and what I do well, and the answer was staring me in the face. It doesn't matter how much traffic you drive to your site, if people don't want to buy what you're selling. Or, if you're giving away your information or product for free. You're better off finding out if someone will spend $1.00 on your product, than gathering thousands of names and emails of people that are looking for something, for nothing. Plus, a sale is a one time event, which you need to repeat over and over and over. Hardly the paragon of a residual income model.

Another thing I've noticed over the last year or so, is that the failure rate of 97%, doesn't seem to shift. So, people either aren't getting any smarter at what they are doing, or the competition is getting stiffer, or people are jumping from one new toy to another, with Shiny Object Syndrome, hoping it brings a new strategy and a new result. Or, maybe they are doing a lot of things right, but they're trying to sell the wrong product!

One of the amazing things that happens to most everyone who enters the Internet marketing arena, is that they want to turn around and try to sell the idea of how to succeed at it, without ever having succeeded at it. After all, you sat there in the course with them, so you already know as much as they do. Why would you buy something from them? It's like a Facebook guru telling you how to convert all of your Friends into customers, when what he did was to convert all of his customers into Friends. The truth is, people buy from people they know and they like. But, you also need to be selling a product that someone wants, and if you can manage that, then you have a business.

So, what did I do with my new found knowledge? I started looking at how I could marry the two worlds of Internet marketing and network marketing, with a high quality product that people want.

The structure needs to be simple.
It has to work for everyone in this economy
The product needs to sell itself.
The buy-in needs to be low and easily recouped.
It has to come with predesigned websites
It needs a back office, to track progress
It needs a support network,
It needs to pay to infinity.
It can't be a "get rich quick scheme".

What did I come up with? Well, take a look at the video below and let me know if you don't think this is a no brainer.

Now, imagine the possibilities. How many niche markets did you see in there? How many ways could you market this? What if you already have an organization in place? How fast would this become "free"? Think about it as a team building tool. How fast could you make your business grow? What if you just used it yourself? What would that be worth?

It doesn't matter to me if you're an A, B or C. Life is full of opportunities. Will it work for you? Only you know the answer to that, but if you have learned a few things about the IM business and see the potential that I do, or you're looking for a product that you can build some niche sites around, that won't make you feel like you're beating your head against the wall, maybe you should get a little more information.

To do that, you can Click Here, or you can Email Me and we can talk about it.

An Old, Familiar Friend

2010-11-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

I was hunting around for a good series on traffic, having picked up a lot of useful information from ADC, Chris, Mike and some of the experts, but wanted to see more, current strategies since Facebook traffic seems to be spotty, like all free traffic can be...unless you figure out how to stay current, interesting, relevant and in the public eye, without posting inane daily spiritual quotes and clicheed self-help mantras posing as deep thoughts. Kind of reminds me of when everyone was first introduced to email and couldn't help but forward bad jokes to everyone they knew!

But...I digress! I have a bunch of stuff on traffic strategies, Traffic Ultimatum, The Last Traffic Secret, Hyper Facebook Traffic and apps like Mass Article Control, article spinners and all of the article submission directories and have been working my current niche through blogging at How To Barbeque, because I'm fully aware that driving free and low cost traffic today involves more than just putting up a squeeze page and trying to sell to the modern day equivalent of friends and family, which is really what your list starts out as, when you're using social and viral strategies like Facebook and Twitter. Not exactly targeted traffic...and it's time consuming, too!

Anyway, I'm going through some Tellman Knudsen series I'm less than impressed with and the Affiliate Silver Bullet Series, which is actually pretty good, when I pop on to a bonus page and see a Mass Traffic blah, blah, blah from a guy named Jason Cooper, whom I've never heard of, and I read some of his sales letter (with all of the standard Clickbank screenshots and hype stuff inked in red) and I decide to skip it, then Stay On This Page to see what kind of discount they're going to offer me...when the video starts to play...and I stop in my tracks.

I know that voice. I have everything this guy has done. This guy is a great teacher. I learned more through one series of videos he did in real time, in one week, than I did in three months of looking for answers everywhere else, and I miss this guy!

He doesn't say his name, but I know who he is. I go through everything I can find about the product, and I don't see his name anywhere. Why is he doing this for this Jason guy? Is the product really old? Out of date? I don't care. Maybe he only did the Intro video and the series is by someone else.

So, I got the series. The whole thing is by him, it's totally current and he never mentions his own name. If you have something by him, you'll recognize him immediately. If you don't, by the end of this video, you'll want the rest of the series and probably anything else he's done.

I uploaded the first video for you here. It's simple, straightforward, no bull and a content packed 40 minutes or so. If you want the rest of the videos, you gotta buy 'em.

I think you already know what I think of him, so for my money, this course is on the money!

Get the whole course, here:

Massive Traffic Explosion

It has a money back guarantee, just like anything I've ever referred you to, so sit back, relax and enjoy the voice, the style and the information...from an old, familiar friend.

Making Money Online: The Dilemma

2010-02-02T16:03:00.000-08:00

If you're already in the business of Internet marketing, then you've probably already made some tough decisions, invested some (or a lot) of money, and you're head is swimming with thoughts and ideas and maybe you've hit the brick wall we euphemistically call the "learning curve" and have a case of the old, but familiar, "paralysis by analysis".

If you're thinking about going into the business, I applaud your decision because it's a revolutionary way to earn an income from home. There a million ways to go about it, a million things to learn, a million mistakes to make and millions of dollars you'd like to get a piece of...if you can just figure out where to go and how to get there!

You could do what most newbies do, like I did, and buy every product that promises you instant success on the web, or spend your money outsourcing all of your needs. Educational platforms like Carbon Copy Pro are a great place to start because they have all the resources you need: free webinars, seminars, audio training classes and a ton of products available for purchase in the Back Office. How much time you want to spend learning before doing something and how much money you spend to get there, is up to you. That's always the trade-off, right? Time versus money.

We all say that in this business, so let's take a minute and discuss it. I know a lot of people in this business who lament that they constantly need to spend money on new training, technology and marketing methods, and shouldn't it be provided free for the price of admission? I know they wrestle with that question themselves, because they love the business and I tell them they need to come up with an answer for themselves that they're comfortable with, because someone they bring into the business is going to ask them the same question, and for the investment, they'd better have an answer!

The one I currently use, because I'm comfortable with it, is likening this business to buying a McDonald's franchise. The investment in a new franchise is the same for everyone, because what you do with it is up to you. It's just the model. If you put it on a country road in the middle of nowhere, because that's where you can afford the rent and cost of labor, that's fine, but don't complain that your place is empty because nobody can find you! If you want to get a lot of people in there, you need to be on Main St. and it's going to cost more for maintenance and rent up front, but you'll make more because of the traffic.

So, where are you with your business? What do you know, what do you think you know, and what do you know you don't know? What direction do you want to go in and who has the map? Should you spend more money on technology and buy the latest, greatest software? Should you download more courses, templates and Private Label Rights material because you know that you should have them, and then let them sit in your Download Folder until you can't remember what they're called any more? Should you outsource site building, SEO, email campaigns and auto-responders? Everything you can think of to be successful, without knowing what you didn't of? That's a long list...

The answer is easy and uncomfortable: start by doing something! Focus on one thing and see it through to the end, even if you don't know where the end is! Take it as far as you can figure out. Buy one or two courses and actually take the time to watch the videos all the way through, taking notes, then perform the steps that they talk about...and, yes, you're going to get confused and make mistakes! So what! Check your ego at door...

You'll learn more in the one or two weeks of your spare time that it takes to actually do things (like register a domain name, configure hosting, open an auto-responder account, start a blog, make a squeeze page, do some FTP, copy and paste some html code, get a PayPal account, find some products to market, fill out some applications and a little keyword research), than you will in a year of outsourcing and letting someone else set up your business for you (make your opt in forms work, buy and monitor existing sites, set up your blog, write your articles, distribute them and get you traffic).

Plus, if someone else does it for you, costing you a lot of time and money up front (waiting for your order, then pointing out their mistakes and waiting for them to fix them, then waiting for results), you still haven't learned anything in the process and will have to keep spending time and money just to keep what they did, going!

So, I could leave you here, wondering what you've gotten yourself into, or what you might be getting into, or I can help you out. I think I'm going to help...and contrary to most of what you're used to, it won't cost you a dime.

I'm going to do some simple, real-time instructional videos to help get you started and hopefully get the"deer int headlights" look off your face!. If you fill out the opt-in form on the left, you can get instant, free access to my real-time video series. Every time I make a new one, you'll get it automatically.

I can't make it much easier than that! If you like the video and want me to do something else, that I actually know how to do, then leave me a comment and let me know.

Carbon Copy Pro: Happy New Year

2010-01-03T11:44:00.000-08:00

And a Happy New Decade!

Mark Ohlhaver with Carbon Copy Pro, again. If you're like me, last year was pretty awful, and I'm happy to leave it in the rear view mirror. I think we're all hoping that 2010 is not only a better year than last, but that it holds the promise of some new found wealth and happiness we've all been looking for.

To that end, I just wanted to write a short note to those of you who were looking at the Carbon Copy Pro Internet Business opportunity towards the end of last year. By now, I think you know me a little, at least, if you've read any of my personal posts, and I hope you know that I'm a straight shooter and like to answer your questions and not give you a lot of hype.

There are a lot of good reasons to get into Carbon Copy Pro, but for many of you, there are also a lot of obstacles, not the least of which is money. I completely understand that.

People who come into my business spend anywhere from $500 to $10,000, and whichever end of the spectrum they are on, they quickly become overwhelmed and confused. Those on the low end have to work harder, because they don't have an advertising budget that can sustain results, so it takes a little longer. Those on the high end think they are smarter than the rest and that it will come easy, once they decide to do something with it. I'll let you in on a little secret...it's not easy!

Regardless of financial position, anyone can do this business if they have the tools, the work ethic and the time.

Since it is my primary goal to help people achieve why they came into my business, I feel it is my responsibility to provide the best tools and a lot of my time to help them achieve that success. So, I thought I'd give you the opportunity to see what one of these tools looks like.

Once you've seen this video, you'll understand the power of Internet marketing. Perhaps, once you realize that joining Carbon Copy Pro involves the same principles as those in the video, you'll see why I'm so excited about this business.

Have a look at the video here

If you like what you see, you might want to download the course, with no obligation to me or Carbon Copy Pro. It costs a lot less than coming into the business and I would tell you to study this course anyway...along with a couple of others that have as much information and more resources.

If you think you want to take another look at Carbon Copy Pro, after you watch this, and see that I'm serious about your success, come back to my site and fill out an Application.

From the financial side:

You all know it takes a credit card to run this business and I know money is tight, or if money isn't tight, credit scores are low. I hear you on that, too, so here are a few resources for you to check out.

Did you know that there is a 75% chance that there is a mistake on your credit report, hurting your score?
Did you know that if your last name ends in -son, there is a 95% likelihood that there is a mistake?
Did you know that even your young children may already have credit reports by mistake?

If you want to find out if there is a mistake, or don't know your score, go to any free credit reporting agency, or go to this site.

If you need to get a credit card, there are several resources available to you. Here are a few options worth checking out:

Get Instant Credit Guaranteed

List of Credit Resource Links

If you have questions, please feel free to call me at 408-386-8850, send me an email at risingphoenixccp@gmail.com, or post a comment here on the blog.

To your success in the new decade.

Carbon Copy Pro: In A Nutshell

2009-12-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

This is Mark Ohlhaver with Carbon Copy Pro again...

You have all been following along and I have had conversations with a lot of people over the last couple of weeks, and one thing has become perfectly clear: keep it simple, stupid!

Everyone I've talked to is excited and motivated after they hear what I have to say about Carbon Copy Pro and the opportunities it offers to take them places they've only ever dreamed of.

But...there's so much garbage pouring in, they can't make or take the time to read it all!

So, let me try to put it in a nutshell for you. Well, maybe a coconut shell, rather than a walnut...

First, about the timeline:

On Dec 5, I will have been in this business for two months
In the last month, I have generated over 1,000 qualified leads, namely, you.
I have brought 10 people into the business, with more applications every day
I have counseled and provided guidance to numerous people from other sponsors who want need my help
I have developed no fewer than seven different income streams which may be worth one million dollars each, within the next six months

I'll be overjoyed if I'm only half that successful!

Who can benefit from this business?

Anyone who needs to earn additional income from home
Anyone who has a business and knows they need an on-line presence
Anyone who has a product they would like to learn to market online
Anyone with commissioned sales experience
Anyone who has previously been in a multi-level marketing program, liked the concept, but hated the work and negativity
Anyone who is ambitious, or motivated, or smart, or teachable, or industrious, or practical, or, or, or...
Anyone who is young and doesn't see a hopeful employment future
Anyone who is older and is worried about their retirement benefits and quality of life

About Carbon Copy Pro:

CCPro is the lauch pad; the first step; the entry point
They specialize in education and training for Internet marketing
Use that training to market your own business, product or service, however you see fit
Use that training to market the CCPro business itself and grow a fantastic residual income and market the Wealth Masters product line
The Application costs $50 and pays a $20 commission
The BiB costs $400 and pays a $200 commission
It costs $150 per month to maintain the Back Office, Sales team, Marketing resources and training, so you don't need to sell

About Wealth Masters International:

They provide wealth management tools and resources on three different platforms
m1 is the entry level, and costs $1995 paying a $1000 commission
m2 is the m1 plus a fantastic all expenses paid wealth conference, costing $8995 and paying a $5000 commission
m3 is both of the above, on steroids, costs $19,995 and pays a $7500 commission
WMI provides you with another Back Office which costs $50 per month to maintain

Ok, so that's what it is and what it costs, or what your investment in your business will be. Anybody thinking that that I'm hiding something?

Well, I am. If the idea of joining a business with the commission opportunities above doesn't entice you, maybe this will:

Even at this level, I am willing to share the secrets we learned at the m2 wealth conference, two weeks ago in Vegas, that cost me $10,000 to attend:

When you pay your $50 Application fee, I'll send you an Index to short when the DOW collapses to 3000 or lower, which it will, before long
I'll send you the tickers for two penny stocks that could hit it big next year. The last one went from $0.07 to $200 a share
Those alone are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to you. Worth the $50 to check it out?
When you join at the BiB level, I'll give you links to the best Internet Marketing programs available to start making money online, now
I'll show you how to become your own bank and pay all of the interest you pay to others, to yourself
I'll show you how to do a home loan modification and save 30% on your payments, in less than a month
I'll go through a detailed marketing plan with you and set a business budget with you, so you can start building the people side of CCPro
Yes, you must purchase the Application and qualify in order to purchase thBiB

To Apply, go to: http://tinyurl.com/CCPro-Application

In other words, I'll not only teach you how to fish, I'll feed you while you're learning.

Worth $400 to join me? Still not enough?

I'll show you why most people in Carbon Copy Pro aren't succeeding and why they are trying to move into my line
I'll show you why their failure is better for your success
I'll show you why you're already months ahead of the competition when you do what I show you
I'll tell you why you don't want to spend more than $2000 to come in any higher than m1 and why it's a poor business decision
I'll show you how even entering at the BiB level and doing what I show you, will get me to buy your m1, m2 and m3 for you
I'll show you how I'm investing over $100,000 of my future earnings in your success
If you come in at m1, I'll even give you access to a pre-IPO Oil Company for less than $1.00 a share.
I'll show you how I'm pushing charitable contributions not only through my group, but through 10 other organizations
I'll show you why other leaders in these organizations are failing and why I run a transparent business. Always have, always will.

You do the math. Can you afford not to look at this opportunity?

You figure out what you have to lose, and let me know, because I want to hear it.

Ok, enough with the coconut shell.

Did you know that there is a 75% chance that there is a mistake on your credit report, hurting your score?
Did you know that if your last name ends in -son, there is a 95% likelihood that there is a mistake?
Did you know that even your young children may already have credit reports by mistake?

If you want to find out if there is a mistake, or don't know your score, go to any free credit reporting agency, or go to this site:

http://tinyurl.com/know-your-credit-score

If you need to get a credit card, there are several resources available to you. Here are a few options worth checking out:

http://tinyurl.com/instant-credit-guaranteed

http://tinyurl.com/credit-resources

Shameless plug for a buddy of mine, for you wine lovers.

Fantastic reds, whites and sparkling wines from around the world. Labels you've never heard of, and a return policy that's guaranteed, if you don't like the wine.

Give him a call at 866-332-9463 and if you mention my name, he'll probably throw in a free bottle for you.

If you're not a wine lover, but know one, maybe you could forward this to them...

Don't say I never gave you something for nothing.

Closing thought:

There are three kinds of people in this world: those who do, those who watch, and those you say "what happened".

Time to get in the game...

Good Karma

Carbon Copy Pro: More Answers

2009-12-01T15:01:00.000-08:00

Mark Ohlhaver with Carbon Copy Pro again...

More conversations, more answers.

How long will it be before I start making money?

That depends on you and how you want to start. I had to wait two weeks before I felt I was given enough information to start doing things on my own, so I started digging for information and resources to help me.
I found them, and those resource links are included when you sign up with me, so you can start immediately and be both making money on-line and building your business from day one.

What if I don't have your skills, Mark, and I can't do what you're doing?

That's why I'm going to send you all of this information in email form. I'll show you how to use this very information I'll send to you to help you start building your business.
The information in these emails will eventually end up on websites, like this blog, but for now, I want to keep this personal, between you and me and the people you want to help.

How do I get started without having to go through all those websites again?

Go directly to the Application Page. Once you have filled out the Application, you will be taken to a questionnaire, which helps me evaluate your business goals, income expectations, needs and budget, so that I know what to expect when I call you.
When I do call you, if you're not available and I leave a message, please call me back. I'm a very busy guy and I don't want you to fall through the cracks and get left behind.
I'm not the big, bad wolf and I'm not selling you anything, but I can guarantee that if you try to do this on your own, without any help, your odds of success will drop dramatically and it will take a long, confusing time for you to figure this out. That doesn't do you, me or the reputation of Carbon Copy Pro any good, so talk to me and let me help you.

What if I know I want in and just want to by the BiB?

Sorry, you have to go through the Application process.
You'll understand why that is important to you, and me, and your business, once you get in.
In short, it weeds out poor potential prospects who are looking for a get rich quick scheme, and helps you to focus on people are are serious about creating something bigger than themselves.

I know I want in, but I can't afford the BiB. What should I do?

Call me. Talk to me. Tell me your story. Maybe I can help.
"From those to whom much is given, much is expected". I'm being given a lot, and you can expect my help.

What if I don't have any credit?

Did you know that there is a 75% chance that there is a mistake on your credit report, hurting your score? Did you know that if your last name ends in -son, there is a 95% likelihood that there is a mistake? Did you know that even your young children may already have credit reports on file with major credit rating agencies, by mistake?
If you want to find out if there is a mistake, or don't know your score, go to any free credit reporting agency, or go to this site:

Know Your Credit Score

If you need to get a credit card, there are several resources available to you. Here are a few options worth checking out:

Instant Credit, Guaranteed

List of Credit Resources

Shameless plug for a buddy of mine, for you wine lovers.

I have a good friend who is a purveyor of private label wines for Wine Shippers International. His name is Pat and he's a great guy, also in this business. He won't bug you or push you, and I know that because he's been selling to me for twenty years. Fantastic reds, whites and sparkling wines from around the world. Labels you've never heard of, and a return policy that's guaranteed, if you don't like the wine.

Give him a call at 866-332-9463 and if you mention my name, he'll probably throw in a free bottle for you.

Don't say I never gave you something for nothing.

Closing thought:

There are three kinds of people in this world: those who do, those who watch, and those you say "what happened".

Time to get in the game...

Good Karma

Carbon Copy Pro: Answers to Common Questions

2009-11-25T14:49:00.000-08:00

Mark Ohlhaver with Carbon Copy Pro here, again...as promised.

I've had some great conversations with some of you over the last few weeks, who are really excited about what I'm doing, where I'm going, why I'm doing it and how you can join me in securing your financial future and achieving your dreams...which I know are bigger than being rich.

Honestly, I've talked with people from coast to coast...Alaska (Diane) to Florida (Cheri) and overseas in England (Greg) and Croatia (Branko), the Bahamas, Singapore, Australia...young (21 yr old Shaqs) to retired (77 year old Betty) and everything in between...everyone has a story and everyone has questions and issues before they'll commit their hard earned money to an Internet Marketing system, they found on the web!

Let's talk about them because it's smart to be skeptical. Be skeptical, but not negative.

How can I trust you?

Get to know me. Call me, blog me or email me. My phone number is 408-386-8850. It's my cell and I'll answer it, or leave me a message and don't be surprised when I call you back.
If you want to know, I've been with my wife for 30 years, have two kids, Diana and Jason, one still in College, in Montana, and I want to secure their futures and the generations to come.
I've been reasonably successful at business in the past, amassed a million dollars of debt and was staring into the abyss of Baby Boomer retirement without having any chance of living debt free in the home I built for my family, or achieving my dreams of establishing scholarship funds and running inner-city youth programs to get kids off of the street and back into a classroom.

What if I don't have any computer skills?

You don't need them. At least, not to start...depending on what direction you want to go: building a large organization for residual income; product marketing of Wealth Masters International products; affiliate sales. I've set this up so that you can start building your business without advertising, meaning you spend almost nothing, and I help you set up specific marketing plans and your own personal business plan.
I provide you with the links to download the two best Internet marketing programs I've found, to teach from start to money in under a week.
I help you with copywriting, ad placement, social networking, targeted audience approaches, viral marketing and attraction marketing.

How much is this going to cost me?

Cost is a relative term and in business you'll want to start talking about what your return on investment is.
It "costs" a minimum of $400 to get in and you can buy into the highest commission level at $20,000, if that's what you want to do, but I'll explain to you, personally, why that's a bad idea and a poor business decision.
If you have $400 and a credit card you can charge $200 a month on, I'll show you how to make the business work with that. If you're on a budget, I wouldn't recommend coming in higher than the m1 level, at $2000 and I'll explain why.
I spent $9,000 to come in at the m2 level, but that put me in the room with some very smart guys and gave me the opportunity to leverage my skills and earn me, potentially, millions of dollars in the next year.
The next opportunity like that is at the end of March, in Boca Raton, Florida, then Jamaica in July for the m3, and I can help you get there.
I'm even going to pay for 15 people in my business to be there. That means I'm investing over $100,000 of my future earnings in your success.

What if it doesn't work?

What are you doing now that's working so great? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
You're either already broke, in the same sort of spot I was in with no work in a devastated economy, working in a dead end job, desperately afraid of getting fired or ready to take control of your own future.
All I can guarantee is that I can help you, give you stock tips, investment strategies to grow and protect what you've got left, or what you make in the next year, put you in the room with some really great people and teach you some skills you're going to need when the economy really tanks...which is coming, for sure.

That's all I have time for today.

Ask more questions, get more answers.

But if you do nothing, you'll end up with nothing.

Carbon Copy Pro: How It Works

2009-11-20T16:05:00.000-08:00

This might be the single most important piece you ever read. It could change your life forever.

Do I have your attention?

This is Mark Ohlhaver with Carbon Copy Pro and what I'm about to share with you is big.

It's going to keep you awake all night.

I recently returned from Las Vegas after a four day Wealth Management Conference, hosted by Wealth Masters International, and I can tell you with unqualified certainty, that I will be a millionaire within the next six months. Not only that, I will be a multi-millionaire by the end of next year. (Yeah, yeah, I can hear you saying...I'll believe it when I see it.)

Allow me to elaborate.

Success is reasonably defined as the culmination of opportunity meeting motivation. Being in the right place at the right time, with the right people, never hurt either! Many of you were previously invited to look at a business opportunity I got into about six weeks ago; some of you found me through on-line marketing and were brave enough to actually enter your name and email address; some of you are new to this because you need to see this and I respect you enough to wish you prosperity. Those of you who were "too busy" to look at it (how long does it take to enter a name and email?) are going to get another chance.

Where should I start?

About two months ago, a soccer acquaintance came up to me and said he'd joined some great new deal I should check out. After thirty seconds of appropriate questioning, I knew it was going to be some multi-level-marketing crap, and having been in Amway for seven years back in the 80s, and not making a penny, and getting audited, I knew I was going to look at it and shoot it down in under ten minutes. I think it took three.

But, because I hadn't had any real work in eight months, and I always liked the concept of MLM and residual income, I was drawn to an article that talked about the concept of GPT: Get Payed Today. It talked about how MLM is dying because you have to work way too hard, for way too long, and nobody you know ever seems to make any money. Why? Because the products are hard to sell and too inexpensive to pay out any real dividends. Preaching to the choir, brother.

What if you could be in a business that had a high quality, high priced series of products, that paid out really high commissions? What if you got paid for what you did and didn't have to work with any group lower than who you personally brought into the business? What if the company handled all of the sales, and all you had to do was generate qualified leads? This all sounded pretty interesting to me. After all, there are only so many crosswords in the paper that I can do every day.

The company is called Carbon Copy Pro and it's a Direct Marketing firm started by a couple of mid-twenty year old guys named Jay Kubassek and Aaron Parkinson, who had crappy jobs and tried all kinds of multi-level schemes that didn't work. But, they figured out why they didn't work, and decided to create a direct marketing company, based on the same pricipals, that would work.

People don't like to sell or be sold - remove it from the process.
People don't get enough information, training, support or motivation - put it in.
People have to buy their own product - encourage it through the commission structure, but don't force it.
People get bogged down with the negativity of working more than one layer deep where they aren't personally known by the audience and get constant rejection - focus only on one layer deep for easier access to mentoring, more personal comfort and new marketing ideas.
Products are hard to manage and too low cost to make any real money - get a high cost, high value product line that pays big commissions.

Okay, I'm sold.

I did about two weeks of due diligence. I checked out the guys who started it and they seemed like they were for real; I Googled the company scam sites to see what people were saying and I couldn't find anything negative, just people saying that their own system was better.

So, I got in.

And because I didn't respond to an ad somewhere and didn't understand how this stuff works, I ended up under the VP and largest producer, Andrew Cass. He makes over $16,000 per month, just on the residual income from the people in his business, not including any sales. That was on October 5, 2009. Andrew's extremely intelligent, and a pretty busy guy, considering he's VP of both CCPro and Wealth Masters, and it took a week to get first contact and a to-do list, then a rescheduled call, then a follow-up training call on October 17. The big plan: do a couple of marketing modules, set an advertising budget and start driving traffic.

Here's how it works.

CarbonCopyPro provides a Back Office where you access training webinars, videos, call archives and marketing information and training modules, suggestions, etc. It's also where leads are tracked and your business is centered. CCPro provides an on-call support staff, call center, sales team and a large variety of predesigned Landing Pages ("capture", "squeeze") and Banner Ads you can use to capture leads.

It's your job to advertise, wherever and however you see fit, because it's your business, and drive traffic to the landing page of your choice, where someone is asked to enter their name and email address to access more information about the company and the system. Once someone does that, auto responders take them immediately to more information, after which they are asked to fill out an Application for $50 to see if they are really qualified to be an Affiliate, and they begin receiving regular automated emails from Carbon Copy Pro.

If someone purchases an Application, they are given access to a back office where they can see how the business is run and shipped a DVD called Inside Out, explaining the business, invited to join in on daily live calls where they can ask questions directly to top producers in the business, and if qualified, invited to purchase a Business In a Box (BiB), soon to be known as the Black Box. For $400 they can become an Affiliate, and pay $150/mth for the system's maintenance, training tools, marketing tools and support, and are given affiliate rights to sell Wealth Master products. Each of those actions is a commissionable sale, which I'll detail later.

Okay, so far it sounds like a ponzi scheme, because all you're doing is bringing people into a business and getting paid. Where's the product?

Glad you asked. The product is a series of wealth management tools through WMI, called m1, m2 and m3.

The m1 is a series of DVDs and manuals covering different aspects of wealth strategies: tax planning, creating and building wealth, estate planning, asset protection, business incorporation, investment strategies, etc. Wealth Masters International was started by Kip Herriage who was formerly a VP with Oppenheimer for seven years, but lost all of his investments following Oppenheimer's own strategies and figured he could do a lot better by himself. (He showed us at the conference how, statistically, over the last ten years, you would have made 10% on your portfolio investments if you followed the S&P 500, while his client investment portfolios, over the same period, yielded a 600% return.) Smart guy. Really nice guy.
The m2 is the m1 plus the four day wealth conference, where you are given private access to an array of investment strategies you and I never conceived of, let alone had access to. An m3, is the m2 on steroids.

For example, some of the techniques and options I was given at the m2 Conference:

Most people buy high ticket items (cars, houses, capital equipment) using cash, leases or credit and pay interest to the lending agent, which on average, represents 30% of your annual expenses. Did you know you could be your own bank and pay that interest to yourself? That means about every three years, you just got an extra year's pay. Nice to know, now.
There's an oil man who thinks he has discovered an untapped oil field with reserves larger than Shell Oil's. Around 19.5 Billion barrels (bbl) and he's a geologist with the charts to prove it. That's about a 100 year supply for a large scale refinery. And then there's the natural gas below it, which is what he's really after, because that's the direction we're headed in for our unconventional fuel source. Anyway, he's a personal friend of Kip Herriage and will be going public next year, when he receives his funding. He's looking for seed money and is offering us shares at $1 or less, pre-IPO. Seen stock quotes for oil companies lately?
Same guy has two other oil companies that he started that are currently penny stocks. One is at $0.12 and the other at $0.03. When his new company goes public, these two stocks will skyrocket. In fact, I just checked and they're up 5% since I was given the information a few days ago. He did one of these five years ago that started at $0.07/share. Kip thought he'd done great when he got out at $7.00. That's a 1,000% return, meaning that if you bought 1000 shares of stock, $70.00 worth, you're return was $7,000. Imagine how Kip felt when it went to $200/share. $200,000 earned on a $70 investment.
With the inevitable collapse of the stock market and the falling value of the dollar against other currencies, do you know what to invest in?
Do you know what Index to short when the market starts to implode?
Do you know how to invest in a stock and hedge against the falling dollar to not only realize your stock gain, but currency exchange gain?
Do you know what commodities and precious metals you need to start moving your money to, now?
Do you, or someone you know, need a home loan modification? Intimidated by the process? Embarassed? Don't be. It's simple, quick and efficient and can save you over 30% off your current payment.

Well, I learned a lot, I paid a lot for it and I'm willing to share that information with you. That's a pretty good deal for reading this far down. Still got your attention?

Here's the Compensation Plan:

Every Application pays you an average of $20.
Every BiB (Business In a Box) pays you $200.
Every month you get a $50 residual for each person you have active in the business (paying the $150/mth) or $30 for a student account

That's all you need to get started, but here's where that encouragement to use the products comes in:

The m1 entry level costs $1995, and pays a $1000 commission, if you are qualified at that level. If you're not, your first three m1 sales pass up to the first qualified upline, then you're automatically eligible for the $1000 commission. If you purchase the m1 within ten days of the BiB, the cost of the BiB is deducted.
The m2 entry level costs $8,995 and pays a $5000 commission, if you are qualified at that level. If you are not, but you are m1, you earn $1000 for the m1 portion, and the $4000 flows upward, until you have sold 10. Then you are eligible for the commission.
The m3 entry level, which is usually on an island resort with access to people, investments and strategies that would make your mind boggle, costs $19,995 and pays a commission of $7500, if you're qualified, etc., etc. Next year it is in Jamaica in July.
Did I mention that every time someone you bring in buys or sells one of these you also get a piece? $400 to $2500.

Here are the conversion numbers, based on three years of statistics:

The number of leads you generate is dependent on how and where you advertise, and only you can control that.
The number of leads that convert to applications is dependent on the quality of the lead and how active you choose to be in bringing them into your business. Let the system handle them (passive), send emails to them personally (semi-active), or call them (active). What are you comfortable with? About 5% conversion seems to be a good rule of thumb, using passive techniques.
At least 50% of Applications will convert to BiBs.
1/3 of your new Affiliates will enter at the BiB level. Most will upgrade to m1 within the first three months if they have any success.
1/3 of your Affiliates will enter at the m1 level. Most will upgrade to m2 within the first three months if they're having any success.
1/3 of your Affiliates will enter at the m2 level.
1/2 of your m2 Affiliates will upgrade to m3 within six months, usually at an m2 event, if they are having any success, and the next one is at the end of March, in Boca Raton, Fla., and I want you to be there!

So, how can I guarantee your success?

We both know that the answer to that is that I can't. No one can push a wet noodle. In my opinion, the major hurdles to getting someone to even look at this phenomenal opportunity are skepticism, distrust and fear. Be skeptical. Do your homework. If you know me, you know you can trust me.

If you don't know me, you will, because that's the way I do business.

Nobody trusts anything on the Internet.

That's why so many of you didn't even check this out when I sent it to you the first time! Fear comes with the unknown. You have to take a chance, and each step costs you more money, and you never feel like you're getting the whole picture. I don't know why they do that, which is why I just laid it all at your feet.

What's the big secret? It costs money to open a business and you might fail. This is news to you?

Businesses fail (97%, in fact) for two main reasons: lack of information and lack of funding. Nobody wants to take a chance with what's left of their money, and in this business, you can waste a lot of time and money if you don't know what you're doing. If you run out of money, you can't advertise. At least not the conventional way, which means you can't generate leads and you'll get discouraged and quit.

But that won't happen to my group, because I've taken the fear out of the equation, so you can evaluate the opportunity honestly. I've provided all of the information you need to make an informed decision, and I've provided, not only a means of making money in the business immediately, without advertising, but training to get you into making money on-line outside of the Carbon Copy Pro business, just in case your afraid to jump in with both feet, as well as wealth management strategies to protect the money you do make!

What kind of idiot does that?

I do, because it's not about me. I want you to have what you want, and I don't think there's time for you to get it your way before the economy crumbles, and you're stuck on the wrong side of the line. I have a lot of dreams and a lot of people to help, and karma is a powerful thing. I also know that your dreams are bigger than just being rich. Who will you be able to help with your wealth?

What church, organization, charity, school, family, friend, future generation...will you provide for?

Let me tell you what I know.

The m2 Wealth Conference has forever changed my life. The four day event was attended by 492 people who put up about $10,000 to be there to listen to the strategies I outlined above. Of those people, it's safe to say that 90% have done nothing to even start their marketing business. Amazing. Of the remaining 10%, half are trying half-heartedly, and the other half are succeeding in going completely the wrong direction, and getting no results. Big surprise.

Everyone I talked to was frustrated with something; lack of knowledge, lack of leadership, frustration with Google, frustration with the system, frustration with spending money for zero results, and angry that they were constantly being sold more fixes. The final day, Carbon Copy Pro had it's event for everyone lower than m2, and it was even worse, per-centage-wise. Most of my time was spent lifting people's spirits...mainly with spirits.

So, why is that a good thing?

Because those people are your competition...and they don't know what they are doing. None of them were generating any leads. No leads means no applications, which means no conversions to BiBs or m1 s or m2s. If you use the information I'm giving you, you'll be months ahead of anyone else.

And then there's me...

I'd been advertising for three weeks. People assumed I was doing the same thing as them, and was getting the same results as them. They were more than a little surprised when I told them that I had to suspend my current ad campaign after only three weeks, because I had overspent my ad budget by four times. Why? Because in three weeks, I had generated over 400 leads, had 7 Applications, 2 Student Accounts and 2 BiBs. My lead generation Click Through Rate (CTR) was 70%, with a 25% conversion rate at half the cost of what they were doing.

They obviously wanted to know how I was doing it, and I really didn't want to tell them. After all, it's my business. I only told them that I wasn't doing what they were doing, because I'm going to teach everyone I bring in to CCPro what I am doing and how to do it and make sure they don't head down the wrong path.

It's not about luck anymore.

You need to remember that, as far as I can tell, a whole bunch of twenty-somethings got kind of lucky, then taught everyone else how to be lucky. There was a great formula attached to a great principle, at a particular point in the evolution of on-line marketing. Surprise...the Internet changes...daily!!

What worked then, might work today, but it takes a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of training...and still some luck! All I know is, I didn't have the time or the money, and it's really difficult to teach luck! I went in an entirely different direction, because I didn't know any better and had enough success that I was one of the top producers in Applications in November, and on the company's List of Rising Stars, in under two months!

So, here's the deal.

This is a great business opportunity, with a great commission structure, desperately seeking someone to drive it with new ideas that really work. I'm that guy, and you can have me and everything I know. Aside from the investment opportunities,

I set up the oil guy with my dad in Houston, because my dad designs refineries, something the oil guy needs. Probably worth a ton on the back end, if it goes through.
One of the people I brought into my circle is a capital investment banker for projects over $50M. She liked me well enough to tell me she'd give me 50% of any deal I brought to her, worth millions per year.
I'm partnering with one of the guys in my group to do a mass social media marketing campaign to sell the Wealth Masters series direct, worth probably $500K each, per year.
I've learned Affiliate marketing techniques that should generate over $50K per month.

That's a lot of money, and that's without Carbon Copy Pro, worth at least $500K per year. Get the picture?

I'm going and I'd like you to come along.

I learned all of this and set it in motion inside of six weeks. Entering at the m2 level and being in Las Vegas put me in the right place at the right time and I want you to have that opportunity, too. I'm working with a great group of people that need my skills now, and I'm happy to provide them because I'm going to need their skills later.

You get the benefit of me, and them.

We're not in the same line, so we don't make any money off of each other. It's cleaner and purer that way. But we want to become the largest mastermind group in the organization, started by a bunch of frustrated marketers and one guy who marched to a different beat. You'll have access to me and them, and everything we're doing. This business operates in 161 countries around the world, so if you want to get it to your family and friends overseas, I encourage you to do so.

The Pitch

I want you to go to my Landing Page and put in your name and email address. Then I want you to spend $50 and fill out an Application.

When you do, I'll be notified automatically, and I'll email you the Index that you'll need to short, along with the two penny stock tickers for the Oil Companies that could go big next year. For those of you who have already filled out your Application, email me and I'll send them back to you by reply email.

When you buy your BiB (Business In a Box)...

I'll be automatically notified and I'll give you the information on how to become your own bank, paying yourself all of the interest you pay others every year, and the links to the best two downloadable Affiliate Marketing training series available, so that you can start making money immediately and jump start your learning process. I even have one for people who have never used a computer before, so let me know if that applies.

If you buy your m1...

I will tell you where the big boys say you should start moving your money and how to capitalize on the fall of the US dollar. I don't think anyone needs to come in higher than m1, because I'm going to give you all of the information and you're going to make so much money, you can upgrade whenever you want, but since you are all business people and I've already told you that 1/3 of the people you bring in will be m2, you might want to keep that commission for yourself.

If you can go m2...

Without breaking the bank, your commissions will be higher, right out of the gate and I'll give you the information on the oil field IPO as well as who to go through for a home mortgage modification to save 30% or more on your mortgage and get paid $1000 per referral.

But that's not enough...

For the first 10 people in my group at BiB level, who bring in (3) m1s and (2) m2s, I will pay for your $8,995 upgrade to m2, no strings attached, so that you can be at the next m2 Wealth Conference and put yourself in the same position I found myself in Vegas.

For the first 5 people in my group at the m1 level who bring in (5) m1s and (3) m2s and I'll buy your m2 for you.

That's a $134,925 commitment to your success. Sounds like a nice round number, to me!

The biggest problem with CCPro as I see it, is sponsoring.

If you can't generate leads, you can't get Applications and you'll get discouraged. What if, while you were learning how to do that, with my help, you used this email and modified it for you and your landing page, again with my help (if you want it) and sent it to every person you knew who could use some help? Would that be a powerful, money generating, sponsoring tool? You'll have all of the things that I talked about. You can rearrange them, offer more, offer less, pay for the upgrades or not.

It's your business. I just want to help you succeed, because you deserve it.

I'm going. Are you coming with me?

I understand that this is a lot to grasp and you are going to want to think about it. That's fine...but, the clock is ticking. Not on the business...obviously, you can get in whenever you want, but on the financial information that I'm incentivising your offer with, potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars, sitting on the table. Also, once I give you this information, your 100% money back guarantee is out the window. I think you'll agree that that's fair.

That's the only way I can be fair. After all, I have 1000 other leads to send this to, and I know I'll have another 200 the week after that. But I won't send out the next round for a week, giving you another advantage,time... in getting your free m2.

If you're still skeptical or afraid, I understand completely. That probably means you aren't cut out for this business and you're saving us both a lot of time and aggravation.

But if it's not for you, maybe you can think of someone else who needs it. Forward it to them. You may change their life forever.

Good karma.

Welcome to Carbon Copy Pro

2009-11-10T14:29:00.000-08:00

Thanks for joining me on my blog. I just wanted to introduce myself.

My name is Mark Ohlhaver and this Carbon Copy Pro business is taking me places I never dreamed possible. I've only been here for less than two months and my results have been phenomenal.

Since you probably reached this blog from one of my landing pages, I want you to receive a little more information direct from Carbon Copy Pro. Then, within about a week, I'm going to send you an invitation.

Take it very seriously. It could change your life, the way it's changing mine.

Frequently, this very long email that I'm going to offer to send out, if you ask for it, ends up in your spam or junk folder and I don't want you to miss it because it has time sensitive information in it. So, if you can, either check it regularly, or put me on your safe sender list.

I know you expressed an interest in making money from home through Carbon Copy Pro by filling in your email address on my site and I wanted to commend you on taking the first step toward an exciting on-line business opportunity.

Not long ago, I was exactly where you are, looking for a better way to make money. Looking for something that I could do to rebuild what the failing economy had done to my income, my lifestyle and my family.

I came accross this by accident, and even though I knew absolutely nothing about Internet Marketing, felt that it was right for me. I checked out everything I could find out about it...the owners, the system, the "Carbon Copy Pro scam" sites...and what I found was that, it's not a "get rich quick" thing, it's a get "rich smart thing".

Inside a week, I was on-line and generating business. How cool is that? I'm building a business with multiple income streams that I hope will soon replace my everyday job and provide a life-long residual income. I feel like I've regained my confidence and taken back control of my future. There's a lot to learn, but I'm doing it at my own pace and I have regular one-on-one conversations with great mentors making seven figures plus, and they give me all of the information I can absorb.

You'll be receiving some emails over the next several days giving you a better glimpse of the company and if that sparks more interest, I encourage you to return to my site and fill out the Application. (No way around that, I'm afraid...it's for thinning the herd of those who aren't serious.) At that time, you'll have access to a wealth of information, and if you decide this isn't for you, everything is 100% refundable.

There's no selling, no cold-calling and it's not MLM. This is about you.

Your ideas, your attitude, your time, your investment...your business.

We provide the leadership, mentoring, tools, hands on training and a proven system to make sure that your business succeeds so that you can realize your dreams.

If I can answer any questions for you, please feel free to call me at 408-386-8850, or email me at risingphoenixccp@gmail.com, or leave me a comment...but, if you call, please remember that I'm on the West Coast, time-wise, and don't be surprised when I pick up or call you back.

This is the real deal.

Change

2009-11-04T17:06:00.000-08:00

It's been said that the only constant in life is change. That can be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your point of view. Change is always interesting, even if it's not always fun. The Chinese have a curse that says "may you live in interesting times".

Well, we certainly are living in interesting times. I don't need to quote gloomy economic statistics here. I can do that elsewhere, and besides, they're everywhere. It's kind of like back in the late 90's when everyone was abuzz about the stock market. Everyone was talking about it. "How much did you make? How high can it go? How long can it last?"

Nobody thought about factoring in a guy named Alan Greenspan and the winch he was using to reign in the "irrational exuberance" with silken thread. Oops...! Pulled a little too hard. It was, to me, kind of like calling the cops to a party at 3:00 a.m., when everyone was already drunk and passed out. Haul 'em in anyway!

That was very real for me at the time, because I was trading options for the few months before the crash, making enough money that I thought I had hit the mother lode and closed my non-profit company that I had labored on for nine years. When I say non-profit, that wasn't the legal description, just a matter of fact.

I was good enough at it, that I taught my broker how to do it, figuring he would be able to give me a few inside tips. He did that, alright. Losers, every one of them. But he was making money, on both ends. It cost me plenty to follow his advice and it taught me a few things while I was being wiped out one fateful day: trust your own instincts and don't ignore the rules.

You see, I was trying desperately to recover for myself what I thought he had taken from me, and in the course of things, broke one of the cardinal rules of options play. Really, business in general. In the market, as the saying goes: bulls get fed; bears get fed; pigs get slaughtered. I got slaughtered. I over-leveraged and didn't protect myself, trying to wring every dollar of profit I could, winching ever tighter with a silken thread, and oops! Pulled too hard. Lost it all.

I mention all of this because it seems that we can't escape the bad news, and often we discount the effect of the media on the economy and our psyches. Collectively, we want to put a gun in our mouths instead of shooting the TV! Now, that's mind control. But that's the way we live our lives, for the most part. Waiting for someone to tell us it's all going to be fine and not to worry. We'll tell you when it's safe to go outside. We'll tell you when you can start spending money again, after we gave all of your money to the banks, politicians, financiers, lobbyists and shills that got you into this mess! Sit quietly and we'll take care of you and tell you when to take your head out of the sand.

Sorry, not my style! I've always been a risk taker, much to my wife's chagrin. If I see an opportunity, I check it out. If I get in, I get all the way in, because my instincts are usually pretty good, even if my application is lacking. Got into multi level marketing and pushed that, hard, for seven years. If you want to learn about facing rejection, get into an MLM. Climbed a corporate ladder in the moving industry and fell off near the top, without a net. Built the largest third party service company in the moving business on the West Coast. Went nationwide; went broke. Took a course on Real Estate Foreclosure sales. Laws changed, at least here in the golden real estate state. Bought a couple of properties the conventional way, because real estate is really the only "safe" investment. Values plummeted. Short sold one and wrecked our credit. Still losing money on the other. Went into architectural design and construction project management. Hardest hit sector of the economy!

It became a running joke with my friends that I should tell them what I'm planning next, so that they can get out!

Apparently, I just don't know when to quit. I just keep getting back up. I've been roasted, seared, charred and flat out burnt to a crisp. Hence the name. Rising Phoenix is about being reborn. Rising from the ashes. Starting anew. I've always been tenacious and success has always been just around the next corner. I can smell it and one of these days I'm going to taste it. Because, no matter what anyone says I can or can't achieve, at the end of the day, I have to go to bed knowing that there's a reason to get up tomorrow. Quitting isn't in my DNA. You might convince me to walk away, but you'll never convince me to stay down. I don't like the view.

So, what about you? Do you trust your instincts and have enough fighting spirit to fend off the bad mojo? Do you have enough faith in yourself? The way I look at it, life is all about give and take: you give it all you've got, until you can't take it any more. Life's too short not to try, and I'm too good not to succeed. It's what gets me up in the morning.

Yeah, I'm changing again. Change is good.