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“An invisible red thread connects those destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance.  The thread may stretch or tangle, but never break.” ~Ancient Chinese Proverb

It was the year 2000, and as an ‘older’ mother, I had already had given birth to two children at the ages of 30 and 40.  Not exactly the most prime ages for having children, but that was a part of my life that I didn’t plan.  Even after a life threatening second pregnancy, I still had a deep longing to have another child.

At the time, I didn’t feel it was right to domestically adopt a baby that other first time parents so eagerly sought.  After all, I already had two wonderful, healthy children. I couldn’t go through another pregnancy safely, so my longing went sorely unresolved until Thanksgiving Day in November, 2000.

That holiday morning, I saw my sweet little nephews and niece while visiting my mother’s house in Indiana and almost immediately began having a severe allergic reaction to the cat dander on their winter clothing.  (The cats were miles away!)  The reaction caused my eyes to swell and almost bleed, and my upper lip became very swollen.  All in all, painful and certainly not very attractive!

During Thanksgiving Day dinner that afternoon at my Grandmother’s house, my symptoms worsened and I finally got up from the table and headed for the nearest open Minor Emergency Center for some relief.  Alone and waiting for the doctor in the tiny medical examining room, I happened to pick up a Good Housekeeping magazine that featured a story about the plight of baby girls in China.

A Long Awaited Surprise Answer

The article described China’s long standing ‘one child policy’ and the fact that boys were favored because it was their duty to take care of the parents in their old age.  Girls were often aborted, killed upon birth or abandoned on the streets as the mother hoped to try again to give birth to a boy.

As a result of this policy, there were thousands of baby girls in orphanages that needed homes.  At the very moment of reading this article, I knew, without a single doubt in my heart that this was my answer – the answer to my longing for another child.  A baby girl in China!  I had no doubts, no fears and knew that nothing could keep me from adopting my daughter from China.  All of this truly happened in an instant.

As I drove out the parking lot, I figured my next step was to discuss it with my husband.  I went back to my Grandmother’s house where the big Thanksgiving gathering was still in full swing and told him the great news!  He laughed and teasingly told me I had too much of an oxygen deficit during the last pregnancy and that I couldn’t possibly be serious!

It didn’t matter what was said, however – my quest began.  Immediately upon my return home after the Thanksgiving trip, I contacted two high school friends who happened to run a reputable adoption agency and I started the paperwork even though my husband was definitely not on board at the time.

By Christmastime, my husband saw that I was still very serious and lovingly wrapped the adoption application papers, which required his signature, in a box with a red bow and gave them to me as my Christmas (and lifetime) gift.

Never, Ever, Ever Give Up!

I would like to say that all went perfectly smooth in the almost two year process, but it didn’t.  I encountered many obstacles along the way including very negative opinions about the adoption from two very close, influential family members.  I’m sure that they were fearful of the outcome for all of us and they didn’t (and couldn’t) possess the faith that I was given in that moment in the Emergency Center waiting room.  It was hard to ignore their advice, however, and especially hard for my husband to do so, but we did.

At another point, the adoption paperwork lay untouched for weeks on the desk of someone in the U.S. State Department that had been called into duty for the 9/11 crisis.  We literally came within hours of the deadline of all of our many month’s worth of paperwork expiring!  Thanks to the help of our congressman in Virginia, the paperwork was completed and moved off the desk into action or we would not have gotten the baby that I knew was meant for us.  We made the overnight delivery deadline containing the final paperwork to the agency literally within minutes.

The last of many obstacles (including the outbreak of SARS in Asia right before we were due to leave) came the morning of our flight to China. I was so excited and had prepared for this moment for almost two years!  As we were on our way to the airport, it was announced over the radio that the United States had declared WAR with Iraq.  I wasn’t nervous about flying around the world to get Emma in the face of the declaration of war, but I was afraid they would cancel our flight!  The media was buzzing about airline safety in light of the war, but fortunately the flight went on as planned.

No matter how hard the paperwork was to complete (it’s been called one of the most bureaucratic processes in the world), no matter the mounting expenses the adoption incurred, no matter the negative opinions expressed by family, no matter that SARS was a severe threat, and our country was at war, I persevered.

There are few things that we truly “KNOW” are meant to be in life.  I knew this adoption was one of my life’s moments of Truth.  My adoption of our beautiful little Chinese girl was successful, first and foremost, because I possessed the will to never give up.

As Calvin Coolidge is famous for saying…. “Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."

Murphy’s Law is No Competition for Perseverance

Perseverance is about the only thing that can keep us moving forward in the face of self-doubt, fear and obstacles.

Many people often state that “knowledge is power”, but knowledge, in and of itself, is not the most important power we need to possess.  Perseverance is the trait that we need to possess above all others.

Unfortunately, our society today has the attitude that everything should be instantly gratified.  Instant gratification comes in all forms from the fast food we eat to how we think our careers should work, and is endemic in how we view the world today through instant social media.

Perseverance is not popular among the masses, but it IS something we can all possess with single decision.  While high levels of education, beauty, popularity and forms of genius are not something that everyone can or does have….perseverance is there for the taking by anyone and everyone.

In addition to perseverance being something we all can possess, obstacles are shared by all of us as well.  Murphy does not pick and choose who will reap his law.  Everyone experiences Murphy’s Law often in their lives.  The difference in how we react to these obstacles lies in our commitment to persevere.   

Obstacles Lead to Victory

Gary Ryan Blair says that we should “be thankful for our obstacles for they are our practice ground.  Each new victory prepares us for each future victory.”

Perseverance is what keeps hopes alive whether we are going through a personal or professional struggle.  In order to be something better than we are, we must keep moving forward with patience and progress as the core to reaching each success.

We must confront all obstacles.

We must understand that the occasional setback is the price that must be paid on the path toward success.

We must rise each time we fall.

We must use each obstacle and setback to demonstrate perseverance.

We must embrace the fact that perseverance is often the only option to a successful outcome and happiness.

We must do whatever it takes, even if it means flying in the face of war, to achieve our goals.

About the Author:
Beth Patterson is the CEO and founder of Women’s Spotlight.com.
WomensSpotlight.com was founded with the desire to serve women in mid-life with their personal goals and career with inspiration, articles and tools needed in order to achieve their dreams.

To read more about motivation, inspiration and beauty for women, visit Beth at http://www.womensspotlight.com/beauty101.  Be sure to pick up your FREE beauty guide “101 Best Beauty Tips to Look Younger” when you visit!

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The “A listers” already know it.

They may not always admit it, mainly because A+ copywriters have healthy egos and that’s ok. But they know exactly what we are about to discuss is the proven truth.

They know that “Copy is King”. And that there are three components that govern the success of any promotion: the quality of the list and media you select, the offer you present to the prospect, and the copy you use.

Of these three, the list is the most important, the offer is next, and the copy is third.

The right offer with great copy mailed to a bad list will produce zero results. Mediocre copy with a mediocre offer mailed to a great list can produce good results. That said, selecting qualified lists and framing attractive offers is less difficult than crafting great copy. That is why in direct response advertising, copy is king.

Even if you never plan on writing your own advertising copy, you MUST understand the fundamental rules of writing effective copy so that you can increase your results and your bottom line.

Learn it or perish

Don’t proselytize. Preach to the converted.

One of the tenets of direct-response marketing is to target the sales effort to qualified prospects: people who have already demonstrated an interest in buying products and services similar to those you are selling. Trying to sell a watch to someone who has never bought a watch before is an uphill battle at best. Most of the time, your advertising will be directed at proven buyers—enthusiasts, as it were. When writing to enthusiasts, you should write enthusiastically and remind them constantly of what they already believe—that buying your product will make them feel good, the same way it has made them feel in the past.

The 10 Golden Rules of Power Packed Copy!

1. Start with the prospect. Many beginning direct response copywriters make the mistake of spending too much ink touting the product, describing all its features at length and in detail. This is an understandable mistake when writing about a new and exciting product. But the direct marketer must keep in mind that the prospect doesn’t really care about the product. All he really cares about is himself and how the product might be able to help him. Keep that in mind when you write copy. Ask: “What is my best customer thinking about? What’s keeping him up at night? What is he dreaming about?” Figure out the answers to those questions, and your copy will never stray far from the mark.

2. Long copy out-pulls short copy. This principle is highly controversial. Many Internet copywriters believe that the nature of the Internet—which makes it necessary for prospects to read copy on a screen—favors short copy. Although short copy can sometimes work very well, hundreds of tests that we have seen prove the old direct-mail maxim to be true: Other things being equal, longer copy is usually better.

3. When it comes to long copy, the lead is 80 percent of the game. A typical direct-mail or e-mail promotion has three parts: the lead, the body, and the close. The lead is usually less than 20 percent of the whole, but it carries the responsibility of conveying the “big idea” of the sales message and provoking an appropriate emotion in the reader. If you can do that consistently in your e-mail promotions, you will have a great deal of success.

4. In crafting a lead, stick with the proven six. There are dozens of ways to begin a long-form sales letter, but in the history of direct response, six have dominated. These are: offer/promise, invitation, problem/solution, secret, story, and prediction. If you can figure out which of these six leads works best for the offer you are making, your chances of success will skyrocket.

5. All leads range from being very direct to very indirect. Direct leads are those that are obviously sales pitches. Indirect leads appear to be doing something else. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses. Effective e-mail marketers make wise use of both.

6. Given two packages with equally strong leads, the one that is well-balanced will do better. A well-balanced promotion has four aspects: idea, benefit, credibility, and track record. We call this “the secret of the four-legged stool,” because if your promotion has all four of these “legs,” it will be well balanced and it won’t topple over.

7. When composing headlines and bullets, details matter. Make your headlines and bullets more powerful by focusing on what we call “the four U’s”: uniqueness, usefulness, urgency, and ultra-specificity.

8. Every product needs a unique selling proposition (USP). Essentially, the USP is what makes your product stand out from the competition and gives your prospect a good reason to buy from you. Ignore this principle at your peril.

9. Benefits are better than features—and deeper benefits are better than superficial benefits. For example, don’t tell a prospect that the car you are selling has good tires and suspension. Those are features. Instead, describe how, because of those features, they’ll be able to maneuver easily through rush-hour traffic and avoid accidents with dangerous drivers. If you understand the deeper benefits your product offers, suggest them (indirectly, not directly) in the copy.

10. Write to one person at a time in the language you would use if you were talking to that person face-to-face. That doesn’t always mean informal language. But it does mean conversational language.

Those are not the only principles that govern direct mail and e-mail marketing, but they are 10 of the most important.

If you want to get a head start on mastering the fundamentals of direct response marketing and putting your competition to shame, check out my #1 Amazon.com best-seller, Changing the Channel: 12 Easy Ways to Make Millions for Your Business.

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What would you do if you could operate your business from anywhere in the world and still make a profit? And what if you could earn that money and not have to be in a traditional office? With just an Internet connection, you can work from anywhere in the world, and at any time you want.

Take me for example. I recently returned from a long, overdue, relaxing vacation on a warm tropical beach. Because I had my iPad with me, I could have replied to online messages or done some out-of-office work since I had wireless Internet connection while I was by the ocean side. Luckily for me, I had a work-free vacation.  If I needed to work, however, I “could” have.

I can still do the same thing now that I have returned from my vacation. I can control my business operations from anywhere, even a coffee shop. My business partner Denise and I often like to get out of the office and go to our local Starbucks to grab a cup of our favorite java and to work. It’s incredible what you can finish while sipping on coffee and using the Wifi connection.

You may think that it is impossible to run a business from a local coffee shop, a beach, or any other location outside of the office. If so, you are mistaken. Nowadays, if you have an Internet connection, you truly can run any type of business anywhere in the world.

So, if you are one of those people who do not enjoy being in the office all the time and are looking to begin your own business or to even make some money on the side, now is the best time to do just that.

For the remainder of this article, I will give you examples of three businesses you can operate from a coffee shop (or from anywhere in the world).

Business #1: Market Other People’s Products As An Affiliate

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money online. This is especially true if you don’t have your own products to sell or if you want to add diversity to what you already sell.

As an affiliate marketer, you are given your own unique links to a product so the seller knows when a customer you referred buys their product. The seller then pays you a commission, generally a percentage of the sale, in return for referring the buyer.

To find the types of products you may want to sell initially, you can research some of the hottest trends in the market. You can do this by searching on some of the most popular places on the Internet.

For example, you can use Google’s Keyword Tool. With this tool, you simply type in the different key words that you think people would use to search for a product. Then Google spits out the data on how many people are searching on that topic each day on Google’s search engine.

The Google Keyword Tool is a great way to figure out what products consumers are looking for. In fact, it’s one of the best free tools that currently exists.

After you have determined the type of products you want to sell, the next step is to find the companies that actually sell those products.

You can also search online marketplaces. For example, Clickbank is an affiliate marketplace of over 50,000 digital products that allows publishers of digital products to find affiliates who want to promote their products. Once you find a product you want to promote, you then sign up to become an affiliate of that company so that you can start promoting the product.

Business #2:  Get Paid To Play Around On Social Media Sites For Other Businesses

Are you on Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis, or do you use Facebook and Twitter to market your blog, web site or products and services? Do you participate in forums of your favorite online communities a couple of times of week? If you answered “Yes,” to any of these questions, then you are already well accustomed to the world of social media and online communities. Here’s where your love of social media can start to pay you real rewards.

One of the hottest jobs in demand today is for social media managers. Businesses are in search of individuals to set up and manage their Twitter accounts and Facebook Pages (as well as other social media web sites) so that they can stay connected with their potential customers to promote their business online.

If you enjoy talking to others, making connections and being part of a community, than becoming a social media manager could be perfect for you. After all, it’s all about social networking. From making connections on Facebook, having people follow you on Twitter, to posting in blogs, to participating in other social networks on the internet, it is all about being engaged.

And even if you are not a social butterfly, you can still use social media to make money too. For example, if you enjoy building the buzz around a product or company that it becomes the hottest sensation in the market, then social media could still be the perfect field for you. The beauty is that you can make money by merely interacting with people online.

Business #3: Work As A Freelance Writer

If you enjoy writing, then you may want to consider becoming a freelance content writer. More and more businesses these days are looking to provide their readers with helpful content, and they need someone to help them write that content.

That person could be you.

With great content, a business can attract readers to their web site, get their site ranked higher in the search engines, and increase their online presence by mentioning the content on social networking sites.

Businesses can also further leverage their content by repurposing or syndicating it on other sites. This not only can increase their online presence but can also increase their sales.

Those are three good examples of the types of businesses you can run from anywhere in the world, even from a coffee shop.

About This Author:
Jynell Berkshire is the Vice President and Associate Editor of ThrivingBusiness.com Inc.  ThrivingBusiness.com offers various free and paid training programs to help people start and grow their own businesses, while having a thriving life.

Jynell has a unique background in business, law, public policy, and entrepreneurship.  Jynell has more than fifteen years of experience in government relations and assisting start-up and existing companies with initial formation, growth, and funding challenges.  Jynell also has been featured in various newspapers and magazines, and has been a frequent speaker at various television, radio, and industry events for her expertise.

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