The general public seems a bit confused around the conversation of Conscious Evolution (present company excluded). They want to know; what is conscious evolution exactly? Aren’t we all ‘conscious’?

Well, as it turns out, the answer is “No”. We are not all conscious. As a matter of fact, most of everything we do is ruled by our sub-conscious mind. Most of our decisions and responses are based on default programming that was hard-wired into our subconscious between the ages of 0 -6 years old!

If this is true (and it is), then if you are not consciously expanding your own mindful awareness, it is quite possible that a 5 year old is running your business! It’s also possible that a whole Congress of 5 year olds are running our country! (But I digress…)

I like to offer the ‘un-conscious’ and the ‘semi-conscious’ a bit of hope. The hope comes from the leagues of people who are waking up to become consciously aware to the fact that we actually have choices. We have the ability to choose between ‘what has always been’ (even though it didn’t always work) and ‘what we want to be true’.

Awareness is the first step toward creating any positive change. When a group of people come together to focus on a positive outcome together the energy created literally causes a positive shift in our collective consciousness. Not only are the participants benefitting by the higher energy frequencies but the ripple effect of that energy spills out into the surrounding community and of course around the globe!

Conscious Evolution in Business (and life – they are the same after all) reflects an expanded awareness toward the needs of others as well as the self. Business focused only on ‘what’s in it for the bottom line’ is off balance toward the side of greed. The more spiritual minded business owner can actually be off balance toward the side of giving!

For example; if you don’t charge enough for your time or service to the point that you are unable to expand your business or worse, continue to even offer your service, then you will no longer be able to help others through your unique gifts and talents. It’s time to start embracing ‘giving and gaining’ as two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other.

You are invited to participate in an extraordinary event called, “The Conscious (r)Evolution of Giving and Gaining; Creative Tools for a Thriving Business Beyond 2012”. I will be there as a participant and facilitator to help us all create the shift toward a new abundant economy formed by individuals coming together in a conscious effort to make a difference. A quantum difference!

Our keynote presenter, author Bob Burg will teach the principles on how ‘givers can gain’ in a heart-centered and authentic way.

http://GivingAndGaining.com

There is a special kind of magic that is made when like-minded, caring people come together for a greater cause. As an entrepreneur, you are already a leader in shaping the new economy for a healthier lifestyle. The more we focus on what we have to give the more we all gain in return.

Please join me and others from around the country on September 30^th in Raleigh, NC as we come together for a full day of learning, sharing and networking with other soulful service providers that are ready to lead the way into an economy of Conscious Business Practices.

It’s time to send the 5 years old out to play and take over the evolution of our own economy!

I look forward to seeing you in Raleigh!

To Your Heart & Soul Success,

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http://GivingAndGaining.com

What is your business about?

I read a great quote today: Your business is not about you; it’s about your client. Become more client focused and watch your profits soar! ~ Dr. Barnsley Brown – one of North Carolina’s own soulful service providers.

In a recent training with marketing mogul Dan Kennedy he shared that the first Golden Key to Influential Communication is; “It’s About the Customer, not about the Product” and the title of author / speaker Bob Burg’s newest book is, It’s Not About You – A Little Story About What Matters Most in Business.

There is a definite theme to be evaluated here. All three emphasize the importance of focusing on your client and their deepest needs. When you fully value your clients and customers they become valuable to you. By taking the focus off the amount of product you sell or the number of clients you enroll and put your focus on fulfilling a specific need, you will attract a very specific customer that is actually listening for what you have to say!

I want you to consider the true value of a loyal client or customer over the lifetime of your service with them. Loyalty comes when you promise a specific result and fulfill that promise with care and appreciation for the opportunity to do so.

I’m going to use an example of a client of mine named Catherine that I recently helped with branding her massage practice to cater to pregnant women.

Everything about Catherine’s service will be tailored to emphasize the care and support of the pregnant woman and her comfort and health. My client is not concerned that some of her male clients may leave because her concern is to focus on the needs of her ideal client. She already has training and experience in this area and has come to realize that these are the people she most enjoys spending her time with.

This focus on her ideal client and the experience she has to enhance their pregnancy positions her as an expert in this area. The more pregnant women she works with the more of an expert she becomes.

So now let’s look at the value of what one loyal client could mean to her massage business.

Example:

New Pregnant Mom (PM) begins regular massage in month one of her pregnancy with 2 sessions per month at $70/session = $140/month.

Month #3 the new PM is in yoga class with other PM’s and tells them about the awesome massages she’s been getting especially for pregnant moms! 2 new PM’s sign up for 2 sessions per month.

PM #2 overhears a woman in her birthing class complain about low back pain and shares with her about the wonderful massage she just received with a woman who specializes in pregnant massage. This leads to another new client!

The other new PM (#3) tells her mid-wife about her experience and the mid-wife asks for the massage therapists info so she can refer her other patients!

Catherine now has 3 new clients and a mid-wife who plans to refer her patients!

I can go on, but let’s look at what’s been generated over 9 months with just this scenario…

PM #1 will spend $1260 for her own personal massages. We’ll base PM’s #2 and #3 on six months of service, which generates revenue of $1680. When PM #4 signs on for six months that’s an additional $840. Then of course she has the ongoing referrals from the mid-wife, but we’ll be conservative and add one more PM for another six months at $840. That total comes to $4620 worth of revenue because PM #1 received the care and expertise she could trust and feel comfortable enough to tell others that need the same kind of care and attention. If you repeat a similar scenario with PM’s #2, 3 and 4 you can see that Catherine has the potential to generate $13,860 within that 9 month timeframe.

None of that illustration includes additional products or classes that she can also offer or the fact that once the babies are born the mothers will want to continue working with her and of course continue to refer other mothers to her as well!

My client found a group of people that she enjoys working with and is carefully taking the time to discover what their needs are and how she can provide the solution through her expertise. It’s not about the massage – it’s about the client! Massage is good for everyone right? But like I always say, “If you’re talking to everyone about your awesome product or service, no one is listening!”

If you would like to go more deeply into this subject and actually spend an entire morning training with Mr. Bob Burg (co-author of The Go-Giver and the newly released It’s Not About You!) then register today for The Conscious Evolution of Giving and Gaining event – www.GivingAndGaining.com

Between the knowledge and networking you will experience at this event you are sure to come away with the ability to connect with at least one new client as a result of attending. So, what’s one new client worth to you? Infinitely more than the cost of admission, I’m quite sure!

To Your Heart & Soul Success,

Some people are entirely motivated by the thought of having a lot of money and bounce from one shiny promise of riches to the next in hopes of acquiring as much as they can. They rarely keep what they earn and often burn out within a few years.

Others are motivated by the game of creating wealth; they expect money to be an end result of their efforts. Those are the people who actually have and continue to create money.

I recently enrolled in a book study with Helen Graves, the founder of the International Association of Spiritual and Energy Practitioners (www.iasep.org) and panelist at the upcoming Conscious Evolution of Giving and Gaining event. The book we are studying is titled, Spiritual Economics; The Principles and Process of True Prosperity written by Eric Butterworth. This is a topic that is challenging for so many people who claim to want to experience prosperity in their life and business.

Those of us who are not ‘motivated’ by money can easily be distracted from creating money through our work because we forget to ASK for what we want. Sometimes the more spiritual the individual the more difficult it is for them to ask the Universe to give them what they want. People who have created wealth for themselves not only ask for what they want, they command and expect it!

Eric Butterworth writes, “You ask for water from the faucet by turning on the tap. You ask for light from the lamp by throwing the switch…”

I love this example because it beautifully illustrates our need to participate in our own good. You don’t hold your empty glass under the faucet and pray for water. No matter how long or how diligently you visualize or plead with God to fill you glass, nothing will happen until you turn the handle on the faucet! Ask yourself what faucet are you standing in front of that is just waiting for you to turn the handle and let your abundance flow? Did you bring a cup or a bucket to the faucet of abundance?

What would you ask for if you knew, no matter what, the answer would be YES?

What would you be willing to risk or give up in order to make room for YES?

Who would you spend your time with? What would you be reading? Who would be your mentors?

How much would you be willing to invest in yourself so that you could shine your light a little brighter, reach out to more people with your own special brand of transformation and prosper yourself?

Allowing yourself to get involved with these life expanding thoughts can definitely make you feel good, for awhile. But if you don’t take action, those thoughts will amount to nothing more than a feel good band-aid. The real game changer is in the actions you take while you maintain those thoughts and the feelings they evoke!

What faucets are you turning on in your life and business? Is it time to tap a new well? If you are doing the same activities, associating with the same people week in and week out you may need to step into something new for a change. When you take a chance on something new, it changes you. You come away from that experience with more to offer your present clients as well as a greater ability to attract new clients!

What bold step are you going to take next?

There is an old Quaker saying, “While you pray, Move your feet!”

I took a bold step; a leap really by putting together The Conscious Evolution of Giving and Gaining event in order to bring this conversation to my community in a BIG way. It has been an incredible process of personal and professional growth, both rewarding and terrifying (I promise to write about it sometime). I ask you to join me in the conversation live and in person along with the training that Bob Burg will be delivering. We have guests coming from Arizona, Washington, Virginia and New York so far. Take the time to invest in yourself and your business with people from all types of businesses and experiences.

Enroll today – Early Bird Pricing ends at midnight tonight (Sept. 15th)! ~ www.GivingAndGaining.com

To Your Heart & Soul Success,

What is your mindset about your small business today? I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that whatever your mindset is about money overall is the exact mindset you have about your own business. Whatever that mindset may be it will also be exactly how you view and experience our present economy.

Most people view and experience our present economy from a place of fear and uncertainty. Understandably so given the unending rhetoric of the media talking heads that carry on about doom & gloom 24 hours a day with the enthusiasm of a school of piranhas over a fresh kill!

Recent Headlines:

CNNMONEY – “Jobs Worse than You Think”

FORBES – “Stagflation is Knocking at the Door”

THE ECONOMIST – “The Civil War in Washington DC is Damaging American Business”

Every day the news attempts to point fingers and create blame (as do our politicians) instead of creating solutions and collaboration.  The vortex of negativity and fear is palpable everywhere you go.

It’s time for a grass roots, home-grown (r)evolution of entrepreneurs, small businesses and sales leaders to stand up and say, “ENOUGH”. We’re not going to take it anymore; we’re going to create our own wealth, based on a new economy of trust, transparency and relationships.

There are so many topics to cover here but for now I want to share how important your small business is and the impact you and your business can have on healing our economy.

Here are 3 positive steps you can take with your small business in order to contribute to the health of our economy and the wealth of your own life…

1)    Up level your mindset and turn off the talking heads (Do this NOW)

2)    Expand your vision and grow to hire help

3)    Refer someone you love (or like a lot) to someone you trust

Believe

The first step requires a review and a re-wiring of current thinking and beliefs. Even if you are a glass ½ full kind of person it’s easy to get caught up in the mass consciousness of the glass is ½ empty and dirty as well! It’s imperative; now more than ever that you get crystal clear about what you want for a happy, prosperous business and hold that vision for all it’s worth, which is a LOT!

Expand

The second step requires you to expand your vision beyond your immediate needs and add the intention to hire at least one new person in the next 90 days, even if it’s only part time. The growth and expansion of your business can actually mean food on someone else’s table and sense of well being and stability in their family.

Blogger and coach Sandi Krakowski says, “Sadly, many … will say if THEY could just earn $15,000 per month for themselves they would be happy, let alone helping someone else.” This is an impoverished and quite frankly, a selfish way to live. The fastest way to get to your own personal goals is to make the benefit of others your focus as well! Our economy needs business owners who will seriously plan and prepare to create jobs.”

Refer

The third step to making a positive impact on our economy is to think about the people you know who could benefit from the services of other people you know! We all know how powerful a professional internet presence is and all of the blogging, social media, etc… that goes along with it. However, when it comes right down to it, people need people and trust their friends and colleagues when it comes to who they should do business with. 90% of my business comes from referrals and I teach people how to create a professional internet presence!

Sending someone you care about to someone you know and trust will do right by them is a great and immediate impact you can have on the well being of two (or more) people with one referral. And you know that kind of positive vibe will ripple on and on throughout the community, the world and of course your own business!

In the bestselling book, “The Go-Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann, the authors illustrate The Law of Reciprocity through the giving process; “Receiving is the natural result of giving. If you give and then try to stop the receiving that comes back, you’re like King Canute watching the tide roll out and commanding it not to come back in. It has to come back in, just as your heart has to contract after relaxing.”

Those 3 simple steps, Believe, Expand and Refer will transform you business, your life and our economy and when the tide of prosperity comes in again, you can say, “And, I helped!”

You are invited to join me, Schelli Whitehouse, Mr. Bob Burg, Mary Michele Little, Pat Howlett, Helen Graves and other evolutionary business leaders on September 30^th, 2011 for a day of information, exploration, relationship marketing and creative networking for today’s small business. Visit here for more info: http://GivingAndGaining.com

Resources:

CNNMoney – http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/08/news/economy/unemployment_jobs/index.htm

Forbes Article – http://news.yahoo.com/stagflation-knocking-door-192819664.html

The Economist – http://www.economist.com/node/21525839

Sandi Krakowski – http://www.arealchange.com/blog/coaching

“The Go-Giver” – http://www.thegogiver.com

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To Your Heart & Soul Success,
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This is our opportunity to let go of everything that is no longer serving us. And I mean everything!

It’s kind of like a 180 degree turn; the rudder of the Universe creating an ‘about face’. The question is… are we turning backward or forward? I choose forward. It feels as if we have been facing backward for years, even though we have been hurtling into the future at mach speed. Our focus has been on the past, trying to keep and maintain the status quo, broken as it is.

As the Universe turns we now will have the advantage of facing the direction we are heading. This turning away from old, familiar, sometimes comfortable (or used to be) habits, situations and beliefs can be scary and painful. Even if we don’t like what we have been experiencing up until now, we understand it and have learned to cope.

Turning to face the unknown could leave us ‘structure less’. For many this is already the case; loss of housing, no visible means of support, a crumbling identity. It is easy to see how people emotionally cling to their perception of ‘the good old days’, when ignorance truly was ‘bliss’. But just like a newborn child we cannot climb back into the womb where we have been (somewhat) blissfully provided for. We cannot stay in the birth canal either – waiting for someone to tell us what waits on the other side.

In a society that demands answers to every HOW and WHY, the Universe is forcing us to let go of those questions, for now anyway and simply turn and face a new way of life; a way of life that requires that we tap into resources within ourselves; dormant talents and gifts that were not recognized or maybe even frowned upon in our old world.

Everyone on the planet is feeling this turn – the birthing of a new way of being earthlings. We are shifting ever so ungracefully and with a lot of kicking and screaming from a hierarchy society to a whole—archy, where the many will be revered over the few. The pyramid model of rule is crumbling around the planet an there is no ‘system’ to contain the chaos.

Yet, as every scientist will attest, out of chaos comes order. Our job whether you believe you signed on for this or not, is to breathe, keep breathing and just as if you were giving birth (male or female) push when you feel the urge to do so! Give a mighty yell if it make you feel better, but don’t hold back, don’t turn away from the opportunity to experience a brave new life. You are the parent, the midwife and the child in this experience. It hasn’t been done before and it’s okay if you don’t know all the answers.

Move with the celestial alignments that we are experiencing right now and say good-bye to everything in your life that no longer serves you. Create the space for the new you to step into a brave new life without the baggage and rusted systems of our past.

Write out a list of everything you are ready to let go of, cry, grieve, celebrate, whatever comes up. Then burn, shred or flush the list away.

It’s time for a new list, one that is in alignment with how you want to experience the rest of this life in your work and your life. If you have few extra dollars go out and treat yourself to a massage, or a manicure and pedicure. It may not seem like the next spiritual step in your evolution but ahhhh, you will feel oh, so ‘divine’ afterward!

Take care of yourself and get the personal and professional support you need to navigate these celestial waters of evolution.

What are you ready to release that no longer serves you?

One of the things on my list is; letting go of having to know the outcome of an action before I commit to the first step.

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To Your Heart & Soul Success,

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Sources:

For more specifics about the eclipses see Lisa Zimmerman’s http://www.soullevelsolutions.com/saturn-direct-lunar-eclipse-june-11/

http://quantumpranx.wordpress.com/dna-can-be-influenced-and-reprogrammed-by-words-and-frequencies/

Esther Hicks shared in a story through “Abraham” a couple of years ago, about an experience she and Jerry (her husband) had riding the rapids of the Colorado River. Upon approaching the river Esther was nervous about the intensity of the rapids and dangers associated with river rafting.  Although she was excited about this thrilling adventure, she wanted to know that they would safely finish the trip. Of course we can’t know ‘for sure’ the outcome of such an adventure ahead of time.

Abraham shares (I’m paraphrasing a bit), what if Esther had asked the river guide to take their raft, put it back on top of the bus and drive them to within a few hundred feet of where they are set to end the trip, put their boat back in the water and take them to the end… because they enjoy instant manifestation. The river guide might say, “Whatever you want crazy lady, but I thought you wanted a ride on the river!”

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If you can envision your business through the metaphor of a surfboard, raft, snowboard or any other ‘vehicle’ that is design to go with the flow of nature, then you can grasp the importance of letting go of your resistance to momentum and change. Any resistance to the expansion of your life (your business) takes far more effort and strain to maintain the status quo than it does to flow toward what you want.

As spiritual beings we came here to play a magnificent game called Humans Being. Being what, you might ask. Being more of who you already are! The game requires perpetual expansion, ever increasing universal awareness and a fine tuned heart that resonates with the rhythm of unconditional love.

We came here for a ride on the river of the human experience. Part of your universal awareness is the awakening of your calling to express yourself – I like the term your ‘vocational arousal’. This is not only part of your personal evolution but it is an important part of our global evolution.  We are in the birth canal of the next evolution of our collective human experience. Together, our emergence into the next highest version of who-we-really-are will reveal a socio-economic society based on integrity, transparency, value and service.

Many of us are actively communicating and supporting this message through our service and products now. But, like a fast moving river, the ride is often intense, requiring laser focus, concentrated physical energy and sheer faith that the boat will not capsize and everyone on board dashed against the giant boulders. Sometimes you travel a stretch of river that is so still you don’t feel as if you are moving at all, you may become doubtful that anything is happening and you need to paddle in order to move forward. Other times the way is wide open and free flowing. You enjoy the momentum and effortless ride as many of your hopes and wishes appear to jump into your boat from out of nowhere. And then, it will change again…

The key is to not give your power away to any conditions of the river of life. You are the powerful one with the ability to choose how you wish to experience any of the conditions the river has to offer.

Every experience, every manifestation, every emotion is created by you. The river is not the powerful one, you are! You can approach those rapids and boulders screaming in sheer terror or whoopin’ and hollerin’ at your incredible ability to learn on the fly, work as a team member in the game of Human’s Being and exhilarate in the thrill of the accomplishment. Rest, plan and strengthen your resolve when the waters are still, celebrate and give thanks when the way is wide open and free flowing!

Where are you today on your river today?

To Your Heart and Soul Success,

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This Transformation is Taking a Long Time

I am so tired of not being what I want to be.

I am stuck and angry and talking to myself

wondering maybe it’s just that

this transformation is taking a long time.

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I am curious why it is so hard to accomplish.

I know what it is to manifest with ease.

I have had thimes in my life

when the weight, the heaviness

slips off

and I move freely.

Oh, how I celebrate those times!

Inside lined up no conflict

all forward with intentions.

I have been learning some deeper lessons.

It has been dark down here,

and I can’t exactly tell you what I’m doing.

In this place I don’t have the luxury

to tell myself what I’m doing.

Eagles and leopards in my dreams,

but in the world manifest,

it is all abou the worm.

No eyes, no complex intellectualities.

All Sensation.

Guiding.

I am completing a cycle.

It has been a challenging journey, and oh, how I long for the sun.

Some days are meant for rest,

so much digging and digesting.

So I rest

in the dark

with the weight of the world

all around me

and in my heart

hold to the knowing that spring comes,

and dream

that maybe through all of these changes,

I will be given wings,

and just like the gentle butterfly,

take lightly to the sky.

Written by Rebecca Folsom from her book, “Your Life is a Masterpiece”.

www.RebeccaFolsom.com

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There Are No Coincidences

There are no coincidences.  That’s a powerful statement, isn’t it?  Many years ago I would have questioned the sanity behind such a belief but so many apparent “coincidences” have supported, suggested and facilitated life-making decisions that I can no longer ignore its existence.   

I’m sure you’re wondering how this relates to abundance.  Stay with me!  When you put forth sincere and heart-felt effort toward growing yourself and your business, isn’t it true that favorable circumstances often manifest through some of the most difficult challenges, leaving you gratefully perplexed at how life unfolded?

The Universe supports you in what you do, what you think.  When you do what is required to put forth your unique talents and passion, you will attract abundance in all the forms that abundance can take, whether personal growth, financial or in relationships.

Take a moment to ponder the “coincidences” that have happened in your life and express gratitude for the “good luck.” Then keep an eye out for the next happy coincidence coming your way.

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