Problem Solving

Brainpower Newsletter

I have a personal experience piece this week, to show that I really do use the techniques I write about.

Enjoy!

As you know, I often write about problem solving, and I invent a lot of examples to demonstrate the techniques. These imagined scenarios make the point, perhaps, but it occurred to me that some of you may wonder how well these techniques work in everyday life. To answer this, I've decided that from time to time I'll share how I use them myself.

We built a website, http://www.housesunderfiftythousand.com based on our experience buying inexpensive homes (if you visit the site, that's me and my wife Ana on the porch). I use it to, among other things, to sell an ebook on how to save money buying a home. The book had no sales at first, so I dropped the price to $7, but I still only sold about 3 or 4 copies each month. (Good thing I have a lot of books out there.)

I decided one day to get out my list of problem solving techniques, and use a few of them to find a way to boost sales. I had several interesting ideas. Then I came to the "Assume the Absurd" technique, which involves making crazy assumptions to see where they lead. The most common way to do this is to ask "what if" questions.

My big revelation: "What if I gave the book away?"

It seemed crazy, but as I considered ways to "make it work," I realized I could make make money with advertisements and affiliate products if I put the book on a web site. I worked with the idea and decided to let people subscribe to get a chapter at a time for thirty weeks, by email.

I set up the emails on an autoresponder to automate it all. The subscriber is directed to the page where that week's chapter is. Since they have to return to the web site thirty times, there are plenty of chances for them to click on an ad or buy some affiliate product I promote. I left the order page up so they could buy the book for $7 if they didn't want to wait 30 weeks for all of it.

The result? I started selling 9 or 10 books per month. Apparently the free chapters convinced readers of the value and made them impatient for more. I also started to make about $120 per month on the ad revenue from the pages. Bottom line? This "absurd" idea is worth about $1800 extra income annually. Not a lot by itself, but then I have successfully implemented many such ideas.

The lesson: Put those problem solving techniques to work in your life!

- The Andromeda galaxy is the closest to our own Milk Way, but it would take two million years to reach it, even traveling at the speed of light.

- It is estimated that most dreams last less than twenty minutes.

- The first paper currency in the U.S. was produced by the Department of the Treasury in 1862, due to a shortage of coins, and to pay for the Civil War.

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Ana picked one apple more than Alex. Amy picked one apple more than Adam. Ana and Alex picked 10 more apples than Amy and Adam. All together there were 60 apples picked, so how many apples did Ana pick?

(Answer is below)

Want more creative inspiration? Graham Green, the famous English writer, attributes much of his success to a simple habit: He forced himself to write at least 500 words every day, whether he felt like it or not. Creative inspiration can certainly strike at any time, but it sure strikes more often when there is work instead of waiting.

With "The Speed Reading Secret," you can triple your reading speed in under 1 hour. If not, get a refund and keep $100 in gifts! Now that's a guarantee.

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Human error? It is often just a matter of thinking errors. These include equating correlation with causation, over-generalization, and even under-generalization. To avoid making errors in your thinking, it can help to get in the habit of asking a few important questions. Start with the following.

Am I over-generalizing?

Perhaps it is true that avoiding debt is a good general rule. Avoid debt when going into business, though, and your business may fail before it can grow large enough to...

Continued here:
http://www.increasebrainpower.com/human-error.html

Why deep quotes?

Someone once said, "How does it profit a man to have gained the whole world and lost his soul?" Someone else said "I'm lost but I'm making good time." Okay, that last was from Yogi Berra. With or without the humor, though, these kinds of short pithy quotes touch us in a way that an argument or explanation can't.

They don't argue or explain at all, but instead point to an aspect of truth for us to see and understand, each in our own way. They introduce us to new ideas, sometimes helping us see in seconds what we had never understood in years. Here are some of my favorites....

Continued here:
http://www.999ideas.com/deep-quotes.html

Until next time,

Riddle Answer: Ana picked 18 apples.

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