Frustration is just another part of this business.  Zoe and I have had our share of frustrations, and still do.  However, we still work towards our ultimate success.

It is amazing at how many people just give up on things just because they're faced with a little bit of frustration.  However, what Zoe and I have learned was that if you persist, and continue with your efforts, you'll eventually get there.

Now I can honestly say that for myself, as well as for Zoe, we have both reached some important milestones in our marketing careers online.  Sure, we work hard, and we should, but there are times when setbacks come our way, and we have to deal with them before we can move onward.  That's the valuable lesson that Zoe and I have learned throughout our marketing careers.

You see, you can't give up just because something isn't going the way that it should go for you.  You have to be persistant and willing to continue no matter what happens.  After all, this business does have its uncertanties, and its mishaps from time to time, but all of these can be overcome, and success could be knocking at your door at any time.

Who knows, maybe you will create that winning product that will bring you out of a slump, or you might land a joint venture that could catipult your business to the next level, or you could get some insight that can mean the difference in throwing in the towl to making it big online.

The fact is; you should not give up on yourself and your efforts.  Just keep pushing forward and keep on thinking about the end result because that's what you're working towards.  That is the goal that you are trying to reach.

Don't let your limitations, whatever they might be, be the thing that ruins you and your business forever.  Use those things to your advantage and come out a winner instead.

Blind Belgian daredevil Luc Costermans won a world record by driving a lamborghini at 192 miles an hour on a French air strip.  Luc was blinded in an accident.  He broke the speed record in a borrowed lanborghini.  The speed record was broken twice by him.  He dedicated the record to a Formula 1 driver Philippe Streiff, who
has been a tetraplegic since an accident in the 1989 Brasil Grand Prix.  He also thanked the French airforce and his co-pilot for his success in breaking the speed record.  Who says that blind people can't drive?  They can and they do very very fast!

This just goes to show the daredevil in many blind and visually impaired people who want to do something that usually requires a lot of vision.  Who knows, maybe some day, blind people may fly airplanes, and spaceships.

Blind people sometimes don't get enough credit for what they do because the sighted world seams to think that they can't do something until they're proven wrong by the blind themselves, and this situation is no acception.  Ok, so he can't drive on a busy highway, that that still doesn't discredit the fact that he did drive a car, and very fast I might add.  After all, blind people ski, go cannooing, and much much more than what the sighted world wants to acknowledge.

Some of us are indeed daredevils, and that's really good because it pushes us  out of our comfort zones and it lets us really explore our world and experience it to the fullest.

A friend of ours, Robin Coles, recently passed along some information on a potential opportunity for promoting your website. Check it out and see if you'd like to participate and use it as a chance to promote your business. The information states that submissions can include your name or be annonymous. We would suggest that you ask for a hyper-link to your site in exchage for your submission.

Summary: Blind/visually impaired computer users

Category: Technology

Name: Shirley Cheng

Email: letters AT shirleycheng.com 

If you decide to investigate further or to participate, put the word "Haro" at the beginning of the subject line of your email to Shirley.

Title: Blind & physically disabled award-winning author, motivational speaker, advocate

Media Outlet/Publication: Dance with Your Heart!

Wanted: personal experience stories from blind or visually impaired computer users who use special software (i.e. screen reader JAWS) to help them use computers. How does the software help you personally and professionally? Please include the software used. Please include words of encouragement to those who have not tried the software because they either feel hopeless or fearful of any challenges. Please make the stories less than 200 words, and I'll post it on my page called "Use a Computer without Eyesight!" You may include your name or be anonymous. Please paste your story within the body of an e-mail, not as an attachment. You have copyrights to your work, but I have permission to post it on my site. This is ongoing. Thank you!

Co-founder of the Blind Online Success System Donald Brown, Jr. lives in Lumberton, Texas. As you probably know, Huirrcane Ike struck south-eastern Texas with a vegence.

Donald rode out the strom at his parent's place in Beaumont, Texas and is doing well. Unfortunately, there is still no power at Donald's home and so he has been unable to return to his place yet.

Members of the BOSS program also know Donald's fiance Zoe. She evacuated to western Texas for the storm and is also doing well. However, she lives in the same apartment complex as Donald and since there is no power there, she is staying at her dad's house for the time being.

BOSS members can reach Donald on his cell phone if they need to talk with him. And co-founders Lori and Jeff are also available for members.

If you are a member of the BOSS program and have not signed up for the new membership site, please signup by visiting the Blind Online Success System Info Page and complete the application/registration form. The BOSS program will be using the new membership site from now on for access to all membership recordings and other information. Since the old server has been down due to the hurricane we will use this opportunity to completely move to the new BOSS membership site.

We appreciate all our members and are excited by their continued progress and success.

If you are blind or visually impaired and are not yet a member of the BOSS program, please check out the program and see if you would be interested in discovering how to market online and work from home.

Best wishes,

Lori and Jeff

We have a brand new member in our program by the name of Christopher Banks.  Now the reason why I am writing about him is because he is the first brand new member that we have gotten ever since our new membership web site has been up and running.  Christopher Banks has shown a great interest in our program, and he has already upgraded his membership up to the second level.  This proves that he is taking afirmative action, which is the main quality that we look for in a new member of our program.

Not only that, but Christopher is ahead of the game as well because he already has a product in hand.  He has written a book about guide dogs that he plans to educate children with.  The book is about his guide dog named Pasco.  Pasco is the narator of the book, and he takes the children on a true guide dog adventure, plus he explains what it is like to be a guide dog, and what it takes to become a guide dog.

Christopher's willingness to succeed and become profitable at his own business is the very quality that we are seeking in a new member of our program because if we can get more like him, then we know that we're doing the right thing.

It really motivates me to see people just like Christopher because that lets me know that the BOSS program is really needed.

I have actually had people tell me that this program is a long time in coming, and it just goes to show that those that are taking action are proving that this program really does work.  If we can get more members who are taking action like Christopher Banks, then we will be turning some heads because it is very unusual to have a program such as ours that can churn out so many successful people like that.

You see, most coaching and apprenticeships don't have the number of successful people that we have because for the most part, most of the people in those groups aren't getting the support and help that they really need to succeed.  I guess that's what really sets us far apart from the other coaching programs out there.

I myself am totally dedicated to BOSS and it's membership because I want this entire program to be successful.  We have only been in existance since July of 2007, and look where we are right now.  We have come a very very long way, but the road is long and we have a lot more of it to travel down yet.

I honestly belive that in combination with our new membership site and the more successful people that we have, we should be in the media pretty soon, and those spotlights will be shining upon us.  People will be taking notice, and we will be talked about.  We really want people to take notice of  BOSS because it will show them that the blind and the visually impaired can run and manage their own online businesses, and that they really can become successful at it.

Myself along with Jeff and Lori are making sure that each and every member of our program gets exactly what they need, especially in the way of support and backing.  You see, I honestly believe that's what sets us apart from other coaching programs.  It is that winning support, friendliness and the willingness to see someone though that makes all the difference in the world.

We stick with our members through thick and thin, and it shows.  We don't just talk the talk, or walk the walk, but we do what we teach, and we practice exactly what we preach.  We follow our own advice and we do all the things that our members do.  We don't just sit behind the scenes acting like some untouchable gurus.  No, we get out there in the trenches and we lend a helping hand when it is needed.  We're not afraid to get our hands dirty, and we're not afraid to help someone when it is really needed.

That's why I am available from 9 in the morning until midnight because that's how dedicated I am.  As co-Founder of this program, the members are my responsibility, and the program itself is my responsibility.  Myself along with Jeff and Lori make up what I think is a pretty good team.  Between the three of us, you have the best in the business because we truly believe in you and what you're capable of.

I am going to borrow a quote that one really great marketer by the name of Cindi Dawson says, and that is, "You can do this!"  She's absolutely right in saying that too because you can do this, there's no question about that.  As Christopher Banks is already proving as a brand new member, there's no reason why you can't take affirmative action and create your own business online through our program.

As blind people, sometimes we find it difficult to deal with a sighted world. Take technology for instance.  Just about everything and its grandmother has a screen on it, or some sort of complicated navigation menu system that takes a rocket science degree to understand and use.  This is especially hard if you have some sight, and you really want to use that sight that you do have.  I know that in my case, this is the problem because I love many of those devices with those tiny screens, but in order for me to use them, I have to find somebody who is sighted just to read them.  Sounds pretty frustrating doesn't it?

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to incorporate speech into many of these devices, or make the print large enough for those with some sight to read?  Take for example, microwave ovens.  Many of them today have those flat pannels with printed words and numbers on them.  In order for somebody who is totally blind to use them, they need the assistance of someone who is sighted just to place the Braille labels where they belong.  What about cell phones?  Sheesh!  That one is really a tough cookie.  Many of us, sighted or blind have cell phones, and they're a great addition to our personal lives, but even these devices have their limitations when it comes to blind and visually impaired people.

I think that technology is great, but sometimes I wish that laws were passed that would force companies to make their devices more blind-friendly.  Of course, some cellular companies are doing this with their phones, but other companies really don't care about doing it.

So how do you feel about technology today?  Do you feel that there are some changes that need to be made to make technology more blind-friendly?  In a world of touch screens, and other visual electronic devices, it is becoming really difficult for those that are blind, or visually impaired to cope with the changes.  Please give me your comments on this and your thoughts on this subject.  I would really like to know how you honestly feel.

A brand new commemorative coin was unvailed at the NFB National Convention.  This coin is totally unique in that it is the very first bit of U.S currency with raised Braille dots.  The coin is described below.

The heads side of the silver dollar depicts Louis Braille with the word "Liberty" above it.
On the back of the coin, the Braille code for the word Braille — or "Brl" — is inscribed, above a depiction of a school-age boy reading a Braille book with
a cane resting on his arm. Behind him is a bookshelf bearing the word "Independence."

The commemorative 1-ounce coin will be available in spring 2009, the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth. The U.S. Mint will produce 400,000 of the
coins. Braille was born in France in 1809.

A $10 surcharge will be added to each coin, with money from the coin sales going to support programs to help the blind.

This is definitely a step in the right direction in providing equal access to our currency by the blind.  Of course, our coin system has been pretty accessible through the different tactile representations, and sizes of each coin, but putting actual Braille on them adds that special touch that so many blind individuals are familiar with.  Braille is their language.  By adding Braille on the currency will mean great employment potential, not to mention greater independence for the blind who require the reading of Braille in their lives.  By revamping the U.S currency to meet the needs of the Blind means that our nation is taking a step in the right direction in aiding in the independence of those who are blind.

For so long now, the blind have had to rely upon sighted individuals to tell them what their currency, and hope that what they were told was the honest truth.  However, with more accessible currency, the blind themselves can tell the difference in currency, and not have to consult another sighted individual just to tell them what a particular bit of currency is.

By making our money more accessible to the blind means that those who are blind can do a whole lot more in their day to day lives, thus live that much more independently.

We already put Braille dots on the insides of elevators without thinking about it, so why not our money too?  It is high time that our government and those in power take the right steps to improve our currency to adaquately accomodate the blind.  We have the ADA, Americans With Disabilities Act which helps with things such as employment, housing and transportation, but we have lacked in handling our currency in the same mannor.  Yo would have thought that with the ADA in place, that our currency would automatically follow those guidelines, but it hasen't,  and it needs to catch up.

One of our outstanding members, Keith Bundy will be representing the Blind Online Success System at the 2008 ACB convention in Kentucky.  He will be armed with our promotional package which was first used at the Southeast Texas Disability Career Fair by myself and Zoe.

If everything goes according to plan, Keith will be taking a great number of these disks with him to the convention to help spread the word about BOSS.  He told me that next year, he plans to have a booth at the convention so that he can better promote the program.

You too, can help spread the word about the Blind Online Success System by requesting a copy of our promotional CD.  You can either get the physical CD itself, or we can send you the image file which contains all the data that is on the CD to be used with your CD writing software.  There's no limit to the number of CD's you can request.  However, we strongly recommend that if you need a very large number of disks, that you get our image file which is compatible with most all CD burning packages and use it to burn as many copies as you need.  That way, you can avoid paying a massive amount for shipping and handling.

Our promotional CD is not copy written and you can make as many copies of it as you need for distribution purposes.  If you do not know how to use CD image files, then we can send you a single CD which you can simply make as many copies of as you need.

We would love to have you promote our program.  This will allow for you to be an active part in spreading the word out about BOSS.  So if you want to help us in spreading the word out about the Blind Online Success System, simply click on the link below to send me an e-mail with your request for the CD package.  Please specify whether you want the image file, or a single CD sent to your physical address.  If you want a CD actually sent to you, please provide your shipping address inside the body of the message so that we can get one sent to you promptly.  Also provide a telephone number where we can reach you, and the best time to reach you.

<a href="mailto:dbrwn@aol.com">Request Promotional Package</a>

If you are associated with a state agency for the blind, then we welcome you to our site, and we sincerely hope that you decide to recieve our promotional package.  This package is great to be handed out to your consumers, and or students.  Anyone can request a copy of our promotional package.  Teachers, students, professionals and anyone else not mentioned here.

Our promotional CD doesn't cost a single dime, and we'll send it to you free of charge.  If you have any questions about the promotional package, or anything else relating to our program, please click on the E-mail link above, and we'll get back with you as soon as possible.

There is an ongoing debate over the accessibility of the U.S currency, and whether or not it is sufficient for blind and visually impaired people to accurately use in their day to day lives.  It has been noted that many blind and visually impaired people simply fold their bills a certain way to distinguish them from other bills.  However, there is a huge problem that has been overlooked for a number of years now concerning just how accessible the U.S currency really is for the blind and visually impaired.  The problem comes from not how the bills are folded, but the problem lies in the change given to blind people from store clerks and other individuals. The Blind and visually impaired have had to rely upon other people to tell them what denomination they had recieved as change from a purchase, and at times, this has proven to be quite a financial disaster.  As we all know, not everyone can be fully trusted in this matter, so the blind have had to live with this issue for years.  After all, how can you tell an honest person from a dishonest one when it comes to money?

Not that everyone should be grouped into the same category, but think about this for a moment.  What if you were blind or visually impaired and you went and made a purchase and had to recieve change back from the purchase, and the store clerk told you what the correct change was, but instead, handed you something totally different without you knowing it?  Well that happens a lot to blind and visually impaired people, and it is all due to the fact that our currency is not accessible to the blind or visually impaired.

Are there technological solutions to this problem?  Well currently there are, in the form of bill identifiers, which help to properly identify different denominations of bills to the blind.  However, these devices are not in the hands of most blind or visually impaired individuals.  So there needs to be a better solution that fits all blind and visually impaired persons, and not just a select few.

Things like talking bill identifiers, talking cash registers and other talking money related items are great pieces of technology, but as you may, or may not know, some of these devices aren't portable, and affordable to most blind people.  Maybe a solution could be that a different texture could be placed on a certain part of the bill to help to identify it in one way, or another without having to be quite obvious.  Different textures could be assigned to different denominations so that the blind could tell them apart.

Whatever the solution is; we need one really soon to solve this issue.  That way, the blind and visually impaired can be treated just as equal as sighted people when it comes to our currency.

The U.S Treasury department has already redesigned the U.S currency a number of times over the past few years, mainly to protect from counterfitting.  However, no changes in the size, or shape of the bills has been implemented to accomodate the blind or visually impaired U.S citizens.  There have been a number of ideas as to how to make the currency more acceptable and more reliable for the blind and visually impaired.  Everything from simply changing the size of the bills to adding specialized raised markings on the bills to help the blind distinguish between the different denominations.  It has been determined that the U.S Treasury department is in violation of the law regarding descrimination against the blind and visually impaired.  However, not all blind agencies agree with the overhalling of the U.S currency.  Some agencies say that there's nothing wrong with the current currency and that it should be lef talone, while others say that there needs to be some changes made to it to properly accomodate the blind and visually impaired.

Other nations have already implemented such changes into their currency, but the U.S falls far behind in this measure.  The issue of the U.S currency has been around for quite some time now, and mumerous debates have been held on the topic.  It has been discussed for years at whether or not the U.S currency should be made accessible to those who are blind or visually impaired, and if you look at it the same way that the ADA views public buildings, then the U.S Treasury department is in direct violation of the ADA because of the mere fact that the currency has no identifying indicators that would help any blind or visually impaired individual to be able to distinguish between the different denominations.  Just as the ADA says that all public buildings should be  made accessible, then should they also say that the U.S currency should also be made accessible as well.

If the U.S Treasury Department is forced to make the U.S currency accessible for the blind and visually impaired, then 2008 will be a year to remember.  The United States will have finally caught up with other nations in making their currency accessible.  If this passes, then the blind will finally be able to distinguish between the different denominations without having to use expensive technology, or other individuals  in order to do it.  This will in turn, give all blind citizens of the United States equal access to currency and currency exchange.

— Close your eyes, reach into your wallet and try to distinguish between a $1 bill and a $5 bill. Impossible? It's also discriminatory, a federal appeals court says.

Since all paper money feels pretty much the same, the government is denying blind people meaningful access to the currency, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday. The decision could force the Treasury Department to make bills of different sizes or print them with raised markings or other distinguishing features.

The American Council For The Blind has sued for such changes, but the federal government has been fighting this for about 6 years now.

The court ruled 2-1 that such adaptations were insufficient under the Rehabilitation Act. The government might as well argue that there's no need to make buildings accessible to wheelchairs because handicapped people can crawl on all fours or ask passers-by for help, the court said.

If the bills were made accessible, this could mean more job opportunities for the blind because employers would feel less reluctant to hiring people who are blind to handle money.  At the current situation, blind individuals working in situations where they have to handle money is quite a cumbersome thing because they either have to rely on expensive technology that doesn't always work,  or other people to be honest and tell them what the different denominations are.  HOwever, if the money was redesigned and made totally accessible, that would add yet another avenue of total independence for the blind and visually impaired to be able to lead more productive lives.

This video shows more video of the blind boxer in Uganda so that visitors to this blog can see blind people achieving success. For those that are blind or visually impaired, this has no substantive audio so we did not include an autoplay link.