eAction

On September 3, 2005 I installed SuSE 9.3 with the help of a man who phoned me long distance several times to walk me through the installation to make sure everything would go well. It did, except for the KMail.

Imagine a reporter stopped you on the street, stuck a microphone into your face, and asked you, “To what would you credit your success so far?” What is the first thing that would pop into your mind? (Besides perhaps, “Success? In what?”)

You have seen those web pages, particularly if it is trying to sell something, where the sales copy is interrupted with quotes from people who have already reviewed or tried out that product and found it to be useful and of excellent quality. Seeing their names and faces gives you the impression that this is really great, popular stuff!

That’s the whole point of those testimonials. I recently read the advice of a writer of good advertising copy and he said one of the smartest things you can do for your web site, is to post testimonials of your satisfied customers everywhere. It makes you seem more trustworthy and reliable.

Which raises some questions.

Even better than testimonials, I love to read success stories that show how people solved their problem, perhaps with a certain product. How they learned to use it, what special features worked best for them, etc. This week I’ve read some terrific success stories

Tuesday morning, I opened KWord in my Mandrake 9.1 which was on a separate drive from my Windows 98. I pulled up some files on a floppy disk from my old 286 computer downstairs (which I use only for super private stuff). The first one I had converted to RTF and it opened okay, but when I opened the second one, KWord “hung up” or greyed out, and I couldn’t close it or do anything with it. In Windows-lingo, it crashed.

Not even Christmas always goes perfectly in every home. So are you still licking wounds from unkind things that were said or done? If so, you are probably finding it hard to get back into a mood to work at your business venture. Your body and your mind conspire to make you feel ill or cause events to keep you from your work.

At the end or start of a new year, I like to take some days or half-days off to sort out a lot of things in my mind. It’s too easy throughout the year to be so busy I just plod along doing the next thing, and forget why I’m doing it. What if I’ve slipped off base? Many little projects can cause us to veer off on tangents. Am I still doing what God wants me to do? Do I have projects on my agenda list that I ought to drop? Are there better ones to take up?

Make a list of all you DID get done last year. Think back carefully, if you didn’t make lists to check off, you have only your memory to rely on. Maybe you’ll have to ask some family members or friends what they recall. You might be surprised at how productive you were.

Now make a sensible list of all the things you’d like to work on this year, and what time of the day or week you will work at them. Write it down, or make charts and tables. Pin them up where you will see them often.