Why You Should Drop Out

Are you bone-tired? Have you been climbing mental mountains for so long your metaphysical metatarsals simply can't take another step? It's time to drop out.

While books such as Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In implore and inspire women to reach for the pinnacle of professional achievement, sometimes — especially now, as the planet awakens en masse and all systems wobble and shift as we do — the best move isn't up, or even lateral, but out. Into the green pastures of the unknown, to follow the still, small voice growing louder each day that you stuff it into practical have-to's and won't-waits. You don't, and it can. It's amazing how little the titles and trophies matter, once you remember and reconnect with your essence self.

As I just posted to Healing Journeys, a LinkedIn group in which a member asked whether listening to heart or mind is more important, "My mind ruled my being for the first third of my life. I think much of this is cultural; such mental, control-oriented focus is a Western construct. Then a protracted health crisis catapulted me out of my mind (literally, out of my linear perception) and onto my path of awakening. I began to heal/whole (from the same root, hale) as I opened to my connection with All-That-Is and remembered the truth of who and what I am: spirit, embodied. On the far side of my dark night of the soul I created LiveYourLight.com to 'midwife' others on their transformational journey. 



"Now the entire planet is waking up, and it's one wild ride. The greatest gift we can give one another is compassion and Love, holding the space for each other's process and offering resources and support where practical."

Downtime is essential for this to happen; you must allow yourself the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical space to marinate in deep soul memory, free from the distractions and constraints of the mundane. Some of those who have been wayshowers for decades are turning inward now to replenish their own wells, to serve the whole not from constant travel and teaching but by restoring their chi, so that what they radiate nourishes the collective, allowing others to witness their example and use it as a touchstone for their own journey.

Jasmuheen, one of the spiritual leaders who has been invited by Divine guidance to withdraw for the next several years, writes in her last global message: "This is not a time of fear or uncertainty regarding the current changes in our world, for all of this has been long predicted and will be rewoven for the good of all in the fullness of time. It is our time now to nurture ourselves, to feel other rhythms that are also here for us, of great peace and contentment, and to gather together if and when we are called there to share in heartfelt ways."

Remember, too, that difficult or strange emotions you're feeling are not necessarily yours; this mass awakening is throwing a huge amount of toxic residue into the atmosphere to be transmuted. To ground and clear, plant your feet on grass, drink lots of pure water, spend time in Nature, celebrate yourself, and LOVE with every fiber of your being. You are one with the All, and this is a magnificent time to be alive on Earth!

So if you're feeling overwhelmed, and the idea of sitting on a Bored of Directors is as appealing as a marathon flossing session, I invite you to allow yourself to drop out. Relinquish your grip on the big E (expectation, from self or others) and lean in to Life with a capital L. You are never alone, even if choose to spend extended time with your own company in order to rest and renew. The world (and all our technology and social media) will be here when you e/merge (energy and emotion merge). As one of my favorite poets, David Whyte, writes: Everything Is Waiting for You.

50 Traffic Tips for Content Marketers

Courtesy of: Informly

Small Business Marketing: Eye of the Beholder

You've probably heard the maxim, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." This is nowhere truer than in defining a small business. Everyone from chief catalyst to receptionist to clean-up crew needs to be concerned with company image, performance, response time, etc., because every action, no matter how seemingly insignificant, affects client perception.

This is the real definition of branding: how your clients see you. It doesn't matter how slick your website, how memorable your logo, how many Twitter followers or Facebook "Likes"  — or even how outstanding your product or service may be. If a customer's experience is being left on hold for three minutes while she silently fumes, that's your brand.

Think about the positioning that describes your core brand. For example:

• What we're known for: comprehensive marketing communications, with a specialty in social media marketing
• Our clients: emerging businesses in the health/wellness vertical
• How customers see us: solid experience, broad knowledge, end-to-end programs
• What sets us apart: fresh approach, industry expertise, creative and effective campaigns, measurable results.

Now the key is living up to this promise. Just as you wouldn't appear for a major presentation in shorts and a T-shirt (unless, perhaps, the prospect sells surfboards or beach apparel), you don't want to unintentionally sabotage client perception by ignoring a request for information or failing to resolve a complaint.

However, it's also human nature to be forgiving when a business acknowledges its error. Consider this story: a customer ordered a book and card set from a small online retailer and received an e-mail response saying the order would be shipped no later than July 31. When she hadn't received anything two weeks later, she e-mailed again, saying that unless the package had been sent via media mail, it ought to have arrived by now. She also left a telephone message a day later. Still no response.

Quite annoyed, the customer phoned a second time a day later and reached the company owner, who, it turned out, was a solopreneur. She explained the shipment had been held up due to a last-minute cover redesign and apologized profusely, saying, "It's entirely my fault. Forty lashes! I should have let you know…" The customer and business owner spoke for five minutes, and the owner promised to overnight the package at her expense.

The upshot? The customer enjoyed her encounter with the entrepreneur, received the product the next day, and now holds the company in positive regard. However, the entire scenario could have been averted had the business responded right away, and indicated when the customer could expect the order to be shipped.

So how can you create the brand you want to be?

• Return phone calls promptly. If you say you'll call back within 24 hours, aim to make it sooner. If it takes you two days, customer perception will be: you don't care. Same with email: respond with 24 hours — or hire a VA (Virtual Assistant) to help you.
• Treat callers with respect. Avoid transferring a call more than once, don't place people on hold unless absolutely necessary (and then, just for a few seconds), and NEVER disconnect them!
• Make the customer right. If someone purchased a defective product, apologize sincerely (send a follow-up email as well), replace it immediately, or refund the customer's money promptly if that's their choice.
• Have an easily navigable site with clear contact information. Include a toll-free number if possible — and do your best to staff it with a live voice, not voicemail.
• Know your clients. Greet them with a warm welcome when they enter your place of business, get to know their names, and make them feel glad to do business with you.

Emerson said, "What you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say." He might have been describing the hidden dimension of branding. Your brand is you, so let it represent you and your business in the best possible light. Then you'll attract customers who are eager to help you shine.

"I'll Have the Scrambled Communication On Toast…"

In The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (with apologies to Douglas Adams), Scrambled Communication might well be on the menu along with eggs over easy. Our personal filters are in overdrive as planetary energies accelerate past Warp 9, fueling glitches that are cosmically comic (and Mercury doesn't even go retrograde until Thanksgiving Day!).

This week alone, I've had two clients hear something very different from what I actually said, and two other people interpret my words with an exact opposite meaning. By the time I'd experienced the second such encounter I was beginning to pay attention; unless I'm suddenly speaking Choctaw, this isn't a language issue.

What's happening? We're in the midst of a dimensional merge, which can render once-ordinary communication quirky in ways that are sometimes humorous, sometimes hurtful, occasionally bizarre. Even when we think we're being abundantly clear — or that our meaning is blatantly obvious — it now pays to spell everything out very carefully, whether in person, by email, by phone or text message. Social media posts can also be misconstrued with greater ease now, not from intent, but from disparate frequency. Think of it as a global Doppler effect.

The answer, as always, is Love. Coming from a heartspace, there is no misinterpretation because everything sounds like yes, like being bathed in warmth, like nourishment. Unfortunately, except for the saintly among us, most of us still drop into and out of this high place, as we endeavor to dwell here. Yet we are forging heretofore-unimagined pathways of community and connection, from Occupy Global, which became a worldwide happening virtually overnight in October, to the imminent 11-11-11 ceremonies and celebrations slated for this Friday and weekend.

We're ushering in a new era, stepping into "a vision of life as play and possibility," as the subtitle of James P. Carse's seminal work, Finite and Infinite Games (which I'm now savoring, sentence by sentence) proposes. There is nothing to win, because there is nothing to lose. It's all theatre, a grand design of our minds, which are slowly surrendering to our hearts. We just need to keep reminding one another to order the Inspiration Salad, an all-inclusive meal that keeps us well fed forever — and Scrambled Communication may soon disappear from the menu for lack of interest.

Blessings!

I Can't Get No … Satisfaction — Or Can I?

Gretchen Rubin wanted to discover the secret to happiness, so she spent a year "test-driving the wisdom of the ages, the current scientific studies, and the lessons from popular culture about how to be happy — from Aristotle to Martin Seligman to Thoreau to Oprah."

She began blogging about her experiences and discoveries, convinced no one but herself would ever read it. Famous last words. Four years on, several hundred thousand people look forward to her daily musings, and her book, The Happiness Project, is a #1 New York Times bestseller. One reviewer calls it, "A cross between the Dalai Lama’s The Art of Happiness and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love."

I first wrote about Gretchen's work in March 2008 in my inspirational enewsletter, What Shines. (This article, A Big Tank of Pink Liquid is now part of my eBook, What Shines: Practical Wisdom for Unleashing Your Inner Brilliance/Volume 3). Today I listened to her share some of her wisdom in a telecast:

How can you increase your happiness every day?

#1: Get enough sleep!
#2: Novelty and challenge bring happiness, but not right away. First you'll feel insecure, incompetent, and frustrated — push through to mastery.
#3 Strong relationships. Increase your contacts with others, including social media — but don't overdo it!

Gretchen blogs six days a week, and encourages people who are having trouble blogging regularly to actually increase the amount they blog. It's counterintuitive, yet, she says, when you know you have to do something daily, it becomes part of your routine.

She also recommends adding structure to your blog. She has specific categories: video, tips, quizzes, quotes, interviews — which makes it easier to frame what she wants to share. People learn differently, so offering various formats allows more people to resonate with what you have to offer.

Finally, she says, don't be concerned if some visitors don't agree with what you post. A strong brand will repel as well as attract. While it's painful to have someone attack you in their comments, it also provides an opportunity for you to learn from them, expand your growth by not reacting in kind, and engage more readers through the discussion.