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You're cruising down the highway of your Internet Marketing business, when suddenly you spot a detour sign or hit a speed bump. Oh no! Will you give in to road rage, fall into a pit of depression, or just go with the flow? Here are some ideas to help you cope with the inevitable.

Life happens. How many times have you seen or heard that? Well, there are variations out there, but we'll go with this one. That well-known phrase is a gentle reminder that your life won't always flow along as smoothly as you'd like, and sometimes you begin to wonder if you're even on the right road. A quick consultation with the road map (your list of life and business goals) reminds you that you're still heading down the right path. Whew! What a relief!

Then why do you keep getting slowed down with detours and speed bumps? You can chalk it up to "Murphy's Law" (if anything can go wrong, it will), or consider it a character-building situation. I prefer the latter. Sometimes I wonder how much more character I really need, but the building process continues in spite of my feeble protests.

Viewing a situation in a positive light is not the same thing as sticking your head in the sand and waiting for the problem to go away. It doesn't work that way! You have to be realistic, but with a positive mindset. You can work through each difficult situation as it arises, drawing on the wisdom derived from your own research and the counsel of others who have been down that same road.

Speed bumps are easier to bear than detours. They're just a reminder to slow down and look where you're going. Is Internet Marketing what you really want to do with your life? Do you really want to be independent and be your own boss, or would you rather punch a time clock and draw a steady paycheck (assuming your company doesn't go out of business, or you don't get laid off).

Speed bumps in Internet Marketing often deal with conflicts of time or interests. You know you can't be two places at once, right? Well, having your own Internet Marketing business comes pretty close to making that possible. How?

If you construct your Internet Marketing business to be nearly self-automated, you free up huge chunks of time to pursue other interests. Sometimes those interests are purely fun and entertaining, like taking a day off to go hiking or taking a week off for a family vacation. Other times, life demands your full attention in other, more serious areas.

I was very thankful last year for my Internet Marketing business when I was a full-time caregiver for my mother, in her home. I was able to meet Mom's needs and still work on my home business in the nooks and crannies of available time. When Mom went into the hospital in November, and I spent many hours by her bedside, my Internet Marketing business continued to hum right along without any assistance on my part. I'd set it up to be fully automated, and it kindly continued to generate an income in spite of my neglect.

When Mom passed away December 3, my life and my home business encountered some detour signs and a series of speed bumps. It was time to re-evaluate my whole situation and see what needed changing. The speed bumps slowed me down and gave me lots of time to think it through. Was this still what I wanted to do with my life?

A few days after the funeral, my rather insensitive brother asked me pointedly, "So when are you going to get a job?" I calmly replied, "Oh, about when heck freezes over!" I have no intention of ever giving up my freedom to return to the office rat race. Yes, it's nice to have office skills to fall back on in an emergency. But I'd only hit a few speed bumps, not a brick wall. The book of my life was just moving on to the next chapter, not closing.

With an Internet Marketing business, you don't have to choose between income and freedom. You can have both! If you set up your home business to be self-automated, as I have, you can have the best of both worlds. You can devote yourself to adding to and expanding your home business, or you can take time off to do some fun things with those you love. Your daily planner is wide open to whatever your heart desires.

Rest assured, there will definitely be detours and speed bumps in your Internet Marketing business. How you deal with them will determine how successful you become in both your business and your personal life. View the inevitable speed bump as an opportunity to reflect and re-examine your goals, and accept the challenge as a character-building experience. You'll be a better person for it.