KickAss Copywriter

I’m sure most everyone has heard the saying, “No guts, no glory,” right? 

Well, just to be clear about my interpretation, so I can talk about it … it means this to me:

If you don’t risk, you don’t achieve.

In marketing, as in life, most business owners choose to ‘play it safe.’  The idea behind this notion, of course, is to walk the same path that’s already been forged.  It’s easier.

If something’s been done again and again (proven to work or not), most people most of the time are too timid or downright afraid of making a mistake to launch out on their own and …

Do Something Different & Daring!

As marketers, when we put on our ‘consumer hat,’ I think it’s easy to see how smart it is to be different, don’t you?

Think about it, when a technique is so overused as to become lifeless and dull, no one really listens anymore — they become desensitized or anesthetized (numb).

How many times have you heard or read the same ole, same ole copycat version of direct response techniques that they don’t even register on your mental screen anymore?  Despite what it says, here’s what you see, “blah, blah, blah, blah.”    
Dan Kennedy talks about business owners who defy conventional wisdom and DO things outside the norm, with amazing results.  In his examples, a restaurant and supermarket gave away thousands of dollars in merchandise, with a very high ROI.

And they didn’t even have to spend money on advertising.  Ooops, scratch that — you’ll think you don’t need a copywriter to write VERY different ads, letters and cards, oh my!

If you’re not a restaurant or supermarket, with food to give away (who doesn’t eat?) … or whether you do something else totally outlandish or at least unexpected — you gotta capture your prospect or customer’s attention.

Wake up!  Be different.  Do something that’ll counteract the numb. 

In order to get noticed, you MUST have guts.  Otherwise, you just lull your customers and prospects to sleep.

Here’s to guts & glory!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I recently read a post at Ryan Healy’s blog, which was talking about ‘hype’ in copy.

Oh, just in case anyone reads this, who is unfamiliar with the use of the word, copy, I am referring to words … language that’s used to elicit a specific response from readers … namely to buy something!

The upshot of the blog was that, as copywriters, we should all be careful to only use phrases that run the risk of being construed as ‘hype,’ when we have sufficient proof to back up any over-the-top claim or promise we’re spouting.

As marketing professionals, we know (or should know) how vital the sales messages are that we write for our clients — our words can make or break the sale.

And, even when there are outrageous-sounding claims or promises that can be made because they are actually true, I think the ‘oh yeah, right’ factor is a big one to overcome.  And this is especially true on the Internet.

What I mean by that is this:  People are bombarded with SO much exaggeration and promises of more beauty, more sex, more hair, more wealth SOO much that the mere claim of more, better, different is often discounted at best and ruinous at worst.

OK, you say, how do I get my sales message heard, amidst all the loud noises out there?  Good question.

I’ll try to answer it.  Are you, personally, turned off when you hear a lot of ‘over-the-top’ kinds of headlines or body copy, promising you the moon if you only use this or that product?  Do you feel a bit like your intelligence is being insulted?

I do.

That’s why I try to keep it down and to genuinely instill trust, by telling the truth.  I try to shy away from stupid in its many forms –  from falsehoods or products I wouldn’t sell to my worst enemy.  (If I had one.)

Emotional copy, of course, we all know is the best kind to ‘connect’ with our audience and to offer them benefits they really want for themselves.   But so much of it is pandering, placating and downright insulting.

Maybe there’s a place to talk to the poor, the gullible or the less-educated of the world and play on their ignorance … but I don’t want to write it.

I say effective copywriting doesn’t have to use hype.  And hard-to-believe truths can be tempered with a wise dose of sincerity to make them sound more believable.

And, when appropriate, always offer 3rd party proof.  That’s just smart, don’t you think?

Till next time, here’s to genuinely-effective copywriting!

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I’m sure there have been times in your life when you had to decide whether something was worth the fight … or best to just let it go?

In my personal and professional life, I’ve had many opportunities to watch this choice in action. 

For example, with my kids when they were little.  It was well worth the fight to teach them it wasn’t nice, nor acceptable, to hit each other. 

But, if they accidentally let the dog in, with muddy paws, I may have decided it wasn’t worth it to get my panties in a knot over … depending on what else was going on.

Many of the same kinds of scenarios, with partners or boyfriends have occurred.  Some things are worth fighting over/for – and others just aren’t.

In my professional life as a copywriter and marketing strategist, most of my clients are great.  Some have been a little testy, but I’ve been able to win their trust and calm whatever possible storm that may be a’brewin, with impeccable follow-through and a quality end product that accomplished the mission.

But sometimes, sometimes, you just gotta cut someone loose.  In the case of my kids, that wasn’t an option … well, not till they grew up anyway.    :) 

But, with a problem client (or customer), it’s sometimes the best course of action.

You can see where this is going, can’t you?

Yep, I recently had this lovely experience.  A new client, very intelligent.  Very well-known, popular and very good at what she does, yet I found it impossible to deal with her.

Actually, the red flags were there from the beginning.  You know how that works, in personal and business relationships, right?  In hindsight, we can usually see what we should have seen in the beginning.

I did see it, though, and she even admitted she was hard to work with.  Boy, was that an understatement.  And, she even said that her grown son had refused to work with her anymore.

Well, to make a painfully long story short … she didn’t understand the process or what she really needed, for that matter. 

To use an analogy of building a house, she only wanted me to paint it, before the foundation had been poured.  She simply wanted (or thought she did) me to write the copy for her site to make people buy right now, without knowing the direction, theme and audience.

Everything was wrong with the site, too, which I tried to help with.  She wanted suggestions, so I gladly gave them.  Because without them, the site would not convert.

I tried to build the foundation, before I started painting, but she had no way of appreciating that.  I could have gone ahead and grabbed some of the 2 x 4’s and started painting them, but the foundation and frame weren’t even up, yet.

Bottom line, I decided that I’d be willing to let this go, so I told her that I could only proceed under certain conditions.  And that I’d refund half the fee, if she would prefer to end the misery.

In all fairness, she wasn’t enjoying the process, either.  Process … she didn’t even realize there was a process!  
So, she chose the refund.  I was glad, because I don’t think there was any way to please her.

Sometimes, it’s just a whole lot better to part company than to keep beating your head against the wall.

5 Lessons in all this?

1. Listen to my inner voice in the beginning and follow it.

2. If someone is not really sold on their own project … run!

3. If they are a problem in the beginning, they’ll continue to be.

4. If they can’t see the amazing value in what I do — they can’t/won’t no matter how ‘on target’ it is.

5. If they nickel and dime me, they don’t understand the value of strategic thinking and copywriting that fulfills an approved strategy.  Run faster.

If you’re in business, have a web site that needs to convert better or have a list you need a killer email campaign to talk to, by all means hire a copywriter with a keen sense of marketing and the human psyche. 

And let them do what they do … SELL for you!

And remember, sometimes in certain situations … the fight just isn’t worth it.  Let it go.

Yours in higher octave marketing,

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I think the only thing that’s certain in life is this:  Change.

Good times come, good times go.  Bad times come and they also go. 

As a wise one once said to me, “And it came to pass.”   Different from, ‘this, too, shall pass.’

What he meant by that had a much more profound meaning than simply saying, ‘this, too, shall pass.”

He meant that it came, in order to pass … or, so it could pass.  The experience came, it was here, it was good or bad — and then it was gone.

I think his message was most profound!  And it jives with many other mystical or Eastern philosophies. 

Perhaps a good metaphor could be a hub and a wheel.  As the wheel goes round and round, the hub stays constant.  Life’s circumstances and experiences change, going round and round, but the constant within me never changes.

So, the question I must ask is: 

Do I choose to identify with lifes ups & downs, good and bad times … or do I choose to identify with the constant, never-changing Self?

A case in point — in the space of 2 weeks, I secured and lost about $13,000.00.  Now, I don’t know about you, but to me, that’s a LOT of money!   
When it looked as though the money was a definite, I was very happy.  But when each project fell out, one-by-one, and for totally different reasons … I wasn’t very happy at all.

Truth be told, I was downright depressed.

Then, I reflected on what a wise teacher from long ago used to say … “and it came to pass,” so I asked myself what was the lesson here for me to get, gall dern it!

OK, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and asked for the answer.  The answer came …

Be the hub.

Be happy and content, despite what befalls me.  Good, bad, acceptance, rejection … it’s all just part of the wheel of life, going round and round, collecting some debris (bad); then washing it off in the next rain (good).

Hard to do?  Oh yeah.

In case you’re interested … part of the money I lost was due to a marketing guru-type, who just flaked on me.  I spent an inordinate amount of time with him, jumping through his hoops.

I justified it, because it would likely lead to a lot more work and even a revenue share.  Never again.

The next one, the client had a falling out with their investor and was put on hold.  OK.

The third one was due to my fee being too high.  Oy vey …

Now mind you, I qualified him on the 45 minute phone-con.  I even asked if he had a budget for the project, because I didn’t want to write a thoughtful proposal, if he didn’t have enough money to spend. 

“No,” came the answer.   No budget.  He wanted me to send a proposal, elaborating on what I would do, and we’d go from there.

I complied, and he was floored!   Why not just tell me what he thought the project was worth to him in the first place?  Amazing.   
I think I learned something from this:  Always, always get a client to tell me what they *think* a project is worth. 

If it’s waaay off … I’ll just walk.  Or, if I tell them what I would charge and they agree to it, then I’ll write it up.

I was happy.  Then I was sad.  Then I decided to be happy, despite what happens on the wheel of life. 

These last 3 episodes were just too close together to be coincidence.  Aahh yes, but I don’t believe in that anyway.  “Coincidence is where God chooses to remain anonymous,” I read somewhere.

So, if nothing happens by accident, an awake person looks for what’s really going on here, methinks.  For me, for now, at least one of my lessons is:

Don’t let my happiness depend on what I label good or bad.  Because, as sure as shootin’ … it WILL change. 

So, I choose happiness, despite what befalls me. 

To help ensure your happiness with your marketing efforts, devote a proper budget, keep your word and have rock-solid funding before calling in a marketing strategist and copywriter. 

That way, we’ll all be happier, and you’ll get kickass marketing, with a high ROI!  

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Did you see the deplorable ‘presidential’ debate on ABC last week?  Have you seen the fallout?

Maybe you don’t think ABC’s Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos acted more like lame ducks than respected TV news journalists …  but I found it deplorable!

With our nation in dire need of new leadership, due to the mess our current illustrous leaders have gotten us into, and for the billionth debate … shouldn’t they at least attempt to get Clinton and Obama to talk about something more important than a lapel pin?

 As I sat stunned on my couch, I was hoping against hope that Obama would stand up for right … and refuse to wallow in the pettiness of such idiotic questioning.

But he didn’t.

Was it political correctness or the response of a genuine gentleman?

In Denny Hatch’s, Business Common Sense, he captured my sentiments exactly.  To Mr. Gibson’s question about the lapel pin, Barack Obama replied …

SEN. OBAMA: Well, look, I revere the American flag, and I would not be running for president if I did not revere this country. This is—I would not be standing here if it wasn’t for this country.And I’ve said this—again, there’s no other country in which my story is even possible; somebody who was born to a teenage mom, raised by a single mother and grandparents from small towns in Kansas, you know, who was able to get an education, blah, blah, blah …Among Barack Obama’s many attributes is that he is a gentleman.I was not in the mood for a gentlemanly rejoinder. I cringed with embarrassment at the question and Obama’s failure to serve a high hard one back into ABC’s court.

The Exchange I was Hoping for
SEN. OBAMA: Excuse me, Mr. Gibson. Are you going to also ask Senator Clinton why she does not wear an American flag pin on her lapel? Or around her neck? Or in her hair?

MR. GIBSON: Uh …

SEN. OBAMA: Because, Mr. Gibson, people are dying all over the world in wars and acts of violence. The price of food is skyrocketing and millions are starving in Haiti, in Africa and places in between.

MR. GIBSON: Senator Obama …

SEN. OBAMA: Let me finish. Forty-seven million Americans have no health insurance. We are involved in two endless, unwinnable wars that are costing over $20 billion a month—wars that are bankrupting our military, our country, and our children and grandchildren.

In the city of Philadelphia, where we are right now, more than one person every day is murdered. Every month, thousands of illegal immigrants are pouring unchecked into the country, bringing with them drugs and crime.

The Middle East is turning into a vast cauldron of sectarian violence, and the United States is regarded as a pariah all over the world as the invader and occupier of a Muslim nation. The price of oil is $110 a barrel and rising.

These are just some of the huge issues facing the next president of the United States, and you have reduced them to a quarter-inch-square piece of jewelry that you claim is missing from my lapel.

And, the story continues on the next page, getting even better!

Personally, I’m an Independent.  But, so what?  I still don’t have anyone to vote for out of all 3 of the candidates.  And I know I’m not the only one, who feels this way!

With America teetering on the brink of too many disasters to even list … why can’t someone step up to the plate of ‘right’ and tell it like it is!

I fear, with all of my heart, that we could very well be on the verge of a revolt.  When the people do not have sufficient leadership in Washington to run the country for the good of the country (middle class?), but rather sell-out our country to special interests, other countries and wage war under the guise of ‘freeing another country’ (after WMD didn’t work) …

a revolution may soon be the only answer.

How applicable might these immortal words, of Thomas Jefferson in 1787, be today, I wonder?

“What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? … The tree of Liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.  It is its natural manure.”

There may not be a helluva lot we, as individuals, can do about this runaway train, headed for disaster right now.  But, in our own lives, as mothers, fathers, sons, daughters … at school and in our work with each other and our customers … let’s stand for right every chance we get.

In business, let your word be your bond.  Let your marketing messages be transparent, without hidden traps that set out to trick, rather than honestly communicate your sales/marketing message.

I think when we stand up for the little things, they’ll accrue to the bigger things.

And, if your marketing calls for a “higher octave” copywriter, I know where you can find one!   

Standing up,

Carolyn

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

If you haven’t bought Eckart Tolle’s new book, “A New Earth,” you’re missing the most valuable piece of writing to come along for a long time.

Mr. Tolle, and his new book, has turned into an “Oprah World-wide Webinar.  It’s attracting millions of people around the world … live every Monday night.

His other book, “The Power of Now,” was a New York Times Best Seller.

To fully understand where I’m coming from, you’ll need to consume the book, like a ravenous lamb.  It IS life-altering.  It embodies the highest truth available to us all.

That truth is that we already ARE that which we seek.  There really is nowhere to go outside ourselves to find it.  That “it” is the truth of our own identity.

It is found, without seeking.  It’s as near to us as our next breath.  It is beyond thought.  In fact, the very act of thinking is what separates us from a direct experience with this IT.

He expresses thoughts or the mind as many spiritual teachers have done, throughout the ages, as EGO.

For today, to attempt to focus on a take-away-lesson to be applied to our business lives and, more specifically, to our marketing, here’s the question …

Do you think too much about your marketing, instead of ‘allowing’ the way to just bubble up for you?

That bubbling up is the inspiration or direction that comes from a much deeper, more dependable place (awareness/consciousness) than from thought.  (mind)

This may sound quite contrary to many people, but I know many others will ‘get it.’ 

Many others are getting it around the world.  And, to the extent to which we use this amazing principal in our marketing efforts, the efforting will actually disappear.

What do I mean by that?

I mean there is a higher/deeper intelligence available to us, when we get out of our own way … out of our egoic minds. 

Being in a state of ‘no-mind,’ one can tap into (connect) an intelligence that is running the show.  We, also, are that same intelligence; but rarely recognize it.

As you can imagine, when you are able to access infinite intelligence, it’s no longer you (ego’s idea of you), but the information is coming from a very BIG source, through you.

It doesn’t matter whether you call it Source, God, Atma, Alla, Jehovah, The All That Is, Divine Energy, Infinite Intelligence, etc.  It’s all the same.

It is beyond thought. It’s just the “Is-ness.”

I’m suggesting to you today that each of us is able to tap into this intelligence, but without the vehicle of thought.  In fact, you can’t get there from here!  (Using thought.)   :)  

OK, you may be saying, “How do I do that and what does it give me?”

Good questions.

The simple answers are: 

1.  How do I do this?  You do it thru by-passing the mind/thought and by being awake, aware and open to the answers from the depths of your being.

2.  What does it give me?  It gives you answers that your mind could not find.  They’re dependable, because they come from the unfiltered, direct repository of truth. 

Because this repository of truth is the same for everyone, you don’t have to wonder if you can trust it or not.

Assuming, of course, that your business actually does provide a beneficial product or service, then you need only to genuinely and authentically ASK to know what it is, exactly, that your prospective customers want from a product or service like yours.

This is like tapping into an inner gold mine of revelation.  The long-awaited gems are right there for the taking/embracing.  They aren’t even outside of you … they’re right there, inside your very being.

The answers to your marketing questions are ever-present … hiding in  plain sight, when you know where to look.

Ask your inner guidance this question:  What do I really need to know, do or be for my customers to respond to me?

EXPECT the answers.  And they will come. 

Don’t force the answers.  Don’t think and logically predict the answers because the mind is too slow, too dense, too filtered to ‘get it.’

If this doesn’t make sense to you, don’t feel bad.  It’s a little esoteric to some, but becoming more mainstream as a result of those like Eckhart Tolle and his forerunners, like Jesus, Buddah, et al.

Said another way, don’t force-feed your prospects or customers what you ‘think’ they want or need.  Connect with them, genuinely, and sense what they want/need.

May I humbly suggest that if you’re open to knowing more about how to be one of the quiet leaders in this “forward-non-thinking marketing mode” … find a marketing person, who is practicing these concepts in his/her everyday life-work.

Marketing, advertising and the copywriting that gives it a voice has always strived to touch the heart-strings of the people they seek to sell to. 

But from my marketing/copywriting experience, there’s always a hint, if not a heavy handed, mind-manipulation.  This has never sat right with me and still doesn’t to this day, even though I’ve fallen prey to it as well.

In light of higher truths of who we are … that being the same as everyone else … I feel there is a higher ground presenting itself that we, as marketers, can embrace.

Higher Octave Marketing … are you open to operating from a higher, more conscious and all-embracing state of being in your personal, business and marketing lives?

I sense this is the time for business, as well as personal lives, to transform and transcend mind-based (egoic) behavior. 

Will you join that leadership?  (See Co-Conspirators, a mastermind group.)

Will you grow your business, by feeding your customers what they genuinely want & need – rather than trying to convince them they want something just because you have it to sell?  Just do the right thing for the benefit of your customers.

Will you vow to discover their real wants/needs from the inside out, (their perspective)rather than from your mind-focused, external place?

If, indeed, we’re all ONE … then, doing bad things to each other actually hurts the perpetrator of harm as well as the harmed.  We’re all familiar with the old refrain, “what goes around comes around.”  It’s true.

For enlightened business, marketing and copywriting, let us all commit to a Higher Octave, in our dealings with self and other?

Yours in higher octave marketing,

Carolyn
The KickAss Copywriter
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

Another jewel from The Daily Guru:
 
“The truth is what it is.
It’s neither good nor bad.
It’s simply reality.

Tailor your concepts to fit reality,
instead of trying to stuff reality into your concepts.
No matter what you believe,
it won’t change the facts.”

I think there’s a BIG lesson in this for us, as marketers, and I want to talk a bit about it today.

Most savvy marketers understand that the path to secure a purchase and, hopefully, a customer for life is to talk in a way that resonates with them,  and to give them what they want; not necessarily what they need.

But I still see a lot of clients, who think they can somehow ‘change minds,’ and convince their audience to think differently about what they have to offer.

No you can’t!

As marketing professionals, we must tap into what they’re thinking, wanting and feeling and to empathize with them in a way that’s genuine and authentic …
BEFORE we try to sell them something.

We all know that no one likes to be sold anything, right?  We all want & do buy things all the time, but we want to make our own decisions about what, when, how – and from whom, don’t we?

So, when you’re selling something, you have to do some or all of the following …

11 Things You Simply Must Do, In Order to Sell Something:

1. Connect on a level your audience/prospects can feel.
2. Tap into their wants, desires or pain.
3. Talk to them the way you’d talk to your best friend.
4. Don’t undermine their intelligence, please.
5. Address their wants/desires; not yours.
6. Build trust and credibility; TELL the truth.
7. Tell them how your products will provide the solution to their problem
or pain, in the same way it did for x, y, z person.
8. Make them a genuinely valuable offer they will want immediately.
9. Take away their risk, with a 100% guarantee.
10. Make it clear and easy to order.  No hoops or circuitous routes..
11. Stay in contact with them, after the sale, creating a customer for life,
and keep offering them more valuable products/services.

The lesson? 

Don’t try to bend your prospects or customers to your thinking, but rather tap into what they’re thinking, feeling and wanting. 

To the extent you can genuinely FEEL their pain, sorrow, desperation or frustration, to that extent they feel your sincerity and want to buy from you.

So it would benefit you greatly to find a marketing strategist and copywriter, who iterally feels what others feel. 

Find a writer, who is naturally empathetic … and your audience will feel it, too.

Perhaps an elaboration is in order here …

In my opinion, a great copywriter is really a great humanist.  Bob Bly touched on this in a teleseminar last night, in fact, saying this ability places an enormous premium on a copywriter’s worth to their clients. 

Find one who understands human behavior and has a strategic marketing focus, and one who’ll first help you establish/clarify your own marketing objectives.

A great copywriter will also be able to help clarify/fashion your offer, according to his/her understanding of human behavior – and not what you think they’ll respond to.

So find someone with a divergent background … someone who’s been in the trenches and who understands the human psyche. 

Find a marketing strategist, who has worked for all manner of clients and industries. 

Find one, who also just happens to know how to write in such a way that deeply connects with your prospect, because she really knows how they think and feel.

It’s a tall order, but they’re out there.

To your continued marketing success!

Carolyn
The KickAss Copywriter
http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

In my Daily Guru messages, here’s the one for today:

EVERY FAILURE IS A STEP CLOSER TO SUCCESS
 
People who try to do something and fail are infinitely
better than those who try to do nothing and succeed.

Experiencing failure is inevitable on your journey to
be successful.

Every defeat is merely an installment to victory.

You’ll find that the number of times you succeed is
in direct proportion to the number of times you fail
and keep trying.

You won’t be judged by the number of times you fail,
but by the number of times you succeed.

Failure is nothing but education, nothing but the first
step to something better.

You can’t be a winner and be afraid to lose.

END

I was struck by how ‘right on’ this feels to me.  Both
in my personal and business life … how can I learn, except
by doing?

I think it’s true to say that I can’t be a winner and be
afraid to lose.  Trial and error is the best teacher.

I always think of Thomas Edison and how many times he failed,
before he finally invented the light bulb. Yet, no one remembers
him for the failures, but just his great accomplishment.

Imagine what might have happened, if he had given up?

And then, there’s Thomas Jefferson:  “Never give in, never give
in, never give in.”

In your marketing, are you afraid of failure?  Or do you try one
thing after another, until you find something that really works?

The market is fickle at best.  The economy is in the pits and the
political machine is all clogged up, with lies & deceit. 

So, what are you doing to make sure your message is believable?

Now, more than ever, marketing has to make sense.  Whether your
market is B2B or B2C, your message had better be in-synch with
your market’s real needs.  (And rank low on the B.S. meter.)

From your web site copy to your email campaigns to your articles
and press releases … you must consider your readers’ state of mind, if you want to have a chance at reaching them.

And be real!

Tight money, shaky economy = tight, honest message and sensible
offer.

Choose a copywriter, who understands your audience’s wants, needs and state of mind.  And knows how to connect with them on a deeper, emotional level … and will pass the B.S. test.

When anyone feels heard and understood, they’re more likely to listen to what you have to offer.  Assuming it’s legit.

Go ahead, try it.  Be different.  Be willing to test.  Be real.

http://www.kickasscopywriter.com

I just had to talk about this today.  Not that I know so much about it, because I don’t.  But, I can voice my concerns in this free country of ours … at least for now.  

Today is a long-awaited day in the eyes of the Democratic and Republican contenders, who are competing to become their respective party’s presidential candidate.

According to the AP:
The two dozen contests Tuesday are delivering 1,023 Republican and 1,681 Democratic delegates.

The number needed to win the nomination: 1,191 Republican and 2,025 Democratic.

So, the winner after today for the Republicans could be pretty solid.  But the Democrats may be a little tougher to call.

Being an Independent, I can vote for the individual man or woman, who I believe will lead our country out of the mess it’s now in.

But, I don’t really trust any of them.  And, I really don’t see a tinker’s damn bit of real difference among all of them.

Maybe John Edwards was the real deal … too real to pay the price.  And now that he’s gone, who to trust?

Clinton and Obama …

In their last debate, they were so civil to each other, one would have never believed the diametric opposite could have been true just a few weeks earlier!

So, who are they?  The snippy, petty little people we saw earlier or the nice, civil, grown-up folks we saw last week?

Who knows!

And, there really isn’t any real discernable difference between them, is there? 

OK, in Universal health care, Hillary would mandate coverage, making everyone pay what, she says, would be affordable.

Whereas Obama, desperately looking for a discernable difference, says his plan would call for making health care affordable enough that folks would be able to buy it; but their wages wouldn’t be garnished, if they elected not to.

That may be a legitimate difference, but is it true? 

McCain, Romney and the Other Guy …

Looks like Preacher Huckabee’s hard play on religion only worked in Iowa, huh?

So, if he’s out of gas, then there’s McCain and Romney, both trying to distinguish themselves from the religion card as much as possible.

Don’t smart people see through the whole right to life thing? 

Even if you do believe in this, morally or religiously, what right does the government have to dictate a course of action to a woman, facing this horrible dilemma?

This is really scarry.  Remember, the separation of church and state is one of the BIG reasons we escaped the tyranny of the King?

Now, this is pretty scarry, too …

According to the American Thinker, Senator Obama’s appointment of Zbigniew Brzezinski as a foreign policy adviser worries Israel supporters.

“His deep bond with Pastor Jeremiah Wright, Jr. (who has close ties with Louis Farrakhan — a notorious anti-Semite, elicited a critical column by Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen — a column which seemed to open a window for others to come forward.”

Now, if there’s any truth to this (and other articles) and Senator Obama is really NOT color-blind and race-blind — boy is he pulling the wool over a lot of eyes!

THINK for Yourself!

Then, what about Hillary?

What about the race card?  Is she playing it?  Many think so.  What do you think?  What are the implications?

I wonder if it portends a kind of power-hunger that most of us can’t conceive.

Here’s a pretty disturbing article in Slate, if you want to read a bit about our beloved, benevolent Clintons. 

What to Do?  What to Think?  For Whom to Vote?
Why doesn’t the popular vote count, instead of the electoral votes?

The popular vote does not elect the president.  To me, this is insane.  Just insane.  And we have no guarantee that all the votes cast will be counted properly anyway!

This is what lies at the foundation of why I’m so apolitical.

The system is set up to make the bleating sheep ‘think’ they have a voice.  But we don’t when it counts.

We can fuss and argue, blog and write letters, but for the big stuff … we have no voice. 

We can only hope we don’t get trampled and killed in the race to power.

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It’s all over the news.  Every day we hear about more scams, frauds, lies and law suits.  Like the class action law suit, the second one this year, against Wachovia.

MortgageDaily.com had this to say about Wachovia today:

 “The Charlotte, N.C.-based company and two subsidiaries are being sued under the Truth in Lending Act for failure to clearly and conspicuously disclose in loan documents and disclosure statements that payments on ARMs, with payment options at the teaser payment or teaser interest rate, will result in negative amortization, and that the principal balance will increase.”

Ooops.  Minor detail.

And another one reported today from MortgageDaily.com:

 “Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings has filed a lawsuit against Fremont Investment & Loan, charging the former sub-prime lender with failure to cure or repurchase 231 loans because of misrepresentations that drove down the value of the mortgages.

Another …

“Lehman Brothers Bank FSB has been sued by a Tennessee storage company, charging that the bank failed to honor rate lock agreements for a commercial mortgage of more than $3 million and failed to return a total of $186,500 in rate lock payments and other deposits.”

And it goes on and on, with other stories involving scams, fraud, misrepresentations, yada, yada, yada!

So, why am I talking about this?  Because I think there’s a BIG lesson here for everyone in business …

Do the Right Thing!

The right thing is very simple, really.  If I wouldn’t want it done to me, I shouldn’t do it to others.

There are a lot more conclusions to be drawn from the mortgage melt-down, but I’ll confine my observations today to just this one.

No matter how BIG a company gets, I believe the guiding principle should always be to ‘Do the Right Thing’ by our employees, stakeholders and customers.

Didn’t most of us learn this from our parents?  In school, didn’t everyone learn that cheating is not tolerated?  And, you get punished, when you get caught!

So, if doing the right thing doesn’t guide a business owner, doesn’t it make sense not to lie, cheat and steal out of the probability that you’ll eventually get caught? 

It takes a lot more effort to ‘undo’ a BAD story, and try to repair your reputation, than it does to keep your word, do the right thing and never have to worry about ruining your reputation in the first place.

But more than anything … it’s just the right thing to do, don’t you think?

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