A few days ago, my 4-year-old gave me a lesson in the power of advertising.

    We were watching television when an ad for Muppet home videos came on.

    “Mom, can we sign up for those?” she asked.

    “I don't think so,” I answered. “We don't have the extra money.”

    “You don't need money, Mom. You can use a credit card.”

    “No, Cindy,” I said, “that just costs more money.”

    “But if we don't like it, we can send it back.”

    Here's a 4-year-old who can remember every detail of a two-minute television commercial, but can't seem to remember from day to day that her boots go on after her snow pants.

    The funniest part of it all is that Cindy has never even seen the Muppet Show. Knowing her as I do, I doubt her expectations would have been satisfied-but it sure looked good on TV.

    What's the lesson here?

    Well, we're all advertising something, whether we know it or not. All of us-moms and dads, teachers and preachers, plumbers and politicians-represent our principles, our morals, values, ethics, beliefs, or whatever it is you want to call it all. However we live our lives, whatever we do, is advertising, and people will, like Cindy, remember what they see.