IN THIS ISSUE
Are you satisfied with how you market yourself? My teleclasses explain business and marketing principles so that you can understand them and feel good about using them to do good work and create right livelihood. Details in TELECLASSES below.
FAST FOCUS: TAP THE BODY'S JOYFUL POTENTIAL
"[T]he easiest step toward improving the quality of life consists in simply learning to control the body and its senses."
So says Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of "Flow." He's talking about more than staying fit or eating right. He's talking about the virtually unlimited potential that our bodies offer for feeling engaged, involved, and joyful.
Czikszentmihalyi goes on to observe, "Everything the body can do is potentially enjoyable." Children know this instinctively. They delight in running, jumping, or simply lying on the grass and watching the world spin above them.
This week, decide what sensations you want to cultivate. Make time for consciously living in and celebrating your body.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS: CAN MARKETING FEEL NATURAL?
One of the most common complaints I hear is that marketing is inauthentic. Clients and readers report that using an elevator speech, sending press releases, or asking clients and colleagues to send them referrals feels unnatural and even phony.
In 30 years of observing my own marketing efforts and that of clients, I have come to believe that these uncomfortable feelings have more to do with learning a new skill than with anything intrinsically inauthentic about marketing. Once we learn HOW to learn marketing skills, practicing them with authenticity is a natural outcome.
With this in mind, I asked Charlie Badenhop, an expert in effective learning, to make some suggestions about how to learn marketing skills when we feel uncomfortable. Here's his response.
From Charlie: We all have habits, helpful and otherwise, and even when these habits are counter-productive they can feel right to us. Most any activity that we repeat with great frequency over time tends to feel familiar, and most people equate "familiar" with "natural" or "the right way" even when what is familiar fails to deliver the results they want.
When we are doing something new (which is inevitable when we are learning) we often feel some initial discomfort. In fact, recognizing that something new and different is taking place is a sure sign that we ARE learning. On the other hand, feeling totally comfortable when we are supposedly learning something new is usually a sign that we are not actually learning much. Learning REQUIRES trial and error, making mistakes, and feeling different.
Because learning requires that we experience some uncertainty, unless we find a way to feel comfortable when learning, we will be forced to stay the same! If we want to optimize our learning, we will do well to look for and welcome the signs that "something is different."
You might say, "Easier said than done!" But let me please offer you a new way to experience learning when in relationship with others.
- Pick an activity or way of being that you want to change/learn about.
- Give a specific name to your learning activity. For instance, "improving the in-person marketing of my services." When you name your learning activity like this, you clearly mark for yourself when you are entering into this activity, and you make it clear to yourself that you are currently experimenting in only this domain.
- Enter a high quality learning state. The four activities that will help you enter this state are:
a) Breathing deeply (please make sure that you actually DO this). b) Standing or sitting in an alert yet relaxed posture. c) Looking at your counterpart with "soft eyes." d) Talking in a relatively slow, pleasing, and rhythmical manner. When you talk in a fast, staccato manner, your counterpart will tend to feel tense and or distrustful of what you say.
- "Double Track." Before trying out your new skill in the company of others, practice on your own. Practice your learning activity while noticing how well you are staying in the high quality learning state. For example, if you are practicing introducing yourself at a networking event, you will say your introduction aloud while simultaneously noticing your:
a) Breathing, checking to see if it is deep. b) Posture, intending to be alert yet relaxed. c) Eyes, letting them be soft. d) Verbal patterns, keeping your voice slow and rhythmic.
With practice you'll get better at tracking what you are doing physically WHILE you say what you want to say. Usually people find this process of "double tracking" quite intriguing.
When you notice that one or more of the components of your high quality learning state have changed, pause and re-enter the learning state. For instance, if you notice that you are talking fast and hardly breathing, stop talking. Take a moment to breathe deeply, clear your mind, and re-enter your high quality learning state. Once you have done this, start over and begin talking again. Follow this process until you are able to maintain a high quality learning state WHILE talking.
- Pick a safe context for your learning and PRACTICE some more. It is important to practice a new skill when you do not have a lot at risk. Try new skills when you are in the company of friends, family members, or colleagues who will be supportive of your learning activities. Take what you have already learned and try it out in a safe setting as you continue to tweak your ability to double track.
I find it quite helpful at such times to consider that I am practicing "double tracking" much more than I am practicing my initial intent of "improving the in-person marketing of my services." When you become proficient in "double tracking," your in-person marketing will improve more or less on its own.
Throughout this process, look for and welcome signs that something is different rather than trying to get it right from the very beginning. If you don't find yourself making at least a few mistakes, then chances are you are not learning as much as you could.
- When you feel ready, perform with confidence out in the real world.
Hopefully you will find this learning process to be of definite value. CB
------- I know from experience that Charlie's suggestions work. Try them on a marketing practice that's been out of your comfort zone and let me know what you learn.
Charlie and his partner, Cindy Franklin, are the creators of "Seishindo," a personal development program. To learn more about their work please click here: http://www.mollygordon.com/events/generative.html http://www.mollygordon.com/events/embodied.html
TELECLASSES
Launch an Ezine
An ezine can be a powerful tool for building your business. I know. Since January, 1998, The New Leaf has regularly filled my private practice and telelcasses. What's more, it's a way of building a long-term relationship with the people who care most about my work and who are most likely to benefit from it.
Now you can learn the fundamentals of launching your own ezine from me and Debbie Buxton, my Virtual Assistant, in a special one-hour teleconference, Tuesday, July 23rd, from 5-6 PM Eastern time.
BONUS: Free ebook, "Shorten Your Learning Curve: The Fundamentals of Designing and Distributing an Email Newsletter," with every registration.
We expect this class to sell out fast, so sign up today at:
http://www.mollygordon.com/authpro/email/register.html
We're working on a follow-up class, Promoting Your Ezine, to be held Tuesday, August 6th, from 5 - 6 PM Eastern time. Details next week.
30% Off the Secrets Series"
The first ten readers who register for my three-teleclass series, "Secrets to Developing a Thriving Professional Practice," will receive a 30% discount. Why? These classes are more effective with a larger group, and registration is slow due to summer schedules. That translates into extra value for you if you're available at 5 PM Eastern Time on Monday, July 15, 22, and 29. To get your discount, use this link. Your discount will appear on the check-out page.
THE BEDSIDE TABLE
"Flow, The Psychology of Optimal Experience," Mihaly Czikszentmihaly.
Why do some people pursue happiness and achieve it while others fail? "Flow" is a scholarly study of what constitutes pleasurable involvement in our lives and work. If you are willing to learn, you can cultivate flow in your own life. Order in US
"Roundtable on Project Management," edited by James Bullock, Gerald M. Weinberg, and Marie Benesh.
If you are one of the many New Leaf readers who work in high tech,and if you've ever struggled with coordination of complex projects, you'll love this book. It's the compiled wisdom of one of the Web's more lively and intelligent forums, organized into highly readable and practical sections such as "Planning for Success" and Dealing with Impending Disaster." Order in US
Searching for a book or CD or other product on Amazon? When you use these links to Amazon search engines you support "The New Leaf." Please visit and bookmark them today.
US: www.mollygordon.com/searchbook.html
UK: www.mollygordon.com/eurobook.html
APPEARANCES | MEDIA
This year my keynotes and workshops will inspire, motivate, and equip at least three thousand people to create purposeful prosperity. Will your organization be hosting one of these events? Phone me at 360-697-7022 or email me to discuss a special event for your group.
Santa Fe, New Mexico. November 6, Design with Heart, Keynote Address.
I'm delighted to be the subject of a Seattle 24x7 Profile by journalist and PR maven Larry Sivitz. Read all about.
COPYRIGHT | SPONSORS AND AFFILIATES | SUBSCRIBE/UN-SUBSCRIBE
Copyright (c) Shaboom, Inc. ™ 2002. All rights reserved.
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1530-311X.
You may reprint or copy or distribute The New Leaf provided this copyright notice and contact information for the author are attached. The author is Molly Gordon, CPC, PCC. Contact her at mailto:molly@mollygordon.com or at 360-697-7022 in the US.
Thank you for supporting "The New Leaf" by using our links to affiliate sites. My recommendations are based on my personal experience with and enthusiasm for the named entity. I do earn commissions on sales through some affiliate programs. In every case, I believe that the value they provide is well worth the investment. If you are ever disappointed by a transaction with one of my affiliates, please let me know.
