Companies realize that advertising is vital to success, and product recognition is what sales are all about. McDonald's logo, with its inviting Golden Arches, seems to be the first one little children recognize. Our television sets, billboards and neon signs leave impressions on our minds. Experts have determined the details that leave the strongest impressions.

It is hard to conceive, but by age 6, a child has already started on the road to becoming a customer. Impressions are picked up more readily than words. That continues well beyond childhood. Our minds are impacted by thousands of subtle ideas. Learning to think helps us sort out and control the impact of a sales pitch.