Accomplishments and Fun Things To Come

This week, I...

• had a chat with a dear lady who came to see me about coaching because she thinks she can do more with her life (did I mention she's 70+ yo??)
• called two people to account over their personal and business standards (when I normally would have shrugged it off because I wanted to avoid being confrontational)
• opened my business bank account
• connected with various lovely business owners on FB and bought a birthday present off one of them for my BFF (hope she loves it!)
• offered a free Personal Goal Setting session to all my FB likers (just another way to reach out!)
  
• received a surprise thank-you gift from an overseas client, to say she appreciated the pro bono coaching I've given her
• attended an ATO seminar, acted as if I was the host and initiated conversation, gave away biz cards, made my 30-second elevator pitch in new ways and got to know some local womenpreneurs
• got Jim's Mowers in to remove the weeds and tidy the backyard so it looks much more presentable and inviting
• finished in the office today so I have tomorrow afternoon off while Miss J is at kindy...yay :)
• had a surprise accountability call from TCI which made me feel so validated and positive about my biz
• signed up to crew for the Dec intake with TCI (a huge step because there's no changing your mind once you say yes, it's gonna mean 3 11-hour days, I'll need solid childcare arrangements, and I am thinking of stepping up enough to drive myself to the city and home since it's daylight savings)
• added my details to the I Am A Business Owner In Victoria group on FB
  

I am excited about...

• coffee chat tomorrow with a delightful young friend who has shown a great interest in my coaching journey
• appointment with Wyndham Council on Mon to see the biz devt officer about all the resources and opportunities available to new biz
• tomorrow night's needs assessment phone session with someone I met at a seminar more than 2 months ago and developed a rapport with
• working out my biz vision and mission statement after tonight's webinar with the ever-helpful and generous coach Meg Filip.
  

What Does Success Mean To You?

On tonight's Conversations With A Master Coach webinar, the facilitator asked how we celebrate the successes and little milestones on our coaching journey.

I'll just blog about mine here.

I can think of at least two successes I want to give myself a pat on the back for today.

One. I had a Parent-Teacher Interview this afternoon and couldn't really think of what to ask Beth's teacher, except to give her a heads up about the possibility that we might be changing schools next year.

She was understandably taken aback, concerned and sorry at the prospect of losing an academically inclined student, but fully understood that there are some decisions we just have to make.

Confession: I am and have always been a sook. The kind of person who cries over other people's sad stories, when watching sad movies, or because the other person is crying. I can't trust myself to hold it in and maintain a dignified appearance, however hard I try to program myself internally. I'm just wired that way.

But today, as I watched the panorama of emotion unfold on the teacher's face and read in it compassion, kindness and sincerity from one human to another, I felt a surge of power from within.

The imbalance that usually puts me on edge when I'm in the presence of an authoritative figure...Gone.

The physical tremors and feeling of coldness that usually come over me when I feel I have to defend or justify my actions...Gone.

The tears that automatically well up when I'm on the receiving end of someone's pity, which somehow triggers a "Poor me" reaction which makes me feel even more helpless and hopeless...Gone.

In its place was a sense of personal power, purpose and focus. I was actually able to manage my state and communicate as one equal to another. That to me is amazing because I tend to be easily overawed by others, especially authority figures like teachers, officials, religious leaders, and just anyone who seems supremely confident and certain of themselves.

Our little 15-minute chat went overtime because we were both so intensely in sync - for the first time all year - talking not only about Beth, but also about what I am doing in terms of career and studies. The teacher's curiosity gave me the opportunity to share about my coaching training and what coaching means and how it helps others. I was even able to give her a link to where I post the articles I write.

Two. I decided to email the teacher to say thank you.

But I didn't stop there, as I normally do.

I decided to make a reference to what we'd discussed by inserting two little 'P.S.'es: a link to my career website with a request for feedback, and an invitation to chat further about how my coaching knowledge might help the school community.

That latter bit, the call to action and the implied putting myself out there ("This is me, Serena Tan, doing what I love and looking to share it with those who are ready and willing to change"), is another milestone for me.

I have spent most of my life being invisible by choice, for fear of being in the spotlight. But I know I am doing myself and others a disservice if I fail to let my light shine. So even though I feel the fear (of the unknown, of not being good enough etc etc), I am doing it anyway.

Embracing the uncertainty.

Saying yes and working out how as I go along.

Forcing the ripple effect with one conscious, purposeful act.

Just to see where it leads.

Because I want to know where playing at 100% will take me to.

And if it doesn't work out, it's not failure. It's only feedback, nothing personal.

Two simple acts inspired in part by the life-changing training and resources TCI has given me.

This - to me - is Success.

What is your definition of Success?

Invitation to see Dr John Demartini

What hubby is going for that I'd like to go for if it wasn't on a week night in the city!

====================================================

Dr Demartini had a vision to connect with ‘A-List’ celebrities whose work he admired.

Many would be daunted by the idea of meeting personally with these mega-stars. After all, you can’t just call them up for coffee.And they’re highly guarded by ‘gatekeepers’.

But, Dr Demartini wasn’t daunted.

He created a list of the ‘A-Listers’ he wanted to meet. Then he applied his ‘Influence Secrets’ and was able to meet…not one of them… not two of them….or even three of them.

But he personally met every single one of the celebrities on his list.

Some of them even became clients. And these were not ‘B grade stars’. These were people like Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone. He even appeared in a movie with Hugh Jackman.

This is the highest level of influence - to set an intention and make it happen fast.

*******************************************

Click here to join Dr John Demartini at the Secrets of Influence event - FREE

*******************************************

Imagine if you could master this skill. You could meet who you want…when you want…and then influence them ethically for ‘win-win’ results…in your health, wealth and relationships.

This sort of skill is rarely taught. And those that have this ‘gift’ often don’t know how to explain how they do it! They just do it.

The good news is Dr John Demartini is going to teach exactly you how to master the magic of influence - step-by-step at the Influence and Leadership Masterclass in your city.

*******************************************

Click here to join Dr John Demartini at the Secrets of Influence event - FREE

*******************************************

See you there,

Greg

P.S. Last time Dr John Demartini came to Australia nearly 2000 people flocked to see him. This time could be even bigger as news of his genius spreads.

Grab your FREE Ticket now while there’s still time

Click here to join Dr John Demartini at the Secrets of Influence event - FREE

The Grapevine Story

Reproduced from the latest newsletter sent out to subscribers of my website:

Vines have been on my mind a lot lately.

Just outside my kitchen window is a sprawling grapevine planted by the people that used to live in our house.

The grapevine has spread all across the underside of the pergola, forming a lovely cool canopy in summer. Tendrils twirl around the washing line. When random vines intertwine, they form a bond so strong it can only be severed by a pair of secateurs.

The funny thing about the vines is: the more I prune them, the faster they seem to grow. They practically beg to be trimmed, leaning down into my face so that I walk right into them and have to notice their presence.

Nature has a lesson for us here.

As we go through life, there are times of reaping and harvest, when everything goes smoothly and it feels like life can't get more wonderful than this.

Then there are times of setbacks and challenges, the valley times, when every step is pain and struggle and loneliness.

When bad things happen, some people react as if they have been punished.

"Why is this happening?"

"Why me?"

"What have I done to deserve this?"

How Pruning Leads To New Growth

I prefer to think of hard times as a time of Pruning.

According to How To Grow Grapes: Choosing Varieties, Vines, Pruning, Trellis

by Linette Gerlach, there are two very good reasons for regularly pruning your grapevine.

One: Pruning allows maximum airflow and sunshine to reach the fruit. If you do not prune, you will have less fruit, and the fruit you do get will be smaller in size.

Two: If you do not prune, your grapevine will become unruly and harvest time will be tough.

I believe the same applies to how we live our lives. You and I are the vine, and our families, relationships, careers - all the things to which we daily apply our energy and creativity - are the fruits.

If we do not regularly perform a self-check to weed out the things that impede our personal growth - bad habits, false beliefs, an unhealthy lifestyle, poor relationships - we will find at the end of the journey that the fruits we produce are less powerful, less lasting, less sweet, and fewer than they might have been.

Every day is a good day to pause and check what needs to be pruned from our lives, so that we can grow Stronger, Bigger, Better.

Why not make a start today?

See you next month.

---

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

The more difficulties one has to encounter, within and without,
the more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.

Horace Bushnell

Seeds of faith are always within us;
sometimes it takes a crisis to nourish and encourage their growth.

Susan Taylor

Traffic stats 2 years on...

Just checked in to my page to view this month's traffic.

I actually haven't done anything with the site for a long time, so it's great to see that traffic continues to grow notwithstanding.

I'm beginning to see the power of the internet and how a one-time-effort can lead to organic growth. Amazing.

FB Fan Stats

Am learning to detach from FB fan numbers and to allow for variations.

The first time the number dropped by one, I panicked. What had gone wrong? Why had someone dropped me off their Like list? On and on I went, doing vicious loops in my head.

I am now practising the art of detachment.

When I first click on the 'Adverts and Pages' tab, I take a quick breath and picture a number in my head.

Funnily, about 90+% of the time, that number is exactly right.

Today's count is 107, and I'm wondering: where have all the new people come from?

It strikes me as supremely ironic that during the period that I've deliberately absented myself from FB, the numbers have actually crept up by themselves with no frantic effort from me.

Car Boot Sale #3 (Sept 2010)

Had an amazing, inspiring, educational day today.

Went without expectations and even with a little dread. Did I want to sit around for 4 hours - again - trying to look busy and cheerful even when there are few passersby?

As it turned out, I had interesting, deep conversations with the lovely ladies running stalls on either side - Fiona and Karin.

It was unexpected cos I'm an introvert. I don't get my energy from talking with people, especially people I don't know; socialising can be mentally and physically draining. I need to be in a certain mood and head space to want to reach out and make that connection.

Today, I tried to focus on the other person and just flow along with the conversation.

It's what Michael Oliver calls Natural Selling, except I had made a decision not to think about selling or what was in it for me. So I managed to avoid one of those potentially costly faux pas: constantly glancing sideways to see if anyone was stopping by my stall. The result was that I was able to give the other person my fullest concentration and respect and acknowledge what they said instead of making presumptious comments.

The outcome? A meaningful connection, a sharing of life stories, and the seeds of future friendship were sowed. One lady ordered two items off me, my Sale Of The Day. The other gave me plenty of useful advice about selling, based on her retail experience. She told me I am friendly and have a nice smile, and that a business is often built from word-of-mouth referrals.

I was blessed also to have my 3 yo come along for company. She is a social magnet, with the kind of personality that has strangers saying how cute/gorgeous/adorable she is. She certainly kept herself busy. I had brought along a preschool activity book that she worked through for a while. We had muffins and shared a sausage. Then her friends the Sawyer boys came by, and she was off to play, get carried around and learn Snap.

I am particularly grateful for the unsought blessings: the gentleman who wandered by with his 6 mo baby girl quietly sitting in her pram, who shared about his digestive problems and intolerance to wheat. I was able to give him info about Fast-Tract and In-Liven. Turns out he teaches at Beth's school. The world has just grown smaller - again.

Our home group member Jenny, a fantastic cook and very organized, efficient lady, brought a friend by to see my stuff. She did all the sales talk for me, emphasizing how little she has to use because one pump is all she needs, and how she loves the pump bottle that the foundation come in because it clearly shows how much product is left in the bottle; as the bottle gets used up the marker rises. That's something I had never thought about and can now use for my next marketing exercise. Must thank her for the kindness and favour.

All in, my third Car Boot Sale has been a SUCCESS in every way.

Traffic stats review for Career-Change-Confidence.com

Number of visitors in August - 971 -whoa, highest ever since the site started! :)

Average: 32 visitors a day

I'd love to claim that as a SUCCESS.

PS. Checked stats today and the number's up to 1006!
Where did they all come from?
That's AMAZING!
*victory dance*

How NOT to run a market stall

Had my second crack at running a market stall today.

While I had mentally psyched myself to detach from the outcome and to just make this an exercise in gaining exposure and developing conversation skills, it still felt GALLING to sit there for hours with people just swishing by with barely a glance at my table.

Some bypassed it altogether.

Perhaps the worst was having people actually STOPPING to look at my products - while I was across the room having a chat with another stallholder, and unable to get away for fear of being rude!

Cost of hiring stall: $20
Time spent packing, setting up and unpacking: 1 hour (assume $40)
Time spent at market: 4 hours ($40 x 4 = $160)
Revenue: $xx
Nett revenue after subtracting cost of my time: $ -xxx :(
Gain from embracing fear, trying something outside my comfort zone and chatting with strangers and friends: PRICELESS

How To Succeed In Biz As An Introvert

I've written on this subject before, but today, I learned another valuable lesson.

Every introvert who wants to succeed in marketing herself and her biz needs an extrovert on her side.

Mine's Steph Davy of Learning Ladder. We've known each other for about 6 months now, mostly with me buying books off her for my kids and as birthday gifts. Recently, she became a Miessence customer and I was so thrilled, especially as she loved the products enough to say so on FB.

Disillusioned by my meagre 'like' numbers on FB, I put out a general call for help yesterday and today added 11 new likers, most sent by Steph. I think her friends alone accounted for 8 of those likes.

Such is the power of leverage.

Will have to do more work to find out how to apply this latest revelation.

Forcing The Introvert To Converse

I have just made a commitment to run a market stall on the first Sat of each month between Aug and Dec.

The aims:

• to promote my ONE Group business and products
• to have an excuse to talk with people about their needs and wants and see if my product and/or biz opp is the solution to their problem
• to get to know the other stall holders esp. those who are not HXUCA attendees, and look for opportunities to win them for Christ.

By Christmas, I will have a very good idea if markets are a boon or bane to my biz, and whether I should persist with this biz at all or just relegate it to hobby status.

Self-evaluation at the halfway mark

I am feeling restless again.

I feel like I am not living up to my fullest potential.

I need to write, coach and mentor full-time, or as fully as possible around my family and church commitments. But it's not happening.

Whichever way I do it, I run into the Scylla and Charybdis of sales and marketing.

Question 1: What do I best love doing? Answer as above.

Question 2: How do I make it profitable enough to be a regular, reasonable stream of income?

Question 3: Why would someone come to me for their writing or coaching needs when there are so many more competent, confident and experienced pros out there?

I'm stuck at 2 and 3. And I never seem to find a way around it.

I know the importance of sales and marketing, the need to be upfront about my business and my abilities.

But I can't translate it into something viable and long-term.

I've got SBI at work on my careers site and SiteSell Services for my supplements site. The numbers are nowhere near what is needed for good solid traffic. And I've yet to make a single online sale.

I need someone to look at my sites and tell me what I'm doing wrong and what I need to do to get back on track.

For my ONE Group organics biz, I love the products but struggle with talking about them. I need to know what are the best channels of marketing. My hubby doesn't support markets; he thinks they are a poor investment for 4 hours and $20. Especially as he then has to ferry B to music class and take J along. Lots of the mums on FB who are WAHPs and WAHMs do markets, particularly for handmade things like clothing and accessories. I haven't seen anyone else do organics yet at our monthly market so I haven't anything to gauge against.

I'm on FB everyday studying what the more active WAHPs do and learning from them. Shoutouts. Referrals. Article writing. Self-promotion. When I'm not feeling up to it, all this social networking feels so shallow. Who am I kidding with my 64 likes? What difference am I making in the world? Who should I be marketing to? People who love organics? People who are interested in their health? Parents?

I guess I have to try everything to see what works best don't I?

With coaching, the same issues come up. I'm not a certified coach (though I know I don't have to be), and I don't know how to bring in paying clients. Why would someone come to me for advice? What do I know that's so amazing that others can't provide?

I need direction and wisdom God. I can't do this alone. Please show me the way you want me to go, the way you want me to live. Help me do what is right and needful and avoid what is trivial, time-wasting and does not serve your purposes. Help me live fully in the joy of what you have already provided and blessed me with. Amen.

Wedding Anniversary (12 July 1997)

13 years ago today, I said "I do" to CA.

Has it been that long? Sure doesn't feel that way.

To God who gave us the faith, courage and strength to take that huge step and who has sustained in us an attitude of love, mutual encouragement and gratitude, all thanks and praise.

I couldn't have done it without You.

Opening My Golden Mouth

When I was growing up, my mum used to call me Golden Mouth. She said I had trouble opening my mouth (to speak up, to respond to requests I didn't like), so it must be made of gold, so precious. LOL

And she was right. Even though I am going on 40, have had 2 children, am happily married, enjoyed a prestigious, financially rewarding job in law for 11 years etc etc, I still have trouble opening my mouth to ask for things, to express an opinion, to engage in a discussion.

I battle constantly with a feeling of unworthiness. Of not being smart enough or knowledgeable enough. Of not knowing the right words to say. Of looking foolish. So I prefer to smile and hover in the background.

Which is all very well if you are contented to spend the rest of your life under everyone's radar, never fully being yourself and never daring to dream big.

But here in AUS, it's everyone for himself. If you don't ask, you don't get.

Today, I finally learned to embrace the risk and ask for something I wanted.

But first, some context.

There is this lovely lady (LL) I met at a market who sells books and educational resources through a network marketing plan. I've bought a fair amount of stuff (all of excellent quality) off her for my children and constantly marvel at her exuberance, marketing flair and confidence. She always knows exactly what to say to people to bring out their best, and she's such a natural at selling. She's constantly on the go, organizing and attending parties and fundraisers and market stalls.

No wonder she made sales leader in less than a year of joining the company...

Unlike me. I work with one of the best in the market for certified organics and I believe in my products. It's telling people about them that's hard.

What do I say in my marketing emails?
Who can I email without being accused of spamming or compromising a friendship?
What do I say on FB beyond shout-outs, industry updates and the latest promotion?
How do I follow up when someone shows a glimmer of interest?
How do I respond when someone talks about their personal or health problems?

So back to LL.

Today, she messaged to say she's got my thesaurus and she's coming by to deliver it.

And I thought: so far our relationship has been pretty one-sided. It's all about me buying her products. I've never even once had a chat with her about her health needs or how my products might be able to help her.

So I decided: I'm going to ASK.

I didn't even know what I was going to say. I rehearsed various possibilities and configurations in my head, and eventually settled on "Would you like to get together for a chat one of these days about your skin care needs - I know you like aromatherapy - or would you prefer me to give you a catalog and you can browse through it in your own time?"

In faith, I went to the car and got out my ONE AND ONLY catalog, which I'd been meaning to give to a friend who'd mentioned her skin breakouts. I also inserted the pricing list that I'd JUST printed off to give to another friend who had asked for it.

Soon enough, LL was at my doorstep. At the first natural pause after I'd handed over the money, I said pretty much what I'd scripted in my head.

And you know what she said?

"Sure! In fact, I was going to ask about your Healthy Hair Pack because my husband has psoriasis on his scalp. And I have a friend who's running a fundraiser at Mossfiel Kindergarten in Sep and is looking for stalls. Do you think you might have enough product to do a display? It's just $10 to book a stall."

Which of course made it easy for me to hand her the catalog and pricing list and remind her that the Healthy Hair Pack will be at the discounted price I'd emailed her previously.

So just by opening my Golden Mouth, I've got the possibility of new business flowing into my life.

How great is that?

Thank you God for the courage to speak, and wisdom to speak at the right time using the right words.

Thank you for showing me that when I ask, I will receive, just as you promised in Matthew 7:7-8.

Enlarging My Territory

The Lord has been challenging me into new areas of ministry. I am reminded of the prayer of Jabez, even though I have not specifically asked for my territory to be enlarged:

And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, "Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain." So God granted him what he requested.

I Chronicles 4:10 NKJV

Our regular Sunday School coordinator has stepped down to focus on other ministries that she feels God is calling her into. This opened the way for a new coordinator to step in (my husband!) and an opportunity to brainstorm new ideas and new ways of running SS. I have volunteered to run SS in Term 2, and last Sunday, the coordinator announced this fact to the congregation, and asked for volunteer helpers to assist me. Two persons have stepped forward.

What's particularly exciting is that one of them is gifted in dance and movement. I have been wanting to include an element of music and movement in SS and her offer of help is perfectly timely. She's the wife of our worship leader, and has been a professional dancer for years. As she's in her early 20s and very "with it", the kids will love her style. And I won't have to worry about being made to lead something that I'm lousy at!

The other lady is passionate about healthy living and wants to impart her knowledge to the children. This ties in perfectly with my health business and writing and gives me a new angle from which to teach the children the importance of taking care of their bodies and being good stewards of what God has given (life and health).

The SS coordinator also spoke with me recently about being included on a roster of volunteers to support a member of our church family who has a debilitating disease that affects her mobility. The volunteers will take turns to ring this member, check on her, visit her and take her on trips to the shops if necessary.

It is sobering to be confronted with the ravages of time and to acknowledge that more and more members of our family are aging and will need help to live in a dignified way as the years go by.

At the car boot sale on Sat, I had a long conversation with our resident artist. The result was an invitation to lunch at her place this Wed to have a look at some material she has written. I know she has developed an affection for our family and longs to have a more substantive role to play e.g. de facto granny to my girls. It is something to think about in the longer term. For now, I know God has led me into friendship with this lady for a purpose.

Another lady, the one who wants to help our SS kids learn healthy living, has also recently expressed an interest in my family and a desire to get to know me better. She is recently widowed but you wouldn't know it when you meet her. She is constantly joyful, praising God, reading her Bible, and busying herself with good works: hosting the main course for our church's progressive dinner last year, doing the flower arrangements for church, attending talks and learning something new, coming up with ideas to stimulate us spiritually. We plan to get together after her daughter's wedding in late April.

I just want to give God thanks that there are people out there who are thinking of our family's emotional and physical needs and offering to meet some of those needs.

Like our pastor's wife, who just last Sat offered to babysit our girls so that Calvin and I can have a night out by ourselves. (Although when we discussed it, we couldn't figure out where we would want to go or what we would do without the girls. How sad is that??)

It takes great effort and commitment to put up your hand and say you'll do this and that extra thing for someone just because you noticed that they have a need. I have often noticed that it is usually the individuals who already lead seemingly busy lives, who from the outside appear to have too much to do, who are the first to step forward.

What a humbling lesson for me, who often get sucked into my own busyness and forget to lift up my head and expand my view.

But that's not all.

At Sunday service yesterday, I was delighted and astonished to see a familiar elderly Chinese lady and her granddaughter. Her granddaughter Catherine and Beth used to be in the same swimming class at Wyndham Leisure Centre, and her daughter was then expecting her third child. The 3 generations would go swimming every Wed. While Catherine and Beth had their lesson, Grandma, Daughter and 2nd granddaughter Gabrielle would enjoy paddling in the shallow end.

The granny's name is Yang Bin and she comes from Xinjiang near Mongolia and Russia. She doesn't speak any English. She introduced me to her hubby, who had just set foot in Melbourne for the first time in his life. I did my best at speaking to them in Mandarin, and was pleased that Catherine felt able to share some of what's been happening at home.

Afterwards, I felt very disturbed to learn that they had walked all the way from Werribee (a 30-minute walk) to attend our church service, particularly when we drove past the Plaza and saw the three of them sitting on a grass patch - in the heat of the noonday sun. CA and I debated whether we should turn around and offer them a ride, but the thing is, they were killing time before attending the Chinese 2.30 pm service, and besides, we had a prior appointment with our friends.

What Would Jesus Do?

Had a weird thought on my way to my first camping trip EVER.

The four of us spent a night at the Great Ocean Road Tourist Park @ Peterborough in a 3-man dome tent. Hubby had meant to add an element of luxury by bringing a QS airbed. Except the airbed kept deflating in the middle so only our heads and feet were well cushioned. Not much fun when you're awake in the middle of the night trying to go back to sleep and your sore tailbone is just one thin layer removed from the hard ground beneath.

Anyway, reflecting on the camp, I thought: this is my 40th year. How about I give myself a birthday present by making a commitment to do things I've never attempted before or have avoided doing in my life?

So for Jan 2010 - camping outdoors.

Feb 2010 - setting up a stall at the church monthly market.

And for the rest of the year...

Learn to cycle.

Get into swimsuit.

Volunteer to teach one term of Sunday School.

Rejoin the musos, but perhaps in a different capacity (worship singer?).

Haven't put together a list of 12 yet, but I'm sure it'll slowly come together.

Wouldn't it be fun to look back and say this is the year I really LIVED?

Building A Site With Professional Help

I have swallowed my pride and asked for help with my second web site.

The first site is tortoise-ing along and I will continue experimenting with it. For now, it's a real-life example of how NOT to build a site.

The second is meant to funnel traffic to my organics site.

Products first, business building later. I know the money is in recruitment but at this point, I just can't bring myself to invite anyone to join my team. I just want to get as much product out there as possible to all the people who are looking for natural health solutions and natural alternatives to OTC drugs.

The easy part is paying for the coaching service.

Now comes the hard part: working with my coach to decide which KWs are best, what my Most Wanted Response is (traffic and product sales), writing KW-rich articles that she can use.

By Christmas 2010, I should know if I'm on track to achieve an independent stream of income from ONE Group.

Are We Doing It As Tough As They Tell Us?

Read this enormously interesting piece in the Domain newsletter today (Crying poor? Count your rooms and houses, and think again).

You know how the media and pollies keep telling us the average family is struggling with rising interest rates, defaulting on mortgages, struggling with the consequences of job loss etc etc?

The writer Ross Gittins has taken a counter view to prevailing opinion.

He observes that the person/s to blame for this pity party is ourselves.

Why are we upgrading to McMansions, renovating/altering existing houses and buying holiday homes?

Is anyone making us do it?

"We buy ourselves a fabulous new house, take on a huge mortgage then, when we find the payments a bit of a struggle, think of ways to blame it on the government or the banks.

And the media and the politicians - which sell themselves using self-pity rather than truth - encourage us. We take what's clearly a self-sought rise in our material standard of living and, driven by self-pity, mentally convert it into a rise in the cost of living."

That's what we need.

The inconvenient truth told like it is. Rather than the truth we prefer to hear.

*Update*

Just after I finished this post, I stumbled on to a serendipitously related article in the Brisbane Times: A Fate Worse Than Death. Enjoy.

The Next Step

I have now made it through the Group Interview and completed two class observations.

The next step is to book myself in for the audition, which I've just done.

It's going to be pretty interesting, just to detach myself mentally and see how far I can go with this.

As former Olympian and Masters athlete Helen Searle says, "The way I see it, that great MD in the sky gives you the genes and the gifts and it's up to you which way you use them."

The Power Of Vision Boards

I am reading The Answer: Grow Any Business, Achieve Financial Freedom, and Live an Extraordinary Lifeand have started putting together my own vision boards.

A vision board, also called a dream board, is a collage of powerful words and images that evoke and reflect your dreams, goals and vision for your life/business/career/relationships/anything really.

Authors John Assaraf and Murray Smith describe the vision board as "an especially powerful tool for imprinting your aspirations on your nonconscious brain", or more succinctly, "designing your future". (Love that phrase!)

You can see sample vision boards at www.johnassaraf.com, including a very cool one made up for Barack Obama when he was campaigning for the Democratic Party nomination. (Look where it got him!)

I decided to try my hand at crafting a vision board or two.

So now I've got one for my dream home (the one with the polished floorboards, views of the sea, timber slatted backyard fence and decked all-weather alfresco area).

And one for my life/work.

My 7 y.o. says she's going to create a vision board for herself too. :-)