Tuesday, December 09, 2003 - Volume 1 Issue 7
Colin Evans, Editor (mailto:
)
In this issue
1. From the Editor
2. Did It Work For Me?
3. Featured Articles:
--- Privilege, Opportunity and Responsibility - By Chris Widener
--- What Does That Error Message Really Mean? - By Jim Edwards
4. Motivational Quotes
5. Take A Break: Eating Hotdogs
6. Tell Me what You Think
From the Editor - Colin Evans
Hi Everyone 
Welcome to this edition of Cols-A-To-Z.
Wow, the last two weeks have flown by...
The whole year has flown by, it's nearly Christmas again - time
to get out my wallet, only problem it's empty, even the moths are
hungry!
My local wealth is tied up in investments and it takes time to
convert them into ready cash. I don't like converting my
investments into cash as they are keeping up with inflation.
With inflation at more than one thousand percent, cash in the
hand devalues quickly.
I've had a good year though and I have many blessings to count.
The biggest blessing being that I've had no boss to answer to,
I've done things on my terms and in my time - cool
Any regrets?
A few, but I've learned from my experiences and there are many
things I've had to change - things I've had to learn too.
Perhaps the biggest thing I have learned is that you have to sell
something in order to make money. This is true for both online
and offline businesses.
You might thinks that selling something to make money is obvious.
It is, but I've also been taken in by all the online hype and fell
for the "we do everything for you" lies and the "spillover" myth.
Cost me a lot of money too, to the point where I nearly gave up.
Fortunately I've met a few honest people online who have given me
some new ideas and my focus for 2004 will be on selling products
and services.
Till the next time...
Did It Work For Me? by Colin Evans
We've all heard of traffic exchanges, or have we?
What are they?
A traffic exchange is a program you join, which will show your
web page on other member's web browsers after you have viewed
one or more of their web pages on your web browser.
There are basically three basic types of traffic exchange:
- Auto exchanges.
- Manual exchanges without anti-cheat measures.
- Manual exchanges with anti-cheat measures.
Despite what you may have heard, all traffic exchanges work,
although their effectiveness varies.
Auto exchanges tend to be the least effective and manual
exchanges with anti-cheat measures tend to be the most effective.
How do they work?
With all types of exchange after you have joined and entered the
url of your web page into the form provided, you will be given
a url to earn page views which must be entered into your browser.
Once you have entered this url into your browser, a framed page
will be displayed.
A small top or bottom frame will contain the controls for the
exchange and a larger frame will contain the page to be viewed.
After a predetermined time, auto exchanges will automatically
refresh the page.
For manual exchanges without anti-cheat measures you will have to
either refresh your browser or click on the relevant control to
load a new page.
For manual exchanges with anti-cheat measures you cannot refresh
your browser. The only way to load a new page is to click on a
randomly displayed coloured button, number, symbol or word.
A few exchanges will also use "skill cards". These are pages which
appear randomly and contain either additional anti-cheat measures
to be clicked or simple questions that have to be answered before
any further pages will be loaded.
Do they work?
People who use traffic exchanges are generally people who are
trying to advertise their opportunity. They are not interested
in looking at your opportunity.
But they will probably be interested in how to generate more
traffic to their referral url.
I have found that traffic exchanges can be very effective for
advertising simple quick loading pages that are designed for
one thing only...
To collect the contact details of your prospective customer.
These are known as splash pages or lead capture pages because
they contain a form which collects the name and e-mail address
of your prospective customer.
Following are some tips for using traffic exchanges:
- All good exchanges will allow you to accumulate your hits. Do
this for a week or so before you start advertising your splash
page.
- No matter what url you are advertising, always accumulate your
hits over the weekend. I have found Wednesday to be the best day
to "release" my accumulated hits.
- If you want to use auto exchanges, use them to advertise good
manual traffic exchanges which give you credits for displaying
your referral url.
- Never advertise complex web pages such as those with lots of
fancy graphics and with sound. These sites won't load in the time
available.
Featured Article: Privilege, Opportunity and Responsibility - By
Chris Widener
One of my absolute favorite quotes is from Dwight D. Eisenhower.
If you have been a subscriber for long you may have heard me use
it before. Eisenhower said that, "The history of free men is never
written by chance, but by choice - their choice."
What a powerful truth. We can, and do, write our own history.
That is, when our life is nearing the end, we can look back and
see that the history we leave behind, the legacy that we leave
for our children, is the accumulation of the choices we made all
along the way.
As I think about this, I realize that some may view it from the
back end and it may seem hopeless, but we can be proactive about
it and decide now that we will begin to make choices that will
bring us to our desired end.
Before I talk about privilege, opportunity, and responsibility, I
want to make something perfectly clear, and it is something that
you must embrace if you are going to see your life continually
improve and change for the better. I believe that:
- Anyone can have as much money as they choose to.
- Anyone can weigh what they choose to.
- Anyone can have the job they choose to have.
- Anyone can have the level of peace that they choose to have.
- Anyone can do anything they choose to do.
They ability for us humans to choose is incredible, but it also
brings with it philosophical truths as well. Primarily the power
to choose brings with it privilege, opportunity and responsibility.
When we see how all three of these play out in our lives, and when
we discipline ourselves to make the choices that will bring us to
our desired outcome - watch out - because you will be UNLEASHED!
The Ability to choose is a Privilege.
Dogs don't have it. Cows don't have it. Trees and flowers don't
have it. The only living creatures that have the ability to choose
are humans. All of the rest of living creatures live by instinct,
or in the case of trees, flowers etc, they live wherever they are
planted (I guess they must have to develop a great deal of
contentment!).
Have you ever viewed your ability to choose as a privilege that
you have been given? That is one of the more motivating factors
in my life for being disciplined and making choices. Exercise
your privilege today. Make choices today that will make you, your
family and your community better off!
The Ability to choose is an Opportunity.
Every one of us has the opportunity to improve ourselves. There
are too many stories of people who have lost 200 pounds, left
behind fortunes while only earning $20,000 a year and multitudes
of other success stories for me to believe otherwise. In fact, I
myself have seen it in my own life. What an opportunity! Yet many
believe that it is impossible - that they don't even have the
opportunity. Not true at all. Take advantage of the opportunity
you have every single day of your life to change - because you
can!! Make choices today that will make you, your family and your
community better off!
The Ability to choose is a Responsibility.
We do not live our lives in a vacuum. We live them in the context
of our families, our communities, our businesses and the
organizations we belong to. We have a responsibility to make
right choices that will positively impact all of those around us!
I have four children. The choices I make each day, maybe even
every moment, will affect them for the rest of their lives. Do I
have a responsibility to them? You bet! I want to discipline my
life in such a way that they become all that they can be and that
our family and eventually the families that they will start, will
become great!
When I think of choices that changed history, I think of Rosa
Parks who made a choice that would bring her into the forefront
of America's news of the day and eventually the history books.
One day, Parks, an African-American, decided that she would not
give up her seat on the bus to a white person. She made a choice.
It was undoubtedly one she had thought of for sometime. It was
her privilege as a human to make this choice, regardless of what
others thought and regardless of what the outcome would be. It
was an opportunity to make a statement and to stand up for what
was right. It was her responsibility to generations of minorities
who would come after her to make this choice. She did, and America
changed.
Like Rosa Parks, and countless others who daily make choices that
produce change, it is those who will dare to dream of a better
life, those who will risk failure, those who will make the right
choices who will change themselves, their families, their
businesses and organizations and yes, even their world! The
ability to choose is an incredible privilege, an outstanding
opportunity, and an awesome responsibility! Use it!
Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made
for Success and Extraordinary Leaders, two companies helping individuals and
organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their
lives and achieve their dreams.
Join subscribers in over 100 countries around the
world! Get Chris' FREE weekly Made for Success E-zine by sending a blank email
to
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Get his FREE daily SuccessQuote™ with action point
by sending a blank email to
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Get his FREE monthly
Extraordinary Leaders E-zine, one of the world's most widely distributed leadership
newsletters, by sending a blank email to
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websites at
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and http://www.extraordinaryleaders.com
Copyright 2002 Made for Success. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Featured Article: What Does That Error Message Really Mean? - By
Jim Edwards
Surf the 'Net for about 10 minutes and chances rate very high
that you'll encounter an error of one kind or another.
Whether the error message pops up on your own computer or on a
website loaded in your browser, knowing what the error means can
help you solve the problem much faster and avoid hours of
frustration (especially in a situation where nothing you do will
solve the problem).
The following represent some of the more common error messages
you may encounter while surfing the Internet and what (if
anything) you can do to correct the situation.
Error: 404 File Not Found
This means the web server cannot find the file or web page you
tried to pull up in your web browser.
Almost nothing you can do will correct this situation. Try hitting
your web browser's "Refresh" button to see if the page will load.
If not, email the website operator to let them know of the problem
and then move on.
Error: 500 Internal Error
This error usually occurs when you fill in a form on a web page
(contact form, shopping cart, feedback form) and click the submit
button.
This means the server or the script handling the form on the
server has a major problem. Again, there's nothing you can do so
just email the website owner and move on.
By the way, resubmitting the form a dozen times, banging your
hand on the keyboard, and yelling at your monitor won't fix the
problem!
Error: 408 Request Timeout
This error usually occurs when you try to download a huge file or
large web page and, for whatever reason, the connection times out.
Simply hit your browser's "Refresh" button and it should pick up
the download again where you left off.
If not, contact the website owner and inform them of the problem
or check back later.
Error: Host Unavailable
Grab a cup of coffee on this one and fall back to reading the
newspaper.
You can try hitting your "Refresh" button a couple of times, but,
for all intents and purposes, this means the server has gone down.
Try again in a few minutes on the off-chance you tried to access
the website just as the owners were restarting the server or
temporarily disconnected it from the Web.
If this doesn't work, the phone rates your best course of action
to contact the website owner since it's a safe bet their email
won't work either.
Error: Unable to Locate Host
This message usually means one of three things: the web server
is down; your Internet connection is dead; you typed in the web
address incorrectly.
To correct the problem, first try retyping the web address into
your browser's address bar. If that doesn't work, try surfing
over to another website to make sure your connection is live.
If you can't load any websites, contact your Internet service
provider (ISP) for technical assistance.
As a general rule, if you encounter an error while surfing the
web, try these steps in order to fix the problem:
- Click your Web browser's "Refresh" button.
- Verify that you typed in the correct URL (web address)
- Close down and restart your Web browser completely.
- Contact the website owner to alert them to the problem or request help.
- Contact your ISP for help.
Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-author of an amazing new ebook that will teach you how to use fr-e articles to quickly drive thousands of targeted visitors to your website or affiliate links...
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Motivational Quotes
The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a
captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.
- Mark Caine
Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look back.
Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can’t build on it;
it’s only for wallowing in.
- Katherine Mansfield
Take A Break: Eating Hotdogs
Two foreign immigrants have just arrived in the United States by
boat and one says to the other, "I hear that the people of this
country actually eat dogs." "Odd," her companion replies, "but
if we shall live in America, we might as well do as the Americans
do."
Nodding emphatically, one of the immigrants points to a hot dog
vendor and they both walk toward the cart. "Two dogs, please,"
she says.
The vendor is only too pleased to oblige, wraps both hot dogs in
foil and hands them over the counter. Excited, the companions
hurry to a bench and begin to unwrap their "dogs."
One of them opens the foil and begins to blush. Staring at it for
a moment, she turns to her friend and whispers cautiously, "What
part did you get?"
Tell Me What You Think
I would love to hear what you think of this issue of the "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter.
And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you'd like to
share with me, please send those, too!
Just e-mail me at:
To subscribe to my "Cols-A-To-Z" Newsletter, go to the following URL:
http://www.cols-a-to-z.com/join.html
Written by Colin Evans
President, Cols-A-To-Z.com
© copyright 2003 Cols-A-To-Z.com
