The significant challenges that we face today cannot be resolved by the same level of thinking that created them.

First, let me welcome new subscribers to KIT. We're glad you joined us. This trip with Jimm to Pennsylvania was a wonderful reprieve for me. We got back here on Friday but he had to carry on to Kamloops, British Columbia with his load.

I've seen it on television or in the movies, but I had never seen the Amish riding their horse and buggy in streets loaded with vehicular traffic. Many of the store owners have even set up hitching posts for them. Now that's customer service.

The weather was pretty spectacular for this time of year - I believe one day we reached 65 degrees. Naturally, as we headed north the nights became cooler.

Jim Gray wrote an interesting piece on Online Extortion. As if that wasn't bad enough - we also have Domain Hijacking. Both of these pieces deserve a read so that you will be aware of what is happening here. This is serious folks, not to mention nasty.

Today's Special Feature is Preparation Is The Key written by yours truly. Being prepared for any eventuality is key your success. You need to stay on top of your online advertising, be aware of changing technologies, determine whether new software can help you in your business giving you more time. You always need to stay on top of the changes taking place.

Concentrate On Today's Date, by Steve Goodier, is our Special Feature. While we will need to look back from time to time to evaluate our progress and look ahead to plan - we need to focus on today - the present.

Have a great day and keep smiling.

Publisher, KIT and the Home4Success Channel
Contact Me Directly

KIT Online Archives
http://www.home4success.com/kit2004.html

Get Your Own QuikView Sidebar Reader/BookMark Server Here
QuikView

An Effective Alternative to eMail

  Get the browser you can trust!

Last week as I was driving back home from a doctor's appointment in the city, it really dawned on me that winter isn't all that far off. In this part of the country it is most unusual not to have snow on the ground after Halloween.

In the spring and summer months when there is lots of daylight, we needn't have much concern about distances from point A to point B. However, in the winter the same routes can take on a whole different scenario.

My husband and I love living out of the city. Unfortunately, our small town is situated on one of the worst stretches of the TransCanada Highway when it comes to winter snow storms and blizzards.

A few years ago when I was required to do considerably more driving than today, I got into the habit of noting the distances between towns or landmarks. That way I always knew exactly where I was in the event I needed to call for a tow truck or whatever. This little habit has proven to be a godsend in a heavy snow storm or blizzard. Because you are slowed down to a crawl in these conditions, it's easy to lose perspective. By knowing your mileage, you'll know exactly where you are and more importantly, how far you still have to go even if you can't see.

Our online businesses work pretty much the same way. It's crucial that you are able to measure your progress or even a lack of progress.

Is your online advertising campaign working well? Are you tracking your results? Advertising online is not an exact science. Never has been and probably never will be. You need to stay on top of the advertising that is working and dump the advertising that is not working.

Personally, I don't get too wrapped up in the latest and greatest when it comes to search engine optimization. Just make sure your pages contain good, relevant content that matches the keywords you have chosen.

Keep your website updated at all times. I can tell you from experience that once to start to slack off, it's very easy to lose track of what you've uploaded and haven't. If you publish an ezine, ensure that your archive is up to date on your website. Write articles. It's still one of the best ways to get yourself known while providing content as well as links back to your own product or service.

While weblogs are popular, you are missing the boat completely if you don't have an rss feed that allows syndication of your content. Publishers and webmasters alike are always on the lookout for quality content and rss syndication has to be one of the easiest and most effective ways to spread the word.

In today's fast food - fast 'everything' world, customer service has taken a real beating. Don't you just hate phoning your local bank or utility company and being presented with a menu that takes you to another sub-menu? Businesses are losing touch with the very people who keep them in business. This is a travesty. Stay in touch with your customers. Answer questions in a timely manner.

If you still use email, make sure you are protected. Always work with the latest virus definitions provided by your antivirus software. Use a firewall. Don't take risks. If you aren't sure where a message came from -- delete it.

Back up your files on a regular basis. If something happens to your computer - and it will - or you get hit with a new virus or trojan, you'll still have most of your data.

Preparation is the key to success whether driving blind in a snow storm or operating your business. Be prepared and stay focused.

Lois is a Director of Forever Ads where you 'Pay Once and Advertise Forever' Ads-On-Q. She also publishes KIT and the Home4Success channel at KIT and owns the Home4Success website at Home 4 Success.

If one of us succeeds, we all do.

I send my tennis opponent love. It removes the negative from my game.

It is possible to fail in many ways ... while to succeed is possible only in one way.
- Aristotle

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
- Mark Twain

Good work done little by little becomes great work. Your house of success will be built brick by brick.
- Max Steingart

It's been said well, "If you have to look at the calendar, concentrate on today's date." It doesn't hurt to look back occasionally and learn lessons from the past. And we should also look ahead and prepare for the future. But mostly...it is a good idea to give today the best we've got.

Actor Sylvester Stallone once said of his acting success, "It's been a lovely ride - I just wish I'd been there to enjoy it." Have you ever felt that way? That life has been good - even great - but you weren't really there to enjoy it? He went on to say, "It's been like a blur - like trying to sight see through a quaint New England town at three hundred miles an hour. I'd like to retrace my steps in the snow and see what I missed. I mean, I've been to Europe ten times in the past ten years, but I can't remember anything. If I didn't have some of the door keys that I took by accident, I wouldn't remember where I stayed. My whole life is door keys."

Have you ever felt like your life is.car keys? Office keys? Keyboard keys? A blur?

Older people used to tell us when we were young parents to "enjoy these years." "They go by faster than you realize," these friends would say. And most of the time I'd think, 'They can't go by soon enough!'

I've always loved my children, and I am forever grateful I am a parent. But some days I couldn't wait for them to grow up.

I remember long nights - long nights when babies were up because they couldn't sleep, or didn't feel well or just decided to use that extra time to exercise their lungs. I remember long nights - long nights lying awake waiting for teenagers to come home, listening for the car engine so I knew they were all right. And if someone would tell me to enjoy those years, I'd shake my head and think, 'I'll enjoy it when they grow up. I'll enjoy getting my life back!'

But then the boys did grow up and they left home. And do you know what? Our friends were right. Those years went by faster than I expected. They seem like a blur now and I wonder if I enjoyed them fully.

Thomas Mann said, "Hold every moment sacred... Give each its true and due fulfillment." For these moments, I'm learning, are all we really have.

Next time I look at the calendar, I'll concentrate on today's date.

"Same old same old just doesn't sell anymore. To make your marketing stand out, you need to get creative. Below are five tips designed to get your creative juices flowing. Some are brainteasers or are what Michael Michalko in "Thinkertoys" calls Linear Thinkertoys. Others fall under intuition or Intuitive Thinkertoys."

"Some tips may appeal to you more than others. My suggestion is to try them all. Even the ones you're not drawn to may still open some doors that wouldn't have opened any other way."

"These tips will work whether you sell a product, a service or both."

Continued

Our intelligent and empowering approach to e-mail security means you get maximum choice, convenience, minimum disruption and intelligent e-mail management, with the confidence of full technical support.

MailWasher Pro is the ultimate solution to getting rid of spam and unwanted e-mail. It's easy to use and very effective.

Legal Stuff ...

We accept no responsibility whatsoever for the content, profitability or legality of any published articles or advertisements contained within KIT.

And, although all of the articles have been selected for their content, the publishing of such articles within this newsletter does NOT constitute a recommendation of the products or services mentioned or advertised within those articles.

Be responsible! Always do your own Due Diligence before responding to any offer.