Note: It is difficult to predict how this will show up in your browser and on your unique platform, thus the layout may appear to violate the principles discussed

=========================================
Authentic Promotion®: The Official Newsletter of Authentic Promotion®
Molly Gordon, CPC, PCC
Volume 4, No. 16, April 22, 2002
========================================

Learn to love marketing so that your business feeds your soul and not just your bank account. That's what you'll do in my 12-week Authentic Promotion Telecourse. It's for coaches, bodyworkers, doctors, lawyers, therapists - any independent professional who wants to earn more without selling out. Details at http://www.mollygordon.com/telecart.html or email mailto:authpro@mollygordon.com .

CONTENTS
========
Fast Focus: Turning Errors into Assets
Welcome | No Spam | Feedback
Open for Business: Mistakes and Mastery
Speaking of (Avoiding) Mistakes: Internet Marketing
The Bedside Table
Get Out of Your Way: Two Approaches to Goal Setting
Meet the Coach
Copyright | About Ads and Affiliates
Feedback | Subscribe - Unsubscribe

Fast Focus: Turning Errors into Assets
=====================================
Errors can be your most important assets. Just as the money you spend on a new computer shows up as an asset on the balance sheet that reflects your finances, think of your mistakes as assets on the balance sheet that reflects your progress toward mastery.

What distinguishes a mistake-as-asset from a mistake-as-liability is your commitment to acknowledge and learn from it. You're paying for your mistakes anyway. The only question is whether or not you will allow yourself to thrive as a result of having made them. It's up to you-what's your choice?

Welcome | No Spam | Feedback
===============================
Thank you for sharing The New Leaf with friends and colleagues. It's easy, just forward the entire newsletter with a sentence or two saying why you like it.

*No Spam* Only subscribers receive this newsletter. If a friend or co-worker sent you this copy, welcome! You can subscribe (it's free) at http://www.mollygordon.com/nlsub.html . I never rent, sell, or give away subscriber information.

Have feedback? Please send your comments, questions, and suggestions to mailto:molly@mollygordon.com . DO NOT HIT REPLY to this newsletter. Thanks!

Open for Business: Mistakes and Mastery
=======================================
Owning a business calls for constant learning. It's a challenging path, and one that offers endless opportunities for learning, development, and improvement.

Sometimes (or so I have heard) such constant learning opportunities can feel oppressive. On the one hand, you are always and inevitably learning as you go, which means you will make mistakes. On the other hand, some of the people and systems with which you work may seem quite unforgiving.

You may wonder when it will ever let up. It won't, so it is essential that you have a way to assess yourself that allows for mistakes yet that keeps you on a path of mastery. Otherwise, the path of mastery can turn into the prison of perfectionism.

Consider this. The mistakes you make in the service of learning can be investments, not losses. Just as the money you spend on a new computer shows up as an asset on the balance sheet that reflects your financial position, think of your mistakes as assets on the balance sheet that reflects your mastery.

This interpretation does not absolve you of responsibility for doing your best nor does it protect you from the consequences of unwise investment. The crucial distinction here is "mistakes in the service of learning" as opposed to mistakes made for want of commitment or attention. The former will build value into your company, the latter will cause it to fail.

Here are some guidelines for using your mistakes to move toward mastery:

1. Acknowledge mistakes as soon as they are spotted. You cannot learn from a mistake while you are pretending it never happened or wasn't a mistake.

2. Be willing to incur costs in the course of making and correcting mistakes. After all, you are building an asset. It is silly to pretend that it will be free of charge.

3. Do your homework. Turning mistakes into mastery requires learning how to correct them rather than pretending that you know all the answers.

4. Pay attention to your gut. Paying attention to your gut as you make mistakes and as you correct them helps develop your intuition and to prevent or minimize future errors.

5. Take measured action. Freezing in the wake of a mistake guarantees that you will lose your investment. Measured action (not frantic reaction) will keep you in a learning mode.

6. Breathe. Mistakes are as natural as breathing, so breathe through your mistakes. This will keep you flexible.

Since mistakes are inevitable, don't you think it's time you turned them into assets?

Speaking of (Avoiding) Mistakes: Internet Marketing
=======================================
I'm in the midst of an adventure fraught with learning (and mistakes) as I take my online business to the next level. Two resources I would not be without are Tom Antion's "Electronic Butt Camp" and the Kickstartcart.com shopping cart system.

Tom's "Butt Camp" tapes are a six-hour brain dump that spells out exactly how to set up an online business. They're incredible, truly worth 10 or 20 times their price of $199. These tapes have saved me months of trial and error and contain the exact information I needed to move forward.
http://www.antion.com/t.cgi/192738/buttcamp.htm

Tom's style is informal but right to the point. His tapes area perfect complement to Corey Rudl's "Insider Secrets" course which I've recommended before.
http://www.marketingtips.com/t.cgi/654164

The shopping cart is the tool that pulls it all together: an ordering system, all the forms, secure server, autoresponders, affiliate system, ad tracking-my Lord-it will be years before I use it all. But already it is paying for itself. http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/default.asp?pr=31&id=29060

The Bedside Table
=================
Talk about eclectic. This is what I'm reading now (no kidding), and they all happen to be 30% off at Amazon.

"Sex, Ecology, and Spirituality," Ken Wilber. An 800+ page philosophical opus that is proving to be more accessible than it looked. Wilber has a sharp wit, a quick tongue (or pen, as the case may be), and a brilliant intellect.
US: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570627444/mollygordonperso
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570627444/mollygordoncerti

"Eight Steps to Seven Figures," Charles S. Carslon, CFS. Thanks to Phil Humbert's excellent teleclass, "The Road to Riches," I am finally learning about investing-and I am loving it. This book is one of several he recommends.
Link to the book:
US: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553456725/mollygordonperso
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0385497326/mollygordoncerti

Link for info about Phil's class: http://www.mollygordon.com/affiliates/riches.html

"Miss Manners' Basic Training, The Right Thing to Say," Judith Martin. My love affair with etiquette continues. This is a handy (and relatively brief) volume that explains "how to talk, talk back and say "NO" without causing offense." Wish I'd read it years ago!
US: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609600516/mollygordonperso
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609600516/mollygordoncerti

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: http://www.mollygordon.com/searchbook.html
UK: http://www.mollygordon.com/eurobook.html

Get Out of Your Way: Two Approaches to Goal Setting
==========================================
There are loads of books about goal setting. Two of my current favorites are highlighted here. Choose the one that best suits your personal style.

* * * Get Out of Your Way, by Sid Smith * * *
Sid sent me a preview copy of this book, and I was so impressed I wrote a cover blurb for it. It's a thoughtful, substantive guide to generating positive and lasting changes in your life and work. Simple, without being simplistic, it is one of the better guides to self-examination, reflection, and action.
http://www.sidsmith.com/Order_Page.htm

* * * Setting and Achieving Your Goals * * *
Jeff Mayer has done it again. Here's what readers say about his latest ebook:

"VERY GOOD. I would absolutely recommend. I learned that to become successful you must write down your goals and review them frequently. I'm now much more focused and am staying focused. Jeffrey Mayer is my mentor from afar. His eBooks are fantastic." - Eric Kerkhoff, President, Management Solution Consultants, Inc.

"FIVE STARS. Would highly recommend. Helped me overcome the procrastination habit. Opened my eyes. Helped focus on things that are most important. Showed me how to overcome fear of failure." Barry Ortlieb, Sales

You will learn how to:
=> Become more successful by writing and reviewing your goals.
=> Become more focused, so you spend your time doing the things that will help you become more successful.
=> Overcome the procrastination habit.
=> Overcome the fear of failure.
=> Create a Master Plan of ACTion, a step-by-step blueprint to success.

Click Here to order & download your copy now: http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/aftrack.asp?afid=27096

Meet the Coach
==============
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? For brief listings of available topics visit http://www.mollygordon.com/work.html .Phone me at 360-697-7022 or email me at mailto:molly@mollygordon.com to arrange an event.

Here's where I'll be in the coming months.

Seattle, WA. April 25, 2002, 1-2:30 PM. "Staying Focused." Longer Lunches (a networking group for independent professionals. See http://www.longerlunches.org .

New York City, NY. May 1-7, 2002. Final session of Embodying Intelligence with Charlie Badenhop and Cindy Franklin.

Bellevue, WA, May 11. "Setting and Getting the Right Fee," The Northwest Freelance and Consulting Conference. Info: http://www.freeagentevents.com

Seattle, WA. June 1, 2002. Settle for More: Setting Fees and Negotiating Contracts. American Medical Writers Association. Contact Susan London, 206.528.1601, slondon@drizzle.com, http://www.geocities.com/amwa-nw/symposium06-01-02.html

Santa Fe, New Mexico. November 6, Design with Heart, Keynote Address. http://www.fiberbydesign.com/designwithheart

Copyright | Ads and Affiliates
===================================
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.

Feedback | Subscribe - Unsubscribe
=================================
To respond to The New Leaf, email mailto:leaf@mollygordon.com . DO NOT HIT REPLY to this newsletter. Thank you.

Subscribe or unsubscribe in seconds at
http://www.mollygordon.com/nlsub.html

============================================
HOLD A MEETING, A FAMILY REUNION, OR A STUDY GROUP with up to 30 participants worldwide without leaving your home or office when you use our simple, inexpensive phone bridge. For details, email my assistant, Debbie Buxton, at mailto:debbie@mollygordon.com .