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Today's Feature Article

The Myth of Sunk Costs
Paul Lemberg

Have you ever heard the expression, "Throwing good money after bad?"

Have you ever worked on something you knew was a bad idea, yet continued to pour time and energy into it? And every time you tried to stop yourself from going forward, you said, "but I've got so much put into it!"

When we make decisions about the future, many of us base a good part of our analysis on the resources we have invested thus far. It's a natural thing to do; you've put time, energy, money, perhaps other things - and perhaps most important, your reputation - on the line, and it's quite reasonable to consider the totality of that investment when thinking about what you do next.

Actually, it isn't.

It isn't reasonable at all.

The only reasonable thing that to consider is the impact of your actions on the future.

Say you've spent the last several years and a bunch of money into a venture that simply isn't performing as you hoped. You haven't hit any of your success marks, and in fact, you're not sure the project is worth anything at all. So by and by a new opportunity comes along - one that is filled with potential, and in some ways seems like a perfect match. But you have difficulty letting go and jumping in. Something's holding you back and that something is the specter of sunk costs.

You feel like you shouldn't just walk away from all the cash and time you've already invested. You feel as if everything you've put in should somehow make the venture worth something.

I've got bad news for you...

It doesn't.

The venture may be worth something, but its value has nothing to do with how much you've spent to date. It is worth what it is worth, and for good, bad or otherwise, the amount of money, time. .. whatever... has nothing to do with it.

That's the fallacy of sunk costs.

Sunk costs are sunk.

They are gone.

They are spent.

The assets you've created may have some surplus value, like unused inventory. Or they may have salvage value, and just like the 5-1/2 tons of gold bullion on the HMS Edinburgh, that value might be quite large. You wouldn't just walk away from assets with salvage value like that. But in many cases the value of your sunk costs is a tiny fraction of the original price.

No matter the value, none of this has anything to do with decisions about actions you will take today, tomorrow and the next day, which must be weighed on the merits of highest and best use.

Ask yourself the question, "What is the highest and best use of my time?" or "What use of my time will make the greatest contribution towards my aims and goals?" Ask this question without regard to what has happened until now.

Perhaps you've spent the past three years developing some software that you thought was going to change the world. Three years later, it works, but not brilliantly. In the meantime, a competitor has built a superior solution that runs rings around yours in the lab and in the marketplace and things are looking pretty grim.

But you have just stumbled across a brand new business idea - that has nothing to do with your software business - that you can implement quickly and profitably. What do you do?

Many people, would, quite reasonably say, "I've spent so much on this product, and I'm so close - I'll just keep working on it.

But you know that would be wrong. It would not be the highest and best use of your time; it wouldn't give you the greatest return on your actions. That would be a decision based solely on your attachment to the past and your attachment to your sunk costs.

Be unreasonable. Make each decision as if there were no past attached. Make each decision based on your highest and best use - your greatest contribution. Evaluate each decision based on how it will impact your ability to get what you want, not on what you've spent to get where you are.

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Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world’s only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help business owners achieve More Profits and More Life. http://www.quantumgrowthcoaching.com

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Today's Motivational Reading

Do You Have The Four D's You Need For Success?
Gordon Bellows

In order to achieve any amount of success in your life, it is important that you understand four basic characteristics. Let's call these four attributes the four D's of success, and they are vital no matter what level of success you want.

Desire - Decision - Determination - Discipline

Desire is the most essential of the D's. Without desire, the other fundamental things just don't matter. There are many things we might like to have, and perhaps, we envy someone who already has something we like. However, we are not very likely to have these things for ourselves without desire. Not just a feeling of wanting something or thinking it would be nice, but a deep-down burning desire, a do-it-or-else attitude and a willingness to make sacrifices to reach that goal. By sacrifices, I mean things like giving up the extra servings to lose weight, watching less TV to have more time available for a special project, doing without a few things to be able to save money for a down payment on a new house. Without a strong desire, the sacrifices may become more of a dreaded chore than a means to an end, in which case we are more likely to just give up and abandon the goal.

Decisions need to be made once you have a clear-cut desire. You want to accomplish a specific goal and now you need to decide how to do it. Decide on a method to reach your goal and how long it might take to get there. You can usually find valuable information that is related to your goal in a bookstore, the library, or on the Internet. Other times, you might need to talk to someone who has accomplished a similar goal. Also, decide what sacrifices, if any, may be necessary for you to make in order to reach your goal. Reaching a goal is often easier by breaking a major goal into mini-goals, each one being a milestone in itself.

Determination and willpower are the traits you need to reach your goal when you have a burning desire and you've made the decision to take action and make something happen. There may be obstacles on the way to your goal, but strength of mind and fortitude can help keep you on track. It doesn't matter how fast you are moving toward your goal as long as you keep moving in a positive direction. You should be resolved to turn your desire into a reality no matter what it takes.

Discipline can sometimes be the hardest D to handle. We may have the best of intentions, but a moment of weakness can throw us off track. It takes self-control and restraint to make sacrifices and stick to the plan we decided upon. Every so often, we have to be strict with ourselves and remember that the goal we seek is worth the effort. If it becomes too hard to follow the plan, we might need to revise the plan or the time it takes to get there.

Usually, what we desire most, is not the goal itself, but the benefits that we experience when the goal is reached. The following is a list of some goals and possible benefits:

• Goal: lose weight
  Benefit: look/feel better, more energy

• Goal: plant a garden
  Benefit: fresh food, exercise, nature

• Goal: learn to play golf
  Benefit: exercise, recreation

• Goal: buy a motor home
  Benefit: travel, family outings

• Goal: work at home
  Benefit: freedom, more time with family

• Goal: make more money
  Benefit: better lifestyle, prestige

Take a moment to think about your desires. Chances are good that you have desires that are strong enough for you to make the decision to take action and make things happen!

********************************
Gordon Bellows is the resource coordinator at InfoDaddy.net It's a goldmine of information for all areas of your life... self- improvement, dating, marriage, children, beauty/style, weight loss, natural remedies, cancer treatments, pets & pet health, travel, play guitar/piano, credit repair and more! See page after page of good news at ===> http://www.InfoDaddy.net

Today's Subscriber Article

3 Secrets to Increasing Traffic in the New Year
Scott Patterson

Now that 2006 has arrived, it is the habit of many people to make a resolution for the New Year. While many people focus on self- improvement, some opt to make resolutions about their business. Usually this involves a resolution to increase their revenue for their online business.

But did you know that it is actually quite easy to increase your online revenue?

The trick is to drive more traffic to your Internet business(es). As you know by now, more traffic generally means more money.

No matter what type of site you have, your success hinges on getting as much traffic as possible. But like many online business owners, you have probably exhausted many sources for increasing traffic.

Recently I have found three incredible ways to drive more traffic to your site. The good news is that all these methods are not being done by many webmasters.

So if you want to increase traffic for 2006, be sure to use each of the following three traffic-building mechanisms:

1- Data Feeds

Do you like the idea of creating hundreds, even thousand of pages of legitimate content?

With a data feed, this is possible.

Many online businesses utilize data feeds as a way to help their affiliates. If you are not familiar with this concept, a data feed is file that contains a list of products, descriptions and prices for individual items that are sold by a company.

With a data feed, you can create a specific content page for each product. So if an affiliate program has thousands of products, then you can create thousands of pages of quality content. As you probably know, the more content usually leads to more traffic.

Data feeds are great for getting natural search engine traffic because they list specific products that people are looking for. If you can find a data feed that is related to your specific website, then you can easily generate more natural traffic for your online business.

2- Viral eBooks

Another tool that can dramatically increase your website traffic is a viral ebook or report. Most of the time, a viral ebook is a PDF that people send to their contacts, which contains your marketing message. It is called viral because every person that receives the ebook is given a reason to pass along your material.

Before starting a viral marketing campaign, it is important to create a reason why people will want to pass along your marketing message. Some of the best reasons can include simple greed or a desire to provide entertaining information to their friends. If you can develop a hook that will take advantage of either of these, then it will be easy to create a successful viral marketing campaign.

What I usually do is create a special 5 to 10 page report on a specific topic. Then I find an affiliate program that is related to the topic. Then I create a mechanism where people can easily brand this ebook with their own affiliate link.

This type of viral ebook is valuable because you can place a mini advertisement or sponsorship on every copy. In addition, you can let the reader know that he or she can make money by offering this viral ebook. As a result, there is a chance that every person that reads the book will click over to your site.

3-Blogs

By now, you have probably heard about the power of blogs. If you haven¡¯t created one, then you should use the New Year to take advantage of this traffic pulling tool

With blogs, you are providing your audience with fresh new content about your topic. People love to read them, because most blogs contain new information in an entertaining and easy- to-read format.

The best part about blogs is how much they are valued by search engines. The majority of search engines consider any information on a blog to be important current news, so they pay special attention to articles listed there. As a result, you can use blogs to drive a larger portion of traffic to your Internet business.

For 2006 you should make a resolution to get more traffic to your site. By implementing these three tools into your marketing mix, you will discover that your web traffic (and income) will dramatically increase.

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Scott Patterson is a self proclaimed Dunce, yet in a recent month he earned $12,124 from his online businesses. To find out how YOU can do the same, download his ebook- A Secret-Guide to Online Businesses.
http://www.duncemoney.com/new-years.html

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