Students Of Success

Beepppppppppppp…

My turn, as I fumble out of bed and into the room heading to the door and down the hallway. I reach her room and look at the numbers, all red and 0’s. Looking into the Porta-lung I see the probe has come off her finger again. Shutting off the ventilator and the pulse oximeter I prepare to open the chamber up and reattach the probe to her finger. I re-close the chamber and turn the machines back on and wait for the numbers to come back up to normal. I head back to my room and glance at the clock, 3:35am.

Back in my room I sit listening to the “gurr-lunk” and “wheeze” of the “iron lung” in my daughter’s room on the monitor. I wonder if the alarms are going to go off and wake us up on this night again. I wonder how many other parents have to deal every night with one of these machines. I know there is not many in this area that are in use, as almost everyone in the hospital had not ever seen one. I climb back into bed to try to sleep.

What does a parent say to a 15 year old child that does not want to go to sleep at night because she doesn’t want to go into the “machine”. She has known the freedom of sleeping in a real bed most of her life. She hates the lung, I don’t blame her as she can not at present get into or out from with out help. She only needs the machine at night when she sleeps. But without it, over a period of time, her system holds too much carbon dioxide which is not good for her.

I want to be able to say to her that every thing will be OK but I honestly can’t. I would like to tell her to go play like other children but she can’t. She has to carry the external oxygen pack on her back in school. She tells me that she is almost getting used to the stares that she gets from other people.

But now I guess I am getting ahead of myself. She was told that she has Scoliosis at the age of 12. and by the time that we were able to get her rods placed

in her back it was at a 78 degree curve. They tell me that a 40 degree is considered acute 80 is life threating. When she was in the hospital getting the rods put in we almost lost her in the surgery. Now they tell us that her breathing is not right at night and that she forgets to breath for periods of time at night. We tried many methods to have her sleep with at night but the Porta-lung was the only method that kept her carbon levels down and allowed all of us to sleep most of the night.

Trying to redesign this lung to allow her to be able to get in and out of by herself is almost out of the question due to the fact that it is not ours. The insurance co. rents the machine and due to that I cannot redesign it for this purpose. Being that she is 15 years old and goes to high school on a daily basis this leads one to wonder how she is going to spend the rest of her life using this iron lung as she needs some one to see to it that she is properly set up in it at night to be able to sleep.

Vacations and weekend trips to my dad’s are now out of the question for her due to the Porta-lung unless I go to the expense of buying a mobile camper of some sort that I could put the lung into for the duration. But as of now I have no such means to transport the Porta-lung………..

**********

It has been almost 5 months since I wrote the notes above and several things have changed. We have taken an over night trip to Dad’s house but with out the lung as she can go for short times without it, however that proved to her that she needs the iron lung and has since resolved to the fact that it is a fact of life now to use it.

We have also limited the number of “monitors” that we use at night now due to the fact that when she is in the lung she has to breath as the lung is working so we have limited the monitors to those that make sure the machine is working and the monitor in case she wants to say anything to us. After that we can now sleep

much better most nights unless the lung quits or needs looked after in the middle of the night for what ever reason

We have been told that we can “take the lung” on vacation if we ever go on one now, but how is the question now as it is the size of a single bed.

Maybe some day I be able to “finish” this on a “Happily Ever After” note but for now this will just have to do.

So I” tell her, Good night… the bed bugs can’t bite… they can’t get in.

Herbert Benjamin site manager of http://www.robertbenjamin.com/scoliosis.htm

“What they don’t tell you about Honda Pressure Washers”

I recently received the following e-mail regarding honda
pressure washers:

“I was unaware Honda made pressure washers. I can get one
locally now that I have seen your web page”.

Thank You

My response:

Thank you for visiting our website. I would like to point
out that HONDA “does not” manufacture pressure washers.
Honda makes Engines, Autos, Motorcycles etc. When Pressure
washers are referred to as Honda it’s industry shorthand for
“Honda Powered” which means you still need to consider the
manufacturer.

We distribute the “Pressure-Pro” line of pressure washers.
Pressure-Pro is Floridas leading manufacturer of Pressure
Washers.

Keep in mind that very little of a pressure washer is
“manufactured”, what the majority of manufacturers really
are is “component” assemblers. This is no bad thing as long
as they use quality components and have large purchasing
power to deliver the final product at a value for the
consumer.

I recently received a flaming email from a woman lambasting
me for selling Honda pressure washers. She told a story of
how she and her husband had purchased a pressure washer from
a local box store, she really didn’t say which. At any rate,
after using it 3 times over the course of a year it
developed a serious problem with the pump.

She took it to the store authorized service center only to
be notified that it was out of warranty and could not be
repaired anyway. Needless to say she was furious,after all
this was a Honda pressure washer!!

She went on to say that the only reason she purchased it was
because it had a Honda engine which implied quality.

The name Honda does not imply a quality pressure washer, it
only implies a quality engine. There are many ways a
manufacturer can lessen quality to achieve a price point
that the superstore will be willing to market. The good news
is that “spotting this ploy is not rocket science” and you
can get quality advice at this website.

I believe it’s an excellent choice when you choose Honda but
please remember a pressure washer is more than just a power source.

About the Author

Randall Madon is the founder and president of ATT Pressure Supply along with a new educational resource site The-Power-Washer-Advisor.com Learn More

For many people, photos are at the heart of their scrapbooks — and for a very good reason. We all treasure photgraphs of friends and loved ones, and many of us carry some with us wherever we go in a wallet or locket or keep photos on our desk at work. And if disaster were to strike and you had to evacuate your house, many people say they would save their photo albums before any other possessions!

So most scrapbooks will contain photographs. Even the most disinterested reader of
your scrapbook will look at them. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Therefore, it is important to choose photographs that are of good quality and clearly
illustrate your scrapbook theme.

Any photograph can be used in a scrapbook. Even instant photographs can be used
in scrapbooking. Just be careful that the chemicals within the photograph do not
spill out on the rest of your scrapbook. Digital pictures can easily be printed right
onto lignin-free and acid -free paper.

Always bear in mind that scrapbooking is permanent. For this reason, it is probably
better to use copies of your only picture of Great Aunt Betsy rather than risk ruining
the original photograph forever. So just scan the picture on your computer scanner
and print the image on lignin free and acid free paper.

Everybody loves looking at photos of family, friends and special places. That’s why
they have such a special place in any scrapbook. It can be a lot of fun to use photos
in imaginative layouts and for abstract effects — don’t feel confined just to
mounting your photos as you would in a traditional photo album.

You can find inspiration for new scrapbooking ideas from magazines and visits to
art museums. Just keep your eyes open and let your imagination run free!

Nigel Patterson is a writer on arts and crafts and the publisher of Create Your Own Scrapbooks.

Visit his website for new and imaginative scrapbooking tips and ideas — so you can
maintain your most treasured mementos and present them artistically for you, your
family and your friends to enjoy.

Did you ever see the movie The Italian Job, and if so do you
remember when John Bridger asked: “you see those pillars over
there, that’s where they used to string up thieves who felt
fine.” Make the transition from paper trading to real money
trading and you will feel FINE too - Freaked-out Insecure
Neurotic and Emotional. And what a great analogy ’string up’ is,
because after all those months of paper trading winners are
replaced with real money losses, that is exactly what you will
feel like doing to yourself.

The Trading Psychology Viewpoint

No discussion about trading, or the consideration to begin
trading, can be done without a harsh realization - the vast
majority of all traders lose.

It is said that the reason that most traders lose is because
they are not psychologically prepared to trade, that is they are
not prepared to accept financial risk for something of which
they have no control over the outcome. Trading is much more of a
psychological problem then a methodological one, only the
traders who have first accepted this have a chance of being
consistently successful traders. Without an understanding of
trading psychology and the various issues that circumvent
method, there will be virtually no chance to overcome the fear,
confusion, and despair that can be inherent in trading.
Ultimately, after a series of consecutive losses, method becomes
replaced with a feeling that it is impossible to do anything
right; if for no other reason than this situation, trading
psychology is more critical than trading method.

New Trader Scenario

Consider a scenario where a trader develops a method for day
trading an index future. The method gives 15 trades per day, and
the trader has gotten to the point where they are able to paper
trade with the following results: 9 wining trades averaging $85
each, and 6 losing trades averaging -$65 each - thus giving $375
average daily gains. The trader has achieved these results for
three consecutive months; their paper trading goals have been
met and it is time to start trading real money. Real money
trading begins, but things quickly change. Instead of trading
their method like they did when paper trading, the trader starts
’skipping’ trades trying to pick the winners instead of
accepting the 40% losers; of course, they invariably pick more
losers than winners. Trying to then correct this problem, the
trader decides that maybe they are entering their trades too
late. So now instead of letting the setup complete and then
doing the trade, the trigger is anticipated so the trade can be
entered earlier - the losses get worse.

With the continued losses the emotions take over: “What is
wrong, why am I such a pathetic loser? Maybe it’s not my fault,
maybe the method just doesn’t really work.”

The problems get worse with each trade, more emotions and more
loses - the trader quits trading. The trader now decides that
their paper trading results weren’t really adequate to begin
real money trading. They will go back to paper trading and
studying again.

Thoughts that are going through the trader’s mind now: “Maybe I
should try different trading methods until I can eliminate those
losing trades - then I will be ready to trade real money again.
Really, maybe I should just quit trading altogether - maybe I am
just a loser, and that’s why I can’t trade.”

The Trading Psychology Plan

What should be very apparent from this scenario is that the
trader never traded their paper trading method plan after
transitioning to real money trading. Unfortunately, the trader
is unable to realize what they have done, instead their emotions
first place blame on the method thinking that it really doesn’t
work, and then on themselves for being “such a pathetic loser”.
The final result being that the trader quits trading, and if the
real underlying reasons for what has happened aren’t accepted
and changed, this trader will never be able to trade real money
even if their paper trading results become 100% winners, which
of course is not going to happen.

The trader had a trading method plan, but they did not have a
trading psychology plan. They did not have a way to make the
transition from fear and emotion directed trading to actually
trading the method as designed. They did not have a plan to
objectively access and understand their given non-method
actions, and then define a ’setup’ for replacing them.

The trading psychology plan must begin with an honest assessment
and acceptance for what really happened: the trader never traded
their method plan; there is no other blame to be placed, or
excuses to be made. There is nothing wrong with the trading
plan, and regardless, the trader has not traded it in order to
be able to make that evaluation. As well, traders cannot
internalize trade loses where they lead to their viewpoint of
themselves - you are not a loser because your trade is a loser.

Trading Psychology Plan Components

* Accept that losing will be a normal part of trading. Not only
is it impossible to be perfect, it is not an objective or
necessary to be a profitable trader. * Replace the focus of
winning and losing with the objective of following your plan.
This was not done while paper trading, as the trader had a
specific profitability goal that they used to tell them when
they were prepared to trade real money. They did not understand
that the reason they achieved this goal was because of how they
followed their plan.

* Remain neutral and non-judgmental towards yourself. If
profitable trading is ever going to be possible, this is
mandatory. There is no way that you are going to be able to
trust yourself to manage risk while you are also telling
yourself that you are ’stupid’ or a ‘pathetic loser’ each time
you lose or feel that you have done something wrong.

* Eliminating your emotions is not the objective; I actually do
not think this is possible. Emotions are always going to enter
into trading - learn to control the emotions, instead of having
them control you.

* Accept that emotions are a part of life; they aren’t by
definition good or bad, and actually if you can shift the focus
of what the emotion represents, they can be very beneficial for
the trader. For instance, if I am feeling confused and that
causes an emotional response or hesitation, I want to feel that
emotion. This emotion becomes a warning to me that I should wait
and try to find more chart-market clarity before taking a trade,
something that can be very typical when markets are in
congestion.

* Start slowly - this may be the most important component of
your plan. For instance, begin trading real money for an hour at
a time, and then assess what you have done, always asking
yourself the question: did I follow my plan, or did I take
non-method trades.

Granted, you will not be able to approximate your paper trading
results as the expectancy of that plan was achieved by averaging
15 trades per day. However, not only will this help further to
shift the focus from how much money did I make to did I follow
my plan, it will also allow you to acclimate to the logistics of
real time-real money execution, and the related initial
emotions, where all of a sudden the market feels like it is
moving considerably faster. By doing this you will ‘build-up’ to
trading your full plan at a pace that won’t cause you to become
so overwhelmed by the process, and immediately cause you to
avoid what you had intended to do as fear and emotion becomes
too strong.

You have a great trading method and trading plan. You have
profitably paper traded, and you ARE now ready to start trading
real money - just be sure that you have a trading psychology
plan that is as good as your trading method plan, and that you
realize that neither will be of any use to you without the
other.

Whether you create and sell your own products, buy reselling rights or rebrand other people’s products, adding value with bonuses is a well-used tactic in affiliate marketing. Why? Because a good bonus is valid, honest, and truly does add value to any offer. Perhaps most importantly, it makes the customer think that NOT to purchase would be a very unwise decision.

The challenge is that almost every marketer is using bonuses, so customers are wearying of the hype. What you need to do is offer them bonuses that do add genuine value to your product, and off them at the right place and time, and in the right way.

Some examples of good bonuses are:

*your product is an ebook about how to buy a used car, and your bonus is a report on how to check to see if a vehicle has sustained damage.

*your product is software designed to simplify obtaining reciprocal links, and your bonus is a report about how to create search engine optimized website title, description and keywords.

A bonus with genuine value:

*can be put to use immediately and is directly related to your product.

*provides motivation that is a match for the motivation to sign up for the newsletter or buy your product, and serves to add to that motivation, not detract from it.

*can allow you to put a price on a product that others give away for free.

The right placement of a bonus is:

*immediately before your prospect makes the last click to complete a sale. This will eliminate any last minute hesitation and will reinforce what you are asking for your product.

A bonus works well if you will only be selling your product for a limited time:

*If you can tell people that if they order by July 15th 2006 they will get a discount or free bonuses, there will be a sense of urgency compelling the customer to buy now rather than risking missing the bonus.

Here are examples of appropriate free bonuses:

1. Physical Product
If you are selling a physical product, it’s easy to slip in a free sample or free gift. Anything with your logo, url and/or contact info reminds your customer to return to your website. Pens, mousepads, coffee cups, and refrigerator magnets all get used frequently.

2. Special Report
Information in a condensed form that relates to what you’re offering and would be very helpful for the customer makes a great bonus. If your product is information explaining how to do something, your bonus can be a detailed description of some aspect of that. A great bonus to add to Opt In Master Course would be a report outlining how to get the most out of your favorite traffic exchanges or safelists; or, how to write a good email advertisement.

Titles that are exciting and include numbers, such as “10 Killer Steps to Writing Email Ads that Sell”, are proven to be highly successful. An easy way to write your report is to write it in Microsoft Word, format it so it looks professional (using white space, highlights, and bulleted lists, for example), and then use Adobe Acrobat to save it as a PDF file for easy downloading. Be sure to promote your business, website, and relevant affiliate programs in there too - remember it may get passed around. If you would like to make your report available for rebranding, then use pdf995 instead of Adobe Acrobat. Rebranding rights encourage other marketers to pass it around. You can offer your report for free, and sell rebranding rights.

3. Resource List
Compile a list of your personally recommended resources, websites, books, and vendors that will help your list grow their lists and run a successful business. You can set this up as a PDF file as well, or create a password-protected area of your website that your list can access.

4. Checklist
Are there any checklists that would be a good tie-in to what you offer? That help people do what you’re teaching them to do, better or easier? A checklist of a daily traffic exchange surfing schedule, or weekly website promotion activities, would help your list members run their businesses more efficiently. A common question I receive is, do you really use ALL the resources in OMC? Your answer to that could be your checklist of what you use.

5. Collection of Articles
My favorite way to advertise my site and add valuable content is to write articles and post them to article directories and on my website. Your list of article directories, or a collection of your best 10 articles, would make a valuable bonus ebook.

6. Workbook
Since OMC includes marketing principles, strategies and tactics, put together a separate guide to help your list members do assignments, stay on track, and document their progress. A workbook is something people recognize and appreciate because it infers step by step guidance, with measurable results. This would be a step up from a checklist.

7. A Coaching Session With You
A consultation is a great bonus to offer, for several reasons. First, it helps you get to know your list members and their questions will
help you decide on the direction your website should take. Second, it’s a great opportunity to add backend sales to your free products. For example, if they appreciated the coaching you provided, they may be interested in buying an ebook that expands on this info.

Digital or Physical?

If you’re offering printed material as a bonus, don’t go nuts spending a ton of money making it look great. “Good” is okay! A simple printed-on-demand report from Cafe Press fits any budget and is fine. First you sign up for a Basic Shop for free. On the ” My CafePress” page, click on the “products” link under Shop Management. Next, click on the “add products” button at the top of the page. This will direct you to the product list where you can select the products available for you to choose from. The book is the last product in the list. The system will then walk you through each step of creating your book.

What’s most important is the cover — even if you only produce a digital report or audio product, having a graphic of it will help
increase your response and make you look more professional.

Give Your Wallet a Bonus This Month

So get some bonuses together, make note of your sales so far, and then add some bonuses and watch how your sales rise.

Be forewarned: Cafe Press is addictive. You can create your own store, create your own products, and it’s ridiculously fun and easy. You may find yourself spending more time there than you planned. Besides playing around with Cafe Press, Kathryn Beach also is queen of her domain at Affiliate Marketing Tips and would love to share her queendom with you.