[Note: This is the first in a series of what I hope will be daily video posts. I've got a lot on my mind, and writing feels too slow. We'll see how this "daily" thing goes, but today's eclipse gave me a bunch of ideas. Here's the first one. Enjoy!]
What are you "shedding" this fall? How are you taking advantage of all the changing energies to clear space and get yourself ready for the new year?
Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year, and while I love seein my kid get dressed up, it always bums me when the parents (who do most of the heavy lifting, let's be honest), get the short end of the "treat" stick.
Yup. You heard me. Amazon is making The Secret Watch free to download today. I'm hoping we can get the story into the hands of 500 new readers. Just think what a difference that would make for helping people define success on their own terms and create the work life balance they crave.
Here's the link: http://amzn.to/11NiW86
No tricks. Just enjoy this Halloween treat before Amazon pulls the plug tomorrow!
One of the perks of working for myself is the ability to create my own schedule for the day. One of my "must do" activities each morning is prayer and meditation as part of The PEACE System. It helps me clear my head and prioritize my day so that I can be my best self and do my best work with fewer distractions.
Well, one morning during meditation, I was struck with this vision of Dorothy jaunting down the yellow brick road on her way to the Emerald City. At least, I presumed that's where she was going. And then I saw her face... (more…)
My 4th grade teacher was a smart, sassy redhead. I remember overnight lock-ins, a science experiment that involved having the cute boys in class smell my perfume, and making a board game about whales, of all things.
She had an infectious spirit that made you want to learn. When I think about the short list of good teachers that I had as a kid, she was very near the top. Penny (and when we were really lucky, her kids and husband would be around the classroom, too) was one of those teachers that believed in you - and by extension helped you to believe in yourself.
And she's still making an impact in my life, to this day... since she's also a Facebook friend.
After my recent car incident, I've spent a lot of time ruminating on "the meaning of life" and all that jazz. I've been reading Chopra, Blanchard, delving into purpose, watching videos, listening to audios - and basically reassessing a lot of what has meaning in my life.
Every once in a while, if I'm a lucky mom, I get to take a weekend day just for myself. No specific plans, no agendas, no real commitments, just an opportunity for me to be "in the flow" of life and do whatever comes to mind.
Unfortunately, the entire day was NOT going according to plan.
My oldest had his own agenda, as did my husband and youngest son. And somewhere in there groceries needed to be picked up and delivered to the homestead. And I had an appointment that was SUPPOSED to be at 12:45 that conveniently got bumped to 11. That was actually a good thing, because it meant I'd have an entire afternoon that was obligation free.
So my "day" off was really a "half day off", but when you're a busy mom with special needs kids, you take what you can.
(Aside: that was mistake number one!)
Since I had to get groceries and come back home, I took my husband's car for the fuel economy. I'm still not sure if that was a good or bad idea.
I wrapped up my morning activities to leave for my appointment. I was working on finding the "leaky holes" in my wealth container, and I was excited to share my discoveries at my 11AM appointment - with my therapist.
I just wasn't expecting to actually break a real-life barrier... while I was driving.
There's a tricky piece of interstate we call "the mix-master" in my hometown. I'm sure there are busier places in the world, and I'd bet many big cities have their own version of this.
Ours is a 4-lane stretch of road near the airport in a primarily industrial area. That means LOTS of semi-truck action, and crazy drivers that want to get past them, cutting them (and the rest of us) off to get wherever they think they needed to be ten minutes ago.
I was NOT a distracted driver. The ground was NOT wet. (more…)
Whenever a person invests $40, plus $10 shipping for a box of 16 chocolates, you can be sure they're buying more than just chocolates. But what makes this offer work? And how can you apply it to your own business? Watch the video!
(This is an excerpt from Spotlight Sessions, my program to help you build your Noble Empire without selling your soul.)
Now that you've gotten a better idea about how your clients approach your offer, can you see a new way to describe what it is that you really sell?
Share your thoughts in the comments!
A powerful reminder from Mike Michalowicz, author of The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur.
Guest post By Dan Kennedy
Many years ago, I took over a business with mammoth collection problems: almost all of its customers had open accounts and paid their bills ten to sixty days late (except those who didn't pay at all). We quickly instituted a number of corrective measures, including tighter credit controls and policies, interests charges, a sequence of past-due notices, and collection calls.
We started sending hand-signed thank you notes for prompt payment to anybody who did pay on time...those who were almost on time...and even late payers who responded to a past-due notice. Guess what happened? Those customers who received thank you notes became better paying customers.
I know a Doctor who started a procedure of giving fresh, long-stemmed red roses to his women patients who showed up for their appointment on time, or paid their bills on time, or referred another patient. "Funny thing," he told me. "We no longer have patients missing appointments. Our collections have improved. Referrals are up. And, some guys are asking how they can get roses, too!
I figured it up just the other day; last year, personally and for my various businesses combined, I signed checks for well over one million dollars, in payment for goods and services to all sorts of people and companies. And I don't care what anybody says - a million bucks is a lot of money. Yet, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of the recipients of all that money who have expressed any gratitude in any formal kind of way. Only one of them found out and recognized my birthday.
Just saying "thanks" is a big step ahead of the competition today.
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DAN S. KENNEDY is a serial, multi-millionaire entrepreneur; highly paid and sought after marketing and business strategist; advisor to countless first-generation, from-scratch multi-millionaire and 7-figure income entrepreneurs and professionals; and, in his personal practice, one of the very highest paid direct-response copywriters in America. As a speaker, he has delivered over 2,000 compensated presentations, appearing repeatedly on programs with the likes of Donald Trump, Gene Simmons (KISS), Debbi Fields (Mrs. Fields Cookies), and many other celebrity-entrepreneurs, for former U.S. Presidents and other world leaders, and other leading business speakers like Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy and Tom Hopkins, often addressing audiences of 1,000 to 10,000 and up. His popular books have been favorably recognized by Forbes, Business Week, Inc. and Entrepreneur Magazine. His NO B.S. MARKETING LETTER, one of the business newsletters published for Members of Glazer-Kennedy Insider's Circle, is the largest paid subscription newsletter in its genre in the world. Learn more and get your free two-month subscription today.
So I have this friend/colleague who was once a great client (I'm happy to admit that happens pretty frequently in my business), and she's doing this amazing love experiment. She's making her coaching available as part of the gift economy.
It's humbling and awesome to watch.
And when I get that twinge, I know it's a sign. A sign of something in me that wants something that I imagine must be happening on that "greener side of the fence" - whether or not it's really happening.
Envy is interesting when you step back and look at it "rationally". I use the quotes, because I still question whether or not it's really possible to be rational about our emotions, but I digress...
See, envy makes assumptions. Often, it's not the THING that someone else has that you really want. It's what you think you'll experience by having that thing.
In my heart, I assume that Rhiannon's getting all kinds of success, exposure and love from her community for offering her uh-mazing coaching services in this way.
It can be a real challenge to find even a little piece of quiet during the day. But quiet stillness is a daily must-have if you want to stay sane and allow for the blessings that come from intuitive/divine guidance.
This week's Convo features Joanna Weston, a certified Martha Beck trained life coach. We talk about finding stillness, what coaching is (and what it isn't), as well as how she's helping her clients create space for the sacred.
Visit Joanna and learn more about her "Creating Space For The Sacred" program.