Why I shall NEVER retire! A Declaration of Independence

by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

I am at the age (64 on 02/16/11) when I am asked one 
particular question over and over again: "When do you plan 
to retire?" My resolute answer delivered con brio surprises 
my questioners: "I shall NEVER retire!"

Because they ALWAYS want to know why… I have 
decided to write this, a latter-day Declaration of 
Independence, to provide a ready means of response 
for myself and all the other people worldwide who 
are thrilled by what they do and the life  they have 
fashioned and have absolutely no desire to change 
things, no matter what.

J’y suis, J’y reste.

It was le Marechal McMahon at the siege of Sebastopol 
in 1855 who memorably barked out this trenchant phrase 
which loosely translates into "I am here and here I shall 
remain!"  It’s the way those of us feel who are adamant 
about either retaining our present position or engaging 
in other constructive work instead of retiring.

You see, we know a secret that the vast horde of the 
retired either does not know or came to understand too 
late: work invigorates, energizes, and exercises facilities 
which otherwise quickly enervate and deteriorate. In other 
words, productive, meaningful work is essential to staying 
young, alive, and alert. So, let’s review all the reasons why 
retirement as generally practised and understood is  one 
of the worst things you can ever do to yourself.

1) Retirement rots the brain.

If you have work you like,  one reason  you fancy it 
is because you have meaningful questions to answer, 
challenges to face, and labor to do. Work, as Sigmund 
Freud well understood, is crucial to the well-lived life. 
Take  away work which engages your full attention, 
experience, and expertise, and you have removed a 
critical factor of your well-being.  Formless leisure can 
never replace the knowledge that you are engaged in 
something worth doing.

2) Retirement leads to physical deterioration.

Take a good,close look at the next person aged 65 
or older who passes your way. The ones engaged in 
significant,  constructive labor (the only kind of work 
any of us should ever do) have an aura radiating energy 
and purpose. They are "with it". Lights! Camera! Action!

The presentation of our laborless peers is very, very 
different. Having nothing better to do than contemplate 
physical infirmities and eternity, they are often peevish, 
selfish, with vistas narrowing, hope evaporating. In such 
circumstances, it is easy to see why physical problems 
and limitations abound.

3) Retirement slashes  your income and lifestyle.

As every study grimly shows, the average person 
hasn’t put away nearly enough money to sustain at 
retirement their current lifestyle, much less do the extra 
things (world cruise, anyone?) you desire.  Do you want to 
make do with less? I certainly don’t. Why face the 
conclusion of life scrimping, having to count every 
penny and cut back… and back… and back? It’s demeaning 
and demoralizing. What’s more it’s completely unnecessary… 
if you keep satisfying labor in your life.

4) Retirement renders a lifetime of experience and 
expertise superfluous , useless.

The day you leave your present employ, you are at 
the top of your professional game. You know the 
most, can do the most, can create the most, and 
solve the most. You are a person of knowledge, 
wisdom, and insight. Wow!

Walk out that door… cut the ties with what you 
have done before and your skill level and all you 
can do with it starts to deteriorate at once… each 
day diminishing  your knowledge and skills. You are 
now walking away from everything you have 
aimed at and achieved for so many years. Does this 
make any sense at all?

5) Retirement reduces respect, deference, and 
awe.

Are you good at what you do? Have you worked a 
lifetime to perfect your skills,  to be and do better 
than others in your field? Are you a master of 
your craft, with the respect, deference and even 
awe that that generates? Will you like doing with 
less and less of this, as the relevancy of what 
you know and can do inevitably diminishes; as 
you move farther and farther away from the peak 
of your skills?

When was the last time you watched a retired 
person at any event in your field? They were no 
doubt greeted politely, even enthusiastically. But 
the conversation quickly moved on to today’s 
questions, today’s challenges… and as it did so 
the retired person, no matter how supreme he 
had been before,  became inevitably de trop. 
Remember when this happened to former 
star Norma Desmond when she returned to 
Paramount Studios in "Sunset Boulevard"? It was, 
in the truest sense of the word… pathetic. Is this what 
you really want, to be forgotten… but not gone?

6) Retirement reduces your ability to help others.

The best careers are always about the good you 
do to others. Retire and that important ability declines day 
by day, painfully, inevitably.

Have people benefited from what you know and 
can do? Has the need for this knowledge and skill 
abated in any way? Or is it as robust as ever? If 
the latter, then why (except for purely selfish reasons) 
would you ever want to stop helping? Stop improving? 
Stop transforming and enlightening? It makes utterly 
no sense…  no sense at all.

How a wily German prince , long dead, is 
influencing your life.

Prince Otto von Bismarck was probably the most 
important statesman of the 19th century, conniving 
as he did at the  unification of Germany.  But perhaps 
his even more important (and invidious) legacy is the 
fact that he determined the age of retirement for much 
of the world. This determination is having a very 
definite and pronounced influence on… you!

Prince Bismarck, first Chancellor of the Imperial Reich, 
wanted to dish the fast-growing German Socialists, alarming 
people with a very different national vision than his own. 
Old-age pensions provided him with the means of seeming 
benevolent to folks whose votes he wanted, without costing much.

German statisticians (then as now superb at their craft) made 
it clear to him that most people would never live to 65 and that that, 
therefore, was a most admirable date to pledge pensions.  And so 
a sacred cow was born, with Prince Bismarck’s raucous 
laugh reverberating through the years, keeping millions enthralled 
to one of the most cynical of men and his very cynical policy: promise 
what you will never have to give.

Today, you are young at  65… act like it!

Today’s 65 year olds are completely different from those 
of over a century ago. For one thing, we are alive. For another, 
we are healthier, more fit, more active…. and thus in no particular 
practical need of retirement or the trickle that is Social Security.

It’s time, therefore, to take a new view of retirement; to see 
it for what it is, not the solution to but the enemy of our well 
being. Join me: say no to retirement. It’ll be the very best 
decision you have ever made and will put you in the company 
of sovereigns and pontiffs, none of whom ever retire either!

Copy. Paste. Promote. Repeat. You’ve got to be kidding right?

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

How do you build an online business? Copy. Paste. Promote. Repeat.

I really hate using the first expression because I LOVE elephants but to make a point sometimes you have to be blunt.

This blog is meant to be direct and maybe make you a little irritated so you will REACT. A reaction is better than nothing. Hopefully that irritation leads to a reaction which leads to an action.

Forgive me if the tone of this blog sounds a bit patronizing. That is not my intention. My purpose is to try and get you to simplify tasks so you can get the results you want. I’d like you to think about things from a different perspective.

Every day I talk to people all over the world who are trying to build their online business. Some are having no success, some are having mixed success, some are just getting started, some have been working an online business for years. The ones who are hugely successful, I never hear from – hmmm strange.

What’s the difference between the successful and the non-successful? Well it depends on who you ask and your definition of success. Here’s my take on it.

People who are successful are DOERS!

They don’t over think, they plod in and get busy.

They make mistakes, they learn, they try again.

They fall down, they get up again as often as it takes to get the job done. They simplify; they don’t overcomplicate.

They have a unique way of looking at things, and attacking a task.

They FOCUS on what needs to be done, eliminate distraction.

They understand that small tasks can lead to big results.

They find what works and stick to it.

They have a patience many of us just can’t fathom.

Failure is not an option.

I had the honour of playing a round of golf with a Professional Golfer last week. This guy was good! He had won numerous tournaments. I asked him how he got to be such a good golfer and this is what he told me. He said, “I’ve played golf since I was 4. I’m 24 now. I’ve played golf pretty much every day my entire life.” I then said to him, “so you did the same thing everyday and got really good at it?” He looked at me for a moment to make sure that I was being serious about something so obvious then he said. “Yes, I got some lessons and instructions then practised every day and here I am.”

So if I can draw from that, if you want to be good at something – successful at something – do it everyday – over and over and over again!

Could it be that simple?

Building your online business is as simple as Copy. Paste. Promote. Repeat. Everyday?

What do you think? Post your comments below. I’d like to see your thoughts.

Five Things You Don’t Know About Closing Sales Which Are Eviscerating Your Profits

It isn’t just that most people are lousy at sales…
far more shocking is the fact that most SALES PEOPLE
are lousy at sales.

If you’re one of them, this article is for YOU!

The plain fact of the matter is that the overwhelming
majority of sales people rely on their charm, gift
of gab, and ability to “wing it” to make sales… instead
of being prepared to make sale after sale. STOP IT! Following
these sensible steps means more money:

1)  Closing sales is not a matter of motivation or pressure.
Instead, it’s a question of having the right information readily
at hand, so you can answer customer questions quickly, easily, 
thoroughly.

Thus, consider what you have readily available when
you are talking to a customer.

2) Do you have (readily available, mind) a sheet of “you
gets”, that is a list of PRECISELY what your customer
gets when using your product/service?

Dollars to doughnuts, neither you nor any member of
your business has sat down and written out the features
of what you’re selling; then converted each and every
feature into a benefit that the customer gets. Treat each
and every benefit like scoops on an ice-cream cone;
the higher you stack ‘em, the more enticing to the customer!

3)  Do you have a sheet of offers?

Products do not sell themselves; a sales person bragging
“Our product sells itself” is wrong, naive or both. What sells
products is offers; the better the offer the faster the sale.

Thus, have you got a sheet of offers; “add-ons” you can
use to motivate immediate customer action? This list should
make it very clear just what the customer gets for fast action.
AND when the customer must act, for ALL offers must be
limited by time, quantity, etc.

4) Do you have a sheet of results testimonials?

People what to be assured and re-assured about what
they will get when using your product. Here’s where “results”
testimonials come in. These not only provide a happy
customer’s experience in using  your product (“I loved it”),
but the specific results that customer achieved. The greater
the specificity and the benefits, the better and more
effective the testimonial.

Note: whenever possible ALL testimonials must include
full customer and such relevant details as title, location, etc.
In short, testimonials must be detailed and complete to be
completely credible.

5) A page of  objection responses and rebuttals

Face it, not every customer will leap for  joy upon hearing
of what you are selling. That’s why you must be prepared for
the nay-sayers, the procrastinators,  the cautious, and
the merely foolish. For these folks, a list of every possible
objection and your strongest response is required.

Commmon objections include:

“I must ask my spouse.”

“I’m on vacation for the next 2 weeks.”

“I have to check you out.”

“I don’t have the money.”

Now hear this: there isn’t an objection under the sun
which cannot be effectively answered, only not by
“winging it.” EVERY successful sales person knows
that preparation here is mandatory; the rebuttals may
seem spontaneous… but they must ALWAYS  be
rehearsed.  Brainstorm all objections; then work on
the responses. As new objections surface, add them
to your list… and, again, perfect the perfect, objection-
demolishing response.

Last Words

The key to sales success is NEVER a “wing and a prayer.”
It is ALWAYS  a matter of total, complete, deliberate effort.
Such effort can turn a mediocre sales person into a stellar
performer.  That, of course, is precisely what your goal
must be, and now you know how to achieve it!

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Doug Robinson

Achtung! Internet readers beware! People are deliberately misleading you online. Here’s why…

Psst…….. Michelle Obama is a lesbian who brings

adolescent girls to the White House and Camp David!

Hillary Rodham Clinton seduced Tom Cruise at her

private chalet in Russian River, California! Bill Clinton

is never invited there!

President Obama has moved over $4 billion of your

taxpayer dollars to Switzerland  where he has a secret

bank account!

Hot “news” like this can be found any hour of the day

online… as one “insider” story after another, each more

scintillating, titillating, and scurrilous than the last

catches fire online and captures your attention.

Problem is, every single one of these “hot insider facts” is

not only wrong, but is deliberately invented (like the ones above)

to suit the purposefully invidious and always selfish and self-serving

purposes of the poster.

The question is: why are so many people all over the

world perverting the Internet by posting deliberately

erroneous, always hurtful, and completely false “information”?

Let’s take a look…

Maladjusted kids with too much time and Internet savvy

Did you ever make a prank telephone call when you were

in grammar school? I did… and I suspect most of you did too.

Now, however, the pranks are not directed at one person,

but at millions. And the Internet is so configured that one

maladjusted kid sitting in his basement in Kalamazoo can

(within minutes) prank the whole world. To  pimple-faced

Johnny who’s a wash-out with the chicks, this is a thrill that

just won’t quit. Unfortunately, the viruses he invents and

disseminates, the misinformation he circulates are very

real and cause, as he wanted, maximum dislocation and

harm. He’s the man!

With malice towards all and charity towards none (pace

Abe Lincoln)

We live in the era of the empowered haters where daily

people as psychotic as Hitler and as malevolent as Stalin take

center stage. These people are hooligans on speed.

Shunned themselves, they are determined that the

successful of the world shall answer to them….or else.

In the “real” world, such creatures have limited influence

even if they turn into uni bombers, stalkers, and those who

(with cunning and skill) reduce their own pain by inflicting it

on the great of the land… or merely on an unfortunate soul who

happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now the

socially inept and clinically dangerous have scope for their

inadequacies.

For such people the Internet is a dream come true….

because now, without leaving their homes, they can

hurt, really hurt, brutally hurt people who have neither

heard of them… nor offered so much as an offending

word. The empowered  hooligan doesn’t care… to hurt

is his objective and if he determines to hurt… he has no

need whatsoever to justify the heinous act.  He hurts, therefore

he is.

Misinformation as pay back

Got into an argument with your brother-in-law lately? Got

cut off on the turn pike and wrote down the license plate

number? Chastised by your boss in front of your colleagues

(never mind that he was right). Got blown off by the waitress

you made a pass at? You want pay-back, and you want it

NOW!

Voila! The Internet’s at hand. Post! Publish! Hurt them…

feel vindicated, powerful, happy. Such commentary, posted

by the vengeful daily,  floods the Internet. These comments are

invariably abusive, misspelled…and anonymous. You want

to hurt the boss all right… you want to show that girl to be

sure… but hold the name with the mayo. Cut them down to

size… but never,ever tell them who you actually are. Hurt and

hide, the coward’s formula through history.

“Expose”  your competitors by riding in on your white

horse

This is a biggie. In business? Got successful competitors?

In a hurry for success? Then use the Internet to besmirch

your competitors. Make up “confidential” information about

them. Pose as the readers’ friend… let them in on the “secret”

about your competition. What matter that every word you

post is made up…. when YOU can benefit from the lie. Paint with

broad strokes: use innuendo, suggestion, go for the big lie.

Poor as you are, hiding behind email and anonymity, you

have license to prevaricate.

This format is used regularly by people in a hurry, by

the corner cutters, the self-appointed “truth tellers”,

and by people with an axe to grind. They know that

online they can not only appear to be virtuous but

ride to the top of the search engines on the coat tails

of their well-known competitors. Such messages are a magnet

for the gullible and the credulous, for people whose “business” is to

manipulate the lazy and uniformed from whom they conjure money

without compunction — and then disappear, the privilege of

the harlot throughout the ages.

Bait and switch

Back in the good old days of mail order there was a famous

ad that ran

SEX

Now that I’ve got your attention, let me tell you

about our terrific air conditioners.

A variety of this ad is launched daily on the net

which is why ads like the one with Hillary Clinton above

are created. Sex, as every marketer knows, sells. And

the more licentious and lubricious the better, no matter

than the message is false from start to end.

Reader Beware!

Today you will be the recipient of online lies, smut, and

vulgarity. That is why today you must be chary and cautious

about what you choose to believe and the judgements you

make.

* Ask yourself whether what you are reading is likely.

If the claim is outrageous and  exaggerated, it is unlikely

to be true.

* Is the claim signed? Is someone willing to take

responsibility? If not, it is hearsay and rumor in which

case who is benefiting from it?

* Has the person attacked been given the chance to

respond… or is the claim advanced by one person who

attacks… but will not let his victim respond? Fairness is

never in the repertoire of the irresponsible.

* Is there a  clear beneficiary for what is being written?

Is this person assailing because they will benefit thereby?

Below the surface of seeming honesty, there is always

avarice.

* If the claim is attributed, does that person have anything

to lose? Established persons and institutions are responsible

at least in part because they have much to lose by being

irresponsible. Those with nothing to lose can make

the most irresponsible claims with impunity… and so they do.

That they do is a sure sign of their insignificance and

unaccountability.

Consider the source

When I was growing up in Illinois in the ‘forties, my

father had an expression: “Consider the source.” When

some comment or rumor reached us, he’d say these

words. I now think of them often as I, like you, receive

the filth and lies deliberately disseminated by those who

may be Internet savvy but are bankrupt in all other ways.

My advice to you is to ignore, beware, and in all cases

consider who is benefiting from the lies, misrepresentations,

and fabrications before us.  When they cannot touch us,

the perpetrators y shrivel and die, fulminating still but powerless

and pathetic.