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

Hi and welcome to today's issue of Keeping in Touch. A big, warm 'hello' to all our new subscribers.

Wanting a home-based business requires a huge amount of persistence and perseverance. Without these two drivers running in the background, you will probably find it difficult to keep up with everything you are required to do on an almost daily basis. Even if you are committed, you will have days when you are ready to say 'I quit!' I even told a couple of business associates that very thing a couple of weeks ago. I was serious at the time I said it, however, there's a little voice inside of me that will not let me give up.

I can appreciate a challenge. It's the nit-picky stuff that can drive you up the wall. I have been in contact with a few people trying to determine how KIT 'ends up' on their mailing lists for example. Part of the fault may lie with automation software that automatically adds information. These types of tasks take up so much valuable time and offer little reward. I do appreciate those of you who have responded to these queries. Communication is what makes it work.

Always use the same address for signing up to ezines. It will be easier for you should you decide to unsubscribe later. Use a separate mailbox, if you have to, to receive your ezines. Any publisher will tell you it's heart breaking to have to remove subscribers because mailboxes are full on a regular basis. But business is business.

Angela Booth brings us our Feature Article today in Work Your Small Business Dream. The most important ingredient to having your own business is action -- taking that first step and the next and the next.

Today's Special Feature comes to us from one of my favorite people, Monty Sharp. If you have ever been in that place where you are ready to quit -- to just give up, then you will benefit from the wisdom in Simply Living.

And of course, you know Valentine's Day is the 14th. Be sure to do something special for those who are special in your life. We have an extra feature sent to us from one of our subscribers, Ieneke van Houton. I've put A Valentine For Ezine Publishers in place of the Product Review today. Thank you for the kind words Ieneke.

Send your own articles, tools, tips or suggestions using the links provided in the Reader's Corner. Be sure to include your signature file. Share your knowledge so that we can all grow.

Have a great day and keep on smiling.

Lois M. Jeary
Publisher, KIT and KIT Klassifieds
Contact Me http://www.home4success.com

Nothing in life happens until you do something. Think, hope, plan, worry and ask as many questions as you like, but to reach your dreams you must take action and keep taking action.

I receive at least four e-mail messages a week with a variation of "I want to write for a living, but...."

Half the lovely people contacting me have made some writing sales; the other half are aspiring writers. What's amazing to me however, is that all of them know what to do. The aspiring and pro writers know how to get their work in front of editors, or if they're copywriters, they know that they have to market themselves.

BUT ---

There's always the "but".

They're still unsure.

I'm convinced that they imagine that there's a secret. Once they know what the secret is, everything will be magically clear to them, and they'll feel in control, knowing that at least $2K a week or more will keep rolling in. Then all they'll need to do is decide whether they'll vacation in the Bahamas or Tahiti this year.

There is a secret. Here it is in five words: GET STARTED, THEN KEEP GOING.

The poet Goethe said it better:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)

A famous novelist once said that writing a novel for him was like driving through the night with only the light of his headlights for guidance. However, what he could see in his headlights was more than enough for him to write his book.

The "Get Started Then Keep Going" secret applies not just to any small business, but to any dream you have. You're not given a map. How could you get a map? The world's changing every second. However, you're given a dream, and you're always given knowledge of one step you can take today. That's all you need.

Once you do something, things start to move you toward your dream, and they're always a surprise.

All you have to do is remember your dream, keep it constantly in mind, and then confidently (or with craven cowardice, it doesn't matter) do just one thing RIGHT NOW. And then do the next thing. And the next thing after that.

If you want to super-charge your movement to your dream, promise yourself that you'll do five things every day that will move you toward your dream.

=> Coping with your emotional roadblocks

Maybe you're too exhausted to move towards your dream. Constant exhaustion indicates an emotional energy leak. You can plug your leaks and get around your blocks.

Here are some common blocks and how to get around them:

Block One: Your expectations

You have a dream, and you think you know how it will evolve. You don't know. You can't know. All your expectations do is get in the way. Drop your expectations. Think about your dream, and get excited. The minute you start thinking that you know how your dream will evolve, just refocus on the dream again, and the next action you have to take.

Block Two: Envy and jealousy

Don't compare yourself with anyone else. If you truly knew all the details of the person's life you're busy envying, chances are you wouldn't want his life. Be grateful for everything you have.

Block Three: Taking on too much

You can have it all, but not all at once. If you're studying, raising three small children under five, and want to run a small business in your spare time, get real. Hold your dream until you finish your course and the kids are in school.

Block Four: Assuming

Ask, don't assume. You want to send out 100 direct mail letters, but ---- (fill in your assumption here).

Send out the letters if that's what you see in your headlights. Do it.

Block Five: Negative thought patterns

Negative thoughts are like weeds. They grow, until they choke the life out of your spirit.

Here's the good news: once you can spot a negative thought, the thought dies. It can't survive with your attention directly on it, because then you can challenge it. So when you spot a negative thought, smile. You're winning.

Just for today, give yourself a break and work your dream. What can you see in your headlights? Go and do it right now.

Here's another quote from Goethe to inspire you to action:

How can you come to know yourself? Never by thinking, always by doing. Try to do your duty, and you'll know right away what you amount to.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
(Quotations from http://www.quotationspage.com)
_____

Veteran multi-published author and copywriter Angela Booth crafts words for your business --- words to sell, educate or persuade. E-books and e-courses on Web site. FREE ezines for writers and small biz: http://www.digital-e.biz/

Valentine for E-zine publishers.

Why do I love E-zine publishers?

Let me count the ways......

E-zine articles have taught me everything I know about internet marketing. For Fre*e!

Every single publisher I have met has been prompt, kind, and generous. Even to a beginner who was just placing fre*e ads.

E-zines help to create a community of entrepreneurs. I owe them some good on-line buddies.

Publishing an e-zine is a lot of work. I don't have the talent or the patience. Do you?

Last but not least:
E-zine ads are the best thing that ever happened to my business!

Let's make this a good Valentine for our publishing friends.

E-zine ads start from as low as a single dollar. Let's all place at least one paid ad somewhere.

Happy Valentine, publishers.

You are appreciated.

Ien in the Kootenay mountains

Healthy People Need a Healthy Planet. http://www.businesshelpingpeople.com personal and business introduction page

To simplify complications is the first essential of success.
- George Earle Buckle

You can't expect to prevent negative feelings altogether. And you can't expect to experience positive feelings all the time. The Law of Emotional Choice directs us to acknowledge our feelings but also to refuse to get stuck in the negative ones.
- Greg Anderson, American author

Trust yourself. Create the kind of self that you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.
- Foster C. Mcclellan

Simply Living
by Monty J. Sharp

Ever feel like quitting? "Sharp", you say, "a better question would be, 'How many times TODAY have I felt like quitting?' " Sure. We've all felt like "throwing in the towel" at one time or another. If you haven't, I suggest that you check your pulse quickly. And here's a real shocker for you: the notion that "winners never quit" is a crock! Everyone - even "winners"- has not only felt like it, but has even quit at one time or another.

The "road of life" that we each travel isn't one endless stretch of flat, paved expressway, but rather, is filled with curves, crests, valleys, detours, potholes and bumps. It is its very unpredictability that makes it so interesting and alluring. We just have to see what's around the next curve. It's that same unpredictability that makes for some real gut-tightening questions and fears as well.

Having said that, I do feel that we, too often, give up on our dreams too easily and quickly. So what do you do when the going gets tough and you feel like quitting? Here are ten strategies that you can employ when you hit those apparent "roadblocks" on your road of life:

1. Remember the reason(s) you started in the first place. What was the "spark" that caused you to begin the journey? Revisiting that may help rekindle the flame that helps you go on.

2. Ask yourself, "What would I rather be doing?" If nothing compelling comes to mind, then determine the next step you need to take to move you closer to your original destination. If something more compelling does come to mind, maybe you need to quit.

3. List 10 reasons why you CAN keep going. What strengths and resources do you possess that will help you achieve your desired outcome? Just the very act of doing this shifts your focus from the problem to the solution.

4. Give yourself permission to quit. Sounds crazy, but it works. When you set up an internal law that says, "I can't quit." Or "I shouldn't quit", it makes the desire to quit even stronger.

5. Give yourself a need to continue. Rather than focus on why you feel you need to quit, focus on why you need to continue. What's the payoff, the reward waiting for you if you persevere?

6. Stop focusing on the struggle and start focusing on the solution. Whatever you focus on expands. If your focus is on the struggle you are experiencing, that becomes the biggest (and maybe even the ONLY) thing on your "horizon" It blocks out many, if not all, of the creative opportunities and solutions that may be trying to present themselves to you.

7. Take a hard look at your methodology. Tired of getting poor or less than optimum results from your efforts? Then why keep doing things the same way an expecting something different to happen? That's the classic definition of insanity! Ask yourself, "What's the most radical or unorthodox action I could take right now?" Try it.

8. Make a contract with yourself. Write out what you intend to accomplish and how you intend to accomplish it and then give yourself, say, six months to achieve your goal. Sign and date it and keep it where you can see it. You might even impose some kind of "penalty" for breaking the contract - no chocolate for a month, maybe.

9. Get real. Were you enticed by the "illusion" that success is easy? Maybe you were enamored by the "fluff" that if you just want something badly enough, it will find its way to your doorstep. Success is WORK. Pure and simple. It is the result of a certain mindset as well as a set of deliberate actions. If you want to quit something, then quit fooling yourself by thinking it's going to be a "piece of cake".

10. Walk away. Sometimes looking at something too hard or long obscures the solutions. It's the "can't see the forest for the trees" phenomenon. By simply walking away or taking a break from the struggle to solve, you often free your mind to see new options and opportunities.

Having someone who believes in you may make all the difference in the world between success and failure. We are Relentless Architects of Human Possibilities. Visit us on the web at http://www.success-synergies.com

Link Popularity Check is a freeware program that checks the link popularity status of your web site on several search engines and compares it to other web sites on the Internet (for example your competitors).

Link Popularity Check is completely safe to install on your system. It will not change the system registry and it will not make any unauthorized connections from your system. The software also includes an uninstaller.

This program is for publishers who understand the power of e-zine swap advertising and who are fully aware of the benefits of a large subscriber base to its own publications.
http://www28.brinkster.com/BLUESITE/swap.htm

Your FREE AD to 10 million NOW What's more, there's no need for you to fear "flames" "bombs," or the loss of your ISP! Place your FREE ad now!
http://www.bestmlm.net/member/marstron

An EzineADventure AD. Click Below - Get Your FREE Ads NOW!
http://www.ezineadventure.com/Default.asp?id=2985

Hi Lois,

Your link to:

ARE YOU IMPRESSED WITH THIS EZINE ??? If you are then you have the opportunity to nominate this ezine instantly with ONE click:
http://itsaworld.net/cgi-bin/letzvote/vote.pl?id=40

redirects immediately to:
http://www.miraclepromotions.com/

Thanks for the reminder Mary. I meant to take that part out of the issue so many times. It's gone now. Lois

For those of you who are new to KIT or unaware of the implications of having to pay to send email, please take some time to absorb jl scott's (Whistle Blower) extensive report on Habeas, Inc. The ball is in your court. This is must read information.

http://www.i-Cop.org/habeas/

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.