There are two reasons why I am writing this blog. The first has to do with being an educator and correcting 6th graders on their punctuation and spelling (meaning incorrect spelling is a GIANT PET PEEVE) while I was teaching in Alhambra. The second has to do with my mother who always, so graciously, would correct every wrong word spelled, in every location we went(Born To Spell)! I remember walking into the local bank my senior year in High School and they had a word spelled wrong on the white board. My mother kindly spoke with the manager of the bank, who didn't believe her that the word was spelled incorrectly, and then got a dictionary to show my mother that she was wrong. My mother gleamed as the dictionary was pulled out and the manager was put to shame. Sure showed me that spelling is important in every business. But what does misspelled words have to do with blogging? I found this WONDERFUL website (or so I would have thought) called Hot Topic Blogs. It actually pulled up first in my Google search (remember I am a Google addict) and that means it has the rankings which I highly admire. Looks like a great site and even pulls up as the "rick, niche" blogging site. The first sentence on this site says, "Niche Market Research Methods: The first module of the Rich Niche Blogging Training is now launched. It took a long time to get organised but it was released yesterday very quietly as I’m still testing out a few things. But I’m really excited to tell you about it. Did you catch it? ORGANISED? Right there, I stopped reading the blog and questioned whether the author was educated in any way and/or why they didn't do spell check ( a simple button to help those lacking spelling abilities). I can't go on. I would love to find my rich, niche in blogging and training, but I just can't do it. The website is selling a book and I don't want this book because the author cannot spell. I can't get passed these people and these sites who are trying to "EDUCATE" and "TEACH" people how to use the internet when in turn, can't spell. Any joe-schmo can write a book and post it for pay on the internet, but remember if you are writing a book, you need to show your true background and demeanor through your writing, which includes correct punctuation and spelling. I will confuse that I do read to find mistakes in spelling, but come on, we have proof readers, engineers, web site hosts, web masters, friends, family members, and spell check! This is the internet, a place where we have to read and put the words, faces, and expressions in our head. With the misspelling of words, it just lowers the readers thinking of your IQ level and actual education behind the company. So Blog away, blog far, but spell the words correctly! Maybe next time we will talk about CAPITALS and when to use them :)And if you find any misspelled words, sorry.

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I was out to lunch with a dear friend a couple of days ago and she asked me what my plans were for the future, career wise. It as an interesting question that I didn't have an immediate answer to so I simple said, "At this time I am not sure as I am trying to figure out what I want to do". Growing up, my father had never really settled on one job, so it seemed like a silly question to ask. I had always followed in his entrepreneur steps and always sensed that opportunity would knock. Was I wrong? or just naive in my thinking? I pondered on that question for a couple of days and now think I have a solid answer to "what my future holds". I began my career choice as many young teenagers do, the decision was made by my parents. My mom had 10 kids and I liked kids so teaching felt like the right career path. She had gone to school to be a teacher, so that is what I was mostly pushed into doing. My mom had always said it was a good choice for moms to be teachers, so I went that route, seemed like a work from home job, in some sense as teachers were always working from home. I taught for two years and decided I hated teaching, too much politics and social networking (in the non-online form). So I had to adapt to my surroundings and, as my mother would say, "See a need, fill it". I decided to do the next best thing to teaching, online tutoring and instant homework help. This was a definite "work from home" field with an "online marketing business" twist. I spent hours on end (remember the quote from Abe Lincoln, "if I had 6 hours to chop down a tree, I would spend the next 4 hours sharpening my ax") learning about the internet. I learned how to social network, how to start my own small business, all about the SEO (Search Engine Optimization)and WWW (World Wide Web). I became a "preferred" writer on sites such as ezineonline.com and article city (they even sent me a mug at the end of the year for all my writing contributions). I found amazing business consulting sites (such as powerstrategies.tv and planetarystreams.com) that enabled me to bring my business to a successful money making company. I am at a new stage in my life, but a lot of what my future holds depends on what I steps I decide to take in my life and how I strategically place my next pieces. I don't think I was wrong or naive in not knowing that answer to what my future holds mainly because I am know I am able to do something with what I am giving. To quote the amazing President Abe Lincoln again, "During the Civil War the generals told the President that they had caught 6 cows and wanted to know what to do with them. He replied, "Milk Them". So to the World Wide Web and those spending hours on Google trying to find the answer to what their future holds, just remember to take what you are given and find the easiest solution.

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July 17, 2008,—Woodland Hills, UT & Londonderry, Ireland – Kim Power Stilson, mother, at home entrepreneur and dual-citizen releases new education guide to give small business owners competitive edge to marketing their products online. Kim Power Stilson literally delivered her third child while working in the corporate world. She wanted to spend more time at home with them so she developed a solution that helped her company gain 150% increase in name awareness taking them from 126th in the industry to top 3 in nine months, coming 60% under budget, brining in $50 million in funding and the real success, allowing her to work a few days at home. Hearing of her success her small business owner friends asked for her marketing help she knew there had to be a way for them to promote their products without the high corporate staff and price tag. Kim came up with a plan she simply called, Make, Bake, Shake, Rake & Fresh and used that strategy to help her company, her clients and her friends succeed. Kim went on to become one of the first women to pioneer Internet talk radio and she helped over 107,000 people promote their products online. During this time her goal was always to find time to write a guide which would allow her to help thousands more. Today she is pleased to announce the release of her two new marketing guides and a workbook which allow any small business owner to quickly have a marketing strategy and the tools to promote their business online and traditionally. Her guides, “24 Hours to Zero Down Marketing Strategy Guide and Workbook” and the “Get online Blog, Ping, Pod, Stream, Bookmark, Blast, Release, Wiki, Widget, Web, Link, Avatar, Tag and Twitter! What is it and how do I do it?” are now available with a FREE excerpt at www.powerstratgies.TV . Both guides and the workbook are offered in Green-style online in a PDF version, as well as, a robust video, audio, Internet, Web, Social Media & Marketing certified education course. (Prices range from $240 - $2400 with certification.) For Free Media trial contact: Jack Brian or Anne Roberts Jack@powerstrategies.TV or anne@powerstrategies.com or 801-473-9174. ### About Kim Power Stilson: Founder of Power Strategies, Inc., Kim Power Stilson, the first women to pioneer Internet talk radio, is the author of Women Buy Everything (Fall 2008) 24 Hours to Zero Down Marketing Strategy Guide and Workbook and Get online Blog, Ping, Pod, Stream, Bookmark, Blast, Release, Wiki, Widget, Web, Link, Avatar, Tag and Twitter! What is it and how do I do it? Kim has helped over 100,000 small businesses promote their products online. She is the Internet talk radio, host of "My Best Friends are Dogs and Bloggers" on Planetary Streams (Log on and listen at www.planetarystreams.com ) and “Power Strategies, market your business to better bottom line!” talk radio show on MyExpertSolution.com. She is the founder of the Bluebird Sisterhood. She really does have 4 dogs, 3 kids, 2 birds and 1 cat and a very patient husband. She loves to watercolor, play tennis, snow ski and be near the sea. She divides her time between California, Utah & Ireland. She blogs at www.bluebirdsisterhood.blogspot.com, www.myheartisinireland.wordpress.com & www.twitter.com. Her professional marketing background includes over 17 years experience and a proven track record of success. She has created marketing positioning campaigns based on her own copyrighted Make, Bake, Shake, Rake & Fresh marketing strategy to build name awareness and speed up the sales process hundreds of companies delivering award-winning campaigns to national and international audiences for at 60% savings over costs, with an 140% increase in name awareness and delivering ordered sales of $50 million plus. www.powerstrategies.tv. About Power Strategies, Inc: Power Strategies is a Social Media, PR, Web & Internet Marketing Strategies Company providing Education, Marketing Consultation and Public Relations Services to women and family owned businesses and corporations in the United States and Ireland. www.powerstrategies.TV Kim Power Stilson Social Media & Marketing Strategist www.powerstrategies.TV Log on and listen to my talk radio show "My Best Friends are Dogs and Bloggers" every Friday @Noon at www.planetarystreams.com

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I had one last piece, an orange number eight, and it was my turn to place. I looked at my husband who gently nodded to my train of dominoes and I then knew that I could place my last piece. There it was, a double orange eight, at the top of the train… a place I had forgotten about and the spot I could lay down my last domino. I cheered, it was Laurie’s turn, and with that squeal the group had known they lost, I put my piece down and WON! I was proud, my friends cheered and my husband laughed as this was our 9th time playing, and I had finally won my first round of Mexican Train. We played a few more rounds after my first victory, but as the title states, “I won A game of Mexican Train” (I did joke with my girlfriends that I would be Blogging about this the next day and here I am). I joked with those around me, that I am not a winner of games. I actually, pretty much, loose every game I play (accept this one time last week, I totally killed everyone in Bowling on the Wii, who knew). I am a super good sport about it because even it I try to engulf my competitive side, I still loose, and then I am grumpy. Yet, as I basked in the glory of my won win, I thought about the quote, “I try to make all my failures seem like small triumphs”. I was researching different keywords on Google, for my company, and found that the words “online marketing, moms, work from home, home based business, small business” were very popular terms (with a million plus hits a day) and seemed to represent what our society is trying to achieve. Everyone wants to be that ONE company who WINS their turn on the World Wide Web by having their keywords placed #1 on the Google or any Search Engine (or SEO as those geeks like to call it). We still have to remember that maybe just having one of our keywords placed is just as great as having all of them. So play the game of SEO, but remember that your time will come when you are #1 in the Search Engines (and it might not last ).

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