Remarkable Business Results

Ilumine Ao | Blog Talk Radio Interview

2011-10-05T16:59:00.006+11:00

I'm very much looking forward to being interviewed by Al Diaz along with the other Miracle of Love presenters from the Gold Coast leg of the tour.

Sat, Oct 8, 2011 03:00PM

Click here to find out more:
Freedom Divine Connection BEing All That You Are/Australia 10/07 by Ilumine Ao | Blog Talk Radio

Hope you can join us

http://themiracleoflove.com/

You can find out more about the Miracle of Love World Tour and the Gold Coast event here

You can download a copy of the event flyer here

The Miracle of Love - Gold Coast Event

2011-10-05T10:53:00.001+11:00

The Miracle of Love Tour is rolling downunder and I'm very pleased to be speaking at the Gold Coast Event with Al Diaz.

I spoke with Al in Melbourne earlier in the year and it was a very special day with much love shared throughout.

Al is one of the most "present" people I've ever met and this is what makes this day such a gift. His energy is unstoppable. If you think you are walking your talk about being all you can be and have a big vision .... just wait until you meet this guy.

The Gold Coast event features two other great speakers, Raeleen Byrne from Medicine for Your Spirit, who hosted one of my Sore to SOAR workshops on the Gold Coast. Raels, as we all know and love her, is a powerful and gorgeous goddess who spreads an enormous amount of love everywhere she goes.

We will also be joined by Mukta Saraswati who I haven't had the pleasure to meet in person yet, but have heard wonderful things from Al about her and the wonderful ceremonies she loves to create.

We will all be featured on Al's radio show this coming Saturday, 8th October 2011

You can down a copy of the flyer here and find out more at the website here

Online Oppie

2011-08-18T11:37:00.007+10:00

Well I think I've just about seen everything now - there is a company in the USA that is an online op-shop and worse I've already found something I want on the first page!

Its a basic twist on the time honoured tradition of sending your tat and junk somewhere so some else can claim your tat and junk.

Givmo have just taken the concept of an online op-shop …. online.

So if you got something you want to ditch, you simply put a photo of it up on the Givmo website. If someone wants it - they simply contact you - pay the postage and you ship it to them.

To be honest I've never been much of an op-shop gal - I only ever seem to find junk in there and it always seems to take forever to trawl through everything on offer. But I do like this online concept because it has categories - I don't have to trawl the whole shop to find the one gem I'm looking for. And it doesn't smell bad - op-shops often have an odd smell that I'm really not fond of.

It is also a great environmental idea because it reuses things rather than recycling them or having the need to produce a new one. I am a bigger fan of not having the thing in the first place, but even I manage to amass a heap of stuff I don't really use or want. I sometimes marvel at the way it gets in.

Many benefits with the Givmo concept includes a $1 donation to a charity of the month - with this month being the World Wildlife Fund which is doing great things in the protection of animals - so overall it gets the Mz Margz tick of approval.

So if you need to clean out that office and make some space in your business or life - then maybe this is for you.

The cynic in me of course would point out that the time it takes to get the item to the post office is more hassle than the drop to an actual op shop - but I guess it is just another way of looking at a time honoured tradition and a different take on something that works incredibly well in the real world - so why wouldn't it do well in the online world too.

You can read more here

Now for the big question - does my friend really need the fake grass that goes around the kitty litter tray to stop her cat spreading kitty litter all over the house??? It seems I can get a specially designed, fit for for purpose fake grass mat on Givmo - who'd a thought there was even such a product! Bet I can't get that at the Daylesford Vinnies!

An Innovative Way to Get in Front of Clients

2011-08-12T11:11:00.023+10:00

I had to smile today as I enjoyed my green tea and a scan through my emails. I love when people start taking innovative actions when times get tough.

Humans never move when they are comfortable but watch them go when times get tough.

I loved what we can learn from an innovative way hotels are getting more guests in beds.

As it gets harder to sell hotel beds as less people travel the globe due to factors such as technology advances bringing people together virtually, a greater consciousness of the ecological damage the travel industry brings to the planet and overall the financial crunch means less spending in general.

So hotels are needing to get smarter.

We can learn a lot from this industry because therapists have exactly the same problem hotels have. At the end of each day, any beds not filled are never available to sell again on that day. Yes they can sell tomorrow’s beds, but today’s beds are never available again.

Treatment rooms or consults are the same. If you didn’t fill yesterday’s diary - the opportunity to get revenue from those spots has gone. So watching the way hotels think and market is a good habit to get into.

Springwise had a link to a service that scans twitter and picks up on destinations people have mentioned in their tweets. The hotel sends those people some local area knowledge or a discounted room offer to that twitter account.

Some hotels are reporting a 9% uptake on their direct twitter offers. This is huge as most direct campaigns would celebrate if they got a 2-3% response.

Why the big difference?

They are adding value, saving their customers time and solving a problem for their clients.

In some instances they are solving a problem before the client even thought too hard about fixing it.

This is marketing genius which you can replicate on a smaller scale.

It's our equivalent of dropping a flyer on the bedside table of someone who is about to get out of bed and complain of an ache and pain or emotional deficiency. They are delivering a solution at a time of pain.

Humans are lazy creatures.

In most instances if a suitable solution comes their way at a price and service level suitable to them .... they will most likely take it.

The reason this campaign by hotels is working is because this is very targeted marketing. The hotel knows its customers well and presents only one solution to their problem - a room in a hotel in the city they are visiting in the near future.

Its your classic WHO & WHAT situation. They know WHO their customers are and WHAT those customer want.

These hotels are getting under the noses of people solving problems AND saving them time.

How can you do that?

If you are very clear WHO you work with - simply figure out where your people are hanging out - what their problems are on a daily basis and get yourself, your message and your offerings in front of them, at a time when they are thinking about their problem.

People with a certain problem start seeking solutions in similar places

The golden question to answer is .... where do your people hang out????

But an even better question is ..... who else has my people? This is the question the hotel has answered - they have figured out that their customers tweet their travel plans out to their network.

Do people tweet or facebook their problems on a daily basis - YOU BET! If you exactly solve their particular problem, then a simple google search to see if that person has a public profile and you could drop one of your flyers in the post to them. It can be that simple. If you are really brave you could make the offer directly in the post they've made - but truly I find that a bit intrusive. You must discern what's the right level of contact for you.

People leave clues everywhere - you need to get your intuitive super power glasses on and start seeing those opportunities everywhere.

It is so much easier to sell something to someone who wants what you’ve got. You’ve just got to get very creative about figuring out where the problem YOU solve occurs in THEIR life.

For instance, if a child is having a hissy fit on the supermarket floor and the parent looks up and sees a flyer on the notice board for a hissy fit behaviorist or a golfer walks into the club room from a round of golf and finds a person who can improve their swing by loosening up their muscles - I reckon they will be pretty interested in at least hearing about your services.

Where are your people and what are their problems?

You can’t fly with eagles when you keep walking with turkeys

2011-08-10T20:18:00.003+10:00

I feel like it has been a mad journey since October 2010 when I first made the shift to Infusionsoft, arguably the worlds greatest customer management system.

Then secondly I migrated my whole office from PC to Mac in December 2010 - I even have an iPad now.

Those who have followed my journey will notice I always take a quantum leap when I do things!

As usual I was overly optimistic about how hard this would be, and didn't fully factor in how long it would take. Infusionsoft was a beast of a thing to get set up, and I purchased just before they introduced all their cool new wizards. But now it's rolling I sit here daily and marvel at some of the things it does. I am really excited what it can do and I look forward to really being of much greater service to my customers going forward with all this awesome technology.

A strange thing occurred though as the technology bedded down.

As I started to get used to the new Macs (did I mention I have an iPad now) it has forced everything to a higher standard.

Same with Infusionsoft.

These companies can afford to employ some of the greatest innovative minds on the planet. So you either get into their mindsets and start to think like they do, or you have to return back to your old systems. I'm not a go back kind of gal!

There is a golden rule in the personal development industry that says, hang out with the people you want to be like, and a bit of them will automatically rub off on you ....... if you let it!

Another way of saying that is - you are the sum of the top 5 people you hang out with or even more simply - you are who you hang out with.

Or even more crudely from the Daggermouth song:

“You can’t fly with eagles when you keep walking with turkeys”

I have found this to be absolutely true, but until now, I hadn't fully realised that technology could have the same effect.

But its not just technology, it relates to everything.

When I've had clunky cars - I've been clunky myself. When the house is a mess - usually I have too much going on and no time to tidy up and the mess starts to drain me.

Your business is the same, if you aren't giving it the time, energy and effort it deserves, and implementing EVERYTHING I tell you, then you get naff results.

The only way to change a situation is to change something.

In the Attraction Program, one of the principles is to Tolerate Nothing. This involves going through and looking at every single thing that isn't working for you, from the button that is missing on your blouse, to really big things like relationships that aren't working for you.

Initially it seems a little bit negative to make a list of negatives!

But of course you become more attrACTIVE when you get more active and start changing or fixing the things on the list. So the idea is to switch the list to positives by systematically removing the negatives.

When I turn on "Big Mac" (with a 27 inch screen - bigger than my tv!) every morning, I save the TWENTY minutes it used to take for my PC to fire up. Big Mac is ready to go in under 30 SECONDS - I still marvel at that!

Imagine that: 365 days x 20 minutes = 7,300 minutes each year saved.

That's a whopping FIVE full days a year I DON'T sit watching a PC boot up. And no I didn't sit and watch it all the time, I would turn it on and go put the kettle on. That lead to multi-tasking and often I got drawn off to do other "stuff".

The difference is now, when I show up in the office - I am focused and working immediately. I find also I am thinking more clearly, planning more and getting more things done with ease, simply because my equipment is good to go when I am.

I am writing this on my iPad (did i mention i have one?) in bed, listening to the wind play through my trees and watching the sun send dabbled light into my room and enjoying the blue skies. Does that energy inspire and transmute to me - I'm reckoning it does.

I had been tolerating the waste of time and need to always be plugged into mains power for over a year as my PC died an agonising death. That toleration was going on everyday as it crashed and burned it's way through the work load.

No wonder I was getting worn out!

I had been tolerating this for a very long time and it had been silently draining my energy.

Maybe do an audit of the things you have been tolerating and start cleaning them up as time and your budget allows.

Just about as attractive as my new iPad I reckon ........ did I mention have one :)

The Price of Perfection

2011-08-08T13:02:00.003+10:00

Perfection is a wonderful thing when harnessed properly.

For most however, it is the personal curse they carry that stops them achieving all they could.

Perfection in and of itself is fine. Whilst standing alone it does not harm. Its when it gets between your ears that the problems start arising.

Perfection is the best friend of the “little voice” - that one that keeps telling you that you aren’t good enough.

So often I witness people who want something to happen really badly, but they spend so much time and energy waiting to get something perfect before they release it. What inevitably happens is that the project either stalls or they sabotage their success by creating a diversion around the release of their project.

Once sabotaged, it will never get to see the light of day, nor will it ever get to the right people to stamp their approval of perfection on the project.

I’ve seen people make themselves physically sick so they don’t have to go on stage. I’ve seen people manifest family disasters so they don’t have to release a project. I’ve seen people just disappear off the radar because their need for perfection overcomes their ability to deliver the so called levels of perfection they have set for themselves.

This behaviour is bogus because in business its not up to you to determine what is or is not perfect.

The people who are going to BUY what you are creating are the ones who determine whether it is perfect or not.

It becomes a very simple equation.

If your customers buy your product or service or book a treatment with you and they don’t complain or they rebook or they buy something else in the future. Then your offering was perfect because it met their needs.

In business the only way you can figure out if your product or service offering is perfect - is to release it.

So why keep persecuting yourself trying to make everything perfect, when really you aren’t the best person to sit in judgment. Wouldn’t it be better to just get that product out to your customers and if it falls short of perfect, you can always tweak it until it is.

Some of the best things I’ve ever created took two or three goes to get right. It was the testing and tweaking and feedback that came from my customers that invariably created the perfection.

Of course I’m not asking you to put anything sub-standard out into the marketplace. All I’m asking is that you at least let it have a chance to be seen by others.

So what are you waiting for - get that thing out that you’ve been waiting to get perfect - dust if off - get it to a “good enough” standard and release it.

You might be surprised how perfect the imperfection in that action really is!

The power of silence to solve a problem

2011-08-05T09:23:00.006+10:00

An old boss had this annoying theory called "do nothing". He used it a little too often for it to be effective but as I reflect back he was certainly onto something.

There are many times when action is the answer, but there is also a place for doing nothing or saying nothing.

Silence can be our friend in many ways.

As a speaker sometimes the most powerful moments are created in the space without words where you give the audience time and space to digest what you've just said.

In the movies sometimes the scariest moments or most poignant moments are when absolutely nothing is happening on screen.

The silence we create in meditative moments often gives us the clarity to take ourselves to the next level.

We rarely meditate on our business though and it can be a powerful tool when solving business problems.

My Back Deck Office

We also don't need to be on a mountaintop to meditate. Sometimes it can be as simple as making a cup of herbal tea and moving to a different spot. I have a back deck that allows me to sit quietly with my trees. When I remember to sit out there - solutions seem to arrive a lot faster.

Silence can be our friend in many situations.

A speaker uses silence to bring their thoughts together while the audience "simmer" in the soup of what has just been delivered.

My old boss when confronted with something he didn't necessarily have an answer for or an immediate solution to the problem or it was just too hard - did nothing in the hope the problem went away. Most times it did!

Our busy, overwhelmed techno world bombards us with constant information. We take in so much all the time and rarely get the chance to simmer on anything.

But doing nothing all the time is not the solution.

I know from my forensic days back in corporate that doing nothing can cause the worst nightmares, so it is important to not relegate everything to the "do nothing" pile. But even in those nasty corporate situations I often found the answer to problems no one else had been able to fix, simply because I was only focused on one thing. I was frequently relegated to the darkest corner in the office, often working solo. It meant I was surrounded in silence and could get perspective on the problem and had time to look at all the puzzle pieces. I find if have all the required information and you focus on something long enough, the answer comes clear.

So in the action vs silence conundrum it's about finding the balance.

That balance is frequently achieved when we go to silence first, gather our thoughts - then take the correct action.

Getting things right the first time is certainly a gift and going to silence and really thinking and planning out the next step means you often short circuit the problem you are about to create by going out with a firm path in mind.

Silence helps find that path.

Silence also helps if you have a problem. Going within, listening to your heart, gathering ALL the puzzle pieces (not just the ones you want to look at) and allowing the magic within the void that silences creates to do your talking, will frequently bring a solution.

Silence allows us space to gather our thoughts, gain clarity and calm our senses.

What problem do you currently have that could benefit from some silence?

2011-07-10T15:51:00.000+10:00

I have just found and downloaded an awesome new app for my iPad. It is called ShowMe.

You can see my first attempt at a presentation here:

The app promises to learn and teach anything. Its an open learning platform but also will be incredibly useful for me to use as an enhancement for teleclass learning and additional resources for ebooks. You can make your lessons public or private and sharing is via a link or an embed code as I've used above.

It really is as easy as it looks. In this first example I was simply using my finger to draw on the screen of my iPad. I can see how it would quickly allow me to show a concept to a client or enhance a message I am trying to get across by adding audio and visuals to the way people can learn.

It is fast to upload and once I get it onto the ShowMe website, then it is easy to share. I can chose to make the presentation public or private and sharing on social media is just one click away.

This is a fun, fast and easy way of layering the way that we share information which may in many cases be the difference between someone easily absorbing a concept or walking away confused.

Now if only I could draw :)

GET YOUR COPY OF MY NEW FREE REPORT

2011-07-02T13:18:00.027+10:00

Getting started is the hardest part of growing a small business - the euphoria of being your own boss, doing it your own way and being able to run your own ship quickly wears off when you realise your great ideas and methods aren't manifesting the same glory in your bank account!

I created the NO GO to GET GO Fast Track Guide as a way for you to understand the types of actions you need to take in the early days.

All too often we have these great ideas and expect the Universe to pour people through our front gate and have them hammering the door down to work with us. Unfortunately this is rarely the case for someone who has never had a small business before.

The sadder news is most give up even before they get a decent head of steam up and are left feeling like a failure.

The saddest news here is that these people often have the most amazing gifts of healing to offer the world, but their fears of being seen, judged or fear of success (not failure, we can all do that well but the thought of actually succeeding is new to many) and it stops them from achieving their dreams.

I am SO serious about people getting the right information at the start that I've filled this free report with the exact information that has kept me in the game. When I started I didn't have a system and I wasn't appearing in the places I needed to appear. I spent my first six months sitting at home developing brochures (which rarely bring large numbers of clients), developing logos (which is part of your brand and rarely brings clients in the early days) and I also spent a lot of time working on my website (needed but won't bring a bunch of clients hammering on your door the day it goes live).

I was gutted every time I spend months working my heart out only to find it didn't bring any results! I just didn't know the RIGHT things to do in the early days!

Little did I know the three activities I was focusing on were the three worst things I could have done. You can imagine how stunned I was when someone told me you could still get clients without the three things (logo, brochure and website) that I had spent most of my time, energy AND MONEY developing …. but sadly bought me NO clients.

So the NO GO to GET GO Fast Track Guide has ALL the information you need to understand before you go out into the world of small business. What it's not is a where to put your brochures type of document - this one gives you - for free - the actual strategies that will work for you. When you realise where you need to spend the MOST time in the early days, you will be much more productive in your early marketing attempts and when you understand which activities actually get you the clients - then you can just focus on them in the early days.

Don't be tricked by the simplicity of the material - once you are established you will understand the gold in this report - for now - just do what it says and watch your business change!

So - you've got nothing to lose - its free - its string free - no ra ra - simple concepts - in simple plain language - I urge you to read it cover to cover and then sign up for my 90 Day Challenge and then really get serious about growing that business that is currently living in your heart and soul!

What You Need In Place When A Big Online Opportunity Comes Calling

2011-06-30T15:41:00.032+10:00

Many experts and online entrepreneurs dream of the day when someone with a big fan base or database mentions them or promotes them.

Few are ready for what might occur next.

This week a client released her first product and the night before it was released her WordPress site got hacked. When she phoned up the people at the help desk of the company who hosts her site she may have well of been speaking Swahili.

They a) couldn’t even see the problem and b) even if they could – they would have had no idea how to solve her now massive and stressful problem.

When big opportunities come our way – we must have good systems in place and be ready for the onslaught of visitors.

I have an even sadder tale to tell – I remember I had something going off one time = people were hitting my site AND purchasing AND my scummy hosting provider automatically shut my site down because my plan ran out of bandwidth. It ran out because abnormal numbers were hitting the site.

At the time I didn’t even know what bandwidth was, but I suddenly became very aware of the consequences of not having enough because people stopped buying!

When you consider that you pay for a service that allows people to hit our sites, you might expect that they might give you some time to sort the problem out before shutting you down. Most will send an automated reminder to tell you that you are nearing your limit and if you are getting loads of visitors, that little extra you had up your sleeve is gone in 5 minutes due to high visitor numbers and BANG they shut you down!

So to make the most of the dream of hundreds of people visiting you and your website – this is the minimum you need in place to ensure you don’t get shut down or that your system doesn’t fold under pressure.

Back up – Back UP – BACK UP!

A hacked or attacked website usually means one thing – a complete reload from a clean source to ensure everything has been removed. If you don’t have a backup of your current website files (yes including that small change you made yesterday that took hours to complete) then you may need to re-write the whole site! OUCH!

I have all my files on my GoDaddy* server, on the hard drives of my TWO Macs and then use Dropbox to store all my hard drive files using cloud technology. Total overkill *yes* but it means I can access my files anywhere in the world that has the Internet if I need to reload my site.

Extreme perhaps – but you will thank me the morning your site gets hacked and now looks like a porn site and you are due on stage in 30 minutes to sell a big event and your website is the point of entry for the hundreds of people in the room.

Pay for unlimited bandwidth

I still don’t know what bandwidth is, but I don’t have to care because I’ve got the problem covered - again GoDaddy* sorted that for me. All you need to know about bandwidth is that you need a lot of it if you do get a rush on your site so it won’t fold.

My best advise is to pay the price for an unlimited service and never worry about it again!

Get reliable hosting

Use a company to host your website that is available 24/7 AND their staff are experienced.

I have the GoDaddy* unlimited bandwidth and website package. They promise to fix your problem on the first call and have 24/7 support staff who have always fixed my challenges in one phone call. There are many other great suppliers you can use – and these days the cost is very low – it truly is a case of invest before you need it.

Who ever you use, make fine sure they are set up to handle big volume traffic – and be aware most hosting companies are set up to take the traffic like you might expect the local hardware store to generate. Ensure all your suppliers can take a worldwide online product or event release.

Its also good policy to have some of your eggs in one basket. Most tech companies will start blaming each other when you have multiple suppliers. There are pros and cons from having one supplier host everything - but when there are problems it is nice to know a) they see how everything is functioning together and b) they can't blame third parties and c) you won't end up the one with a massive problem and no idea how to solve it.

Capture those hot leads!

Have a way to capture visitors to your site by way of a free product or offering that collects their email address so you can stay in touch once the hoop-la dies down.

These days just offering a newsletter isn’t enough – you need something unique and appealing to your target audience and you need to be able to follow up. People don’t start to purchase until they have had at least 7 “touches” from you. If you haven’t friended them or collected their email address you can’t touch them again – the magic is in the follow up.

Stay tuned

Be around to respond quickly to queries or problems that come up – just before an event or product release is not the time to take that vacation or go sit on a mountainside to chant.

Use companies who already have big name clients and are used to high volumes.

You MUST HAVE a good customer relationship management system (CRM)

OK so you’ve got it all down to date – you have a robust website that will take whatever is thrown at it – you have a free product and the visitors are sucking it up like ice cream on a hot day and BANG! Your CRM tells you that you have reached your capacity and it has stopped letting visitors sign for your free program.

When this happens anyone who comes to your site will visit and go and you have no way to stay in touch with them in the future – in fact you won’t even know who came by!

Mail Chimp is an excellent free service that allows you to store up to 2,000 people for free. Those numbers make most people think its "enough", but when you consider at any given time there are millions of people on Facebook and there could be millions watching an ad roll past and decide to click on it, then 2,000 people simply isn’t enough.

You are going to fold pretty quickly if your system won’t allow those people to give you their email details so you can stay in touch with them in the future.

I have a system called Infusionsoft and a package that starts to tremble at 500,000 people – no that’s not a typo that’s half a million people securely stored before it even starts to get antsy.

There are many other great CRM systems out there but always be certain you can talk to someone who can answer your questions very quickly. Always check their customer service hours and rates before you sign up. Some now charge you big bucks if you want to speak with them – they have you over a barrel if something does go wrong and this then becomes an expensive mistake on every level.

Don’t just sit idol

Be promoting the event yourself, just don’t sit back and leave it to the promoter – help the promoter promote you by promoting them! It’s a win for everyone if you do.

Ensure you are wired to stay in touch

Link up your Facebook, twitter, newsletters, blogs etc to your website (tell me you have those!) – we want to create as many opportunities for new people to interact with you as is humanly possible.

Are You Mobile Friendly?

High numbers of people now view your website via mobile phone devices or iPads - make sure they can see you and not just a jumble of rubbish that they will click out of fast.

You have 10 seconds or less to impress

Stats show you have around 10 seconds to interest and hold the attention of a new web site visitor. Ensure your site is ready to serve immediately – that your core message is communicated within the first 10 seconds - hello and welcome – is not a good opening – they need to understand immediately what’s in it for them to stay.

If you fail to captivate and capture that 10 second opportunity you can be assured it will be a lost opportunity unless you can figure out how to get them back. Think about it, why would someone return to anything that failed to appeal the first time - this really is the time to get it right the first time.

Form meaningful relationships

Then once all these wonderful opportunities are harnessed – you need a way to go back and form meaningful relationships with your new Facebook friends, Twitter followers or newsletter subscribers - or by whatever means you have captured them. Again if you want to keep these new people in your circle of light for the next few years, you are going to have to start reminding them who you are and how you can serve them …. without scaring them away with hard sell tactics.

If you've built it - they can come!

Great opportunities need to be taken seriously and you need to take yourself seriously.

If you want to be seen as an expert and present yourself to the world as someone worth working further with, you need to be ready, have invested in systems that not only work but will take the load.

Now is not the time to rely on free services that are patched together with band aids. If you want people to take you seriously, you need to take your IT seriously and learn what you need to do to be successful out in the big wide world of the internet.

All too much??

Best book a complimentary session with me if this overwhelms you but you know you need to get this right. Not being ready for opportunites can cost you in SO many ways. It may be the one time in your whole career where you have the world come to your doorstep. You need to be ready to offer a big slice of home made cake and a big soft comfy sofa to sit your guests on.

Most fail to offer their internet friends and visitors even the most basic of hospitality and wonder why they don't stick around for a chat.

Show em you care, form meaningful relationships and give extreme value and they will stick around for a very long time ….. and isn’t that what we are about – being of service to others for a very long time?

*GoDaddy’s CEO has taken a lot of flack from PETA over the elephant shooting incident. I don’t condone the shooting of anything, but sometimes things get so far out of whack I can at least see why it is necessary to protect villager and their food supplies. You can read his response on his blog and discern if his product is right for you. As for the racy ads – well those women have choice and they are being well paid for the sponsorship and why should the guys always get these highly paid sponsorship deals – again discern if this is right for you.

Does Remembering Passwords Drive You NUTS!!

2011-06-30T12:36:00.003+10:00

Are you sick and tired of trying to remember passwords?

Now with security such an important issue on the internet, it is important to keep your data safe …. but how on earth do you remember all those passwords - particularly now when such a lot of suppliers are asking for mandatory and complex passwords that contain capital letters, numbers and sometimes even characters that were only ever used to represent swear words :-)

The solution I use is called PassPack

It's a free password manager. It works equally well for business or private use. I know there are many more options but this one is currently working well for me.

It is a relatively simple to use tool that allows you to organise your passwords in a simple, yet secure environment.

It Lets You Decide Who You Share With

What I most love is that the free version allows me to share whatever passwords I select with my virtual assistant. So if I change a password for instance, I only have to update it in one place and next time Melissa needs to log in to set up a newsletter or update a blog post - then its really easy for her to find the password and go to work. Its not so easy for me to remember to update all the passwords I change :-) but user error will always plague any system!

Its As Safe As I Need

You can read about the security measures Passpack use to protect your data here then decide if its right for you. It sure beats those little notepads so securely stored in an unlocked top draw!

I am a great believer in putting the right systems in place and then believing I am safe.

Even at The Cute House I have a full back to base security system and if it goes off the burly security guards from Central Highlands Security swing by and figure out what set the alarm off. I've never had any trouble in a town where petty theft is rife. Is that luck or is that the crims simply move to an easier target? I had to smile - there was a piece in the paper about a string of cars being broken into in a certain street. At the end of the article it did mention the cars who had items removed also co-incidently were the ones that weren't locked! I still can't believe people need to be reminded not to write the pin on their ATM card - DUH!

But in a world where the cat won't meow unless you enter an 8 digit secure password, it sure becomes stressful trying to remember them all.

Gone are the days when you could use one password for everything - not only does that sort of lapse security leave you wide open for unwanted visitors into your electronic world, that strategy falls short when you are asked to add capital letters and numbers.

You type it in believing you will never forget, but just try to recall it under time pressure!

It's just not safe anymore to have your dogs name, kids birthdays or maiden name. Even a really thick crim could go to your facebook page and easily find that sort of information in a flash. But sadly even the crims in the striped t-shirt and black eye masks are a thing of the past. You are most likely to be hacked, packed and sacked by a spotty faced kid in a darkened room or a machine these days. Both are REALLY smart and in the flash of an eye can read your facebook page and go party with your credit card.

In business we really need to get serious about the security of our data and one way is to use a system like PassPack.

As always discern which system is right for you

Passpack works for me because it lets me log in automatically - safely share with others and I'm able to access it anywhere with an internet connection, plus it does heaps more cool stuff. There are also a lot of my peers who use and recommend this system, which always gives me a sense of added safety. I do need Oli to come around and install some of the more advanced features for me - but even at its basic level - it makes my life a lot easier.

You can take the tour here

Full disclosure: I get no affiliate payments or rewards from this company - at the time of writing I recommend it because its the solution I use and find helpful

A New Way To Voice Your Business

2011-06-26T14:11:00.001+10:00

Technology can be a great friend to us in business. This blog post was written or rather spoken into speech recognition technology and then edited.

As this technology becomes easier to use it makes posting a blog a really simple exercise.

All you need to do is simply talk what you want to say and the technology transcribes that into text for you.

I downloaded a free Dragon Dictation app to my iPad - pressed the red button and the inbuilt microphone picked up my voice and the software converted it (mostly OK) to text within seconds.

I just spoke into my iPad and then e-mailed the document to my main computer for editing - how cool is that!

You can edit in the app screen but I think its always a little easier to do it on the big screen.

What I find though with my funny Kiwi accent is that it can sometimes get the words horrifically wrong but I figure I was going to be typing it anyway and that can be fraught with error! Plus I always find it easier to edit text that has been written for me, rather than writing it from scratch and then editing it. After I email the text to myself, its simply just a matter of going in and editing something that is already 90% written.

I could see how technology like this could really help you if you are a two fingered typist. It would help you do things a lot quicker and also be able to get the message out faster and in your unique voice.

I think it's brilliant and as time goes on the technology will get better and I'll learn the words it has trouble with and adjust the way I speak. With each step forward it will mean less time at the screen, less time at the desk and more time having fun at what we love to do, which is helping people.

You can also use the technology to do posts to Facebook. That's really easy - press the red button - state what's on your mind - edit from the iPad and press the share button. You would of course need to be connected to the internet to have it post, but the software runs on mobile phones as well.

I daresay there's lots of ways you can use this software and I'd have to say wow - pretty cool - pretty fun!

The only downside is that it just records in short bursts and so you have to record little bite sized chunks and send them through. I'm sure there's a paid version somewhere that will allow me to make longer recordings, but until it totally frustrates me, I'm happy working one paragraph at a time!

Are you the irritating or cool kid on the facebook block?

2011-06-20T13:38:00.023+10:00

This cracked me up today when I received it from Tina Forsyth in Canada. She is promoting social media training and one of her people wrote this to her:

"This [video #1] really resonated with me I am in that social media car right now. I thought my GPS was programmed then disaster struck. Those storms we've all been having knocked the satellite out of orbit and my GPS has crashed. I started off following people I tried engaging with them but its like I'm that irritating kid all the other kids hide from. Tina and Lena, I really need to be one of the cool kids and master my social media online - will you both help me?"

There were long periods of advanced "uncoolness" for me when I was a child and this funny but very true observation really resonated with me.

As a quiet observer of social media I've seen a lot of "suckiness" - "trying to push into the cool gang" - "try hards" and "skites" - the latter we were never allowed to attempt as kids - over tooting your own horn was seriously frowned upon. As I've grown up, I've come to realise a bit of shameless self promoting is definitely ok when you really have something to celebrate..... but everyday - pleeeazzee!

Social media to me seems to imitate life - the internet in general is amazing in the way it does this.

Yesterday a friend was sharing the massive cull she had in her 5,000+ facebook list stating she couldn't be meaningful with that many people. I'd confess I don't know this person well but she sure went up many notches in my eyes with that one simple post.

As I sit looking in, I see yet again how being in your truth shines through and how having the guts to cull your list when everyone seems to be racing around friending everyone in sight and liking for the sake it, is the flavour of the day. Their shallowness shows in these activities as much as they would if you ran around a cafe shoving business cards in the face of total strangers.

I've had a few of those float through my life over the years in many different guises.

When I was playing in bands you used to get it a lot - people loved to hang with you just because you were the band. They never got to know you or figure out who you really were, they just wanted some of whatever they thought you had, to rub off on them.

At one point there were so many people in the band corner where we used to sit between sets, that the band couldn't even get in! Curious because they were the worst seats in the house and you couldn't actually see the band properly from that corner anyway. The actual band members eventually had to sit in the kitchen because there was no room for us. The band corner was still pumping though, but they hadn't noticed to actually BE with the band you would need to move to the kitchen, but they could go to work the next week and tell all their mates they were in the corner "with the band". Such is rock and roll!

But the people who truly were "with the band", were the ones who helped us pack up two ton of equipment at midnight and load it into the van in the rain, or consoled us when we bombed - those people's names I remember years on. In fact I can remember every line on their face, every challenge they encountered and every tear they shed, because they just weren't there in the good times, we had a two way relationship and we were there for each other for the long haul.

It may take a little longer but being yourself, building meaningful relationships and speaking your truth, not just what you think everyone wants to hear will bring much longer term results. I'm starting to observe a lot of people culling their lists - not just facebook but all lists.

Infusionsoft my new CRM system recommends culling your list every six months. That was a very hurty place for me considering how hard I worked to build it. But I figure they know more than me, so I've been putting pressure on my list to see who remains standing.

Remember that old saying from the 60's - it always had an accompanying butterfly picture :-)

If you love something
Set it free ........
if it comes back its yours
if not it was never meant to be

In a three month period I have lost a few, certainly not as many as I expected which is lovely but curiously the ones who left had never actually transacted anything major with me. My new CRM system tells me a lot about people and guess what - most of the people who flew the coup were all the ones who had floated in, picked up the free stuff and left when the pressure went on. So very rock and roll!

The other few were people who came on early in my ramblings and my message has changed and no longer serves them because they aren't therapists. The rest have stayed put, I guess because the message is still meaningful or I've done things in the past that allow me some slack.

I've come to the conclusion, whether its business, life or facebook - shallow relationships don't always create long term gain. It seems to me there will always be a place for smaller groups of loyal people, and from my experience, they are the coolest kids on the block!

Teleclasses Add Value on SO Many Levels

2011-06-13T16:46:00.007+10:00

What are Teleclasses? Quite simply - learning on the phone!

These days the technology is simple to use and generally free of charge, so starting out is very easy. It's like anything - the more you do them, the better you get at them. So I just encourage people to start somewhere and then figure out the finer details once they are confident in delivering their messages over the phone.

Teleclasses have been around for ages but they are still not widely used by therapists and I really want to change that, simply because teleclasses are such an easy way to get your message to many more people.

The benefits of teleclasses are wide and varied but here are Top Ten I love the best:

1. Amazingly cheap (no room hire or travel costs)

2. Convenience (you don’t need to leave home)

3. 100% efficient use of your time (no need to factor in traffic or public transport)

4. Location friendly (you can do them from home or the office or the beach!)

5. You can work with a greater audience because it is not location specific - you just need a phone or broadband.

6. Classes are recorded so your participants can listen again until they fully grasp the concepts

7. You can sell the recordings on your website or create CD’s and create passive revenue streams

8. You only need a landline telephone

9. No fuss - you can do the class in your pyjamas if you like

10. Its fun and easy!

Anyone can do it - well almost anyone!

If you want to know more about teleclasses you can go here

I run regular classes so you may wish to jump on board and learn how and then start to find the benefits of running your own teleclasses for your community. Click here for details of the next class

Reversing Your Discount Theory

2011-06-11T22:00:00.000+10:00

Most people approach discounts as a way to fill distressed space. But the masters of discounting take a completely reversed approach to the way they price their products and services.

I remember working in a hotel and they got a new marketing manager who promptly went down to the front desk and stopped the receptionists selling unbooked rooms on the night at a cheap price. Her logic was - people who haven't booked in advance - they don't have a room booked - they are in pain because all they want is a room - now is the time they will pull out their credit card and pay top dollar because they don't want to phone up or walk to the next hotel to see what is on offer.

Now yes, some people will shop around, but generally if someone is in pain and they want their pain fixed there and then - they will pay whatever it takes to get a result.

I learned a lot about marketing in my other life as a hotel financial controller, because this type of logic showed up directly in the profit line of the hotel's books.

The airlines and hotels are the masters of discounting - watch what they do and try to mimic them with the way they sell. They all discount well in advance - not last minute.

Discounting at the time of consumption is K-Mart territory.

Charging full price at the time of consumption is the domain of hotels and airlines.

As therapists we want to be like the latter not the former.

Its not widely known outside the industry but Hotels and Airlines start to discount a room or seat around 18 months out at events like ATO (Australian Tourism Exchange). All the tourism brokers from around the world come in and bid on blocks of rooms. They get the rooms at rock bottom prices but only have access to those rates for a negotiated period of time. Anything not sold by then, well the hotels take those rooms back and up goes the price.

That's why the tourism industry can do those knock down deals that encourage you to book and buy early.

Then once the hotel knows how many rooms they have left from that discounting exercise, they will put the price up and start either trying to advertise the rooms themselves or they will try to sell them off to other buyers.

All the while the prices go up.

Then closer to the consumption date (the day the room gets used) they offer what's left out on discount sites like Wotif.

Then have you noticed how hard it is to get a deal close to the day of consumption.

If you walk up to an airline counter and want to fly NOW - the price of that ticket will be astronomical, because they know you need to fly that day and that you have few choices at that time .... so they hang out to sell that ticket at a high price. It also messes with their admin if they have to change the loading of the plane, so guess who pays for the cost of that admin - yep you guessed right - the late booker.

This is the model therapists could consider adopting. Fill early at discount and fill last minute at a high price.

This is why packages work so well - people buy their session up front and you can then manage any space left over spaces weeks out.

But those packages need to be discounted off what hotels call your "rack rate". "Rack" is rarely charged to anyone, except if they are trying to book on the day of consumption. "Rack" is rarely charged but it is always there.

Your price funnel needs to reflect that "rack rate system".

So your top end price will be really high - no one really expects to pay it, but there is always a chance someone will be desperate enough to pay it. Then your package rates are what you DO expect people to pay. Then you have another rate, which is the discounted rate, which only gets given out if you haven't sold the top two rates. That would be what's called "back filling" - dates and times you always struggle to fill.

Wotif is a great example of last minute discounts - I LOVE Wotif but I also know if I want a specific hotel and room type on a specific date - then I better book up front with the hotel and pay the price.

Build on Expertise NOT on Price

The aim of any therapist should be to be building as fast as they can toward being seen as the "go to person" for their particular area.

If people perceive you are head and shoulders above your competition and you are seen by them to be "the best", they will pay more and expect to wait to see you.

It's a delicate balance in the early days between filling those empty diary spaces by opimising your cash flow AND building a high end practice. But when you start discounting too much, people start to see you like K-Mart - cheap, hi availability and open all hours. Won't take you long to figure out that will wear you out personally.
The ideal is hi end, hi demand, hi attendence in the limited spaces your treatment room is open. That way you are in optimum health and giving 120% to your clients and are not worn out trying to make a dollar seeing heaps of people each week.

In order to push prices higher further down the track, you can't be out discounting every week - and if you do, you need a reason to discount - one airline has Friday Fare Frenzy and its is totally random. You will notice they RARELY discount their hi end business class seats in these types of offers, they are "back filling" cattle class and keeping the hi end part of their business in tact.

I'd recomend you create a "cattle class" type of treatment for the discounted spots - I say that with love of course, I'm not encouraging you to treat your people like airlines treat their customers - but do have a clear definition between a full fare treatment and a discounted treatment. That way when your diary is full, you simply pull the discounted treatment off the menu and all those full fare high paying, high tipping, fabulous "A" type clients don't even notice anything has changed.

"C" type clients will always just find someone else - "A" type clients stay loyal and will often book the same spot each week or month and are happy to pay for the privilege of having the same regular time slot.

I want you to have a highly abundant practice full of clients who know and love you and are willing and able to pay your fees, treat you with respect and keep coming back.

Some Different Ways to Discount

2011-06-07T22:00:00.000+10:00

There are many different ways to discount your services without cheapening your brand.

If you want to fill some empty spaces in your diary fast, a lot of therapists are posting what I would call "cheap and dirty" offer on discount websites.

In fact it seems to be all the rage right now. This site is a broker for the discounters www.allthedeals.com.au and will give you a list of all the different sites that allow you to advertise.

Indeed it is just another great way to pull new people into your practice. It's most certainly a spray and pray tactic in that you spray out the message to a vast number of people, praying that it hits your ideal client. Spray and pray tactics give you little control.

Its also a PUSH tactic meaning you have to push into a crowd to get a result. My system much prefers PULL tactics where you build relationships that pull people toward you.

A pull tactic is much easier because eventually it surrounds you with people who know and love you and they want to love you more.

Push tactics often solve short term problems and fill gaps in your diary, but they may not sustain the business well, because you haven't qualified the people yourself.

A pull tactic means just by being you, you have drawn people to you via your opinions and by your ability to show your expertise in a particular area. This takes longer and so a pull strategy is a long term way to get clients, but it a sure fire way to ensure you end up with a practice full of clients who love everything about you.

The difference is subtle but a pull tactic requires a bit of time to build the relationship, but once people who have experienced you a few times are ready to work with you, they require very little conversion because they have already decided that they know and love you.

These people may have been sitting as prospects on your newsletter list or have been following your blog, or they met you at a speaking engagement and became a facebook friend. In these instances you have given them a taste of what you are all about before they phone you and they feel as if they know you. If you build any sort of relationship with a prospect, the chances of them booking something with you, goes up the more they relate with you.

So internet advertising (that isn't targeted) is a lot like a virtual letter box drop - you are marketing to total strangers who have no idea who you are. The pluses are that it doesn't cost a lot to get to a heap of people, but your advert may not bring huge results because the people looking at your offers, won't know you and may not be the type of people who want and need your services. But if you only want to sell a couple of spots each week in this discounted category, then its another way for you to get the message out.

However, you need to consider if you are cheapening your brand.

You also need to remember your current clients, paying top dollar may find these sites and wonder why you are overcharging them. So as always discern if a service like this is right for you.

Using the discounters will potentially bring a lot of tire kickers, people who consume the cheap massage and then never return - that is a big risk in these types of offer. But if you have your rebooking patter down, and encourage them to book again before they leave after the first treatment - then you have a potential loyal customer in your midst. It's the strength of your re-booking patter that will determine the long term value in advertising on discount websites.

I believe you have to be careful about discounts - you can end up sounding like K-Mart if you are constantly discounting, and people just end up wanting to pay less and less for your services.

I'd consider other ways you can discount, without just slashing prices.

Maybe consider a discount club, where your current people may pay say $20 a year or month to join - up to you to decide the fee. But the joining fee would get them access to your "last minute club" for a year. The difference being that the available spaces in the club spots may be a bit random and they don't get to have regular times with you. That way you are only offering discounts to certain "last minute" types who like to book last minute. This type of strategy allows you to fill what is known as "distressed space" - someone has cancelled an appointment or you just have a gap in the diary. The other plus is that you get back some of the discount back via the membership fee.

You could also consider a "come on short notice" deal for specific types of people - small business owners like me who have control of their own schedule or hospitality workers who have the whole day to themselves or are finishing work at weird times. These types of people could come in your downtimes. All you have to do is email or text them with your downtime specials and they can jump in and grab them.

Its about getting creative with your discounts and making sure you don't end up with a bargain basement style practice.

How to build your authority on-line

2011-06-07T12:41:00.003+10:00

The fabulous Gihan Perera gave a wonderful list in his weekly newsletter today of the things you need to have in place to build your web presence. Gihan has shared so much valuable information over the years and I can personally say, he is spot on with everything he recommends.

This an an excerpt from Gihan's article "How to build your authority on-line"

"Don't start with social media - that's the third step in the process.

The first step is to build a high-quality Web site, which identifies your ideal site visitor and their key problems, and leads them to the solutions you offer.

But that's just for starters. Many people won't find your Web site first - they will find you on-line in other places. So build up a body of work that demonstrates your expertise and authority. In particular:

Publish a high-quality e-mail newsletter every week or two weeks (or every month at worst).
Post regularly to your blog.
Write high-content articles that address your market's problems, and publish them on your Web site, blog and article directories.
Write a special report or "white paper" discussing the key problems of your target market.
Create short, high-quality educational video clips and publish them to YouTube.
Publish a regular podcast, which is an audio newsletter.
Create short, high-quality educational slide shows and publish them to Slideshare.com."

This is only a brief overview. If you'd like more details about this process, you can learn more from Gihan's generous gift of a chapter of his new book "Fast, Flat and Free: How the Internet Has Changed Your Business". You can download a chapter for free here

Getting Good Habits Right From The Start - Further Thought on Discounting

2011-05-31T20:00:00.004+10:00

I'd recommend you don't discount to people who you have already "trained" to pay your normal fees.

Its going backwards when you do that - however I would encourage discounting to get people through the door to experience you.

Getting more clients is easy if you are meeting and introducing people to your practice in a meaningful way.

Each time people have the opportunity to meet and relate with you - the more chance you have of them becoming a client.

Its why in the early days my system recommends 2-4-1 sessions. For a new therapist (and sometimes the not so new therapist) it is pretty scared to ask for business in the early days so offering 2-4-1 sessions gets you in the habit of re-booking a client.

How You See Yourself Is How The World Sees You

If you think cheap - the rest of your world will think cheap too.

What goes on in your head is the biggest key to your success. If you get your thoughts right at a very early stage of your business growth, that is what will manifest for you in the future.

Offering 2-4-1 sessions sets in your mind that people are going to come back to see you. This may sound too simplistic but I have found, if you set good habits into the complex pathways of your brain in the early stages of anything - you create a good habit that never needs to be adjusted.

If you don't get in the habit of having people return to your practice time and time again - you are going to have an uphill battle filling that practice.

If you start constantly discounting in the early days you set the thought in your head that people will only come if the price is cheap enough.

In fact, price has very little to do with why people will book a treatment - but if YOU think that's the reason why they come .... of course that WILL be the reason whey they come.

The Pro's and Con's of Discounting Treatments

2011-05-28T13:14:00.000+10:00

I'm often asked if discounting treatments is a good way to build a practice.

Like everything involved in running a small business, there are pro's and con's to everything.

Lets start with the logic of discounting.

Before you rush out and send out a discount voucher to current clients (people you have already trained to pay your full price), maybe consider what you are building first.

I encourage people to get the foundations right in their business first, then build on top of it.

So if you are considering discounting, you need to go back to your Decide Dream Believe statements and look at what you were dreaming of creating in the first place.

Are You Samey or Are you Different?

You need to ask yourself how you are going to position yourself in the marketplace.

Do I want to build a K-Mart type operation or do I want to build something more boutique like and specialised.

So many therapists think that if the price is cheap enough, then people will book a treatment with them. However, there is much more to why people book a treatment than the price.

If you want a K-Mart type solution, you are setting yourself up to work long hours and people will expect the cheapest prices from you. They will also expect that discounted price as they consume the purchase - so they expect to walk in at all hours, get what they need and pay a cheap price for it. Not exactly a great recipe for success in a small service based industry.

However, with a more boutique style operation, the owners encourage a more specialised and attentive service, you need to book early and you can expect to pay for that higher level of service. Bed and Breakfast type operations are a good example of this. They often have fewer rooms for sale, but you pay more for them and you get more personalised attention, like the owner greeting you and a personally cooked breakfast. In a cheaper hotel chain situation, you will be presented with a bain marie full of eggs cooked hours ago and some crispy fat soaked bacon which was also usually cooked by the least qualified cook in the kitchen, because its the easiest meal to prepare on that mass level.

So your very first step in considering discounting for your practice is to consider - are you offering a fully personalised service that offers a lot of personalised attention and deserves to be well rewarded, or are you just happy to churn people through quickly at a lower rate.

On a "personalised and different" level, you need to see less people at a higher rate, and at the "samey" end of the business you need to see more people to meet your financial targets.

I find most people have never even considered the "Dream" aspect of their practice, so you might like to go to my Easy Solutions for YOUR Success website and download the Two Hours of Complimentary Audio and a Workbook on this topic.

If you don't have the basic foundations discussed in this workbook and a clear understanding of what you are trying to create in place, you will simply be chasing your tail trying to lure people in with K-Mart style offers each week. Once you differentiate on price, you will be constantly competing to have the lowest price in your marketplace. That gets tiring and expensive because it requires a massive advertising budget to keep the masses aware of your constantly downward spiralling prices.

You end up with an un-abundant practice, simply because people who buy at discount generally shop around and do not stay loyal. If you go the K-Mart route, you will be constantly trying to rope new people in to cover the ones who are buzzing off to the person around the corner undercutting you by $5.

You will have figured I prefer the hi end, hi price, hi service end of the market, simply because that is the recipe for a fully abundant practice.

But its up to you how you go about setting up your practice, but please get the plan set out first, then go and decide how you discount your services.

No Need For Remote Areas To Miss Out On Natural Health

2011-03-10T09:37:00.001+11:00

There are so many different ways we can connect with clients these days.

Many people shun technology and I often hear “I’m just not technical”, or “computers just don’t work for me”. These limiting beliefs are often programmed in at a deep level but they really just come from a negative past experience. Someone just told you, “you were useless at technology” or that you would “just never get it” and that limiting belief has served to stop any exploration of technology.

I have found with a patient teacher and the right knowledge, most people can master their fear of technology and once over the hump, often take it on in a big way. Many make up for the lost time and really enjoy the experience, simply because it opens many doors.

I was interested to read this article on Springwise, showing how western medicine are using technology to serve remote areas.

http://www.springwise.com/health_wellbeing/onemedical/

Allowing people who would normally have to travel thousands of miles to get seen and heard, to have a consult and access to information online, will make seeking professional advice a whole lot easier.

Most certainly it isn’t ideal, and yes, having someone drop in on them personally would be wonderful, but I’d like to bet that a large percentage of “non physical” issues can be helped through this medium.

So why not consider if there are parts of your business that could be done with a webcam. Do your clients always have to travel to your office? Could you save them and you some time in their day?

I’m not suggesting for one moment that personal interaction and human touch should be dispersed with. But with time being the #1 thing people want more of these days, embracing technology not only allows people access to services they could not normally reach, it also saves time, energy and money when used well.

Never teach in a live environment

2011-01-28T15:04:00.002+11:00

I was teaching a group called Meek to Geek yesterday and I was using this blog as an example to show what was possible.

Throughout the course of the day, without giving a second thought to the knock on effect, I also used this blog as a demo to prove how easy it is to post to a blog and the sorts of tools available when you write a post.

Today I received the RSS feed for that demo blog post and was reminded of the golden rule

"never use a live environment as a demonstration tool ..... unless you have a very good memory!"

I just forgot to go back and delete the demo post.

So apologies to anyone who got a very strange looking email from me, and as always I trust it has been a lesson in what not to do, from a lesson I've learnt live.

These days we have to be so very careful because in that momentary memory loss, I will have also sent that post to Twitter and Facebook.

These days so many people are connected to you in so many ways and its important, even when you are tired and weary to be on your guard ,,,, because once something is in the public domain, you can never retrieve it.

If You Need to Talk

2011-01-11T17:32:00.002+11:00

From my experience of being in a community hurting because they are going through an experience of nature out of balance, something I found was that those who weren’t involved needed to talk - but everyone is busy helping those in the firing line.

I'm in another state and have a tool to bring people together so I'm organising a virtual cup of tea.

I’m opening up my bridgeline at 8pm Melbourne Time tonight to anyone who would like to form community and join me to talk about how they are feeling, participate in a short mediation and simply be with people of like mind and just be in the spirit of trust for those we love.

If you would like to join me (of course its free) then the details are below:

Title: Community Call

Time: Tuesday, January 11th at 8:00pm Melbourne Time

Time: Tuesday, January 11th at 7:00pm Queensland Time

Listening method: Phone + Web Simulcast

Phone number: (858) 703-4094

PIN Code: 759358#

Skype number: joinconference

PIN Code: 759358#

To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=17004297

Trust is not a Sometimes Food

2011-01-11T17:26:00.000+11:00

Many parts of the world, including Australia are going through some incredibly devastating conditions at this time.

So many of the people on my database work from the heart and have a deep connection to spirit.

Even though it may appear that spirit has left us at this time, now is the time to look for the love in the situation. It is in the hearts of the people who are making a difference, both those in uniforms and all those volunteers who may be doing simple tasks such as making sure the tea urn is full or those at the front line risking life and limb to be of service to others.

Spirit resides in the miracles and near miss stories we always hear after the event and it also resides in the souls who may choose to leave at this time.

As devastating as these extreme weather conditions and natural disasters are, the one tool we have in our tool box is trust. Over the course of my journey, trust has sometimes been the only tool I have left and have come to rely on a concept called “trust with balls” when things get really tough.

2011 has shown her hand early, with several friends going through some extreme personal challenges, as well as friends and clients either in the floods or with friends and family actually in the thick of the events. At these times it is easy to forget our spiritual base and revert to fear and worry. We have choice in what energy we send to the people we care so much about, and when there are no other tools or practical things we can do to “help” in the situation, then trust is the only positive tool left.

But its not the trust we dish out of text books, this is the spiritual rubber that hits the human road when things are seriously pear shaped. From my journey, this is the time, if I remembered to take a look, was when spirit was closest to me. The tough times were when spirit most cared for me the most, but to an onlooker it may have appeared that spirit had completely forsaken me. In the early days I thought it had too, but many miracles confirmed the unconditional support of spirit.

Whilst we are full of fear and negative thoughts, we cannot serve others. To be a true leader in our industry we must not allow fear to dominate any of our thoughts.

These tough times allow us to move further into our spiritual journey and strengthen our ability to hold positive energy for all concerned. It allows us to feel what it is like to trust in bad times, not just the good times when it is easy and stand firm as someone who can be turned to when the chips are down.

It is easy to jump on the fear wagon and join in with the fear mongering. It is much hard to swim against the rising tides of “normal opinion” and stand firm in our spiritual conviction.

Having been in a community last year that was very close to bush fires, the smell of fear in the air, overcame the smell of smoke. As I sat for a few minutes as I implemented my GO policy, I looked at my home and the few meagre belongings in the back of the car and left the outcome with spirit as I drove myself and an elderly neighbour to safety. Saying goodbye when you can smell smoke and knowing if it wasn’t dark you would see smoke, is the rime when your trust muscles truly develop.

In times like we are currently experiencing, we can be a pillar of strength or a cesspit of fear. It is SO important that we do not feed negative energy to an out of balance situation.

If you can’t immediately do something practical to help - then embrace the belief systems we have come to know. Allow yourself to experience the concept of trust with balls and know all will be appropriate and all will be well.

If I can do anything practical to help those directly in the firing line at this time - I am available, otherwise it will be business as usual and I will be sitting in trust, knowing you are safe and well.

If You Need to Talk

From my experience of being in a community going through an experience of nature out of balance, something I found was that those who weren’t involved needed to talk.

Those in the firing line are busy just surviving but it is very hard on those not in the firing line to stay in trust. So I’m opening up my bridgeline at 8pm Melbourne Time tonight to anyone who would like to join me to talk about how they are feeling, participate in a short mediation and simply be with people of like mind and just be in the spirit of trust for those we love.

If you would like to join me (of course its free) then the details are below:

Title: Community Call

Time: Tuesday, January 11th at 8:00pm Melbourne Time

Time: Tuesday, January 11th at 7:00pm Queensland Time

Listening method: Phone + Web Simulcast

Phone number: (858) 703-4094

PIN Code: 759358#

Skype number: joinconference

PIN Code: 759358#

To attend, visit:

http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventID=17004297

Is It Time For YOU to Automate?

2010-11-15T11:59:00.003+11:00

I am frequently asked how I manage to do so much stuff with just me in the business.

I always smile and say "I let machines do the work".

It was one of my pet sayings from my corporate days as well. If you embrace technology and don't run from it, there are many times when it can be your friend, saving you a lot of time and making you look really good.

You are in front of new clients all the time and if you can get the WOW effect - they will want to keep working with you too.

But to create a long lasting impression you need to create a miracle for them, within moments of them encountering you.

The best place to impress them is before they even come to see you.

If people get a good impression as they visit your value filled website, get drawn to click on the "book now" link and like magic find themselves booked in with you - then their first impression is good. If you WOW them in the session, it will make it incredibly easy for them to want to book with you again.

This is where technology can be your friend. Imagine how you would stand out from the crowd if you have an automated booking system that allows people to book with you anytime of the day or night. It automatically emails them a confirmation when they book. And then sends them a text to remind them of their appointment 24 hours before their treatment is due.

The lovely thing for you is, this can be going on while you are in a treatment with another client.

There is nothing more frustrating about wanting to book with someone and they have to get back to you.

This year I trialled three automated booking systems

Clickbook won because it did everything I wanted it to and I qualified for the f*r*e*e service - gotta love that price.

Flash Appointments also did everything and was slightly easier to use, but was $10 a month

TimeDriver did a nice job of working in multiple time zones but wouldn't allow me to set the changeover time between sessions.

All these systems offer a free trial period and there are many other great products on the market and as always discern for self if they are right for you.

I'd have to say it took a little while for me to set it up and test it but the long term benefits have far outweighed that initial investment of time.

No more naughty forgetful clients
No to-ing and fro-ing of emails to get times set up (this used to drive me nuts!)
Great reports in my inbox each day to remind me what I am doing

The system will only book people in the times I specify but I can over ride anything that is set up and book people whenever I like.

The challenges I see for someone who is a bit frightened of technology

Trusting it can work for you - you won't know unless you try

Letting go of your old systems - you can try before you buy

Keeping your paper diary and forgetting to update it when you get a new booking

Managing demand!

Seriously you wouldn't think the last point would be a problem, but there is a blog post on clickbook from someone who trialled the system for free but didn't go ahead because they got too many new clients and couldn't cope. Good problem to have I would have thought!

Automation can also stave off the need to employ someone to answer your phones and take your appointments. One of my clients has put a message on her answering machining telling people they can either leave her a message or book online right now. She finds most just go and book themselves in online.

Clickbook offers people the next available appointment so you can fill gaps in the day while you are working with clients, maximising your takings for the day and not letting people down because they can't get hold of you to book.

People often comment on the ease of the booking process, which means they have been impressed.

An automated system has the potential to give you a competitive advantage over people who cling to their paper diaries.

Most who do automate, report clients loving the system and they find in most instances that people prefer the online option.

So why don't you consider making use of some downtime over the holidays and create miracles in your practice, simply by letting a machine do the work.

Full disclosure: NONE of the companies mentioned in this article pay me a commission for my recommendations - I mention them because they are quality providers

We all love our modalities right?

2010-11-12T10:11:00.002+11:00

We all know how amazing and how much difference they can make to people, animals, the planet in general …. right?

So, if you were the one and only experience a total stranger had of your modality, what would it tell them?

A friend introduced this concept to me just last week and let me tell you the question got my attention and has smartened my act up a lot.

Let’s say for instance you are out at a social event or attending one of your kid’s school functions and someone asks you what you do?

In the next thirty seconds you have the opportunity to shine yourself, what you do and what your modality is all about………..

What will people see?

A strong, clear and confident response that gives people a sense that you are really proud of what you do and have spent the time to really understand what you do for people. Will they see someone who is basking in the glow of having made a strong, clear decision to move forward in their practice and be someone who is a shining ambassador for the work they love to do ……

OR will the person see someone who is riddled with self doubt, lacking in self confidence, oozing the “not good enough” gene and is so unsure of themselves and what they do with their modality that all they can do is waft on, espousing fluffy and hard to understand descriptions of what their modality might do for someone.

Surprisingly, the difference between the two scenarios has nothing to do with the modality and personal confidence but more to do with the practitioner’s sales and marketing knowledge. Weird huh!

When it comes down to it, everyone loves their modality or modalities and would fight to the death to defend them ….. but in general most practitioners are actively out in the world damaging their modality with their own self doubt and inability to clearly articulate how it can help everyday people.

Most don’t even know you can learn how to be confident and courageous.

But the truth is the people who have mastered that level of clarity have actually gone and learnt how to do it. I’ve invested thousand of dollars to get over myself. To be honest I still work on it all the time because I’m naturally shy. Very few people carry a natural ability to sell themselves but it is what makes or breaks you when you encounter new people.

Most fail to see past the end of our nose.

My Mum used that statement a lot when I was growing up. It means to look past yourself and see how your actions are impacting others. We chug along pretending to be ordinary and not really looking at the ripple effect of our work.

But who is to say that the Mum you speak to at the school event doesn’t yet realise she has a few cancer cells starting to form in her breast due to the stress she carries in her body. Maybe a couple of treatments with you to relieve her stress could return those cells to balance and halt that process before it even gets noticed.

If you haven’t studied sales and marketing and don’t know how to clearly articulate what you do and how you help people at a level they understand, who knows how many don’t get to experience the amazing work you do.

If you are in the confident category and have a practice full of people who are happily paying your fee, rebook and refer others to your practice and are fully receiving the benefits of regular visits to an alternative health and wellbeing professional. WELL DONE! You are very likely changing and in some instances saving lives every day.

But if you are still struggling to even articulate what you do and are still filled with fear and self doubt, don’t beat up on yourself, just know it doesn’t have to be that way.

I was in the latter category for a very long time until I realised the ripple effect of what I do. The reason I got really serious about being able to sell myself was simply because I couldn’t deny the power of what I do anymore.

So I invested in many different programs to help me gain confidence in myself, so I could do the work I love. It hasn’t come without challenges but my investment in myself and my business has bought a rich layer of satisfaction to my life and work that would never have been possible if I didn’t step out of my comfort zone and educate my weaknesses.

I found five things helped me to get over myself .... I:

Understood this thing is bigger than me and not really about me, I’m really only a pawn in a much larger game.

Connected to the undeniable reality that said I wouldn’t have been given the gifts in the first place if a higher power didn’t think I was good enough to use them.

Knew I had to either give up completely or get on with it completely – there was no more sitting on the fence because that was making me really uncomfortable.

Accepted that not everybody will like me, agree with me or even want to work with me but I need to give the ones who do the opportunity to find me because when they do a massive ripple effect ocurs.

Realised I didn’t want to die with the dream of helping others positively locked in the vault of my “not good enough” fears.

Also, there as was a part of me that wanted to prove wrong the PE teacher who used to shout out “and here come Beetle Bomb” in front of the whole class when I ran across the finish line last EVERYTIME and the boyfriend who used to call the me the “I’m gunna gal – gunna do this, gunna do that”. These cruel taunts hurt and we all have these type of memories. I’m discovering too that many therapists have serious instances of abuse in their past. We have all had people tell us things and do things that hurt us at deep levels and make us feel less than. They win if we don’t stand in our real truth, the truth that we are amazing and that we have special gifts that help others positively and that those gifts deserve to be experienced by those who need them.

The Universe Will Never Give You More Than You Can Handle

This saying buoyed me on and I can tell you its totally true. Sure thing they have chucked me a couple of curved balls and I dropped some of the balls thrown at me …. but eventually by accepting the help and knowledge of others I figured out how to catch those balls fair and square. Then of course they just adjusted the machine up a notch :-)

Everyday we are ambassadors for the modalities we love so much.

Our work can help people at a very high level but are we actively stopping people from accessing the true benefits of a healthy, balanced lifestyle simply because we cannot deliver a confident presence when in public?

Do we continue to give an audience to those drama queens in our head that keep telling us we are not good enough?

There is a miracle in our work that deserves to be experienced by many.

But the truth is – you may be the only person some people ever encounter who is a massage therapist, or a kinesiologist or a crystal healer or a reflexologist, art therapist, reiki practitioner or any of the other thousands of modalities being practised in the world today. I believe it is our duty to ensure it is the best experience possible and not one riddled with jargon and therapy “in talk”.

We hang out with therapists all the time, so we think everyone knows about natural therapies but I can tell you all those years back when I worked on the desk at the local tourist spa to make ends meet, people turned up every week who had never had a massage in their life. Many thanked me afterwards for telling them the therapist would hold up a sheet while they got on the table and they would have towels draped over them while the therapist worked on specific areas. Most importantly they wouldn’t have to wander around the spa butt naked showing off their flabby bits to total strangers.

It was always a great reminder for me to be to mindful that not everyone has encountered the same things we take for granted and it still drives me to encourage therapists to speak in language a five year old would understand.

It is also a fine time to remember that we are ambassadors for natural therapies and how we hold ourselves in public will sometimes be the only experience people have of a professional from the “alternative” side of medicine.

How are you presenting in the world?

Molly Carlile on The Circle

2010-09-24T16:27:00.005+10:00

My dear friend and colleague Mz Molly Carlile was featured on the morning TV show The Circle recently speaking about her new book "Sometimes Life Sucks When Someone You Love Dies"

Molly is a grand example of someone with a congruent message. That means that everything about her and her message fits together in one stream lined package.

Molly spent many years on the wards as a pallative care nurse. She has helped literally thousands of people pass from this life. Whenever you sit down for coffee with Molly you can bet the topic of conversation goes to death within 5-10 minutes. She is passionate about the topic of death but not in a morbid way, but in a way that educates and gives people permission to feel safe about the topic.

Already she has done SO much to change the way people deal with a process we will all inevitably go through but weirdly know little about. She is making it safe for people to talk about the topic and helps them deal with their fears and curiosity in an open and frank way.

Over time her message is morphing and she is really focusing on helping young people understand the process of death and not be fearful. She is using the performing arts as a great way to get her message to more people.

Strong messages open your world up to new and exciting ways to market your business or your products and services. This week the play Molly collaborated on with renowned actor and playwright, Alan Hopgood will be the feature of the International Hospice and Palliative Care Awareness Day event, Four Funerals in One Day at BMW Edge, Federation Square on September 28^th 2010 at 7pm

You can book here if you would like to attend

If you would like to hear more about what Molly does, she was my guest on a Mosh Pit call - you can listen here

Imagination in Business

2010-09-01T20:03:00.012+10:00

As I continue to break down the benefits to therapists of the 12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers shared by Jay Conrad Levinson, the inventor of Guerilla Marketing, he placed imagination at number two spot on his list.

I was SO pleased to see it even hit the list let alone rank so high because I believe healthy doses of imagination are vital to a successful marketing campaign.

At Disney the people who imagine up all those wonderful theme parks are called "Imagineers" and I think every business owner should study Imagineering before they set out in business.

"Disneyland will never be completed as long as there’s imagination left in the world”
Walt Disney

Walt Disney was well aware that anytime someone's imagaination was switched on, there was something that could be improved on or done better. In business if we have this focus, then every day will be an adventure.

The very first time I visited Disneyland I was blown away by the details and by how much thought had gone into this magical kingdom. I can still remember floating through the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and seeing a tiny little dog in one of the scenes and his tail was wagging. Even though he was made of bits of fabric glued together and he was a small and an insignificant part of a very big production, he was still given personality and movement. Thirty years on I can still imagine him in my mind, eyes sparkling and tail wagging and all because someone was given permission to imagine him into life and then animate him.

Bringing the ordinary to life for people has to be one of the greatest gifts we can share.

It's the same in small business. Sure we have to do certain things in a regimented or even some times boring way but because we are our own bosses, we have permission to apply imagination to everything we do. We can bring ordinary things to life in the way we teach, in the way we share or in the way we run our business. Every day is a new opportunity to be innovative or to improve on some aspect of our business, or our marketing or our message to the world.

I've always put my message out in a quirky non standard way and I've found the more off the wall I get the more responses I get. My How to make Your Duck Boogie anti-Christmas newsletter got the best response and sign up rates of all time. You can never be sure why this sort of thing happens but I'd like to guess that it stood out from all the plastic christmas wishes people were sending at the time.

When you let your imaginination out to play regularly I find it makes the day go faster and it helps you stand out from the crowd AND it allows the fun in. I can't tell you how much fun I had creating that duckie newsletter - matching the pictures to the duckies circumstances made me laugh till my sides hurt. Quirky stands out but it also brings joy and helps you be remembered.

On his teleseminar Jay was talking about how it used to easy - we could put an add in the Yellow Pages and off we'd go, instant business success. But today in the fast and wild world of social media you have to be different to get noticed. People notice positively when you have the guts to turn up as yourself and show you are imaginative, creative and unique. They also notice negatively if you take the easy option and just copy something. They won't say a lot but it gets noticed.

These days its all about how you stand out and how you show up as yourself. So have the guts to get the glory by using your own imagination.

Most certainly keep an eye on what is happening in the marketplace and see what your competitors are up to. But don't just copy them, add your slant to it, show your own opinions, come up with your own ideas and set free the ideas and thoughts that are currently locked in your imagination. You might like what you find when you do.

Jay Conrad Levinson is coming to Australia for a short teaching tour in September 2010 – you can find out more here

Healthy Marketing TeleSummit

2010-08-31T16:15:00.011+10:00

I am going to be appearing at the Heathy Marketing Telesummit on the 14th September and it was wonderful to interview the creator of the program Krishna Everson. You can listen to the interview here:

The Heathy Marketing Telesummit will see ten marekting experts interviewed over six weeks and there will be a heap of great marketing ideas and concepts shared, all for free, to help natural therapists grow their business.

I trust you will be able to join us and in particular listen to my segment on the 14th of September 2010 (whihc of course will be FABULOUS) where I'm going to be talking about Making Your Story Your Glory.

You have to register on the website so you will receive all the information regarding the calls and how to get on them.

Hear you on a call soon!

Don't forget to register at the website www.HealthyMarketingTelesummit.com

Patience is a Virtue

2010-08-27T18:09:00.030+10:00

There is a saying that has been dated back to the thirteenth century:

    “Patience is a virtue,
    Possess it if you can,
    Seldom found in woman,
    Never found in man”

I could also add rarely found in people starting out in marketing!

Why is patience so important when marketing your products and services?

I was on a great teleclass recently with Jay Conrad Levinson, the genius who coined the phrase “Guerrilla Marketing” back in the 80’s. On this recent call Jay shared 12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers.

His #1 trait was patience.

Many would think there would be many more fancy things he could have thought up to place in the #1 spot but I also believe patience is the number one thing you need when growing your natural therapy business because patience and persistent consistent action brings results in every other area of life ......... so why wouldn't it bring success in marketing.

I encourage my people to start doing good things like blogging and setting up their website and regularly doing newsletters very early in the set up of their practice. I get VERY frustrated when I go back to them a few months later and ask how they are going with those tasks only to hear them say that they gave up because they thought it a waste of time because no one was reading them.

One client was recently featured on a two hour radio program. Was her website finished, did she have a free product to offer the listeners to encourage them to visit her site? Did she have a blog so people could get a sense of her opinions and methods? No, so all she could do was hope they would write down her phone number. People will remember a catchy website name but they have little hope of remembering a phone number so her wonderful piece of free publicity was limited to people with a pen and paper close by.

Another client was recently telling me how her partner had read the single blog post one of my old clients had put up and it changed his life in that instance. Imagine if he had kept up the posting, he might by now have changed many more lives with his words.

You can see why I get frustrated when people lose patience because they end up losing patients.

These stories highlight the need for patience. It is also based in the beautiful words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Take the first step in faith.
You don't have to see the whole staircase,
just take the first step.

Marketing is all about the first step, not the staircase.

Most who are starting out want the big sweeping staircase from Gone with the Wind but the reality is that most don't have the budget to purchase one step, let alone the whole solution. That is where Guerrilla Marketing hit the spot for so many people because it offered low cost ways to get your message out and gave many of us the faith to stay in the game because Jay's methods worked for so many.

The staircase appears after you have patiently worked your strategies for a long time and been patient enough to test and measure your results, tweaking as you go and eventually working out what it is you like doing and what it is your clients like receiving. I’ll give you a hint – when those two things are the same, magic happens BUT it takes a little time, effort, energy, frustration and feeling like you are wasting your time to get to that point.

But if you don’t start you will always be struggling to get your message refined enough for people to want to listen to you.

Marketing is not a short term fix. You can’t write one newsletter and expect miracles. I’m not saying that won’t happen but in my experience it takes a little while for you to find your voice and find out what does resonate with your people and what does get them commenting and letting you know they are reading.

For a long time I also thought no one was reading until I started to speak to small groups and associations. Then people would start coming up to me and talking about small things I had written in a newsletter that had helped them or had inspired an action that helped them move to the next level.

If I hadn’t been patient enough to keep writing even when I thought no one was listening, then for sure I would have given up and those people wouldn’t have had that small success or small step up that made a difference for them.

Jay shared on his call a strategy that is key to Guerrilla marketing and that is the concept of getting known. He shared the importance of getting known by forming interactive dialogue not monologue with your audience. The Internet creates so many ways you can interact with potential clients but most still aren’t making the most of it because they run out of patience and stop the activities that could result in many more clients being attracted to them.

During the call Jay also spoke of a survey that was done that calculated how many times it took for someone to experience your marketing message before they bought something. The magical answer that this survey came up with was nine times. I’ve heard some experts say it takes eleven touches before someone will move from apathy to “purchase readiness”

Each one of these “touches” or “experiences” of you or your products and services moves the potential client one step closer to purchasing from you.

But here’s the thing – there is another crippling piece of information that goes with being patient – you must also be consistent in getting your message out or people will forget you. I have heard it said that if you don’t keep in touch with your people at least bi-monthly they will forget you.

It stands to reason then that if you only have one post on your blog, have sent a couple of newsletters and meant to get around to building a website and people can’t easily find you, then you are going to struggle.

If you are prepared to get into the game for the long haul, these are the things you will need to have on your to do list:

Send out your newsletter each month
Post to your blog at least once a week
Spend 15 minutes each day on social media sites
Create a free e-product to give away on your website that gives people a taste of what you do
Speak to people in your target market, it can be small groups to start with at least twice per month
Submitting articles to websites or media once a month
Make contact with an important person in your industry (at least one per week) and then make it easy for those people to send you clients
Arranging small workshops so people can understand how much you know about your preferred topic and get to know a little more about you.

Most certainly the most powerful way I know of connecting with people is in person so that puts speaking right up on top of the list of things you patiently need to be delivering to people.

If you take these type of actions, eventually people are going to notice you and then guess what? Your business will start to get traction.

Natural therapists are some of the most patient people I have ever met. They will sit for hours listening to people’s stories, taking case notes, being there for their clients at all hours of the day and night.

So why not move some of the traits of patience over to your marketing and start doing all the actions that are necessary to grow your business.

Ask and Tho Shalt Receive With a Cherry on Top

2010-08-26T14:57:00.022+10:00

All weekend I've been banging on to the participants of Sanctum for the Soul about how we are totally in charge of everything now and not to forget to ask for the things we need - no matter how small.

Well I decided this morning that I needed a new Monthly Planner for 2011 so I can start getting next years events planned or as my new branding manager calls it my "launch sequence". Its a bit oo-la-la huh - sounds like "mission control to mz margz" but what can you expect she lives in Dallas which is up the road from NASA so I guess they are a bit space ship oriented in Texas.

So to get my launch sequence happening I really need that 2011 planner.

I looked to see if I could get a monthly planner online and it turned out that I could but I need it now!

So I decided I'd have a look in the newsagents in the town later today but resigned myself to the fact that I'd probably have to wait to get one next time I was in the city or breakdown and buy it online and deal with it getting damaged in the post - ever noticed how things never quite come out of the your post office box the same way they went in.

Then my next thought was lunch.

Finally the sun has decided to shine after days of rain so I put my walking boots on and I headed down the two blocks to the Hepburn General Store for a #4 toastie. While they were making it up I had a wander around the shelves. The Hepburn General Store has a unique ability to stock and serve either gourmet food options or things the local tradies love like Gillies meat pies. But they also have some nice bits and pieces for the tourists to buy and they have a great range of magazines.

So I was having a nosy in the flash mag section and imagine my surprise when I thought I was looking at a pile of monthly planners. Imagine my delight when I picked one up and had a look and it WAS exactly what I wanted. The weird thing was that there were no other diaries on the shelf, no other stationery items just magazines and 2011 Monthly Planners.

We love the Hepburn General Store but they aren't the cheapest option because they don't have the buying power of the big chains.

So what is most remarkable from today's lesson is that not only did I get exactly what I wanted in the most unlikely place in the world - it only cost $7 - the least I have ever paid for a planner is $9 from one of the big stationery suppliers in the city so this price truly fitted the "can't believe my eyes" category.

Talk about ask and tho shalt receive with a cherry on top!

It really was a great example of letting go and not putting boundaries around the way things can happen. Now I better fill those dates up fast because the Universe clearly have a few people they want me to teach.

12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers in a Natural Therapy Context

2010-08-04T19:00:00.011+10:00

I was on a great call today with Jay Conrad Levinson. He is the genius who coined the phrase “Guerrilla Marketing” back in the 80’s. He has sold over 21 million books during his highly successful career.and his books are “must have’s” on any small business book shelf.

So does he sell apes?

No, that would be silly :-)

Wikipedia describes the concept of guerrilla marketing as an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget.

Levinson used the concept of guerillas (rebels who live in the mountains and use unconventional methods to get their political message across) as a really clever way of describing marketing done at base level often using free or low fee tactics to get your message to the world.

It was nothing short of sheer brilliance as it tipped the marketing world on its head and he has helped many people all over the world embrace marketing.

Something he shared today made me just about fall out of my chair!

Why?

Well because it’s the exact opposite of what you might think for natural therapists.

In fact I’m so excited I’m going to write about each category so you can really get why this information was so mind blowing for me.

Natural therapists think they are bad at marketing or not designed for business.

Well this list turns that theory on its head. If one of the greatest marketers in the world is right (and why wouldn’t he be) it seems we have every ability to be awesome marketers – we just gotta stop believing some of the misinformation we have been given by well meaning “business experts”.

For instance I had an awesome women in my Sore to SOAR group this month who had been told by many reliable sources that her business ideas and concepts were basically “rubbish” .

This made her “think” she was not good at marketing.

As it turned out she had an incredibility distinctive way of getting her message out to the world. To date she just hadn't found the right person who was prepared to look beyond the obvious and be prepared to help her find her unique voice. I was honoured to be that person and I’d have to say I was pretty blown away by how creative she was once she got the hang of it.

Sad thing is she is not alone.

You only have to read what could have been a sad tale of a yoga studio owner when a traditional business coach told her to figure out how to get rid of her studio. Again she was told her business idea was too hard to implement and again that she was basically useless. Luckily she had a never give up attitude and you can read Claire’s success story here after I believed in her.

Success stories abound in our industry when we figure out that standard conventional business theory won’t work when applied to something as “tactile” as a natural therapy or coaching business.

This is why Jay Conrad Levinson’s method’s changed the world ….. simply because he found another way to give people confidence and take actions that would achieve results when applied in unconventional ways.

So I was really excited when on today’s call he shared the following twelve traits he has observed in every successful Guerrilla Marketer he has worked with.

My elation was because of course most of my people do the first eleven really well – its only item 12 they aren’t so hot at!

12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers

01.    Patience

02.    Imagination

03.    Aggressiveness (never give up)

04.    Sensitivity

05.    Embrace change well

06.    Educators

07.    Generosity

08.    Energetic

09.    Constant Learners

10.    Love people

11.    Maintain Focus

12.    Action oriented

I'm so excited about this list that I’ll be breaking down each point on my blog. I believe it is important that you get that you are ALREADY a great marketer – you just need to find a patient person who will help you roll your message out your way and stop you listening to the crap most of those "pointy toed business coaches" deal out of text books.

Jay Conrad Levinson is coming to Australia for a short teaching tour in September 2010 – you can find out more here

Should a website be a crucial part of your business?

2010-07-22T18:09:00.068+10:00

There has been an election declared in Australia this week and already we are hearing politicians do what they do best = answering questions with questions.

So in answering the question – should a website be a crucial part of your business?

I’m going to ask you an even deeper question before I start to go down the website burrow. Not because I’m avoiding the question but because you need to ask yourself a more important question before you even consider a website.

A client was reflecting on a question I asked them at the start of their coaching program recently. They said it really slapped them around the ears because it was something they hadn’t even considered.

It’s the same question you need to ask yourself before you decide if you need a website or not.

The question is ........

“how big do you want your business to be?”

This is a really basic question every therapist needs to ask themselves before they consider building a business or a website but it rarely gets asked let alone answered.

If you don’t know the answer to the question or if you haven’t even considered whether you want small, medium, large, grande or the super size me option – you are going to be constantly setting things up that won’t work for your business further down the track.

Two truths to be aware of:

You won’t know exactly how big you can go until you start getting a few runs on the board in your practice - I recommend set up to be big at the start just in case things take off... then - at least you are ready.
Each year the landscape will change from where you thought you were going 12 months earlier as your business knowledge and confidence grows.

The other truth is - Size does matter!

I was chatting to a friend this week who has just set up a beautiful property to host retreats here in Daylesford. He is already starting to note some differences in the way organisers get people booked onto retreats. He has noticed I am having far more luck getting people on my retreats than people with a small database or no a database at all.

I just laughed and said “size matters” ....... referring to my database.

With both of us coming from the lurky murky world of musicians we had fun creating several colourful analogies around the size matters discussion. But the conclusion drawn was that my dream to have retreats this year is being met by a database that was created eight years ago.

This is where the decision on the size of business starts to cascade downwards because even though I do sign people to my database at live events, the biggest number of "stranger" sign ups come from my website.

The strangers start to become friends and magic happens

The decision eight years ago to firstly have a website and secondly have a database that actively collected the data of visitors on the first day that website went live ..... is now rewarding me generously.

At the time I made that decision I never dreamt I would be this far down the track but I had a big dream that I knew would need big support and set my website up accordingly.

Before you start the "oh but its alright for her, she's a rock star" routine - just know that my database started with ten people (mostly friends and family) and was decimated at one stage when I had to resign the database to my new shoppingcart system. I have grown my database from scratch twice.

Getting the formula right from the start will mean your website can begin to work for you in the future, often without you knowing its working.

For instance I have been working with a client who is putting together a brilliant free program to attract people to her website. She has 52 different topics she is going to address in a give-away program and needs 52 resources to put links to on her website.

As I went through my little black book of clients and contacts – I could only give her people with a strong website presence and a strong, clear WHO & WHAT that clearly fitted under each of her 52 different topics, simply because her information is only going to people on the web.

She fits the “super size me” category which is aiming at an international audience and as it turned out I could only give her people with a similar vision. The bottom line was that the ones who made the list have a strong web presence and have paid to learn from me so they know how to be set up to attract easy referrals.

There were some really good people who got left off the list because they made didn't make it easy to be referred, simply because they had no website or their message was murky which made it impossible to fit in one of the 52 categories. They are talented gifted people but they have limited themselves by being afraid to learn about how the web can help them now and into the future.

Some of you will be surviving without a website

All I can say is well done if you are. BUT the challenge is going to come when you want your business to not only survive but thrive.

So if you are the type of therapist who will be happy in a word of mouth practice maybe working a couple of hours a day, don’t want people to easily forward your information to others, don’t want people outside your circle of influence to find you, don’t want ideal clients to come to you from other suburbs or states or even different countries and only want to earn a meagre living that will see you standing by a massage table until you retire or your body gives up on you – then you might get away without having a website.

However, if in the future you want to teach workshops, do retreats, run teleclasses, be steadily keeping in touch with people who have seen you in the past and have the potential to return again in the future ..... I’d say start learning about the Internet yesterday.

If you want to have any ability to walk away from your treatment room and be creating product and passive income (money you earn without having to be there) – then you definitely need a website now.

In fact these days I believe everyone needs some web presence even if it is just a one page document with your name and phone number on it – so people can at least find you when they do a basic search.

People do survive without a web site, but the web allows you to quickly get to a bigger audience AND it allows you to get that audience on your database. Then if you are committed to keeping in regular contact with those people, eventually a percentage of those people will buy something from you.

However, its not a case of build it and they will come. I’ve heard it said that it takes around eleven “touches” for people to trust you on the Internet and eventually to get to a point where subscribers will buy something from you.

That means at least eleven newsletters, or offers or free product or information before they trust you enough to either work with you or buy from you.

The reality is - if you aren’t in the race you will quickly get forgotten.

Another scary fact is if people don’t hear from you at least every two months, then most will forget you – no matter how good your service was for them.

So getting a website is only the first step in a long corridor of doors that need to be opened and strategies that need to be put in place. My Practice Building Success System steps you through many of these processes – you can find out more here.

Its not just about the website

The key point you need to understand is that websites no longer stand alone these days.

Many experts are now stating that a blog is more powerful than a website, not for the number of followers you get but for the way the information can be searched and used in many different formats.

I heard a rumour from a reliable source who stated that the calculation that goes into how search engines rank your website will include how many blog posts you push through to social media sites like Facebook and then how many relevant comments you get from your friends.

So your web presence now must be part of a marketing system that includes a blog, social networking, regular newsletters and keep in touch strategies that keep you in the memory of your people.

To be honest all this stuff is doing my head in trying to keep up with it all, but its just something we all have to come to terms with.

The blessing is that the technology is getting much simpler and cheaper to use. So there really is no excuse. If you aren’t on the net and you aren’t gaining knowledge in this area, you stand to be left behind in the future.

I’m so convinced of the power of a website that I’ve set up a small e-course to help you understand more about websites. it will cover the truths you need to understand, the interconnectivity you must have and the important things you need to be aware of BEFORE you start spending your valuable time and money creating a website. There will be no charge for this information and you can unsubscribe at any time.

If you would like to join the website e-course, simply send a blank email to this address: info1749-536514@autocontactor.com

You might like to read a blog post I did last month that tells you how to get a web presence for lo or no cost here:

You can leave a comment below:

The Lo or No Cost Solutions to Online Business Set Up That Any Gumby Can Master

2010-06-29T13:46:00.013+10:00

MP3 File 40:18mins

The early days of your business are the hardest. Generally there is a lot of set up cost and little income flowing in.

There are certain critical tools you need at the start of your business but it can all become too daunting and hard. Then valid but show stopping excuses begin to form as to why you aren't actively promoting your business.

I’m over hearing excuses from people who say they either don't have the money to get started or the computer skills to get online to grow their business.

So I’m giving you “The Lo or No Cost Solutions to Online Business Set Up That Any Gumby Can Master”.

Gumby was a piece of green clay that became a very famous cartoon character back in the 50s but a Gumby also is a tongue in cheek way to describe someone who can't use a computer. So even if you are a piece of green clay when it comes to computers you will be able to either set these tools up yourself or bride a teenager or 5 year old to do it for you.

Marketing your business is about getting your message to as many people as possible in your target market. The time to start is always yesterday. When I speak to people who tell me they are WAITING for business cards or WAITING for a website or WAITING to finish their logo BEFORE they get serious about their business because they don't have any money or don't have IT skills, I want to cry.

Firstly because every day they aren't working on their business is another day they won't be getting the opportunity to help someone and

Secondly there are some great free or lo cost products available on the Internet that make it SO easy to set up an Internet presence and they make it really easy to get started.

The truth is you can probably create a full online presence in a weekend using free or lo fee products which are freely available to anyone. I recommend you start small and build up as opposed to “waiting” for the perfect time to get out and about or online.

Technology can be your friend and I’ve seen people who are complete IT gumbies get these systems set up and working for them within 24 hours.

So lets get over the excuses and get over the seven deadly excuses and get going right now!

#1 Excuse “I don’t have (have run out, the dog ate them, my details have changed blah - blah - blah) any Business Cards”

Excuse Buster: Vista Print

Vista Print will give you 250 free business cards with a choice of 42 designs – yes they stamp their branding on it – but don’t let that stop you. A vista print brand on your card is better than scribbling out your old email address and writing on your cards in Biro which I see many people doing - that's a sin.

If you dont' want the Vista Print branding then there prices are ridiculously cheap, so #1 excuse handled.

Click here for more info on VistaPrint

#2 Excuse “I’m waiting on brochures.....”

Excuse Buster: Vista Print

Again Vista Print will do a standard basic DL card for next to nix. Anything else at the start of your practice is a waste of money. A clear, basic message on the top of a DL card so it jumps out at people whilst sitting in a rack at your local coffee shop is much better than a fancy brochure.

Still can't afford it - then there is still a lot of sales to be made from a flyer that comes off your ink jet printer – there really is not excuse.

Click here for more info on VistaPrint

#3 Excuse “I’m waiting for my cousin/husband/wife/mate from work/teenager to finish my website”

Excuse buster: Blogger

Having a web presence these days is crucial – any presence is better than none.

At base level you can create a great looking site on Blogger for free

I just knocked up an information website this week for a Retreat I’m having in Daylesford http://www.sanctumforthesoul.com/ - I’ve already sold four tickets and to date haven’t invested one single dollar in the event. By the time it comes to paying venue deposits I will already have the money in the bank to cover it. I’m not ashamed to have a blogger website promoting a Retreat – and everything I have on that site is standard blogger issue. Send me an email if you can’t figure out how to get something I have and I’ll tell you how I did it.

Wordpress is another way to create a similar product but frankly it does my head in and you need more IT experience to make Wordpress work - if you are a beginner don't go down the Wordpress route.

Click here to enter the 3 step process to get your own blog

Excuse #4 “Getting a proper web address and professional email is too confusing and expensive”

Excuse Buster: GoDaddy:

GoDaddy hosts all my live websites, my email and my other 25 non live domain names.

Quite frankly I have little idea how all this stuff works. Whenever I want to do something I phone up their 24 hour, 7 day a week hotline and they talk me through how to do everything.

They pride themselves on the person answering your question AND solving your problem on your first phone call. I can confirm I have NEVER needed to phone back and they have ALWAYS delivered on their promises.

Their marketing is weird and their website has race car drivers promoting it but you just got to remember their target audience is mostly male IT geeks – having worked alongside a lot of big IT departments I can confirm you couldn’t find an IT geek in a corporate office when The Grand Prix hit Melbourne. But non-nerds are well supported by the help desk, who are honestly some of the most patient and knowledge people I have ever met.

Find out more about GoDaddy here

Excuse #5 “It’s too hard and expensive to get a newsletter out”

Excuse Buster: Mail Chimp:

Still today with all the social networking and ways to push your message out – the humble newsletter is still being used by the gurus around the world. When they stop – I stop and so can you.

Mail Chimp is awesome. I use it for my Retreat database and I also use it for a community event I run each month. It is dead easy to use. They allow you to store 500 subscribers and give you 3,000 emails a month before they even think about charging you anything.

The product they produce looks awesome AND this includes autoresponders AND the ability to set your campaign to run in advance AND it allows you to easily publish your newsletter to social media sites.

It’s also quirky as all get out and frequently encourages you to “eat a banana” and to “stop flirting with the monkey”. They also have pre-designed forms to send out specials and birthday cards to members – and so long as you stay under 500 it’s free and well frankly if you have more than 500 people on your database you need to start getting serious about your business and paying for services.

Free is great in the early days but remember likes attract – if you aren’t prepared to pay for quality service neither will your clients be.

Find Out More About Mail Chimp here

Excuse #6 “I don’t have time or energy to do the admin for a workshop”

Excuse Buster: Eventbirte

I LOVE this site and it really helps sell events and workshops and they don’t charge you anything until you sell a ticket and then it’s just a small percentage of the price of the ticket.

In return – your attendees type in all the info so you are assured your spellings are correct and that you have the right email address. Anyone who has ever had to type up a registration list and name badge list will be jumping with joy at this news.

It has helped me sell out most of my events and the waitlisting function allows you to know who missed out and might like to attend your next event before you even release it. It also posts your event on social media sites looking hot to trot and takes interested people directly to your registration page.

They also have an iPhone app that lets you check your participants in via your phone on the day of the event – gotta get an iPhone first :-)

If you sell a ticket outside the site, they don’t even charge you to enter the person’s name but the details still print out on the rego list. It saves a HEAP of time, energy and effort and your workshop goes out to the public looking really hot and will delay your need for a personal assistant or VA.

Find out more about Eventbrite here

Excuse #7 “I don’t have a way to collect credit card payments online”

Excuse Buster: PayPal

I still don’t have a formal Payment Gateway with my bank because it costs and arm and a leg to set up. My shoppingcart simply connects to good old PayPal and they keep taking people’s money online without hassle or stress to me. To be honest there have been a couple of people who had trouble with the system but I suspect user error was the cause because 99% of transactions flow without error or stress.

You can do recurring billing, have Buy Now Buttons which just sit on your website without you even needing a shoppingcart or you can simply do an email request for money if everything gets too much for you.

You can transfer funds internationally and it takes care of all the exchange rate nightmares.

The only downside of PayPal is that it takes a couple of days to transfer funds to your bank account, whereas a full Gateway fill transfer overnight. I can live with that.

If you want the hoots and whistles shopping cart I recommend and use 1shoppingcart.com

You do need a bit of IT nous to get 1shoppingcart working and to be honest I'm still only using a very small part of it. It is a big system that I recommend you either use or upgrade to if and when you are ready to very serious about online sales. Click here for more details

If you have found any free or lo fee resources that helped you get started I'd love you to add a comment and share your resource with others.

Full disclosure: The above links are affiliate links and these people do give me coffee money if you sign with them. It is not why I recommend them and I only ever recommend things I either use myself or have personally experienced or someone I trust has used the product.

Do you believe strong messages and consistent action change the world?

2010-06-12T16:45:00.002+10:00

I reckon the following is one of the strongest messages ever

“OUR DEEPEST FEAR IS NOT THAT WE ARE INADEQUATE.

OUR DEEPEST FEAR IS THAT WE ARE POWERFUL BEYOND MEASURE”

This is just one of the beautiful messages Marianne Williamson has created through her words.

Most therapists I know can recite the whole section Nelson Mandela quoted from Marianne’s book A Women’s Worth, under water or ten ton of wet concrete if necessary!

They have it on their fridge. Their eyes roll if you dare to give them a copy because of course they “know it” so well.

I was at a seminar once and a guy stood up in the middle of the room and challenged the presenter.

This *lone standeruper* was angry because the presenter was in his opinion “churning out the same old stuff”. As he spat out his accusation he wanted to know “when was he going to start teaching us something new?”

An uncomfortable silence critically draped itself across the room as the presenter spun in the direction of the question. As the presenter locked eyeballs with the *lone standeruper*” a soundless noise resonated throughout the room like a gigantic metal door being slammed against steel.

Then all you could hear was the awkwardness of bums rustling on seats as we waited in the intensifying silence.

The presenter held a steady gaze for what seemed an eternity. He didn’t seem to blink, he just stared at the guy. Then he calmly asked the man “had he implemented all the old stuff he had been taught?”

A vacuum formed as the crowd sucked in what seemed like every gasp of air in the room.

The room filled with the electric anticipation of a rock concert but silence was the only chord ringing out. We all felt for this *lone standeruper* because we all knew the answer. He was like an open book and even though this man was a total stranger to the room we could see and sense his current status and we knew he wasn’t going to come out the victor.

The presenter now owned the room, which means he had the full undivided attention of 100% of the people in the room.

He smelt the blood in the air and was heading straight in for the kill using silence as his sword.

His eyes stayed locked on the *lone standeruper*, now head down with a roving mic in hand. The *lone standeruper* had no where to hide and was eventually forced to confess from a place of shame to the hundred or so people crammed into that expansive ball room that despite “knowing” everything that had been taught that morning, he had in fact not “implemented” one single piece of the information in his business.

The presenters response dispensed with the exact right dose of silence was simply: “if you haven’t implemented it – you don’t know it”

The crowd exhaled.

The lone standeruper quietly sat down and didn’t utter a peep for the rest of the weekend.

The presenter returned to the whiteboard and continued to teach to a room that was listening way harder than they were a few minutes before.

Five things to be learned here:

1. NEVER confront an expert if you aren’t 100% squeaky clean yourself

2. The RIGHT eye contact replaces a thousand words

3. SILENCE is sometimes your most powerful companion

4. KNOWING and DOING are different

5. LEARN how to own a room before you open your mouth.

You have also just experienced the power of learning through a story which leads to a discussion point.

My point is: I’ve found most therapists “know” Marianne’s beautiful words backwards but very few have fully “implemented” them and live them fully in their life

“IT IS OUR LIGHT, NOT OUR DARKNESS, THAT MOST FRIGHTENS US”

I have observed that most therapists can clearly articulate what’s wrong with them.

Our light is what’s right with us, however, most have never really owned what is right with them.

Therapists, practitioners, healers, coaches can be prone to hide from their light but spend copious amounts of time telling others how awesome they are and encouraging them to shine.

This creates a silent lack of credibility that others will see in you. You won’t be able to see them looking but you will feel it. What others can see is the insincerity you create within yourself if you haven’t walked through a fear you are asking others to face.

I find heartcentric people more likely to cower from their light than people who don’t even understand what “the light” is.

When you hide behind every excuse imaginable so you don’t have to put your name or yourself “up in lights” whilst telling others to do that, then a disconnect will form.

This causes even more hiding because you will fear that people will find out the “what’s wrong” part of your story.

Vicious circle huh!

WE ASK OURSELVES, ‘WHO ARE WE TO BE BRILLIANT, GORGEOUS, TALENTED, FABULOUS?’ ACTUALLY, WHO ARE YOU NOT TO BE?

Most heartcentric people think they know why they are in business and it usually goes something like “I just want to help others” or “I want to make a big difference on the planet”.

Basically they “want to change the world” ………. but are often frustrated because to do that you need to be teaching workshops and speaking to groups. Sometimes people are not even getting their message to an audience of one in their treatment rooms.

Most are not even regularly communicating with their people or writing articles because they don’t know what to write about. When you have a strong message the problem becomes too much to write about and to little time to do it in.

“YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

YOUR PLAYING SMALL DOESN’T SERVE THE WORLD.

THERE’S NOTHING ENLIGHTENED ABOUT SHRINKING”

Most people I meet are hiding from the world and don’t or won’t put themselves outside their comfort zone. They have shrunk so much it’s like they are trying to sail a row boat in a puddle and are getting frustrated that only a few people can fit in and they can only take those people on a short ride.

To help more people get bigger results you need to create a bigger pond and you need a clear message that will encourage more people to come on board with you.

“WE ARE ALL MEANT TO SHINE, AS CHILDREN DO.

WE ARE BORN TO MANIFEST THE GLORY OF GOD THAT IS WITHIN US.

IT’S NOT JUST SOME OF US; IT’S EVERYONE”

Many see their mistakes or their weaknesses or past addictions or bad habits as faults.

Here’s the thing: These “faults” or “hiccups” ARE your message and your truth. That is why we are given the challenges so we can learn and grow from them. We tend to stuff them under the mat so others can’t see them but the world can still see it.

If you hide that truth your only course of action is to adopt someone else’s truth.

When you adopt the truth of others you end up living a lie.

No wonder you aren’t coming in contact with the right people to allow you to make the difference you yearn to deliver for people.

“AND AS WE LET OUR LIGHT SHINE

WE UNCONSCIOUSLY GIVE OTHERS PERMISSION TO DO THE SAME”

As people tell me their stories I’m coming to understand the reason why they want to make a difference to others is because they know how it feels to be down, or sick or addicted or stressed or like I was in a job I hated and needed to get out before it killed me.

Most people have found themselves training in a modality that will allow them the freedom to have their own business because at some time in their life, they wanted to move away from something that was causing them discomfort.

They never tell or even own that personal story in business because they think it will be seen as unprofessional, coming from ego or lets get real – most people don’t have a clue about the importance of their story ………… so have never tapped the gold in that vein.

When you finally tell your story, it allows others to come up and share that they have had a similar experience. People can relate to your story, so it is easy for them to relate to you.

As I teach Sore to SOAR, my speaking intensive workshop, I have come to understand that your story is your glory.

Once you understand and embrace your discomfort – you have your story.

***Clear and powerful messages create business success***

When you understand your story you can start to run towards opportunities because you know why people need to work with you.

When your story is clear everyone including YOU understands why you are in business.

But that’s not the biggest thing I do for people. Learning to speak makes you aware of how you have been hiding away from the world, playing small, not letting your light shine and not helping as many people as you want to. I give you permission to leave those limiting beliefs behind once and for all.

Fear stops most people from speaking in public. It’s a genuine fear and yes sometimes some idiot stands up in a room and challenges you. If you have the right knowledge to deal with the situation and a strong message, you will come out as the hero and grab the glory.

In Sore to SOAR three things we learn is the power of silence, the power of eye contact and how to own a room. We also learn how to keep repeating your message in different ways until the audience gets it.

You speak when your message gets bigger than your fear.

I had Marianne Williamson's words on my fridge for a long time. When I had the guts to have an opinion and a message, even when it wasn’t what everyone wanted to hear, I took the words off the fridge and started to speak.

I took it off the fridge not because I was a know it all but because I didn’t need to “know” it anymore. I had broken through the fear and was “living” her words in my life and my business.

“AS WE’RE LIBERATED FROM OUR OWN FEAR, OUR PRESENCE AUTOMATICALLY LIBERATES OTHERS.”

To change the world, we need to live our message.

If you are ready to get out from under the rock of fear that has been holding you down, I can promise you that attending my Sore to SOAR workshop will be one of the most uncomfortable things you have ever done.

There is a workshop at the end of June and the early bird ends this week.

The guy who taught me to own a room is the same person who eyeballed down *the standeruper*. In Sore to SOAR I teach you the same formula he taught me.

This workshop is full of good information but it won’t be easy for you. You will be asked to speak at the end of the weekend and actually implement what you have learned over the two days before you leave.

That’s why this course creates people with credible messages. It is also why 80% of past participants have created their first workshop within weeks of attending Sore to SOAR because all the fears have been walked through by the end of the weekend. You leave “knowing” it because you “implement” it.

So if you are sick of being the “I’m gonna” type of person and are really ready to serve a bigger audience, ready to teach others what you already know and are ready to get over yourself in one weekend ……….. book now.

My part of the deal is that I will treat you and your feelings with the greatest of respect because I have been through the process myself.

I will create a loving and safe environment where you and five others will break through together and support each other at each stage of the journey.

I promise you will leave able to liberate others with your pure light, simply by being your true self, knowing your story, seeing how it impacts others and being able to tell it in a way that not only liberates others but gives you the freedom you have been seeking to create your dream your way.

Book Now: all details here - www.Sore-to-SOAR.com

Are you ready to go to the next level?

2010-05-28T12:11:00.005+10:00

Two strangers walk into a workshop.

Both were natural therapists looking for similar outcomes but nervous as all get out. They had never met before but by “co-incidence” managed to sit beside each other.

As it turned out both these women did have something in common. They had both seen me speak at their industry associations in 2007.

I hadn’t heard from either of them in nearly three years but they were here today because their message had got bigger than their fear of public speaking.

Despite their own reservations, they were ready to find out if they were “good enough” to speak from the front of a room.

I quizzed them as to what it was that they remembered most from the talk I delivered to their respective associations. Both immediately came back with a vague recollection of a couple of things I had taught them during that brief 60 minute talk.

However both cited the reason they were sitting in the chairs, about to take themselves to hell and back, was because they remembered my story. They felt they knew me from that story and they trusted me to help them.

Both talks had caused me extreme discomfort but this short exchange showed the reality of speaking your truth. I felt honoured by their trust but I also honoured and thanked myself for having the guts to go and speak to them all those years back.

The talks these women attended were “walk in and talk” events both delivered in bleak environments. One in particular I remember being VERY nervous at because no one had mentioned my talk would be videoed. I’d driven for two hours that Sunday morning telling myself the worst that could happen was that I’d only bomb in front of a few people. The video going out to their national membership upped the odds dramatically!

The other talk had been delivered during the worst weather Melbourne could conjure up. I was tired and weary because I’d had to leave home three hours early because three out of the four exit arteries around my town were closed due to snow blocking the roads. The journey normally takes around three hours. It took me six hours this day as I progressively drove through snow, gale force winds and driving rain.

Despite these not so harmonious circumstances I made an impact on both occasions not because I was good but because the story I told resonated deeply.

It wasn’t a fancy story. In fact it was a rock bottom story without a happy ending.

It was however my truth.

These two women remembered me and my story enough to pay to attend one of my workshops three years later. Not only that, they chose to turn up to a workshop and let an almost total stranger help them overcome a fear most would rather die than do.

Back then I knew nothing about method. I hadn’t been taught how to work the energy of a stage. I didn’t know how to adequately roll out a learning set. I didn’t know how to put knowledge into conceptual bites that make it easy for people to understand. I probably broke all the rules at both talks but still my message came through because I knew how to earn the right to be in the room.

A well crafted “earn the right” makes you credible and memorable no matter what is going on because it demands you speak at the intersection of love and truth.

I influenced those women not because I was some fast eddy with slick sales techniques. I impressed because I had experienced and lived through every wart, every crinkle, every tear and every emotion I spoke about.

The power of emotional speaking is that it builds relationships.

Once you learn how to harness the emotion and tell your story from your heart, people will not only sit through a sixty minute talk without throwing tomatoes, they also remember you years later. This alone is marketing gold. BUT it gets seriously golden when people will come and work with you without you having to evoke hard sell marketing techniques to get them there.

Sure it’s not the fast road to success but it’s powerful, it’s genuine and it’s real.

The course they attended last weekend was called Sore to SOAR and man did everyone soar. One participant contacted me this week to tell me she has sent away for the material she needs to run her first workshop. She has been meaning to do it for ages. Difference this week is that she has done it.

But I get this feedback all the time. It is awesome and I love hearing every word.

However there is something more important for me than seeing participants float from the room espousing how much they’ve grown and how good they feel. What is truly remarkable is the undeniable fact that 80% of the participants who have attended fully have either spoken in public or delivered their own workshops within two months of completing Sore to SOAR.

That’s my point of difference – people actually step up and step out, some within weeks of attending the course.

The people who have done the course are just everyday people who have a dream in their heart and a burning desire to help more people.

Many who are breaking through are busy Mum’s, people just setting up in practice or people who have already had success in one aspect of their practice. To date they have been a bit “scaredy cat” about the next step but are good to go now.

They are the unseen heroes who have been standing beside a massage table treating people one on one or sitting at home knowing something is growing within them. Knowing their message is important for the world but they have no idea what that message is, how to find it or how to get that message out or even where to start. This eventually causes discomfort.

Discomfort is the one thing that makes most humans move.

What’s weird is that these supposedly “ordinary” people already have the story within them that will gain them recognition and give them the confidence to leap up to the next level. Sore to SOAR allows them to connect with their story and we all have one. The true magic occurs when you learn to apply the “earn the right” formula to your story.

Sore to SOAR is not just another workshop it’s a personal expansion.

The two strangers left with an admiration for each other rarely forged in a weekend. One shared as she walked out the door that she felt she finally had all she needed to speak. It was an incredible honour to move her from feeling ordinary to extraordinary in such a short period of time.

Sore to SOAR gives people two ultimate gifts – confidence and no excuses.

If you are ready to go to the next level there is a Sore to SOAR intensive workshop running in Melbourne 26 and 27 June 2010.

Sore to SOAR takes you on a journey from a sore place of really hurting inside to one where you SOAR out the door on Sunday evening with a heap more clarity around what you do and how you can make a difference to a lot more people.

The early bird price is running out soon.

Book now: www.Sore-to-SOAR.com

Are You Addicted to Fear?

2010-05-21T09:59:00.004+10:00

I had a big aha moment last week when a well loved client had her inner wimp out tap dancing on the table.

As the wimp tapped loudly she made a lot of noise but was really only treading the same old boards out of habit.

I realised just like drugs, alcohol and anything else toxic that become a negative due to overuse, habits often cover fear. This creates a vicious circle because our egos love fear. Above all our ego hates change. This gives our ego a vested interest in keeping us dancing on the spot.

Fear and ego are a formidable force and continue to provide rational reasons not to do things.

Once addicted our fear and ego begins to dominate our destiny.

Eventually we overuse fear to the point of addiction.

Not such a bad thing if the behaviour we get addicted to is positive because initially that at least creates forward movement. But when the behaviour is negative it results in a downward spiral.

Unless we create some sort of intervention program, the problem only becomes worse.

You know you are addicted to fear if you:

* Are not moving forward

* Under charging

* Over giving

* Feeling frustrated that things aren’t working out for you

* Know your actions (or lack of them) are limiting your potential

* Start believing the excuses you create to cover your actions or inactions

* Listen to your negative voice instead of ignoring it

* Have a great message or service that isn’t getting to enough people

FEAR is the root cause of all these points and this is the short list. There are a thousand things we are addicted to that hold us back.

However I believe the fear list can be distilled down to seven core items

1. Fear of failure

2. Fear of success

3. Fear of being judged

4. Fear of getting out of your comfort zone.

5. Fear of not being good enough

6. Fear of getting the things you actually want

7. Fear of your own greatness and light

All these fears are driven by internal voices that frankly just churn out a bunch of lies about you 24/7.

Call the voices whatever you like – the monkey voice - inner wimp – inner vandal – inner critic – inner “holding you back from being who you really are” hooligan ……. there are a thousand “inners” who stop us in our tracks.

After a while though the voices become comfortable friends that give us an excuse for not accomplishing all the things we want to do. Once that happens, your fear is now an addiction.

Addiction comes in many forms and there are many theories, including 12 step programs that assist people to break through their addiction.

I know for myself I attended a Debtors Anonymous meeting and experienced the full hit of facing myself head on in a 12 Step program. As I spoke the words “I’m Margaret and I have a problem with debt”…..and heard the response back “Hi Margaret” …. I knew I had gone too far.

My problem came because I set out on a crazy journey of self discovery, following a dream that was probably best left in the “do with more resources” pile. I didn’t start out with the right knowledge to go from a salary earner to someone who had to sell themselves to make a living. By the time I got the right knowledge I was way out of control and was addicted to maxing out credit cards.

I knew that I had to overcome the addiction because it was holding me back.

My first step was to recognise I had a problem and then I had to look at the root cause because the debt was only a symptom. The real truth of the problem was that I was addicted to expensive personal development workshops. I kept going to them to get validation and they kept selling me another course. I had found the source of the problem. An out of control positive habit and the fear of not being good enough.

The hard core reality check that meeting gave me sent me cold turkey and made me accept I had just been repeating my old “not good enough” inner talk. Once I got that I understood I could at least stop the debt growing by accepting that I didn’t need others to tell me I was worthy of personal and business success.

It was time to set up my own courses and start teaching and silence that vicious inner wimp that was keeping me from helping others.

Now if I attend a course I ask three golden questions:

1. Is this educating a weakness or a strength?

2. Will I come out with a tangible skill

3. Are my guts churning? If they are, I know I’m facing a fear.

If not, then I have probably learnt the information already and haven’t been brave enough to put the knowledge into action, or my ego is keeping me in line.

Either way I take an action that will pull me into discomfort because I know that’s where the growth is. I have found facing fear in this manner and walking straight through it clears the fear. But you have to keep facing your fear long term.

Good learning will make your guts churn because it puts you outside your comfort zone where you don’t know the answers. It will also place you with people who challenge and inspire you, not people who are churning out what you want to hear and making you feel all warm and fuzzy.

I was told at one of those fancy PD events, “Margaret once isn’t good enough - you need to climb a mountain of fear every day”. I had just exhausted myself overcoming the very real fear of climbing a very real mountain in a snow storm where at one point slipping on the ice and falling to your death down a ravine was a very real possibility.

There will always be another mountain of fear and that day I got to the top by taking one small step at a time. I knew if I stopped I would give up. I didn’t take breaks with the others I just kept going. I’ve found taking action certainly helps keep the wimp in line and the mountain climbable. Even in a snow storm I eventually blitzed my fear and the ego that said I couldn’t do it.

So if you are like me and you like to take action and walk through your fears then maybe I have a deal for you.

The greatest fear most people have is to speak in public.

The greatest business and personal growth building skill you can acquire is to speak in public.

I’ve also faced the fear of speaking in one hit.

I was a total wimp but knew I had to master public speaking to get my message out to more people. So my first public speaking appearance was to a roomful of my coaching peers. I just went and did it with no training. As it turned out I broke every “rule” in the book that fateful night but they loved me none the less and I’ve never looked back.

Now I help others get over the fear of speaking and I find the type of people who turn up to my Sore to SOAR speaking intensive are “just do it” wimps.

They are as scared as I was that night I spoke to my colleagues. But deep in their hearts they know they have to take a leap of faith because, like me, they figured out:

“You speak when getting your message out becomes more important than your fear”

Once you walk through a fear you realise there is nothing on the other side.

Once you speak you realise you have a tool that will give you everything on the other side along with the personal recognition you so deeply desire.

Sore to SOAR asks you to tell your personal story to six workshop participants.

Its like me speaking to coaches – it’s a safe audience because they understand how you feel. You can’t fail because you know your story backwards and the others in the group give you the encouragement to voice it.

The really interesting thing for me is that many of the natural therapists who attend the course have been drug and alcohol addicts in the past or have endured and overcome more physical and emotional abuse than most humans need to.

They turned to alternative therapies to heal their wounds and then went on to train in the modality that helped them. When you learn how to put your story into a compelling format - your story becomes your glory - and people start to understand why they need to work with you.

To date about 80% of the Sore to SOAR participants after finishing the course have either spoken to groups or set up their own small workshops and have started to stand in their own power. These are extraordinary results because most people leave workshops with great intent but fail to implement the knowledge or like me end up in courses that don’t make you take action.

My 12 step experience made me swear to create programs that really drive people do what they sign up for at least once. I think the difference with Sore to SOAR is simply that you go cold turkey. You face the fear in front of your peers and once you have mastered speaking, which is the one thing most people would rather do than die, you just go ‘pah’ and get on with it.

The effect speaking has on a small business is remarkable because it gives you opportunity to get in front of more people, you become an inspiration to others for your braveness and it opens new doors.

If you have a message inside you that is burring to get out – I’d love to help you banish your “inners” and finally feel “heard” not just in your business but in every level of your life.

The next Sore to SOAR Speaking Intensive is 26-27 June 2010 in Melbourne. It’s limited to six people. It sells out fast. Book NOW www.SoreToSoar.com

Do you want to be a chocolate, cheese and freedom mouse?

2010-05-11T16:35:00.007+10:00

There has been a bout of pull-out-it-is in my practice the last few weeks.

We often don’t notice trends until they start happening more regularly and the time frame between incidents start to shorten.

I’ve had two clients wanting to pull out of sessions this week and a bout of pull-out-it-is a few weeks ago on workshops. Too many to ignore and enough to call a trend.

So I sat down to figure out what was causing this because if I’m getting it there

a) a message for me

b) a message my people (that’s you) can learn from

I think I’ve finally sussed it out.

It’s the new energy asking us to step up to new levels.

This month for the first time I taught Masters. It was one of my most joyous teaching experiences. However, my biggest learning from the weekend was that my pot cupboards had to get rearranged. The current set up was a logistical nightmare but on a higher level I was being called to step up and get ALL my small details sorted.

As you know once you start moving one thing – everything needs to change and I now have a very practical purpose designed new desk (not the folding barbeque table a friend gave me eight years ago when I literally had no money to buy anything). I also have new storage shelves in the admin office and am fighting the good fight with the resident mouse before the pot cupboard can get sorted.

The mice are of course part of my lesson. You know when you get small irritating things turning up in your life – you need to take care of the small things = DUH moment!

I bought this fancy “mice device” that humanly traps the mouse and then you take him somewhere safe and set him free. This thing is the Rolls Royce of mouse catchers at $25. I have released one little mouse and left him with 4 organic almonds and a piece of cheese to help him on his journey.

His buddy though is proving more elusive. The treats are getting more extravagant in the “mice device” and now include aged cheddar and chocolate ….BUT he’s not having a bar of that and is still pooping all over the kitchen.

I’ve just had a break point where I stood in the kitchen shouting – “it’s the chocolate, the cheese and freedom OR it’s the cheese in the old fashioned trap – YOUR CHOICE BUDDY!”

All the people who have been wanting to pull out of coaching sessions or workshops have all had good excuses. They haven’t done their homework, they have been sick, busy, had kid stuff on, had conflicting appointments, were down for no reason blah blah blah on went the excuses.

Bless them they made me step up and write back and give them a kick up the butt and remind them that the magic occurs in the dark times and in the hard places. These are the times the coaching will really work for them.

Yes, as a coach its great when the client turns up and it’s all love and light and everything is perfect. BUT I know for a fact that my very best learning experiences have come when I’ve showed up in those times when I didn’t feel great and in some instances when I really “should” have stayed at home. It’s the same for clients and workshop attendees – they get the best results if they have suffered a bit to show up.

I was to be seen at an event in Colorado passed out on the floor at the back from jetlag and exhaustion – but would I go to my room for a nana nap. NO because I knew I would still be in the energy of that room and picking something up.

The new energy we are moving into is bringing challenge and change with it. What I’m noticing is that it is challenging at the really basic levels, like cleaning up the pot cupboards. It is also asking us to show up in the hard places and deal with our dark side – those icky yucky horrible emotions and fears that we would rather not deal with.

Here is the segue to the mouse, the cheese and chocolate – you knew it was coming :-)

In the end the winners will be the ones who run into the arms of the people who are there to help them and care enough to have the humane trap lined with cheese and chocolate.

They are the ones who are prepared to stand up, own their past mistakes, be seen as they truly are and be rewarded with freedom at the end of a scary experience.

However, those who keep pooping in the corner, not showing themselves fully to everyone around them and thinking they can live in an old paradigm will perish. Staying in your safe little hiding places where no one can find you will annoy someone to the point where they simply close the door on your behaviour.

You and your practice are the same. If you continue to hide behind your fears and lack of confidence, refusing to accept your greatness, in the end people are going to get sick of you and will just wipe you out of their life.

I also had someone step up to one of my high end programs today. She came onto the call stating she was sitting on the fence and she was sick of it. I reminded her that people who sit on the fence waiting for the right time to make their move will end up with one thing – pickets up their bum!

I’m really starting to understand this new energy demands us to go to the next level or get off the fence. Yes I know how hard it is to face who you really are. I’ve gone from the wimpy quiet and reserved beige girl in the corner (that no one ever noticed) to someone who is really out there now. It’s not easy and it takes a lot of nuts and guts but the rewards when they come are HUGE in every sense.

All I did to change my reality was to make a choice to change and I learnt from people who had taken a similar road to one I wanted to travel. I kept showing up even when I didn't want to. I took their advice and I took the actions they recommended. That's all.

Maybe its time for you to figure out which mouse you are. The one choosing to show up fully in the humane trap with the chocolate and the cheese or are you content to continue scurrying around the edges, hiding and setting yourself up for a nasty big bang.

This was just going to be a quick reminder for those interested in learning to teach teleclasses but it has turned into a great article with nothing to do with teleclasses.

BUT if you want to be a chocolate and cheese mouse and run into the arms of someone who will help you step up and learn a new skill that will add another revenue stream to your business on your terms – check it out here

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell

2010-04-30T10:10:00.009+10:00

Audio version
MP3 File

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell
By Margaret Gill

Have you ever tried to assemble a flat pack desk or shelf?

This week in a frenzy of de-cluttering I realised more shelves were in order at International Headquarters if I was ever going to have a back office that matched the same sense of order that my front of house business has.

These apparently “easy to assemble” flat packs are a nightmare of tiny bags of nuts and screws, instructions written by someone with any language other than English and more parts to hold together than hands to hold them.

Flat packs require a good repertoire of swear words if you ever hope to complete the task. Luckily my days in a rock and roll band, where bad language is the universal language, stood me in good stead for the task.

In the process of completing this “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell” I was reminded of a valuable coaching concept I learnt years ago:

The difference between commitment and trying

The big thing you need to know about me is that I’m not at this time, nor ever do I seek to be, a Domestic Goddess and or DIY Warrior. But I’m always up for having a go at something new.

As I unpacked the boxes and gingerly set my pieces in place I started to only partly hammer the pieces into their respective slots.

I thought I was being clever by leaving space for me to easily fix an error if I’d inadvertently locked the wrong pieces together. In the end I found I got less than satisfactory results with this tactic.

My first attempt was very wonky. In fact in a loud clatter of metal on carpet, the whole thing fell apart the minute I let go.

After I picked up all the pieces and bent them back into shape, I changed tactic and attacked the thing with gusto. I hammered the pieces together like it was never going to need pulling apart and guess what! I got the desired results.

What was different? The first time I was “trying” to get it right. I doubted myself and my ability and I hesitated.

When I got “committed” and was prepared to go and buy a whole new flat pack if I did stuff it up – the thing came together almost with the ease quoted on the brochure.

I see so many natural therapists “trying” to build a business.

They are “trying” to get clients and they are “trying” to put themselves in places that they might get clients and they are “trying” to find a WHO and WHAT or niche that will make the difference to their business.

They are often thinking about signing up for a course but never quite getting there, or procrastinate so long that they find someone else has beaten them into the workshop that will change their life.

Committed people however attack their business head on.

They take committed action and get tangible results.

They turn up at workshops happy if they only take one new piece of information home with them because they know the value of turning up.

So are you committed or just trying?

In these new energy times where we are being asked to turn up 100% in our purpose and as ourselves, we have no room to sit on the fence anymore.

“The magic happens outside your discomfort zone”

Margaret Gill

If we want clients we need to find out where they hang out together and go to those places. We need to get into our discomfort zone and talk to people about what we do and in some instances YES we need to market and sell to people so they can work with us.

These types of action take a high level of commitment but they get results.

I’ve found the best and easiest way to get clients is to interact personally with them by using small workshops and talks to grow your business BUT that is not always possible. You could be limited by distance, time, confidence or the funds to start your first live workshop. Your message might still be too murky to speak in public, but what I’ve found is that everyone knows something about something.

So the second best way is to run a workshop or course that interacts with people on the phone.

They are called teleclasses and are basically “learning on the phone”.

Teleclasses take a lot of the pressure off because they are usually done at low cost which lowers the expectations of participants. So it makes it easy to dazzle your participants, add value to the call and have them leave with a really positive experience. It’s those positive experiences that convince people to work with you.

To do a teleclass you really only need a heap of enthusiasm and something you are confident presenting. We all have something we do well – so why not encourage someone who is thinking of learning that thing you do well and teach them how to do it on a teleclass. You can even do the first few without participants until you feel confident enough to invite attendees.

The great news is that you never have to leave home to do teleclasses. They are low cost, short in duration, you don’t need to download anything and you probably have all the resources and equipment you need right now. Like anything else you have had to master in your business, teleclasses are really easy to do once you have been given the right information and have done the first one in a supportive environment.

The great thing is that if you know anything about any topic you can run a teleclass and they are a great way to promote your live events and talks.

You can also use the technology to record your newsletters which will allow you to give your customers the option to listen to your newsletter on an mp3 they can download to their ipod.

Teleclasses also give you the confidence to speak and mastering the teleclass format (ie learning to talk into a void) also sets you up very nicely to start recording product. I can’t tell you how much teleclasses changed my business.

There is a big buzz around webinars at present but I just find there is way too much technology for most people to manage first up and I recommend you start with simple teleclasses that have far less to go wrong.

So to sum up:

Having a small business is a lot like assembling DIY products from hell:

You have to implement all the parts or it just won’t work

There are a lot of small pieces that make up the whole

The instructions you give people have to be clear or it won’t work

Just using one part of the puzzle won’t get the overall results you desire

If you don’t get all the right parts in all the right places, then the thing won’t function correctly.

There will always be a couple of left over screws you have no idea what to do with – but it was worth the effort to have them in mix, if only to find out they weren’t for you.

Speaking and teleclasses are only one of the small pieces that go into the small business jigsaw puzzle but the sooner you commit to at least trying new things and finding new ways to promote your business – you are going to spend less time swearing and picking pieces up off the floor and more time doing something that supports you and your business growth.

Many of you have been asking about how to teach teleclasses so I’ve decided to run a teleclass on that exact subject. There are more details on my website so get committed and click here

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell (Audio)

2010-04-29T16:09:00.008+10:00

You can now listen to my newsletter article here or download the file to your favourite mp3 player - I trust you take me somewhere interesting :-)

MP3 File

I’ve found the best and easiest way to get clients is to interact personally with them by using small workshops and talks to grow your business BUT that is not always possible. You could be limited by distance, time, confidence or the funds to start your first live workshop. Your message might still be too murky to speak in public, but what I’ve found is that everyone knows something about something.

So the second best way is to run a workshop or course that interacts with people on the phone.

They are called teleclasses and are basically “learning on the phone”.

Read the full newsletter here

Have You Joined the Spectacularly Unsuccessful Club Yet?

2010-04-13T19:43:00.021+10:00

Today two clients had the same experience – an event that had been a spectacular disaster.

They were licking their wounds and learning the lessons from the experience in stunning style.

Instead of the “build it and they will come” scenario they had planned, one basically would have been better at the beach on the day of the event and the other had to take a big bite of humble pie and cancel their event.

They entered the Spectacularly Unsuccessful Club with honours.

If you haven’t made the “Spectacularly Unsuccessful Club” many would say you just aren’t trying hard enough.

I’ve found the not trying hard enough concept, although harsh and hard, to be exactly true. If you aren’t pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and trying new things and new ways to present and promote your business then at best you are probably working within your comfort zone and are at worst in a rut.

I have found it to be 100% true that people who are prepared to have a go and accept failing as just an inevitable blimp on the path to success are the ones who get the most success in the long term.

Please don’t get me wrong I’m not saying set yourself up to fail and everything will be OK. What I am saying is be open to having a go at new things and if they don’t work out as well as you hoped they may, learn the lessons and gain the knowledge that will make it a success the next time.

Failing is only failure if you:

1. Don’t study and learn the lessons why the failure occurred.

2. You take the same actions or in-actions that got you in hot water the last time

So what went wrong?

As my clients and I discussed the finer details of their event implosion we got to the truth of why their efforts had less than bodacious outcomes. They both came up with exactly the same answer which was not enough targeted marketing action soon enough.

They both knew “the right actions” to take – they simply didn’t take them fast enough.

Lack of appropriate and timely marketing in anything you do will inevitably cause mediocre outcomes but when you put that in the event arena, no matter how big or small your event is - you are sure to have problems.

The reality of facing what really happened after all the “buts” and “ifs” were put to rest was enlightening for both parties. Both then dug a little deeper and realized there were messages for them at a much higher level. Both will have much more successful events in the future on every level because they got clear on their message and they got clear on what actions they had to take long before the event date was looming on the horizon.

The Magic Occurs Outside Your Comfort Zone

I celebrated both those gutsy women because I knew that they were truly “getting it” because they had set up events that really only got mediocre response. Does this mean I’ve gone completely barking mad? No, simply because I know they won’t do it again because they well and truly learned their lessons. It hurt so hard that the wisdom is now burnt in their brains.

Humans Are Drawn To A Lesson Like Bugs To A Flame

Sure there are sensible ways to learn our lessons. There are libraries full of books that tell us how to NOT do things a certain way and my website is full of things that will help you get it right the first time.

BUT humans tend to like to do things the hard way.

I from my own experiences have found that I’ve learnt my greatest lessons from my greatest times of darkness and my blatant need to express my stuff-up-ability at every turn. I reckon I’ve turned around and run straight back into the same fire many times until I finally learnt my lesson and stepped out of the fire and stepped up into my purpose.

Without Guts There Is No Glory

The “Kleenex Experiences” on my journey to make my dream of working positively with people come true have always been from gutsy moves. You know the ones that would have been better left alone and me following the tried and true path.

"Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail."
Muriel Strode

Frequently the mistakes outdid my triumphs twenty to one but when those triumphs finally came I’ve had something to meter them against and have truly revealed in the glory.

So if there is so much to learn in failure I have two questions:

1 Why do we feel so much shame when we make a mistake or have a go and don’t exactly get the desired outcome?

2. Why is the personal development industry so hell bent and setting expectations of perfection that most can never attain and if they do attain the perfection they can’t grow from it?

I don’t know the answer to those questions but they are worth us thinking about.

What I am doing is applauding loudly every time one of you does something that takes you outside your comfort zone even if the outcomes are less than perfect because I know you are putting yourself in a place where glory can find you. And who knows you might even get it right the first time!

The five key things I have learned about challenging situations are:

1. The sun comes up tomorrow and the situation never seems as bad as it was the day before

2. Take the hard decision as soon as you see the error of your ways

3. Make the error as “right” as you can as quickly as you can and then figure out how you can do better next time

4. Actually take the actions in step 2 & 3

5. Hang onto your hat because you are about to take a big leap forwards

As I’ve worked through the pain of some of my very memorable stuff ups my personal development has been gigantic to the point now where I seek to challenge myself at every chance. Sure I get myself in hot water from time to time but to date the world hasn’t ended. Instead awesome opportunities have always presented themselves once I understand and act on the lesson.

If you have joined the “Spectacularly Unsuccessful Club” why not leave a comment and share your story of how you grew from a not so pleasant experience.

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches of 2010

2010-04-09T14:03:00.013+10:00

I did a great teleclass this week with Kendall SummerHawk and Richard Shapiro and they shared what's Hot and What's NOT in niches or what my system calls YOUR WHO - the group of people you market to, so you can easily get more clients and make more money with love.

I was very interested in what they reported on the call from their research because I've found what they reported to be true from my own experiences and those of my clients.

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches at the moment are products and services that meet needs in:

1. Small Business owners and Entrepreneurs

2. Marketing (Anything that genuinely helps people get more clients)

3. Relationships

4. Executive Coaching which is industry focused

5. Health, Wellness and Beauty

Their research, drawn from their experiences with clients and industry sources, has shown that people continuing to offer products and services in these five areas are doing the best out of everyone, even in a diminished economy.

Then they listed what areas are not doing well or are swamped with people offering vague results to people who don't want or need or won't pay for those offerings.

What's NOT HOT is

1. Life Balance

2. Services to teachers

3. Vague services offering more confidence, more joy

4. Mom-prenuers because they tend to spend money on everyone else but themselves

I was really interested to hear their findings because I've noticed very similar things. All the people I see that have been able to keep going and keep their businesses alive and often thriving in the last 12 months have been active in the top 5 categories WITH a highly defined WHO & WHAT.

Kendall and Richard said the real achievers are combining the top 5 to make powerhouse niches - the example they gave was a beauty therapist who offered high end beauty services to small business owners.

There are people who are doing well in the What's NOT HOT list but in general I find those people have specific products that solve very specific problems - one client had great luck getting into schools - others report its just a dead end because of time and budgetary constraints on the teaching industry in general. So if you are doing well in those areas - don't stop - if not maybe try to figure out how you can fit what you are already doing into the What's Hot list.

It was a great call and a warning to those who continue to offer flakey bakey service offerings to people who don't want and need what you have on offer.

Success awaits those who are prepared to own a niche, be shameless in their want and need to be successful and who are willing to do what it takes and take the actions that put you in front of your audience.

Lessons to be learnt from a Vege Casserole

2010-04-06T13:52:00.021+10:00

Last night I awoke in the middle of the night with a flash of the bleeding obvious and I am still giggling.

Getting all your ducks in a row is an important part of business growth.

One of the biggest ducks to have lined up is your own personal health and vitality.

I’d have to say that I’ve let that slip since moving to the country. A recent trip to the fabulous Prahran Markets in Melbourne City (where I used to shop when I lived in this trendy inner city suburb) reminded me of the way I used to care of myself before I leapt into the dream.

Back then I had a corporate pay cheque that ensured I could walk out of that market with a shopping jeep full of organic food and vegetables without thinking twice about how much it had just cost me.

During my journey to build my dream there were times in the early days when all I had money for was what I’ve lovingly dubbed the 3P’s =

1. Porridge
2. Pasta
3. Peanut Butter Sandwiches

You could buy a lot of the 3P's for $10 when on welfare payments. There was one horrible week I remember, when the only reason I had peanut butter sandwiches was because the local Bakers Delight store put a voucher in my mail box for a free loaf of bread. I wrote in to thank them for that voucher some months later and the owner was blown away that they had made so much difference to my life that week.

So somewhere in the nightmare I created in the early days I lost touch with vibrantly healthy food and ate what I could fit into an impossible fiscal situation. That certainly didn’t include eating take out or Maccas or KFC –it hasn’t been that I’ve been eating badly, I just haven’t been eating optimally and I have lost touch with is the joy of healthy, vital organic food. Now I’m ready to get back to that place and only accept food made or grown with “love” because I know it’s the answer to my next step up the ladder of success.

Sometimes the answers are right in front of us and don’t require a lot of effort to change. I live in foodie heaven and many of our farm gates probably supply Prahran Market – I’ve just got to get back into the habit of making trips out to their on site stores and making vital food a priority.

Health Coach Susan Living has been helping me get back into appreciating vital health. Susan’s enthusiasm for vital health and zealous support of “anything green” has been getting me get back on track. Who thought you could put spinach in your morning juice!

Part of my “homework” this week has been creating and implementing a healthy eating plan that will fit into my sometimes manic schedule. So I had a lovely time over Easter at the Castlemaine Farmers Market purchasing organic veges from the incredibly passionate vegetable aficionado at the Fernleigh Farms stall. Surrounded by all this enthusiasm I was pumped up to come home and start my vegetable casserole, guaranteed to rid sluggish livers of bad vibes.

Any of you who have met me personally will know that I’m not a domestic goddess – I can cook if I put my mind to it – but my future preference is a butler who will take care of all that. But the vege casserole recipe was pretty idiot proof really and went something like chop up healthy veges and herbs – put it in a casserole dish, add homemade vege stock and put it in the oven (my kind of meal!).

Everything was going well until I was required to place 3 tablespoons of LSA (ground Linseed, Sunflower kernels and Almonds) into the bubbling aromatic mix.

It immediately went all gluggy. So gluggy in fact I just picked the big bits out and the compost bin got the rest.

I was highly perplexed by this because I’d made a smoothie a few weeks back and the same thing happened – add LSA – glutinous maximus mess! But LSA is only ground up nuts – it really shouldn’t do that ............ so what was I missing?

In business we need to become multi taskers and we are constantly asked to put in time saving measures and do things once – do them well – all those good pieces of advice. I am a master at finding ways I can save time and automate and do several things at once, but it seems you also need to have a good memory to avoid unexpected knock on effects.

Some time ago I had been enjoying fruit smoothies for lunch (note the chuck it all in at once process I’m so fond of) and in my infinite wisdom had cut down the processing time by adding my Psyllium Husk Fibers to my container of LSA to save time.

Psyllium (Sellium) Husks do many good things for the body but at base level they are a bulking agent which helps with constipation.

So there was the learning lesson in the vege casserole – if you are going to multi task – at least remember what you’ve multi’d or you’ll end up in the poo :-)

Luckily I just picked out the big bits and discarded the sauce part or I could have been in BIG trouble this morning – because a smoothie only requires ONE scoop – THREE tablespoons would have really messed with my system.

Mojo Wrecking Avalanches & Broke Down Puter Blues

2010-03-26T10:36:00.003+11:00

Could it be called fate?

Call it be called divine intervention?

I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t really matter what you call it but there is no doubt in my mind that there are times when we are forced to go inward and deeply look at what we are doing and why we are doing it.

I’ve had two weeks like that recently.

My laptop died the morning I was due to present in Noosa but the show went on (thanks to Sandy and Curly Harris for saving the day and letting me use their laptop).

Two weeks later, a couple of expensive visits to experts and my poor hard working laptop is still trying to restore all the files I’ve dutifully backed up. As they return back onto the hard drive it looks like they probably aren’t going to give me what I expected at the end of the day.

I’m grateful I’m still healthy and I know a lot of people have a lot worse problems than a broken computer but for someone who works with the internet this is like a builder trying to build a house without their tool box and a hairdresser trying to cut hair without their scissors, chefs without knives. In fact it’s a dream stopper because without the right tools we can’t make money and pay our bills. Things can get messy really fast!

This seemingly out of my control incident, along with a few other personal things (you know how everything comes at once) that have caused a great deal of angst have caused me to re-assess where I was with the earth the world and everything.

To be honest I have been close to the brink of giving up.

I’ve taken a fair bit of flack for admitting the fact publicly that sometimes the wheels fall off my life and things are far from “perfect”. I just see it as an honest response when “shift happens”.

I find this “perfect” illusion is created from those on the bottom of the ladder of success who are looking up - not the ones on the top looking down. In fact yesterday each speaker told of their “none to perfect” life before they figured out all the knowledge they needed and then how to get that knowledge and then implement it. After many big bumps they finally got their perfect life which sees them constantly travelling the world, working their butts off in between bouts of extreme luxury. But they are away from family a lot so nothing is ever perfect even at the top of the ladder.

It has been very important for me to not appear as one of those coaches who just pretend everything is lovely and beautiful and create an unrealistic bar for others to jump over. I like to tell it like it really is so you can learn from my journey and not beat yourself up when something goes pear shaped for you.

What you can’t do is just ignore it and pretend its ok – that’s just like waxing over a dirty floor. I find the best and quickest way to get out is to stop for a while and go inward. When you are prepared to go to the honest places, those deep recesses which any wise individual would stay well away from, a message eventually appears. Mine came while channel surfing Sunday morning TV in my pajamas (standard issue uniform for anyone contemplating their naval).

I was drawn into a story of two men who got stuck in a place called Avalanche Alley in North America, known funnily enough for its regular Avalanches. Long and short of the true story saw the two friends pushed to their absolutes limits, without food for days and trying to crawl for their lives. One of them had a broken hip, the other was dragging him out inch by inch through some of the worst terrain and weather conditions imaginable.

The upshot was yet another avalanche swept them into an ice crevice where the inquired man “luckily” was dumped on an ice shelf close to the exit but his buddy landed much further down. Most at that point would have given up because they were seriously stuck.

Instead of giving up he started to shout at the Universe “I CAN TAKE MORE” and he kept manically shouting out “I CAN TAKE MORE”. When his buddy awoke, confused and unsure if he was still alive all he heard was someone shouting “I CAN TAKE MORE!” It gave him the motivation to start climbing up to him.

This extreme reaction to the drastic situation they found themselves in made me realize I too could take more – hell mine was only a broken computer. I jumped up and started to pace up and down the hall shouting I CAN TAKE MORE!

The two men eventually dragged themselves out of a situation that would have defeated many simply by putting one foot in front of the other. Finally a rescue party found them and the real men who actually survived this event were interviewed and described how the ordeal has influenced their lives. Neither has lived their life in the same way once they left hospital because they believed they experienced a miracle that day.

Every time I’ve faced off a “bad” time I’ve also found things changed radically around me and nothing was ever the same again.

As I later thought about why this bizarre response helped spur them out of a place of hopelessness I realized why it probably works.

There is a saying one of my mentors taught me

“The Universe won’t give you more
until you can handle what you already have”

So when you find yourself in a place where you think you can’t handle any more, that’s what you get – nothing more. Our intrepid heroes were only getting avalanches and exhaustion so they kept getting more of that.

But by changing that energy and stating you can take more, suddenly the perspective shifts and new possibilities kick in. Their new possibility was being rescued because they had stated they had room for more.

I’m certainly not recommending this as a long term strategy but I guess the reason I tell you is because things aren’t always easy but the landscape can change quickly once you understand your message. In the climbers case they knew they had to get closer to spirit. In mine I have to "only work with the best" and have the very best tools and people I can.

The journey from good to great can sometimes feel like an avalanche is pushing you down a mountainside but that is just part of the perfection of imperfection.

Since that shouting moment I’ve had such clarity and had the energy to go and hang out with some mad people like me who push the boundaries and hear how sometimes the boundaries have pushed back on them. I’ve gone and inspected the Mac Book Pro and learnt more about what they do. I’ve learnt a new saying from Mac owners:

“when you have a Mac you never look back”

So if you get times when things haven’t been working out or when people upset you or it just all seems way too insurmountable, please know its part of the journey that gives deep meaning to the cliché

“it’s about the journey not the destination”

My puter is now limping along without the hoots and whistles and things aren’t looking as fancy as before but I now have the ability to make the cash flow again. Luckily all my work files are backed up so I haven’t lost anything but it is taking a very long time to get it back to where it used to be and sadly it may never be the same.

So I apologise if you’ve tried to contact me or if I’ve been grumpy or silent and haven’t got back to you or I'm using a dodgy template or if their are spellos. At least I'm back in action.

Just know I strongly believe another saying another mentor taught me

“as low as you can go is as high as you can go”

You can either decide to judge me for my honesty or learn from my experience but for now I’m just excited to see what’s on the up side of the next leg of the journey :-)

Why Do Natural Therapists Get Into Business in the First Place?

2010-03-05T18:10:00.002+11:00

As I continue to work with Natural Therapists I’ve come to notice that it is no co-incidence that people have been drawn to natural healing modalities.
The one common thing that I’ve noticed is that natural therapists are often drawn to a modality because it helped them “heal” an aspect of themselves.

Often it’s a health challenge such as cancer or depression. Sometimes it may be the self esteem they lacked after years of physical, mental or emotional abuse. Substance abuse and eating disorders also features highly, often with natural therapies being their last resort before the long arm of the law caught up with them or worse they faced personal harm or death due to their habits.

As the person was “healed”, frequently after failing within the western medicine model before finding natural therapies, they were often inspired to go and learn more about the modality that helped them so much. The more they learned the more inspired they were to help others and hence commenced training, generally in the modality that helped them.

As yet there are no clear guide lines as to what drew them to a certain form of healing but most certainly most therapists I’ve encountered have a really interesting story to tell. Sometimes it takes a little digging to find it, but once unearthed it gives a whole new dimension to who they are and who they can help. It brings clarity and a clear message to everything they do.

I’ve noticed this more as I’ve begun to teach people to speak, specifically using their story as a way to gain credibility with an audience. As I get therapists sharing their story, often the heart wrenching details leave a bread trail right to the source of the reason why they got into natural therapies in the first place.

When that happens something magical kicks in because their story becomes their glory as they realise how much their personal story will cause people to attract to them, knowing they understand.

We all have a story and often the thing that has challenged us the most in life and in time have overcome is the thing we can most help others with.

Sore to SOAR is the program I have put together to help therapists get their message out. You can find out more here: Sore to SOAR

An Unexpected New Outcome from Speaking

2010-02-19T19:21:00.010+11:00

The more I teach my Sore to SOAR workshop and help people understand how their story helps first them, then others get a greater understanding of what they do, the more I get an understanding of what learning to speak does for people.

Firstly I thought it was a fluke when practitioners started to report that after having completed the workshop and reported getting the normal things such as:

more confidence

greater depth of understanding

the sense of what it feels like to have a go

getting more in touch with their message

overcoming fear

All the rational things you would expect from a speaking workshop.

What I didn’t expect was the intangible reports back the following week of how participants have gone back into their practice only to find their sessions with clients are not only going to a deeper level but clients reporting a greater understanding of the treatment and what it does for them.

This was unexpected and I have developed a whole new respect for speaking as more participants roll through the program and keep reporting the same thing. They are feeling more "heard" in their treatment room and finding that their treatments are going deeper.

This is starting to confirm my belief that our fears not only hold us back on one level – they hold us back in many deep layers of our being.

Because speaking is such a deep fear to overcome (research shows most people would rather die than speak in public) it must correlate that when that fear is released it makes space for a whole new level of good stuff to open up.

I love what I do – every day is filled up with new learning and observation and just when I think I am starting to get to the bottom of the barrel of what is possible, a whole new opportunity to help people grow opens up and a new barrel appears.

www.sore-to-SOAR.com

Sore to SOAR Melbourne
in the Conference Room at Quest

Have You Got A Media Policy?

2010-02-11T15:39:00.003+11:00

“Free publicity” are two words that string together almost as well as ‘Free lunch” BUT media can be a lot of work so being prepared is a good thing.

I am often approached to speak or comment about Tree-Change or in my instance the Dark Side of Tree-Change or Sea-Change Adventures. I’ve done brief interviews on Current Affairs TV programs and some of the big newspapers and a little bit of radio.

It all sounds great but....

I can’t say I’ve got a lot of direct clients from this activity but what it has given me is a lot of recognition. I was stunned the first time I mentioned my media when I was speaking and someone from the crowd came up afterward and said they saw the program and they hadn’t immediately joined the dots on me and the program that featured me, but during the talk they did. Suddenly I went from nobody to someone in the blink of an eye and it made for an easy conversation with a total stranger and further established me in her mind.

I have found media gives you credibility and recognition on many levels. Placed in a strong WHO and WHAT situation I have seen clients inundated when their message hit the right spot at the right time. But if you aren’t certain the placement is going to give you new opportunities or recognition or leverage you can use later, then it’s the old story – you might be better to spend that valuable chunk of time at the beach.

Get a Plan

What I’m saying is that like everything in business – you need to have at least thought about it before you plunge in without a plan.

The thing most forget is that media takes time and time is the one thing most people want more of – so to waste your time doesn’t make much sense. You will be interviewed and often a photographer will be sent to film you. The average investment of time is about 30 – 40 minutes for the interview and 30 minutes for the photos but one photographer took over two hours to get the photos and kept me in one pose for over 10 minutes while he got it just right. The photos turned out brilliantly but in hindsight I might have been doing better work on my business somewhere else.

The media is highly alluring and reporters on deadline can be highly demanding and are skilled at pushing you in the direction they want you to go in.

Get Organised

I believe having a media policy in your business right from the start will keep you clear and concise and a good media kit wins the hearts of journos and saves you a heap of time.

I am being featured in a Tree Change story in a couple of weeks and the video below shows a short snap of what you go through to get ONE photo. This was a fun and easy shoot down at The Boathouse on Lake Daylesford but it took about 30 minutes to get that ONE photo and you have to be ok with a camera very close to your face. PLUS I won’t know which one they use until I pick up a copy next week so media also includes a HEAP OF TRUST – but that’s a whole new blog post!

Another Tough Day at the Office

The Importance of Being Media Ready

2010-01-26T22:47:00.007+11:00

I had just come off my weekly Teleclass to my clients in London and it was 9.15pm at night. I was washing up the last of the dishes from the celebration of Australia Day with 15 friends in my back yard.

As I was reflecting on just how blessed I was to have friends who fill me with such joy …… when I was startled by the shrill sound of the telephone.

It was a reporter from the ABC in Brisbane apologetic about the time and date but asking for comment for tomorrows breakfast news. Someone has released a study on seachange and treechange and she wanted me to comment.

This is just a valuable example of how important it is to be media ready. The media have no shame as to how and when they will contact you and when they get you on the phone in these odd circumstances, they want your opinion NOW. This is the power of a strong WHO and WHAT and is what happens when your website its keyword rich with the topic they are looking for.

If you haven’t encountered the media yet, what I have found to be most common is that they will tell you their name and the media outlet they are from. Immediately after that they will rocket straight into what they want from you and what their story or article is about.

The big thing to remember is that reporters work to tight deadlines and are constantly stressed and time poor. The easier you can make it for them, the more chance you have of being called for other stories.

Media such as magazines or specialty interest stories have wider deadlines but radio and general news want your comments NOW.

The answer is to have general comments prepared and ready and to be clear which side of a story you are on and be very willing to add value where you can.

To deal with the NOW situation, I recommend the following, assuming you feel comfortable about the story and wish to be quoted.

1. Take control immediately and turn the tables and start asking as many questions as you can think about on the spot about the article or the story they are proposing.

2. Always keep a pad and pen by the phone and scribble down as much as you can

3. Don’t feel pressured to give an immediate response, buy yourself some time by simply asking them to phone you back.

4. Go immediately to your office space or a quiet space

5. No matter what is going on in your life, focus into the NOW moment

6. Quickly decide one or two points you want to get across that relate to the story.

7. When the reporter phones back, be clear and concise with your answers, keeping your comments as relevant as you can to the topic

8. Try to add value to their story and if possible try to give an opposing point of view or a different take on the story

9. Then shamelessly self promote your media inclusion to anyone who will listen!!!

The media are simply looking for content and if you can quickly get to the point they will love you.

BUT be warned - the media can make or break you and you have to be prepared and willing to accept the consequences if they do a bad story. I had an instance where I got a small inclusion in a story about the dark side of seachange and a reader took exception to my circumstances and wrote a damming letter to the editor which got printed the following week. It was so bad my friends encouraged me not to read it and to this day I haven’t but the story itself got me a lot of recognition I could never have achieved on my own.

So tread with caution but also know free pr and free media is one of the quickest ways to get recognition and your name out to many for free.

So you will hear me on the ABC in Brisbane tomorrow commenting on recent research that says Treechangers and Seachangers are changing their behaviors because the nature of some popular destinations like Byron Bay have become over populated. I quickly chose to take the stance that people moving to a new place will always seek things that are known to them and will still seek places like Byron or Daylesford because we have culture such as cafes and restaurants that will help them acclimatize. There were a thousand takes on the story but that was the one I chose after a long busy day.

The golden rule of media from my rock and roll days was: any news is good news and it generally is, so get yourself media ready and get that message out to the world.

Then afterwards you self promote and ensure you are even more ready for the next call.

Do You Have A CHOOSE Day?

2010-01-14T14:21:00.011+11:00

The Beatles made a lot of money from a song called Eight Days a Week but to make a lot of money in your small business doesn’t mean you have to work Eight Days a Week.

Work life balance and starting a small business are not often seen on the same page. Somewhere in the “silent code book for small business – author unknown” there is a rule that says you have to work your butt off to be successful and everyone somehow finds that rule and adheres to it.

Most certainly you do need to put in a lot of time and effort in the early days ……. BUT if you work yourself into a burnout frenzy, you are NOT going to be able to work effectively IN your business, let alone ON your business.

One of my fabulous coaches and mentors the lovely Belinda Merry taught me that you MUST have regular time off to rest and recuperate. That message is even more important for health and wellbeing practitioners.

If you aren’t 100% filled up, you can’t give 100% to others.

In the early days of setting up your practice you need to be out and about seeing and speaking with a lot of people and it can be exhausting. If your practice is already full or filling, it can be exhausting just giving as much as you do to your clients so balancing that with adequate rest and down time is vital to your success.

BUT there IS a lot of work in getting any small business working well and sometimes you do have to burn a bit of midnight oil to get all the things done that you’ve got to do. Plus most of us have a home office and the temptation to overwork is generally just a few steps down the hall.

So I’ve come up with strategy that works for me.

I have ONE NON-NEGOTIABLE DAY OFF EVERY WEEK.

That means no matter what is going on I MUST NOT go into my office, nor turn my computer on, nor answer the office phone, nor do filing or paperwork – nothing! One day a week has to be completely for me. That rule never gets broken because I know Belinda has a global tracking satellite at her international headquarters that registers if you work on your day off and she will come after me!

I found if I had two non negotiable days off and there was a back log starting to build in my office, all that would happen is that I’d end up stressing about it.

So I created the concept of CHOOSE DAY

I create a CHOOSE DAY in my diary one day every week. So I cross the day off and write in CHOOSE DAY. It can be any day of the week, it doesn’t have to be a set day each week but it does have to be in your diary every week – months in advance.
So when CHOOSE DAY rolls around I can look at that day and think – is there anything so pressing it can’t wait until tomorrow?
Sometimes there are pressing things that MUST be done so I choose to work part of the day. Sometimes I use CHOOSE DAY as my creative writing day, which I love and it fills me up. Other times I know there is nothing pressing so I have CHOOSE DAY off to dig my garden without guilt, or go shopping or just rest and read a book. What is important is that I get to CHOOSE.

The golden rule is that you NEVER book anything else on a CHOOSE DAY so that when it rolls around you have a true choice in how you spend that day. I find by having a CHOOSE DAY I end up with eight days in a week because I tend to jam everything into the other days of the week so CHOOSE DAY remains free. I find it stops me procrastinating on the other days and I just get on with whatever needs doing so my CHOOSE Day remains a “me” day.

Sacred Tours with Keepers Of Wisdom Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley

2010-01-06T21:46:00.011+11:00

Amazing opportunities arise every day but the opportunity to experience something this extraordinary with people who hold their land and their knowledge so sacred do not come up every day. Put this on your wish list - I have!

Sacred Tours with Keepers Of Wisdom Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley are from the Kuku -Yalanji Nation of Far North Queensland.

After lengthy consideration Jeremy and his family will now open their sacred world up for you to experience the richness of Australia’s Ancient History.

This tour will be a 6 Day Tour where you will be given the opportunity to experience the rich Rainforest cultural beliefs and participate in some of the Sacred Healing Traditions.

The Trip will consist of 2 nights staying at the 5 Star Thala Beach Eco Lodge, on the 1st and last night.

The other nights will be sleeping out on the land beneath the Stars in supplied swags.

Guided by Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley, the tour will give you an insight into the Traditional life of the Kuku - Yalanji including Bush Food, Hunting Traditions, Rock Art, Healing and Sacred Ceremony.

Both Jeremy and Harold are well known for there Cultural Knowledge and Healing Traditions. Jeremy has Travelled extensively throughout Australia and Internationally sharing his Inspiring Story, Sacred Music and Healing.

This tour will give people the opportunity to live and experience Australia’s Aboriginal Cultural breaking down the walls of separation, giving each individual a unique opportunity to feel the pride in Australia’s Custodian Culture. The Tour is limited to 10 people per tour assuring an intimate and personal experience.

15th August - 2oth August 2010

Tour Cost $2200.00p/p

all major meals, transport and accommodation will be included. (Flights to Cairns Not included)

Due to the Nature of this Sacred Trip and its location please contact Jeremy for details of the Itinerary: 0410 779 789 or healing@jeremydonovan.com.au
www.jeremydonovan.com.au

Downloadable PDF Brochure click here

Changes in Technology

2010-01-03T14:14:00.007+11:00

This is the movie I made from three clips shot from my new FlipCam - too much fun!

The New Year is such a fabulous time to look back and come to terms with what has happened in the past few years.

Something I've been marvelling over the holidays is just how much has changed in the past thirty years. As a teenager in the 70's we used to roam about town with no idea what anyone else was doing, we bought music on tapes or vinyl and didn't even own a computer. We played music on instruments not computers and we actually had to be there to play them! If we wanted to record it cost a fortune and you needed a record deal anyway and well the thought of making a video was so far from our minds - we had never heard of MTV!

In contrast, just today:

* I have spoken to the world via Facebook

* Recorded audio down a phone line in the USA at a fraction of the cost to get similar quality in a studio and I've got instant access to the product to stream out to the world within seconds of hitting the stop button.

* I've set up autoresponders which will automatically deliver a learning program worldwide while I sleep...........

* And I've saved videos at a quality that couldn't be imaged from a devise smaller than the packet of cigarettes that used to go in our top pocket in the 70's (and of course now we are fully aware of the dangers of smoking because we can Google it on our mobile phone........that plays more things than our average lounge room could cope with 30 years ago)

BUT what hasn't changed is quality time spent with friends, eating food made with love and relaxing in beautiful surroundings - no machine for that.......yet!

The Drumming Session at Utopia Retreat 2009

2009-11-04T22:31:00.007+11:00

The highlights of Utopia International Retreat 2009 were many and varied but for everyone who attended the drumming class with my gorgeous clients Sandy and Curly Harris of Relationship Mechanics, this clip brings back many grand memories.

At one stage there were as many as 50 people drumming and this clip in particular shows why the very lovely Jan Winslade of Yoga By the Bay should never be given a tamborine - a true example of expressing your inner tamborine goddess. You will also see my tribal clad self and Goddesses Raeleen Byrne and Megan Twidle alongside my fabulous newly moved to Bryon Bay Reiki Channel Belinda playing doon doons (the ancestor drums). TOO MUCH FUN and we still had the Evening Singing to the Stars Concert with Dean Frenkel to go that day!

The Importance of Standing Out in Business

2009-10-26T19:45:00.003+11:00

There are many things that make up a successful small business but by far one of the most important things we need to keep in mind when we have a small business is to stand out and be different.

Being different helps in three ways

1. When you stand out from the crowd it makes it easy for people to remember you.

2. Finding creative ways to stand out draws attention to your business and frequently brings PR and free plugs that you may not have normally achieved.

3. You attract people of like mind to your business, which makes the sales process easy for you because they have attracted to you naturally rather than you trying to draw them in.

I was reminded of the importance of standing out when it came time to choose the winner of this years Utopia prize draw of a months coaching with me. When you view the video you will see how a very simple addition to the entry form made the selection of a winner a no-brainer.

It also highlights the need to be vigilant and adding creative bursts of colour to everything we do.

Utopia is finished................. sadly

2009-10-26T16:19:00.008+11:00

Well what a week in paradise!

Utopia was AWESOME last year but this year it was even AWESOMER (is that a word?) Everytime I think back to the very special moments shared over the weekend it brings me back into the fabulous heart space that was created over the weekend.

It was fabulous to meet up with last years presenters and to meet the new ones who were experiencing this special event for the first time. Words cannot adequately describe how wonderful it is to be with people of like mind for an extended period of time.

I have stayed on in Noosa for a little longer than anticipated because several of the presenters were involved with a fabulous event called Earth Magic and I decided I was so close and it would be rude not to attend - so I did and had an equally fabulous time experiencing the lovely Raeleen Burn speaking her truth and Jeremy Donovan wowing the crowd with his amazing knowledge and mind blowing didge playing oh and who knew he could play native american flute so adeptly. Raeleen and Jeremy released their CD at the event and celebrated all the joyous miracles that have occured for them this year as they step futher into their divine energy and soul purpose.

So as I soak up the blue skies and sunshine so foreign to this Victorian - you will be pleased to know I'm getting back to work and have interviewed my awesome hosts Sandy and Curly Harris of Relationship Mechanics about our experience of Utopia International Retreat

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....2 more sleeps to go

2009-10-14T09:14:00.011+11:00

Some brave decisions have been made, the keynote is down to 45 minutes and the aliens have proved less than reliable in the beam me up stakes - so it looks like I'm going to Utopia International Retreat in Noosa after all.

For a short time yesterday I was led to believe by a client that storms were expected over the Gold Coast - that would be too much cosmic humour when all I want to see is some blue skies.

BUT it appears clouds are not showing up on the Sunshine Coast but the weather report is looking quite bizarre. They seem to consistently use double digits to report their temperatures and are prone to put 2 and 3's in front of their numbers.

Thursday - Fine - Max 30
Friday - Fine - Max 29
Saturday - Fine - Max 26

Coming from central Victoria that seems very odd but it does at least say its going to be fine in the land of the fading curtains. You've got to love Queensland - they even give me back the hour I lost to daylight savings earlier in the month. Sleep in and still make the yoga session = EXCELLENT!

I'm also looking forward to walks by the river pictured above. The river is straight across the pedestrian crossing from the resort and it really is a world apart.

My only concern now is that I haven't as yet experienced the "I'M JUST NOT GOING" hissy fit but I dare say that will come. There seems a routine to these speaking jitters so the appearance of the detailed packing list is bound to set that one off.

Now if only I can change:

Wednesday - Windy and few showers - Max 11

I might even manage to get the washing dry and have clean underwear before I head to the airport tomorrow - its the golden rule of travel - always have clean underwear when travelling the highway of life.

I speak Friday afternoon and present a workshop on Saturday afternoon and then I get to play for the rest of the weekend - guess that makes up for the "speaker belly" and irrational hissy fits.

I'm booked in for Lia Scallon's Crystal Skulls workshop and my big manifesting crystal is coming to get activated by her well travelled crystal skull. I have no idea what that entails but will be excited to find out. Lia also does the opening ceremony which I will be participating in as well so I'll be fascinated to hear her channel the sounds of Sirius. I have little knowledge of Lia's work and her crystal skulls but they seem to be turning up all over the world so I am very much looking forward to that. PLUS I get to go to everyone else's keynotes and watch them do the jittery speaker routine that will be well and truly over for me by the time the cocktail hour rocks in on Friday night. Shame I don't drink!

My place under the palm tree by the pool awaits.

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....3 more sleeps to go

2009-10-13T08:51:00.010+11:00

The answer is aliens today. It seems the only sane way – three more sleeps to go and my keynote is still over time – I’ve taken some out and more crept in while I wasn’t looking!!! A few Klingons on the starboard bow right now would be the answer - aliens beaming me up will solve the need to go on.

But let’s hope the aliens beam me up after I get to Noosa because it’s grey and pouring with rain here and we welcome the rain but I’d really like to see some blue skies. A few hours by the pool at Australis after the Utopia International Retreat has finished will be welcome respite from the grey.

This lead up is really making me look back and understand how far I’ve come in this crazy journey I’ve been on for the past 10 years. A keynote really helps you reflect on the things that have become important to your message.

Speaking is one of the scariest and most irrational things you can do as a human because it takes you away from the tribe. Anytime we disconnect from the tribe or our community or the group of people that happens to be in front of us, we go into discomfort.

Discomfort is our greatest friend. As humans we rarely make a bold move if everything around us is fine, its just human nature to want to keep the status quo balanced. But speaking is one of the few things you do that tip that status quo on a voluntary basis. Speakers, musicians, workshops leaders, rally leaders, we all actually put our hands up to place ourselves outside the normal comfort zone. Most would rather die than speak in public so it’s why people are so inspired when you do and speaking is a totally learnable skill for most people.

I’m SO glad I learnt how BUT in the lead up to this un-natural way of being …….. of course I am forced to ask myself constantly throughout he day WHAT WAS I THINKING!

Now where are those aliens?

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....4 more sleeps to go

2009-10-12T19:05:00.008+11:00

Well not many days now until I take off for Noosa to deliver the opening keynote speech at Utopia International Retreat.

Everything is looking good – I’ve put in all my paperwork – I’m booked in row 8A so don’t have to do the bun fight up the back of the plane and all is looking good.

There are four sleeps now until I speak and I have a funky new hair do and I’ve just come back from a wonderful massage and reflexology session so I’m totally ready to go on one level.

HOWEVER I’m sitting here wondering how I can get out of it – who I could substitute and despite having the most awesome experience last time I spoke I'm wondering why did I ever say I would do it again in the first place! Was I totally mad, what was I thinking! This is totally normal and par for the course and in fact has been going on now for a about week but still I can't come up with a good enough excuse not to go on. Got four more sleeps to go though......

But despite all the drama queen voices fighting for a position in the queue I’ve written my keynote and it’s 15 minutes longer than it needs to be and now there is anguish over which part has to go ….. and there’s four more sleeps to go!

What Would You Die For?

2009-10-03T11:21:00.005+10:00

It was Monday lunch time so why would a bunch of hairy old hippies in bad trousers who insisted on ending every sentence with “man”, lead me to ponder the deep question “what would I die for”?

I went to see the movie “The Boat That Rocked” and after being immersed in lashings of humour, great rock and roll music and the inevitable over indulgence in every transgression on offer in the 60’s, I ended up in a deep and meaningful moment asking myself “what would I die for”.

As is often the case with comedy, through all the joviality I was moved to tears as the story progressively rocked toward some moments of truth.

Set in the mid 60’s the story is based on a bunch of rebellious DJ’s who had been banned by the authorities from playing rock and roll music from land based studios.

With everything SO accessible today, this situation seems ludicrous. But yes back in the 60’s the only place for British teenagers to hear rock and roll on their transistor radios or “trannies” (the 60’s equivalent of an i-pod not a Rocky Horror cast member) was to tune into the legendary pirate radio stations anchored in the freezing cold waters of the North Sea. At best floating rust buckets and worst case death traps bouncing about in appalling weather conditions, the colourful crew happily rocked on and raised their finger at the straight-laced government authorities who were constantly battling to take them off air.

As the movie progressed I realised I “knew” all the characters. I had worked with every single one of them when in the 70’s I played in a glitter band in the only licensed nightclub in the bottom half of New Zealand’s North Island. They had different names and faces of course but their personalities and souls were identical.

Not wishing to give away too much of the plot the government eventually legislate them out of existence and it’s a bit like the synopsis of the Titanic story – “the boat sinks”. But when it came time to be taken back to the safety and legitimacy of the shore, the DJ’s refused to budge. They kept working although they were now breaking the law and risked jail terms in doing so. When the boat started taking on water instead of heading for safety, they continued to broadcast – knee deep, then waist deep in water. They were prepared to go down with the ship, just like the musicians on the Titanic did.

I know it was fiction but because I “knew” these people so well, I understood that all those years ago I would have done exactly the same thing. Without a thought for my own personal safety, the passion I had for my work would have kept me playing. My band would have been the same, as would the motley bunch of bouncers, bar workers and floor staff that populated that seedy, sin infested night club in the 70’s. We had a common vision and a common goal, to create the best possible experience for our patrons. With a community that strong, anything becomes possible.

On the way home I became quite sad as I pondered my current position. I work in a field that is similar to rock and roll; our industry has many similarities. It is not conventional, we have alternate views to the mainstream, there is heavy opposition from places of power and therapists and musicians have the same morbid fascination with bodily function. But the most important comparison is that our product or output comes directly from the soul.

So why isn’t our industry more cohesive?

Why are most therapists governed by fear - the fear of promoting their businesses’; fear of being seen as pushy or aggressive or showing off if they “toot their own horn”.
Why is money such a taboo subject?
Why is success thought so shameful by so many?
Why are so many “waiting for a sign” or permission from some external source to help all the people who are injured, suffering, unwell or needing positive guidance – is the current state of the world not enough of a “sign” we are needed?
Why do other therapists judge and label those who do become or even seek to become successful as “selling out to commercialism”?

Then I asked myself “am I selling out” and would I die for my work?

As the passion grew within me I realised I would still die for my job. I would face a death sentence if someone tried to stop me speaking my truth, which is that everyone in the personal development and natural therapy industry deserves massive success in whatever doses are right for them.

Would I break the law? When I thought about it – I already am. I have dedicated so much to have the freedom of my own business that some things have been left by the wayside, unattended. Not through conscious decision but from being so poor I couldn’t do anything but ignore my taxes and the mounting levels of debt and I had no choice but to trust the funds would eventually come to sort it out. I just kept going and still deal daily with the chaos I have banked up over the past seven years.

I know what it’s like to go to the edge and jump off and not fly. I know how it feels when you hit rock bottom with a crash. I work way more than I “should”. I’ve endured serial aloneness. I know the discomfort of overcoming my fears and my deepest demons. I know what it’s like to bomb in front of an audience and I’ve felt defeat more than once. But I realised I won’t stop until I’ve nailed this thing called a “dream” because like so many of you, it’s my soul purpose to help people positively.

I’m not telling you this to have you feel sorry for me, please celebrate with me because my work now gives me so much joy and fulfilment and the rewards I receive now far out weigh anything I have to “fix” now.

Why I tell you this is so you won’t give up if you are feeling like a looser if things aren’t working out like you thought they “should” or if others are making you feel less than adequate,

You have the divine right to build whatever is right for you, but it takes courage and strength and I wouldn’t have got this far without the support and love of my mentors and investment in my business knowledge.

I’m certainly not endorsing you doing anything stupid or risky but if you read the bio of your favourite author or seminar leader, they will have a story of hardship. They will have slept in cars, gone through relationship breakups; most have been bankrupt or close to death more than once. But they believed and they kept going because their desire to achieve became greater than their fear.

Like our DJ heroes, the people who achieve their dreams are the ones who over come their fear and just kept rolling the message out.

A successful business equates to freedom. At the end of the day I always give thanks for the blessing of freedom to live my life the way I choose. Would I die for the gift? YES!

Things for you to ponder?

How can we as an industry embrace the same rock and roll passion that kept the musicians on the Titanic playing as the boat sunk and create a common vision and a common goal?
Would you die for your current job?
If not, what would you need to do to create a job to die for?

Utopia Interview Series 2009 featuring Jeremy Donovan

2009-09-09T00:47:00.029+10:00

I had the great honour to interview Jeremy Donovan, a remarkable man with a remarkable message. He has such a passion for healing and his Australian Aboriginal Culture.

His story is quite extraordinary, going from an incarcerated teenager with little future to someone who is a highly respected healer and international performer, travelling the world, spreading his message with great love and integrity.

In this phone interview Jeremy shares stories of his life, his family and some of the history of the Didgeridoo, why many indigenous women choose not to play it and the importance of the story telling and dance. It was recorded a few days before Christmas and it was a very special gift that keeps on giving.

I have edited this interview for the Utopia International Retreat Interview Series. The audio is well worth the investment of time because Jeremy shared so much with me and a few of my natural therapists who were also on the call asking questions.

Jeremy will again close the Utopia International Retreat 2009 but will be joined this time by his dear friend and shaman colleague Dr Steven Farmer - you can hear my interview with Dr Ste here

ENJOY!!

Jeremy Donovan Utopia 2009

MP3 File

This photo is of Jeremy performing the closing session at Utopia International Retreat 2008 and shows me receiving the beautiful healing I described in the interview.

You can find out more about Utopia International Retreat here

You can find out more about Jeremy Donovan here

You can watch Jeremy performing in the following YouTube Clips

Is your business suitable for the pen or the pot?

2009-08-11T19:07:00.023+10:00

As I stood viewing the myriad of community notices on the gigantic notice board at the Hepburn General Store last week, one rough hand written notice jumped out.

Firstly it horrified me. Then it got me to thinking further about the deeper message for small business owners that was imbedded in this hastily written give away.

When I was a small child the chickens down the back in the hen house where my only pets. So I was always sad around Christmas time because they “went on holiday”.

This holiday always coincided with me being taken to my grandmothers for a special treat. Now here’s the thing - when I’d get home the chickens had packed their bags and “gone on holiday’ - leaving the hen house silent and empty with feathers all over the back lawn.

I always imagined they were having a nice time because they inevitably never came back and a few weeks later the cycle began again as 12 little fluffy yellow peepers were collected from a local farm.

You can imagine my horror when I joined the dots on the holiday lie and our Christmas dinner offerings!

The fate of my chicken friends all came flooding back as I read the sign at the Hepburn General Store:

TO GIVE AWAY = ROOSTERS
(for the pen or the pot)

As I walked the two blocks back to my house my mind began to think through the “pen or pot” analogy and why it was so relevant for business.

The reality of being in a small business draws many parallels to the harsh reality of life in the country.

In a small business if we don’t serve the needs of those around us we can quickly find ourselves in a pot of boiling water.

However, if we do serve well and can creatively communicate our message out to a group of people who want and need our services, then we will live a long prosperous life.

Roosters are like natural therapists. They walk a fine line because just like roosters a big new batch of therapists roll out of the teachings schools each year. Sadly only a small percentage will survive.

The big thing roosters and new therapists have in common is that they look similar, they talk the same and they do similar things. Until they develop a point of difference they are dispensable.

Most flocks only need one rooster because they start fighting for domination.

However, the one who gets chosen for the pen is NOT usually the one who fights the best but the one who has the best personality and can show it.

Foxy the Rooster dominated the hen house on the edge of my property for many years is a grand example.

Foxy was a stunning looking rooster with a flowing auburn bouffant mane. He kept the gals happy, crowed with great gusto and bore a striking resemble to Tina Turner in the way he would strut around the Hen Hilton.

But a dark cloud came over the pen one when day two voices started to crow…………

Foxy had bred a rival and this interloper was now brave enough to start showing his true colours and he was starting to unmercifully beat up on Foxy.

Foxy who was getting on in years now became frightened, and cowered in the corner whilst this newbie took over his “rutting and strutting” duties.

BUT because Foxy had served so well and was so full of personality it was the interloper who was removed unceremoniously from the pen, placed in a cardboard box and delivered to a local farm to take his chances in the pen or pot race.

Foxy recovered in minutes and was back in the role of "Prince of the Pen" and reigned supreme for many years to come.

Foxy was a winner on five levels because he:

1. Delivered on his promises and could be relied upon by all in his kingdom

2. Built relationships in and around his pen (we all loved Foxy)

3. Was not afraid to show his vulnerable side (he was a real wimp)

4. Stood out from the crowd with his beautiful auburn coat of many colours and consistently and clearly churned his message (crowed all hours except dawn)

5. Outsmarted the competition by simply being his wimpy self but his heart and authenticity saved him on many occasions.

Therapies can learn a lot from Foxy!

By being authentic and real, figuring out what makes you unique and then standing strong in your message and your ability to clearly communicate that message to others will help you stand out from the crowd and show how different you are from the competition.

Even if you are a wimp cowering in the corner, these whimpy virtues can be enough of a difference todetermine your entry to the pen or pot.

In business things can move quickly. Technology changes, trends change, new laws can impact or even just keeping up with your every day marketing AND seeing clients can become exhausting.

But if you have built strong relationships with your clients you will find they are loyal so long as you keep giving and improving your service to them.

One way of standing out from the crowd is learning to speak in public. In fact it’s imperative to your success. The gentle art of creating good stage presence in fact saved Foxy’s life on every level.

I am running a f*r*e*e Teleseminar

Wednesday 11 August 2009 at 8pm (Melbourne Time)

to promote my live event called Your Next BIG Leap which commences in 10 days.

There is only ONE seat left for the live event - jump in here if you want to jag it

BUT there is a heap of space on the free teleclass for everyone so jump in here and register now so you get the workbook and the audio recording.

Is Perfection Hurting Your Business?

2009-07-06T19:42:00.034+10:00

We wait until its perfect and we wait ……..and we wait………

Perfection is like waiting for an uptown train on the downtown side of the platform. It will be a long waiting game because quite simply it’s not going to happen.

There are too many variables in the mix to create perfection, so why are so many therapists so hell bent on waiting for things to be perfect before they will make them public or available to the world?

Yesterday I viewed the 2009 Archibald prize entrants and the one I thought was perfect, wasn’t the one the judges chose. Am I wrong? No, I just have a different view on what is perfect, as did all the other people voting in the public choice section.

Driving your business to a state of perfection is an impossible destination because the next person after you to view or read or experience your work will have a totally different take on what you have created.

I believe what is important is to get your work out for people to see and experience, take their adulation and criticism and build it into your next product or upgrade or new concept.

I am much the better for having viewed the picture I loved yesterday. That artist would have deprived me of that state of joy had they not put brush to canvas or not entered it in a contest where I had the opportunity to see it.

I love the story of the virtuoso violin player who walks off stage after a brilliant performance and announced “tonight I played that piece perfectly…..tomorrow night I will play it even better”.

As we grow and learn in this process called having a small business we can be like the violinist, understanding that even things we worked on “until they were perfect” will often have space to be improved somewhere in the future.

I have been reminded of this as I have been working more with live groups of people. One event in particular went hideously wrong despite everything being put in place “perfectly”.

The feedback from the audience at this event was that they loved that we shared the “imperfection” with them. It meant they could understand that things can go wrong but the world doesn’t end when they do.

What’s more it gave them the permission they needed to have a go themselves because the worst results they could get were the same disasters we did!

In fact one of the attendees coined this phase which has been quoted frequently by me ever since:

"It doesn’t have to be perfect
to be perfect"
Leighann Reitano
The Soul of One

I shared this quote with a coaching colleague in Canada and she came up with this briefer version:

"Imperfect is Perfect"
Andrea J Lee
Multiple Streams of Coaching Income

If the moment doesn’t have to be perfect, then perhaps some more of us can be encouraged to have a go at more things?

I don’t know about you but when I look at these quotes it takes the heat off any situation. It makes starting a newsletter, building a blog, putting together your first workshop or even taking your first paid client easier.

Now before you all get too excited I’m not saying this gives you permission to cut corners or be “barely good enough” but we could all embrace the thought that things could be out in marketplace being put to the test and improved upon as you go.

The first newsletter I wrote is VERY different to the ones I write now. I spent hours on my first efforts and they were professionally edited (no spellos or typos – my heart felt thanks to Patricia McKenzie who hauled me through that process).

These days I’ve accepted that there will be things that probably wouldn’t pass in an English test but I know the content adds value to your business. I’m happy if my “imperfect” message gets one of you off your butt and into action, the imperfect grammar then pales in significance to you taking action!

Where are you currently waiting for the “perfect moment” to occur to release something or do something?

Could you perhaps accept that imperfection is in fact perfect and move forward anyway?

In a synchronistic twist to the collection of quotes on imperfection, I was reading a book by a wonderful Indigenous Elder called Min Mia who is one of the keepers of women’s lore/law. She tops the scale for nailing the perfection concept in two words.

“Perfectly Imperfect”
Min Mia
Under the Quandong Tree

I loved the concept of “perfectly imperfect”. Min Mia holds the teachings of 13 Australian animals and I did a Song Painting workshop to learn “how to” paint Min Mia’s animals. There were about six of us in the class and we learnt how to paint the basic shapes.

We had many different coloured cloths we could choose from for each flag and each person interpreted the shapes with different colours and different combinations of dots and lines and they all turned out different - they were all “perfectly imperfect”.

My flags hang in my kitchen and I’m no artist but I love them and think they are just perfect! So perfect in fact that my friend used them as the artwork on his CD – you can see my flags flying on his website here.

But are they technically correct......... NO............and did some of the other students in the class technically paint better flags than mine ...........YES.......but mine have bought joy and purpose to many without being perfect, just as everyone else's did on every level.

When you are in the flow even something appearing imperfect turns out to be just perfect.

Perfect comes from a place of EGO whereas imperfect comes with the gift to learn or improve.

So from now on my standard is “perfectly imperfect” - what is yours?

-oOo-

You can comment on this topic at my blog or let us know your favourite Archibald Prize entrant

This was my favourite Archibald Finalist

Artist: Jan Williamson
Subject: Nancy Kunoth Petyarr

What was yours?
Click here to view

Small Business Growth in a Turbulent Economy

2009-05-26T11:02:00.009+10:00

I had the great honour this week to be invited by Gihan Perera of First Step Communications Pty Ltd to share my expertise and be part of a panel discussion on how small business is coping in this turbulent economy.

It was really interesting for me to hear how "big" small businesses are having similar issues as the "micro" small businesses I work with and more importantly that we all need to use similar tools to not just survive but also thrive in a recession. In fact I believe micro businesses have the best chance of lasting out the storm because they are so readily able to change to meet market demand.

I came away from the call reminded how everyone really just wants to have a successful business and still have time for family, friends and most importantly a happy and stress free life.

Therapists more than ever are required to help people manage stress and achieve a healthy balance and harmony in these far from stress free times.

Panel Discussion with Gihan Perera

MP3 File

Click here to find out more about Gihan Perera

Click here to find out more about John Highman

Click here to find out more about Domonique Bertolucci

Remarkable Business Results

Ilumine Ao | Blog Talk Radio Interview

The Miracle of Love - Gold Coast Event

Online Oppie

An Innovative Way to Get in Front of Clients

You can’t fly with eagles when you keep walking with turkeys

The Price of Perfection

The power of silence to solve a problem

GET YOUR COPY OF MY NEW FREE REPORT

What You Need In Place When A Big Online Opportunity Comes Calling

Does Remembering Passwords Drive You NUTS!!

A New Way To Voice Your Business

Are you the irritating or cool kid on the facebook block?

If you love something Set it free ........if it comes back its yours if not it was never meant to be

Teleclasses Add Value on SO Many Levels

Reversing Your Discount Theory

Some Different Ways to Discount

How to build your authority on-line

Getting Good Habits Right From The Start - Further Thought on Discounting

The Pro's and Con's of Discounting Treatments

No Need For Remote Areas To Miss Out On Natural Health

Never teach in a live environment

If You Need to Talk

Trust is not a Sometimes Food

Is It Time For YOU to Automate?

We all love our modalities right?

Molly Carlile on The Circle

Imagination in Business

Healthy Marketing TeleSummit

Patience is a Virtue

Ask and Tho Shalt Receive With a Cherry on Top

12 Personality Traits of Wealthy Guerrilla Marketers in a Natural Therapy Context

Should a website be a crucial part of your business?

The Lo or No Cost Solutions to Online Business Set Up That Any Gumby Can Master

Do you believe strong messages and consistent action change the world?

Are you ready to go to the next level?

Are You Addicted to Fear?

Do you want to be a chocolate, cheese and freedom mouse?

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell

Amazing Things to Learn From a “Do It Yourself Jigsaw from Hell (Audio)

Have You Joined the Spectacularly Unsuccessful Club Yet?

The Top 5 Sizzling HOT Niches of 2010

Lessons to be learnt from a Vege Casserole

Mojo Wrecking Avalanches & Broke Down Puter Blues

Why Do Natural Therapists Get Into Business in the First Place?

An Unexpected New Outcome from Speaking

Have You Got A Media Policy?

The Importance of Being Media Ready

Do You Have A CHOOSE Day?

Sacred Tours with Keepers Of Wisdom Jeremy Donovan and Harold Tayley

Changes in Technology

The Drumming Session at Utopia Retreat 2009

The Importance of Standing Out in Business

Utopia is finished................. sadly

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....2 more sleeps to go

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....3 more sleeps to go

The Speakers Road to Utopia .....4 more sleeps to go

What Would You Die For?

Utopia Interview Series 2009 featuring Jeremy Donovan

Is your business suitable for the pen or the pot?

Is Perfection Hurting Your Business?

Small Business Growth in a Turbulent Economy

If you love something
Set it free ........
if it comes back its yours
if not it was never meant to be