How to trick dumb kids into eating less Halloween candy

How can a mirror cause dramatic behavioral changes in kids?

First, I should acknowledge that the kids are not really dumb because of the psychological technique I’m going to describe below, but can’t we all agree that kids are pretty dumb in general? Come on. My parents just told me a story about how, when I was a kid, my Dad once cut a grapefruit for me and sprinkled sugar on it. I screamed and screamed for FIFTEEN MINUTES about how I didn’t want sugar on it. When my dad finally said, “Ok ok” and took the sugar off with a spoon, I still screamed because I didn’t want THAT grapefruit. I feel sorry for my dad, 24 years later, and I hope you see why I make fun of dumb kids now. So I’m delighted when I can trick them.

In 1979, researchers Beaman, Klentz, Diener, and Svanum wrote a terrific piece of research involving Cooley’s Looking Glass Self, which basically points out that we are not independent individuals as we like to think. Instead, we’re a product of our surroundings, including how we think others think of us, and we act accordingly. For example, if I believe other people think of me as an entrepreneur, I’m more likely to act entrepreneurially so I can continue developing that positive judgment.

They made this practical using an experiment with children and Halloween. Since I know many of you are illiterate and only read blogs for information, I took the trouble of going through the literature for you. Remember these from college?

The researchers decided to see how they could apply the looking-glass principle to change children’s behavior. To do that, they tested 349 children who were trick-or-treating by setting up a bowl full of candy and using the following manipulations:

1. They would ask the children their names and ages to evoke self-awareness, or “individuate” them (e.g., “I am Ramit Sethi” and the accompanying connotations of ‘I am a good person’).
2. In one condition, a woman told the children to only take one piece of candy.
3. In another condition, a mirror was placed conspicuously so children could see themselves as they reached into the candy bowl.
4. In a final condition, they combined the “warning” and “mirror” conditions.

There is a lot more to it, and while the methodology is interesting, I’ll just cut to the results.

What did they find?

Key results

• BASELINE: With no mirror and no warning to take only one piece of candy from the bowl, 75% of children took more than 1 piece of candy. Ok, makes sense. It’s sitting there in front of you.
• VERBAL WARNING ONLY: When the experimenters warned children to take only 1 candy, that number dropped to 34.2%. Good job kids, listen to your elders.
• COMBINED EFFECT: When the researchers (1) warned the children to only take one candy, plus (2) put a mirror in front of them, that number dropped to 11.7%. Astonishing.

Why would a mirror produce such a big change in behavior?

What are some of the other ways you can apply this to yourself?

I’ll be covering this — plus more principles of social psychology — in the I Will Teach You To Be Rich boot camp, launching November 3rd.

Learn more…

Get additional bonuses and an early-bird discount by signing up for the free pre-list here.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended AND Expanded into 2010

In a poll I took a few weeks back, 30% of you said you would take advantage of the first-time home buyer tax credit if it were extended. Well, it looks like you might get your chance – but, you’re not the only ones. Before we get into the details of the homebuyer tax credit extension AND expansion, let’s review how you voted.

This means that if 100% of you stuck to your word that you would take advantage of the credit, then a whopping 58% of voters will have qualified. Outstanding! On to the news.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extension Details

If the Democrats version of the Senate bill is passed when it comes to vote in the next few weeks (as it is expected to), the first-time home buyer credit extension would have the following details:

• The credit would be available for homes that go under contract by April 30, 2010. However, you would still have 60 days afterward to close.
• It would be attached to a bill to extend unemployment benefits that is expected to be voted on in the next few weeks.
• First-time buyers (those who have not owned a home for three years) can claim an $8,000 credit, the same as before the extension.
• Income limits would be expanded: $125,000 a year for individuals (up from $75,000) and $225,000 (up from $150,000) a year for married couples who are filing a joint return.
• The proposal will include anti-fraud measures, including minimum age requirements and additional authorities for the IRS.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Expanded to Existing Home Owners

Perhaps the most interesting addition to the bill is that existing homeowners who buy a new principal residence after living in their current home for at least the last five years can claim up to a $6,500 tax credit. Although I don’t know that I agree with the 5 year mandate (I think that’s a bit high), at least some of us who already own homes can now get in on the tax credit. Before you go out and close on a house, make sure that the bill actually passes!

Reader Discussion:

• If the tax credit extension passes, would you take advantage?
• Does this motivate you to want to buy your first home?
• If you’ve owned a home for 5 years, does the tax credit expansion motivate you to move?

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Negotiate Like an Indian: I taught my friend how to negotiate an $8,000 salary increase

What would you do to get an $8,000 raise?

I taught my friend how to negotiate an $8,000 increase in salary and a 50% boost in equity in 4 hours. And this was after she’s committed the cardinal sin of negotiating: revealing what her salary expectations were.

This is the kind of thing we all know we “should” do…but we don’t do it. Even though we can get the information for “free” online. Hmm….

In this video, learn how to:

• Negotiate with an experienced recruiter
• Rebound after you undercut yourself
• Why reading a negotiation book is not enough
• Know when to be adversarial and when to be cooperative

This video is probably worth $3,000 – $10,000 for my average reader IF YOU IMPLEMENT IT AND IMPLEMENT IT CORRECTLY.

Oh yeah…I have more videos on negotiation (thanks to Chris Whitmore for filming/editing).

Get more negotiation videos: For detailed videos of EXACT phrases, situations, and tactics for dealing with tough recruiters and intimidating executives, join the Boot Camp pre-launch list. Do it today because I’m closing it down soon.

Knowing vs. doing: Let’s compare these 2 friends who try to earn more

I like this guest post from Erica Douglass (of Erica.biz) — about 2 guys who are trying to sell the same product — for 3 reasons:

1. She learned about it from a guy whom she traveled to meet. She’s an entrepreneur, so she knows about investing in herself
2. “Sticking with it” is one of those things we all claim we know, but when it comes down to it, most people flake. Knowing vs. doing are two VERY separate things
3. Erica happens to have extra credibility with me. Beyond her selling a company for over $1m at age 26, she gave me some advice less than 12 months ago that has paid off in tens of thousands of dollars of revenue for me. But the key was DOING what she said, not just nodding and saying “thanks” or hanging up the phone and reading Reddit again.

Read on…

Erica: Do you know someone who’s given up?

“I was in a meeting with a multi-millionaire last week. He is a person who came from nothing; he grew up dirt-poor in the ghetto. Now he makes several million dollars a year. He runs his own business from a small office and has traveled around the world speaking to hundreds of thousands of people.

I paid him a significant amount of money to learn his story so I could replicate it. He is now one of my success coaches.

I spent a weekend with him and a small group at his second home on Lake Texoma (on the Texas/Oklahoma border.) Not only did I come out of the weekend understanding how to grow my next business to $1 million a year in sales by the time I am 30 (which has been one of my goals for years), I gained a massive amount of insight into why most people are not successful.

He used a story to illustrate: two people who set out with the same goal. Since he came from a direct sales background, he used that as an example, but the example works for any industry — including yours.

Two people set out with the same goal. Let’s call them Max and Min. And let’s say they both are selling the same product. Maybe they are both distributors for the same company, or they both run companies in the same industry.

Max and Min work together and set a goal. They are going to contact three people every day who expressed an interest in their product, and their goal is to get those people to start saying “yes”.

Max and Min both start out motivated. They each contact three people on the first day. Then they check in with each other. “How’d you do?” Min asks. Max replies, “Well, they all said no.” Min commisserates. “Mine did too.”

Neither one is ready to give up. They set out again the next day. They each contact three people, and then they check in. “Nope,” Min says. Max nods. “Same here.”

This pattern continues for weeks. They both start reading some books on how to close sales. Finally, around the same time, Min closes a sale, and so does Max. They go out to celebrate.

Then, crap happens. Min gets distracted. “I’m not really making any money with this,” he tells Max. “I’m only making about $50/month after all my expenses are paid. And my family still needs a roof over its head, so I’m going to go find a job.”

Max says, “Good luck, buddy.” He’s not really making any more money than Min, but he sees something that Min doesn’t. The person who said yes is now paying him $50/month in passive income. Surely, if he got one yes, he can get more.

Max spends more time. Each day, he contacts three people. And most of them are still saying no. But things are changing. He’s still reading success books and learning like mad, and he notices that more people are starting to say yes. He’s not making much money, but he senses that he’s about to break through.

18 Months Later…

18 months elapses. Min has found a job that pays pretty well, and his family is happy. He figures he’s doing pretty well for himself, and decides to call up his old buddy Max and invite him out to dinner.

Min arrives first. Then, he sees a brand new Mercedes pull up outside. And who hops out but Max, who tips the valet handsomely and comes in in a nice suit to meet Min.

Min is shocked. He can’t find words at first. He finally manages to gasp, “What happened to you?”

Max just grins. Then he says, “They said yes.”

Get the First Yes

Turns out, if you can get one person to say yes, you can get hundreds or thousands to say yes.

What do you want people to say yes to? Maybe you want them to subscribe to your blog or buy your product. It would be great if they signed up for your email list, or became your partner in some way. But it’s probably discouraging how many people are saying no.

Don’t give up. Get that first yes. From then, it’s just a matter of listening, learning, and continuing to ask.

I find it takes at least 18 months from when you start to when you really notice that people are saying yes. After 12 months of running my hosting company, I was making the grand total of a little over $400/month gross.

But nearly 6 years into it, we did over $76,000 in sales in one month.

I have friends who started web hosting companies when I did. But they all gave up and decided it wasn’t worth it before they “broke through”. Every single one of them had at least 5 people who said “yes.” If you can get 5, you can get 500. Once you get 500, you know how to get 5,000. It just takes time, a personal commitment to hustle every single day, and a willingness to listen and learn.

Do I believe that every single one of you can build a million-dollar business? I do. I just think most of you give up too quickly.”

About Erica: After selling her online business for $1,100,000.00 at age 26, Erica Douglass “temporarily retired.” She now shows you how to grow your own business to $1,000,000 via her online business blog. Quick link: Download her free Blog Success Manifesto — 30 tactical tips to grow your blog faster than you ever have before.

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Get free, pre-release bonuses for my boot camp at iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bootcamp

In 7 days, I’m launching the I Will Teach You To Be Rich Boot Camp

On November 3rd — 7 days from today — I’m launching the first I Will Teach You To Be Rich boot camp, a step-by-step online program to automate and optimize your finances before the end of 2009.

To skip the entire explanation below: Get a preview and new bonuses I’ve never released on entrepreneurship, negotiation, and personal finance at http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bootcamp

Last week, I asked I Will Teach You To Be Rich readers what you want to do before the end of 2009. Look at the #1 result:

Taking ACTION. Aww yeah…

• One of my readers, Paul, cut 30% off his 30-year mortgage, saving $5,000/year
• Another reader saved $1,455 with two phone calls
• And in a personal example, I took my friend’s advice exactly one year ago and implemented it in a month. Since then, it’s generated tens of thousands of dollars for me

The key is not just learning more, it’s IMPLEMENTING the tips you’ve read about.

So in 7 days, I’m launching the first official I Will Teach You To Be Rich Boot Camp to help people invest in themselves — to stop reading and start taking ACTION with their finances.

What’s an online bootcamp?

You’re reading this site, so you’re already dedicated to saving money by focusing on the Big Wins. But there’s more than just saving money — there’s picking the right accounts, earning more, optimizing your spending (including automation).

I’ve put together an online 6-week boot camp that will take you through my entire automation system, including picking the right accounts, creating a plan to pay off debt, opening and funding the right investment accounts, and automating your money.

You want to know how to turn your idea into a business? Have a specific question about your finances or want to get input on a marketing plan? Yep, we’ll cover that.

The bootcamp includes:

• Weekly live classes from me where I’ll kick your ass to take action implementing an advanced automation system, and answer your specific questions (new topics)
• Expert guest speakers on entrepreneurship, finding dream jobs, earning more, and advanced topics — every week (new)
• Curriculum with detailed action steps on saving, earning more, automation, and entrepreneurship — which will let you start 2010 off fresh (some new material)
• Private community with hundreds of other members who are going through the same thing as you (and are dedicated to taking ACTION)

I’m sick of people reading blogs and books and websites and doing nothing. The point is not reading, it’s automating your money, starting to invest, and using conscious spending to live a Rich Life!

Why a bootcamp?

Because there are 2 months left in 2009, and I want to show you how you can make life changes in just 6 weeks. I have tons and tons of examples of people who’ve taken action and gotten out of thousands of debt, started earning more, etc.

I’ve spent months developing the curriculum and building a system that will help you take action on your finances. After all, if you’re going to spend time learning about personal finance, you might as well go the extra step and apply it to your OWN life.

By the end of the bootcamp, I guarantee you’ll have saved money, automated your finances…and stopped worrying about your day-to-day finances.

What you should do

I’ve put together a pre-launch list with tons of bonuses, including a video on how I spilled coffee on my brand-new laptop (and still got over $1,000 reimbursed to me for my mistake), an extremely detailed video on how I helped my friend Susan negotiate $8,000 in a salary negotiation, and MANY other bonuses.

Everyone who signs up for the pre-launch list will get a discount to the bootcamp when it launches on November 3rd.

Sign up instantly for the pre-list here and get 7 days of unreleased bonuses (videos, case studies, and surprises):

http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/bootcamp

Ask Jennifer:

(NECN) - Being your own boss can be both rewarding and a challenge, especially when it comes to arranging your own finances. Retirement planning ...

- And Leave Worries Behind!

www.cashactivator.info als, abundant living system, retire early, how to retire early, retire young, quit job, online business, online marketing ...

What’s the best investment you’ve ever made?

As you know, I think people who try to save money on everything are fools. I’ve previously written about how this woman should spend $2,000 on a computer course, and how you should stop being a loser and pay money to save money. I’ve also written about the best $20 you can spend.

Today I want to know this: What’s the best investment you’ve ever made? Not a specific fund or stock, but a personal investment (a course, a book, a trip, etc) that helped propel you beyond everyone else.

Some examples of investments

• My friend Paul Singh puts aside $3,000 per year to travel and meet interesting people. Any time he needs consulting work, he makes a phone call and he has a new job.
• Charlie Hoehn invested his time into working for me for free — as well as Tim Ferriss, Tucker Max, and many other people — and has done work that none of his peers can match. (He then wrote an ebook about how he did it.)
• In college, I flew across the country to meet Seth Godin, which led to an internship, which led to 2 published books, TV exposure, and much more.

So, 2 questions:

What’s the best personal investment you’ve ever made?

And why are people so obsessed with cutting their spending instead of investing in themselves for a potentially much larger reward?

* * *

Stay tuned…

Hulu to Charge for Content – are you Buying?

An executive from News Corp., owner of online video content provider Hulu, announced that Hulu will start charging for its service in the near future (likely 2010). If you fall into the camp of penny pinching techies, there’s a good possibility that you have ditched cable or satellite television in favor of some sort of Hulu/Netflix/Torrent smorgasbord.

If Hulu starts charging for content, where does that leave you? Would you <gulp> consider going back to a cable or satellite? Or would you pay for Hulu?

Hulu did offer a legit way to forego the expense of cable/satellite. I had not made the switch, but with Comcast continually raising their rates and annoying the hell out of me with their arrogance, I was strongly considering it. If you have a legitimate way of getting a similar cable/satellite experience without paying cable/satellite prices, please share!

Reader Discussion:

• What combination of services have you used to cut out cable or satellite?
• Will you pay for Hulu if they start charging for content? Take the poll!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.
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My Friend Bill & his Fight Against Multiple Sclerosis

An Unfortunate Side Effect of the Recession

Since the main topic here is personal finance, we talk a whole lot about saving money on this site, but not much about giving it. An unfortunate side effect of the recession is that thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of outstanding charitable organizations have seen their fundraising dollars go down significantly as well. Makes sense, right? People are having a harder time getting by, so many hunker down and keep every last bit for themselves.

What is most troubling is that it is in these difficult times that 501(c)(3)’s need funds the most, but get them the least. Those who rely on the services and grants that these organizations provide in good times, need them even more in bad times. But with less funds, these organizations are forced to cut back on the services that they provide.

That’s why I wanted to use this post to harness the power of the community on this site and share a store about a disease that I am very passionate about fighting.

Fighting Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a terrible disease. MS attacks the central nervous system and symptoms may include mental and physical fatigue at all levels, headaches, memory loss, temporary or sustained paralysis, and a plethora of other unfortunate effects. There is presently no cure for MS and it impacts people in the prime of their life.

Perhaps what is most devastating about the disease is that it effects everyone differently. You don’t know how you’ll feel tomorrow, and you don’t know how the disease will progress in the years to come. Your entire short and long-term future is at the mercy of the disease.

Bill’s Story

I originally was exposed to MS through two close friends who had been diagnosed. This led to me getting more involved in fighting the disease and meeting some very inspirational people along the way. One of them is my close friend Bill. Bill has been diagnosed with MS and he volunteers significant time to raise funds and organize fundraising events so that others will benefit from the services and support that those funds provide.

Bill recently has been featured on a website highlighting the stories of those living and thriving despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. I’d encourage you to check out Bill’s MS story. If you’re inspired to support the fight against MS, have received any value from 20somethingfinance, or are just in a giving mood, I’d encourage you to support Bill’s efforts in one of two ways:

Support Bill’s Fight Against MS

Here’s how you can support Bill’s fight against MS.

1. Purchase his awesome cookbook, Cooks and Cars, a collaboration with GM, which features 360 great recipes and some amazing vehicles.

2. Donate to his fundraising efforts for the MS Longest Day of Golf, a National MS Society event.

Reader Discussion:

• What experiences do you have with MS. Do you have someone close to you who has been diagnosed?
• What charitable organizations do you support, and why? Feel free to share a link!

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