Are You A Victim Of "Badvice?"

I have fallen prey to "badvice" repeatedly. Here's an example. . .

Years ago, I decided to run an advertisement in the yellow pages to buy toy trains.

It sounded like a good idea.

But, before I went ahead with it, I talked to a few people about it, and they all told me it wouldn't work. I respected these people's opinions, so I didn't do it.

A few years later, I talked to people around the country who were running Yellow Page ads to buy trains. They all told me it worked. All of them offered advice based on their actual experience.

So I ran an ad and it worked.

In fact, it worked very well.

Not only was I a victim of "badvice," but the sad thing is I lost four or five years of potential profits because I asked the wrong people for advice.

You see, back then, I ran with the wrong crowd. No, they weren't criminals, they were blue collar workers being paid by the hour or white collar workers working their ways up the chain of command. They just weren't people creating their own opportunities.

For me they were the wrong crowd because I was an entrepreneur. My life was different, and these wage slaves were not capable of giving me meaningful advice.

You see, they didn't understand my goals because they didn't have similar goals for themselves.

Even worse, some of them seemed to go out of their way to be discouraging.

(Actually I think a few of them were jealous about my lifestyle - I didn't have a boss or anyone to look over my shoulder, and never worried about getting fired.)

While they thought they were giving me good advise, they lacked the common ground to understand what I was doing. These weren't advisors, they were really "badvisors."

I finally got over this hurdle and started to build a string of fantastic accomplishments by associating with people who had similar goals. People who encouraged me to reach for more, rather than telling me to get a J-O-B and stop wasting my life.

About the same time, I realized in addition to surrounding myself with like minded people, I also needed expert advice so I started tracking down experts in different areas. I bought packages about setting and reaching goals, salesmanship, public speaking, copywriting, body language, and lots of other topics.

I still buy lots of information. For example, I recently bought three CDs in a nice plastic binder with a workbook and some other stuff for $413.

One of my old friends - an auto mechanic - was over and asked about the box so we opened it. Anyway, right on top was the receipt - he couldn't miss it.

My friend looked at the receipt and then the small number of items in the box and said, "You got ripped off." (While I still hang out with him, I just don't talk about my business with him.)

It's about attitude. He based his whole judgment on the volume of materials in the box.

While I judge the value based on the skills I will learn by listening to the CDs, working through the workbooks, and reading the other materials.

Remember, I said earlier I take don't take advice from this friend about my business. If my car isn't running right, he's the first person I call, but when it comes to improving my skills or running my business, his words mean nothing. It's just "badvise."

Maybe you know people like him?

Are these the people you get your advice from?

Or worse for you, are these the type of people you look to for motivation when obstacles make things seem hard?

If so, I have some good news. . .

Recently, I've been seeking out eBay Masterminds and interviewing them so you can get advice and motivation from others who actually know what they are talking about.

Even better, I've set the eBay Mastermind Series up so you'll get a new interview every month on a new topic.

Why is this better?

Simply put, because it will help you stay on track.

If I sent you all the interviews at once, you'd probably listen to a few of them and then they would end up gathering dust.

Even worse, your "badvisors" would continue to whittle you down.

Like me, you are surrounded by "badvisors." By sending you a new interview every month, you'll not only get new techniques, but you'll be able to learn from "goodvisors."

Here's the deal, every month you will get a new interview with an eBay mastermind. Each interview is on a single topic so you can refer back to them in the future.

For example, if you subscribe in September, you'll get a CD recording of Jim Cockrum and I discussing ways to leverage your eBay auctions.

And then, in October, you'll get Janiece Smith and I discussing how to take advantage of the huge Christmas buying season on eBay.

But that's just the start. Every month, you'll get a new interview with information you can use. Every month you'll get motivation and "goodvise."

In fact, I am so sure you'll love these interviews I guarantee them. If you get an issue you don't feel is worth the small 1nvestment, send me an email an I'll refund your money. You don't even have to mail the CD back.

You can also cancel your subscription at anytime.

In other words, you have nothing to lose. I am taking all the risk, and you get all the rewards.

At least once a week, a new article about Antiques, Collectibles, or eBay is placed in this section of the site. You can see previous articles in the column on the left. This is not a replacement for my regular emailed newsletter. The newsletter is usually two to three times as long and focuses on making money on eBay and/or achieving success in the antiques and collectibles business. Only about a third of the articles sent out as newsletters are posted on the site, so to avoid missing an issue sign up now using the blue box in the upper right hand corner of this web page.

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Terry Gibbs has taught over 7,000 people how to make a good living on eBay. Terry's most recent eBay instruction manual is The Auction Revolution . The Auction Revolution is your guide to eBay and beyond. Here on Iwantcollectibles.com, you will learn about buying and selling antiques and collectibles, and about eBay.

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