by Tammy Embrich

You've finally created your website and you need ideas to promote it!

But where do you promote your website? How do you promote it?

There are literally tons of marketing ideas out there. But I wanted to focus on the concept of Forum Marketing. There are message forums everywhere.

Work at home, home business, webmasters, affiliate programs, and articles...are just a few of the various types of forums out on the Internet today.

by S McIntyre

Hello, my name is Sophia and I'm from Beautiful BC, Canada and home to the 2010 Winter Olympics. I started working in late 2002 in various online endeavors. I own a work at home website, a health blog and moderate three work at home forums. I'm looking forward to contributing and getting to know you all better.

How hard was that? Not hard at all and it only took me about...oh...30 seconds if that, to let everyone know who I am and what I do. Forum introductions are an integral step and is just as important as reading the forum rules. Don't short change yourself by posting an "empty" introduction. Remember, first impressions always counts.

As a forum owner, I'm well aware of how many people "forget" this all important step. While many forums have a free section for members to promote their businesses, how beneficial is it to make your first post a "post and run"? I can honestly say if a forum requires an introduction your ad just met the delete button and even if they don't, it's simply forum etiquette. Forums are invaluable tools and it should be utilized to its fullest potential.

by Cristina Favreau

I love kids’ movies that actually make it fun for adults to watch. A classic (and one of my favorites) is Toy Story. The best scene is when Buzz and Woody are lost at the gas station. Buzz tries to put things in perspective for Woody by saying, "This is no time to panic." However, Woody’s frenzied reply was, "This is the PERFECT time to panic!" I guess it’s because I can relate so well to his reaction.

How do you deal with change? What do you do when you’re thrust into an undesirable and completely unexpected situation?

Do you, like Woody, tend to blame others or want to curl up in a fetal position, hoping the situation will fix itself? Or do you, like Buzz, try to remain positive and hopeful, searching for solutions, being resourceful and finding help from every available source?

You see, change in life and in business is inevitable. How you deal with change can greatly impact the time it takes to adjust, improve, endure or remedy the situation.

by Cristina Favreau

A hockey coach on "Making the Cut" (a Canadian reality show) this week gave his team a lesson about putting confidence and performance in their respective places. He compared it to a person steering a boat while pulling a water skier. When the driver steers the boat to the left, eventually the water skier will follow to the left too.

Using that illustration, he showed how most young or inexperienced players allow their performance to take the wheel of the boat, thus dictating what direction their confidence takes. This is all fine and good when you’re on top of your game and doing well – the result is your self-confidence increases and you play better. But the danger occurs when your performance takes a turn for the worse – your confidence decreases and you begin to create negative momentum.

by Jenn Givler

What is your inner critic really trying to teach you? Yes, most of the time, your inner critic offers up negative, fear-based comments. But, if you build a relationship with your inner critic – find out what it’s really trying to tell you, you can learn a lot from it.

The first thing to do is to identify when you're inner critic is talking to you. And you know this, because your inner critic usually tells you things that reinforce your fears.

For example, if you're working on a new product in your business, your inner critic is the voice in the back of your head telling you why it's not good enough and how you probably won't sell any.

Another example is when you try a new hair style, or you want to buy a new outfit. Your inner critic is the one telling you that it probably won't look nice on you.

If you talked to your friends, the way your inner critic talks to you, you wouldn't have many friends, now would you?

by Kristi Cox

Live the life you have imagined. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. -Henry David Thoreau

When I was a little girl I remember lying in the grass and looking up at the bright blue sky and dreaming... Dreaming of far away lands, fairies, and everything little girls dream of. Blowing on dandelions and making wishes on dreams that may or may not come true.

I have a story I would like to share with all of you about when my sisters and I were growing up. There were five of us and we were very blessed to have grown up in the country. We had wide open spaces, which we desperately needed.

Summer was in full force and we had all been pestering our Dad for a swimming pool. Oh, we were bad. We begged and begged for a pool. Picture it for a moment...Not one child or even two, but FIVE saying "Please, Daddy can we have a pool!" The answer of course was a firm NO! Naturally we pouted, like girls do. All we could do was dream of how nice it would be to have a swimming pool to splash around in.