The New Leaf™
The Official Newsletter of Authentic Promotion®
Volume 5, No. 20, May 20, 2003
U.S. Library of Congress ISSN: 1530-311X
Molly Gordon, Master Certified Coach
Yay! I'm home
I'm happily back coaching after 30 days away (three weeks
in Europe and nine days in New York City and Washington,
DC). I was traveling with my 19-year old niece, Amy,
ostensibly to broaden her horizons. Naturally, she ended
up broadening mine. I look forward to sharing reflections
on this trip as well as pictures and links by mid-summer.
Meanwhile, thank you for your continued support of this
newsletter and for forwarding it to friends who will
appreciate the support for growing their businesses while
feeding their souls. We donate 10 cents to Childreach for
every new reader. So far this year, we have raised over
$116 and are sponsoring Hadija, a 14 year-old girl from
Tanzania.
In This Issue
Fast Focus: Forgiveness Is a Skill
Your Key to Purposeful Prosperity
Simple Gifts: Top of the Rock Resources
Open for Business: Get on Top of the Rock
Openings for Private Coaching
The Bedside Table
Quick Links: Free and Fee Resources
Small Print: Copyright | Getting on and Off the List
Privacy Statement | Contact Info
Fast Focus
Forgiveness Is a Skill
Forgiveness is the skillful choice to let go of your
explanation of why and how someone did you wrong. When you
forgive, you're not saying you like what was done or how
it affected you. You're simply letting go of your story,
stepping aside from your interpretation of what happened.
That leaves you free to move on instead of staying
entangled in a drama about someone else. After all, if you
don't like what they did, why on earth would you want to
stay mired in the quicksand of a mental drama in which
they play a starring role?
We create stories to understand the world, but sometimes
stories bring confusion rather than clarity. When you find
yourself stuck in a pattern of resentment, letting go of
your story will set you free. That's why I say forgiveness
is a skill, one indispensable to a happy and prosperous life.
Your Key to Purposeful Prosperity
Authentic Promotion Teleclass
Just two weeks left to register for the summer session of
Authentic Promotion, the teleclass that transforms the
challenges of business and marketing into opportunities to
live more fully, authentically, and prosperously. It's
ideal for any business owner, but especially for those of
you who love your work but hate marketing it.
The course comprises 10 55-minute teleclasses on Tuesdays
at 1 PM EST (10 AM PST), June 3 through August 19. No
class on June 24 or July 22. Investment is $350.
Information and registration:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=30945
Tip: Buy the book first (see below) and get a 10% discount
on the course.
The e-Book
After a year of testing and revisions,
the field guide from the Authentic
Promotion teleclass is now available
as an e-book in PDF format. Use it as
a self-study guide or buy it and get a
discount on the class.
Authentic Promotion: Grow Your
Business, Feed Your Soul shows you
how to reveal or renew your commitment
to your work and craft a plan for marketing
your work that fits your style, your budget,
and your values.
Three bonuses with every order:
1. Membership in a readers-only listserv to share challenges
and successes.
2. $35 off future 12-week Authentic Promotion courses.
3. 10% lifetime discount on future Authentic Promotion products
and services including classes, tapes, and books.
Learn more at http://www.learntolovemarketing.com or order
immediately at:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/netcart.asp?merchantid=29060&productid=1283526
Simple Gifts
Top of the Rock Resources
This week's Open for Business column talks about using your
problems as the platform for solutions, what I call getting on
top of the rock. For a free list of books referenced in the article
including links to their respective pages at Amazon.com, send a
blank email to topofrock@mollygordon.com.
Open for Business
Get on Top of the Rock
Imagine that a problem is like a rock, an obstruction in
our chosen path. When we encounter a rock we typically
focus on getting over, around, or through it so we can get
on with what we started. Sometimes these rocks are trivial
stones that we readily step over or kick out of the way.
Sometimes they are boulders that we clamber over or tunnel
through.
But sometimes a rock is so huge that getting past or
through it depletes our resources so that we no longer
have what it takes to continue the journey. How many times
have you struggled to overcome just such an obstacle only
to discover, when you get to the other side, that lack the
desire or stamina to finish what you started?
The "Aha!" I had is that such giant rocks offer a
tremendously valuable opportunity, the chance to get on
top of the rock not just for the sake of getting over or
beyond it, but also for the new view.
The view from the top of the rock offers not only a fresh
perspective but also the possibility of seeing much
further and in many more directions than we can see from
ground level. From the top of the rock we will notice
possibilities, opportunities, directions that were
previously concealed from view. If we had not encountered
the rock, we would never have seen this landscape.
So far, so good. But how do you know if it's worth getting
on top of a specific rock? Sheer size and impenetrability
is a clue. If conventional ways past an obstacle threaten
to deplete your resources, it would be wise to get on top
of the rock. Notice how the very size of a "problem" can
indicate that it holds a significant opportunity. There
isn't an advantage in standing on top of a pebble, but
getting on top of a huge boulder offers real possibilities.
How do you get on top of the rock? I have three
suggestions:
Access alternative ways of knowing. Our everyday
consciousness is skilled at meeting everyday challenges,
but when it comes to transforming obstacles into new
vantage points, it helps to bring in knowledge and imagery
from other channels of awareness. Arnold Mindell has
written extensively about ways to access alternative ways
of knowing.
Work with the wisdom of your body. Learn to observe and
shift the patterns of movement and posture that shape your
perceptions so that you can "get above" these patterns and
begin to play with them to reveal previously hidden
possibilities. Richard Heckler, Gabrielle Roth, Wendy
Palmer, Ann Weiser Cornell, and George Leonard and Michael
Murphy are among the authors who have developed ways to
work with and through the body. My colleague Charlie
Badenhop (see the Education & Training section below) is
very effective at teaching people how to feel into and
shift somatic patterns.
Learn to use language models to reveal your habitual
patterns of thinking (the patterns that see rock as a
problem rather than a platform for new possibilities) and
to construct new patterns that generate new alternatives.
Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey have written an
excellent book on this, and I use their work in the
Authentic Promotion course to help get on top of the rock
with respect to marketing and self promotion.
Finally, you are likely to get exponentially better
results with any of these approaches when you work with
someone else. After all, the way we see things is woven
into our understanding of reality in thousands, if not
millions, of ways. When it comes to getting on top of the
rock, there's just no substitute for inviting a different
observer along for the climb (or the flight, as the case
may be). Coaching is a powerful tool for getting on top of
the rock.
Revised and reprinted from the November 24, 2002, issue of
The New Leaf.
Private Coaching
I have room for two new clients beginning in June, and I'm
interviewing interested candidates this week. If you are ready
to show up, serve, and prosper, and if you have a heartfelt
commitment to your work, let's talk. Phone 360-697-7022 or
email coaching@mollygordon.com to schedule an interview.
Protect your subscription to The New Leaf.
When you change your email address, let us know in
under a minute at http://www.mollygordon.com .
Education & Training
Structure, Movement, and Flow
The Spontaneous Expression of Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions
A two-day workshop in San Marcos, California, July 20 - 21 2003
Charlie Badenhop (The originator of Seishindo) is a friend and
colleague. I find his work to be magical and deeply transformative.
He is holding a two day workshop in the San Diego area in July.
If you would like to:
- Live your life with a greater sense of vitality and well being.
- Be more impactful and heartfelt in your interactions with others.
- Sense greater meaning in your life, and feel more connected to
yourself and your everyday experience.
Then you will likely find Charlie’s workshop exciting, educational,
and deeply transformational. Please let him know you heard about
it here. I don't earn a commission on this, but it's still nice for both
Charlie and I to know when folks come to him through my
recommendations. To find out more please visit the Seinshindo
site at: http://www.seishindo.org/workshop_programs/flow.html
The Bedside Table
The Life of Pi, Yann Martel
I'm back from vacation, and this is one of the books I read while on
the road. I loved the book for many reasons including the vividness
of Pi's heterogeneous religious affiliations (he is a devout Hindu,
Muslim, and Christian) and the drama of his tale of being shipwrecked
and consigned to 227 days in a life boat with a Bengal tiger (what's
not to love?). But what matters about all this is how to novel prompts
us to notice and own how we understand the adventure of life, death,
and encounters with the Divine in our own lives. What makes a story
not only true but also worth living? What is the story you write and
live around your work? How does it honor the deepest stirrings of your
spirit and call upon your talents?
Available now in Paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0156027321/mollygordonperso
Competitive Business, Caring Business, Daryl Paulson, Ph.D.
Subtiltled "An Integral Business Perspective for the 21st Century," this
book walks through the "four quadrants" of Ken Wilber's integral theory
as applied to individual, team, company, industry, and environmental
contexts for business. If you're looking for an introductory book connecting
Wilber's thoughts with business, this is a useful simplification. If you are
already familiar with AQAL theory, you may be underwhelmed.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1931044392/mollygordonperso
Searching for a book or CD or other product on Amazon?
When you use these linksto Amazon search engines you
support The New Leaf.
Please visit and bookmark them today.
US: http://www.mollygordon.com/searchbook.html
UK: http://www.mollygordon.com/eurobook.html
Quick Links
Resources
Free ==>True Goods. Click here for a deal good enough to
be true. http://www.truegoods.com . Thanks to Susan Dougherty of
Bremerton, WA, for this one.
===>Online Business: Ken Evoy's SiteSell Products
Five years ago I invested in Ken Evoy's Make Your Knowledge Sell.
It's the single best resource I've found for turning information into
income by focusing on delivering value to the customer. Since then
I have these additional products:
• Make Your Price Sell. I used this to determine the optimum price
for my new ebook).
• SiteBuildIt. A very compelte template for building a sales-oriented
Web site. I used it to build http://www.learntolovemarketing.com .
• Make Your Site Sell. A comprehensive guide to the design, layout,
and writing principles that lead to successful ecommerce Web sites.
Ken focuses on value, not hype, and he's got tens of thousands of
faithful customers to prove it. I'm proud to be an affiliate.
http://www.sitesell.com/authpro.html
===>Take Control of Your Day:Learn how to become more
efficient, effective, and productive so you can complete more
work in less time, and with less effort.
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=27096
===>Clear the Desk! Turn a desk that looks like a toxic
waste dump, one that resembles the flight deck of an
aircraft carrier. That's what I actually learned to do
from Jeffrey Mayer's ebook, "Winning The Fight Between You
and Your Desk."
http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=27096
====>Bridge The Gap: Call a meeting, hold a family reunion,
or convene a study group with participants from around
the world without leaving your home or office. $20 per hour
for up to 50 participants. Discounts available for repeat use.
For info (no obligation), send a blank email to bridge@mollygordon.com.
====>Make Sales Without Selling: Kendall Summer Hawk's
three-tape series, "What to Say if You Hate to Sell," shows
exactly how to have a respectful,authentic, thoughtful
conversation with prospects, a conversation that results in
people asking if they can hire you (how would you like that!?).
http://www.cartville.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=38272
Small Print
Copyright | Getting On and Off the List
Unless otherwise attributed, all material is written and
edited by Molly Gordon, MCC.
Copyright (c) Shaboom Inc. (tm) 2003. All rights reserved.
www.mollygordon.com
You may reprint material from "The New Leaf(tm)" in other
electronic or print publications provided the above
copyright notice and a link to http://www.mollygordon.com
is included in the credits. Please send me a copyof the
publication.
You can get off this list by going to http://www.mollygordon.com
or by sending an email to unsub@mollygordon.com.
Please do not forward excerpts, but instead send the
entire newsletter. Thanks!
Privacy Statement | Contact Info
We never sell, rent, or loan subscriber information to any
third party. Period.
Shaboom, Inc.
Life could be a dream…
PO Box 195
Suquamish, WA 98392-0195
P 360-697-7022
F 801-996-7022
*We donate 10 cents for every new subscriber to Childreach,
www.childreach.org .
