I have a confession about a productivity guru shift of allegiance. I used to worship Getting Things Done (GTD) author David Allen. His system covered everything under the sun that needed tracking and systematizing in your life and business.

He had you look at the big picture, and then narrow down your vision to impeccably track the multitude of details. You could use paper, you could use digital tools – but you’d have a file or tickler for every thing under the sun you need to keep on top of.

In theory, this is an awesome system. But one of the complaints was – it was too detailed and took too long to set up. David would suggest you just take a weekend and put his system in place. Most found the weekend or several days didn’t cut it.

Possibly this was because you’d have to convert your whole system of files and information to his system, and then keep the work flowing and organized in that way. A big hurdle. You’d also have to keep working with the GTD system daily and weekly – another weak point for many.

Karen – if you’re listening – you were right. I hope you were able to recycle the GTD books I gave you. (She never was convinced of GTD – even if I insisted the author was one of the buddhas of business).

THE NEW RELIGION OF PRODUCTIVITY AND PRIORITIZING

At any rate friends, I have a new productivity religion to run by you. I read the book in a day or two, and that next week, I felt I increased productivity by a 33-50%. This is always a conglomeration of factors, granted. (I learned a neat mindset trick too that week via another book – I’m psyched to share that with you soon.)

But here’s the deal – this system is very very simple. I was going to say, there is no system, but that’s not true. It’s so darn simple, there is maybe an hour to set it up. And then it takes 18 minutes a day to stay on track with it – less for some.

If there is any criticism of Peter Bregman’s book and productivity guide, 18 Minutes, it’s that some may find it isn’t detailed enough – it’s too open-ended. But in this day and age, when distraction is threatening a full-scale takeover, this book may give you the boost you need, without the hours and total revamping of your current tracking and filing systems.

TIME TO ADMIT WE CAN’T DO IT ALL?

The book is called 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction and Get the Right Things Done. Ah, that subtitle gives the heart hope, doesn’t it? Here we are in January, looking over that vision list from last year, and … well, it’s not uncommon to have some of the same areas to put right back on that vision list.

Progress is made, but maybe not as much as hoped, eh?

The book is divided into four parts: Overview, Find your focus, Get the right things done, and Mastering distraction. The format is simple, and kind of cool. Those four sections each have short, bite-size chapters, with solid suggestions. And like any good book, there are stories to help illustrate the teaching – personal and business stories that really work.

The book has 46 chapters, and it’s my guess that each of us will resonate to the gems that are most relevant. In this way, the book will be one you’ll likely benefit from re-reading, as you master some of the skills. I’ll share my 5 big take-aways to give you an idea of some of Bregman’s wisdom.

1) You can juggle 5 things – manage 5 “projects”. Peter suggests you choose 3 business areas, and 2 personal areas to focus on for the year. Only 5 (first name fix). Then you only take on work and activities that relate to these areas. While not a new concept, he restates this with clarity and conviction. He makes the case that:

2) You can’t do it all. This is a mistake of the productivity gurus (sorry David). Maybe that was prior to 2012’s acceleration maze – when the current thinking was you could do it all, have it all – you just had to have a great system. No. Pick 5 things, and learn to say no.

3) Avoid switch-tasking. Wow, here’s a mind blower. Peter disagrees with the term multi-tasking. You can’t do two things at once, it’s true. And research shows not only is it more stressful, it’s just NOT effective. This will be a hard one to implement, but it resonates with me.

4) Saying when and where. Okay – you know the tasks for the week. And if you’re like me, you know you’re SUPPOSED to actually write those things in your calendar – but they don’t actually get there. Or, didn’t used to. That’s how the 33-50% more got done.

5) The value of getting things half right. Peter advises not that you “settle” for imperfection, but aim for it. Perfectionism stops more progress – it must be a first cousin of fear, don’tcha think? Uh-oh, I see a new comedy show. This concept prevented a lot more stalls (and was half of that mindset trick I mentioned), as I prepared for last week’s talk.

GET THE RIGHT THINGS DONE

So if you can’t get it all done, Bregman’s book just might help you get the right things done. And, it will certainly give you lots of little gems and food for thought to apply to your needs, and strengthen your ability to master distraction.

How might next January look, if you stay on task with that vision list?

Yours in making dreams reach reality,

Denise Barnes

Dear comrades and light bearers,

Congratulations. 2012 is here, and you are here. Not only that, we are here, meaning the throngs of light workers and the off world supervisors. Good to know you don’t have to do this alone.

It’s a massive project.

And frankly, most angelic upper crusts had their doubts you’d make it this far. Thus the current rush on instruction manuals. The force should be caught up with you by end of month.

For now we’d thought we remind you of a few broad strokes of the mission, this mission to help Earth you agreed to join. We know it is frustrating to have had to forget all the pre-birth designs that were discussed. This amnesia will help you develop needed qualities like trust and faith.

For those of you reading this ezine, one of the main channels you’ve chosen to heal is the money and business channel. This one is truly a mess. Thank you for your courage in joining this brigade.

Until the revised manuals arrive, please note the following areas for your undivided attention for the foreseeable future. (All of these are areas that Denise has been instructed to provide new programs for, so stay tuned for those.)

The New World Game Plan

1) Heal Money

All the bad ju ju around money and much of how you’ve done business with it won’t pass inspection over the threshold into the new world. Many on the planet will need your help to upgrade their programs and watch how the new business is done.

2) Step into your Genius

You each came here with a diamond level of a certain expertise. It is easy to get comfortable at the bronze level, but this will not be enough to save the world or give you ultimate satisfaction after death. More intelligence coming, but for now be open to ideas about how to expand your current level.

3) Hold Peace, Hope and Love

These old world energies will make the transition to the new world. Mission members are reminded that though this reality is very well-constructed, it is a mirage. Yes, you are working in the field, but you are not of this world. You have traveled here to help, but your true home is elsewhere and is not a battle ground. Thanks again for your bravery. It may help to conduct your life as if there are helpers in the ethers, and as if your birthright is a member of the immediate family of God, and all that’s cool that is.

4) Right Paradigms, Right Actions

For most of you, you have the necessary knowledge to take the next step that has been beckoning. This may be a big step, a beginning task of your true soul mission. From there the path unfolds, although not always in the way of old world linear planning. Lean into your intuition and give this step a try. Use what you know. Training and support is available if you find gaps in your knowledge; it should be holistic and fit the needs of your spiritual hologram. Go for it! We look forward to your report.

5) Give Back

These are ways you can circulate positive emissions for other mission brethren and the planet:

a) Be clear with money.

This involves both the practical side of living within means, as well as spiritual practices to attract more resources needed for the mission.

b) Shift fear and struggle to trust and ease.

Watch the words you use, and what you imagine as possible.

c) Invite right help. Be conscious of how you work, and the company you keep. Cultivate qualities that support the new world person you are becoming. It’s probably not the YOU NOW.

d) Be willing. To create and undergo life-changing change.

Game-changing change. That’s the mission. That’s why you are here now, at this time. And do not listen to the rumors. You are well-funded for this mission. Part of the game is to find the key to the treasury. This key is coded to be unlocked when you have applied all of your brilliance as a spiritual warrior.

This is Soul Mission Control. Feel free to send questions. Over and out. Above and below.

Speaking of the perfect gift …

This thing we call life, this little walk through the woods of Earth, has many paths. Just like all the parts and systems involved in creating a great business, our lives have many important parts. There are all of the aspects of you alone – body, mind, spirit – and all it takes to make those great – creativity, nutrition, exercise. There are all of the parts of the world outside you – work, spirituality, relationships – and the critical means of enhancing these – training, meditation, communication.

See how I’m just naming a few facets of this huge diamond? Imagine a ‘site map’ of life – both the individual and collective realms – it would be huge! In this season of giving, let’s drill down deep into the core. In all of the facets of the jewel of you, all the different sides of your walk through life, there’s a fundamental nucleus. There is an essence that can be seen as the gift of all gifts.

This gift is the genius within you. For many of you, your calling is finding a way to name, develop, and contribute this genius to the world.

JUST FOR FUN

Here are the synonyms listed for genius on thesaurus.com.

Einstein, ability, accomplishment, acumen, acuteness, adept, aptitude, aptness, astuteness,

bent, brain, brilliance, capability, capacity, creativity, discernment, endowment, expert, faculty, flair, grasp, head, imagination, inclination, ingenuity, inspiration, intelligence, inventiveness, knack, mature, originality, percipience, perspicacity, power, precocity, prodigy, propensity, prowess, reach, sagacity, superability, talent, turn, understanding, virtuoso, wisdom

Okay, back to the serious stuff.

THE PART OF GENIUS THAT’S ALL ABOUT YOU

You know that feeling when you’re using some of your genius, right? When you are doing this “good work”, time flies. It often doesn’t feel like work when you’re in the zone and have a good work environment. Isn’t it great when your being is activated in that way? That energy of full-on creative and yet centered activity – I like the term engaged peace to describe this.

All is right in your world – and often THE world, when you can connect, touch and share your gift. This deep genius of yours is so happy to be shared. (We could call it the ho of genius…)

YOUR CALLING

Honoring this gift in the form of your calling is bigger than you. It’s bigger than the feel-good state of having fun painting even, though this is way cool. Expressing your gift in the world through sharing your work so that it has its full impact on others takes your gift giving up a notch.

Honoring your gift and heeding the path of your calling – that’s when you give back this gift of all gifts. You give back to the creator and to the world. Anyway that you can touch your gift, nurture it, and express it – this changes others, and changes the world.

Some of you are here for what feels like some big reason, at a critical time of evolution. You fulfill a big part of the reason you’re here when you shine this light in any way you can. As intimidating as it can be sometimes to step forth with this sacred part of yourself, if you don’t, you’re holding out on us.

So don’t be stingy now. Shine friend shine.

And be sure to gift comments and questions below.

Soul Business Savvy Bottom Line:

There is a lot to manage in this life. There are many important things to juggle. If you are feeling that pressure to create more meaning, more ease with your business, and/or contribute more, you are not alone. Even a 10-20 minute a day practice, or some small amount of time per week, can start to resuscitate your gift if it’s been neglected. And if your gift is part of your business and your business isn’t yet supporting unabashed gift sharing, don’t fret – vee have vays to shift dis. Gift me a call.

Happy gift giving!!

Denise Barnes

Soul Biz Labor Pains are those contractions and pressurized passages that accompany expansion and growth of your business. And you are the vehicle for the work, as the soul business owner. I loved hearing from some of you about how part 1 of this article hit home, or was “on the nose”. Now we’ll move from what soul labor pains and contractions look like (part 2), to what they might mean to you and your business…Next time we’ll cover what to do.

So there you are. You had a great week with your business last week. You were all excited about the next steps. And then, you wake up Monday and, to quote the Runes, my favorite divining tool these days, “you may be experiencing an unaccustomed drain on your energy…”

Darn, you were sailing. It was going well. What happened to the motivation? The inspiration? And more importantly, what the heck does this mean? Maybe all that positive ju ju was just you kidding yourself? Maybe your business is playing tricks on you, kind of like a fatal attraction boyfriend intent on driving you a little crazy? Maybe, maybe, maybe you’re not quite cut out for this …

There can be messages afoot during the contractions that want to stop you or slow you down. And sometimes, you do have to stop. Stopping can be good. Then again, if you look at any system of growth and development, contraction is expected and natural. Out of the 25 Runes for example, a good quarter are challenging or disruptive energies. And, that’s not counting when you pick one reversed.

Sometimes you won’t have a clue until it passes… sometimes you’ll have a eureka! moment right in the middle of it. Certainly you can both search for clues, and get still. You’ll learn to work with these challenges more easily with each passing … ouch! And sometimes it won’t be the challenges that are hard – it’s the smooth sailing! Go figure…

For now, here are a few things these contractions and shut downs along the path can mean:

WHAT THE SOUL BIZ WHOA NELLIE MIGHT MEAN::

* You’re moving too fast, and could miss, or steamroll over, some important learning

* You need to clear a limiting belief before you expand to the next level (it will get in the way)

* You need more self care – you’re plum tuckered out, not having enough fun or creative juice

* Something else is off or some integrity gap needs attending to (addictions, relationship work)

* Your foundational biz systems need an infusion of more support or revamped design

* You need some refinement or training either creatively, in your biz or in your soul work

* It might be a project or direction isn’t quite right or some other adjustment is needed

* There is some divine timing and course correction or other celestial rearrangement afoot

According to the rune Isa, or Standstill – the reason this happens may be to loosen you from “old outmoded habits”. There can be a process to submit and surrender to, which can involve a bit of clearing, before another big expansion, or a rebirth.

Gay Hendricks, in his book, The Big Leap, talks about meditation and the challenge of returning to awareness. You never stop “losing it”. You will always space out from your focus while meditating – many times a minute, no matter how many years you’ve been practicing. What’s important, he notes, is the quality of your return. Is it with kindness to the self?

Many of my clients work with intention to create more of what they want, in life and business. One challenge there is that you can get a picture of what you want, in a way that inhibits the universe’s creativity in answering your request. This is why it’s crucial to know what the higher quality is of something you want, and what the features would be, and then – let it go.

For example, you may want to own land. The higher quality is like peace, calm groundedness. The features are room for raising food, animals, and being off the grid. Ideally, you fill out this vision as clearly as you can, in essence giving the universe a model of it. And then you let that whole thing go. It’s best to be willing to be surprised.

It’s amazing how many of us think it will look a certain way and require these steps, or that presentation, and all of a sudden, our desire is fulfilled in a completely unexpected way. So maybe you thought you needed to own land, but the essence/higher quality, and features get delivered to you in unexpected ways.

Next time we’ll talk about what you can do in these head and heart squeezing passages – how you can hone in on the signal and the meaning of your particular contraction. You are welcome to send me examples. Meanwhile, Hint: tenderness and kindness to yourself are a huge part of the work.

My best to your business,

Denise Barnes

Braxton Hicks contractions are a type of “false labor” pain pregnant women have, that according to WEB MD http://www.webmd.com/baby/labor-signs, are “your body’s way of getting ready for the “real thing.” How cool bodies are! And guess what – your soul business can have labor pains and contractions, during the cycles of growth and expansion.

Would it surprise you if your soul was just as miraculous as the body? Imagine if contractions, or discouraged passages, of the soul business kind were your soul’s way of prepping you for new levels of being and success.

Just like seeing the glass as half full, contraction before expansion may be a good way to frame the tightening, pressurized part of the cycle of growth. I mean, imagine a seed in the ground, brrreaaaakkking through its shell, sttrrreeeeeching up through the earth, finally rreeeaaaching light. Phew! It does sound a bit labor intensive there, hmm?

Well just as no woman in her right mind would say birth is a breeze, soul business owners are helped in understanding that the growth of a business involves some pressure and pushing. There will be ebb and flow, inhale and exhale, and other hip shaking gyrations of the dance. Contractions and expansions will happen many times in the course of your business.

It’s just that crazy thing called creation – on this planet in particular. In that time before tricorders, the magic wand depicted in Star Trek that was a iphone, scanner, hologram creator, and healer, all in one.

NO, YOU’RE NOT CRAZY OR LOST, AND YOU WON’T BE STUCK FOREVER IN THAT BUD SHAPE…

…though it may feel like endless stuckness at the time. The nature of cycles of growth and meaning, just like pregnancy, are unique rides for each of us. Just like pregnancy, you can get knowledge about some of what to expect, and how others experienced things. But all the details, the symptoms, the whys and hows are often colored by your unique soul mission, and where you are on that journey.

Never mind the fact that you are often healing lifetimes of weird money karma and bad business practices. Welcome to the 2012 portal! Glad you are aboard.

Let me name a few bullets here that can provide some guidance. I’ll elaborate on this idea in next week’s article, and give you links to the parent article as new bits are added.

WHAT SOUL LABOR PAINS / CONTRACTIONS CAN LOOK LIKE

* Zero motivation, high fatigue – you just can’t face another day in your business

* Loss of passion for the plan that made sense just a few days/hours ago

* Confusion, questioning of your plan, wondering if you should scrap the entire thing

* Self-flagellation for *not being productive * not having it more together * etc.

* Feeling a lack of worth, or an intensity of your limiting belief (I’m flawed, not good enough, smart enough, don’t have what it takes, etc.)

* Questioning of the breakthrough/great business idea you just had last week

* Fear and doubt that you’ll ever be able to pull off success, profit, making a difference

* Opportunity disguised as loss – a real loss of someone, or something, you hold dear

* Endless distractions and resistance to taking the next step

* Yeah, no fun in sight at these stages of the game

I often see contractions in the process of clients establishing their crucially important business portal – the entrance way, the shingle if you will, for their business. There is something huge about doing this in a clear way – maybe especially for light workers. Having a name and brand and target market, a niche, and naming the service highlight you’re an expert on – seems to push big buttons for many of my clients. I’ve seen it for myself too, as I’ve re-branded (or refined my branding message and who I serve). I’ll share some of these stories in future articles.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

I find the book, Creating Money, by S. Roman and D. Packer, a great support for the process of creating your life’s work. It’s one of those books that seems to have many layers of meaning embedded in it. I just keep it nearby and read it intentionally (i.e., find a chapter that relates to the current situation) – and also just open it and see where I land at other times. Here are a few quotes – the first intentional. The second one I let spirit share, just opening at random.

1) “Remember, there is a period of inner work before changes take place. You may be changing your thoughts, reevaluating your life, observing things from a new perspective, and gathering the energy needed to make a change. The greater the outer changes you want to make, the greater the inner changes that must be made first.” Page 155 (The inner changes – are what the second bullet above refers to.)

2) “As you follow your higher path, the more you will find everything working in miraculous and easy ways. This is not to say that you won’t be challenged, for challenges help you to gain strength and confidence. Your dreams will come true as you follow your feelings of joy, delight, and self-love.” Page 67

Sounds good, I know. Feels pretty stuck and slow though. So while you’re in slo mo, remember, these are also good times to give yourself credit for all that you have gotten through and cleared – to get as far as you are now. This is a major major achievement friend, regardless of where it goes from here.

Next time we’ll talk about what contraction phases can mean, and what you can do in these squeeze, breathe, and PUSH moments. Until then, I wish you great tenderness toward yourself and your soul’s growth process.

Blessings and big, deep breaths,

Denise Barnes

Let’s look at why this hero-ine’s journey can be so fraught with challenges for folks like us. Even when the soul work peace is copacetic, other life challenges can rock your boat. Let me know if this resonates . . . You can email me for a complimentary strategy session if so. The more I clarify my mission, the more I’d like to help with yours. 

Bill Griffith’s comic strip philosopher Zippy’s quote, “Are we having fun yet?” became so iconic it is featured in Barlett’s Familiar Quotations. For the soul-based entrepreneur, that type of question would examine about four complicated areas before getting simplified to the question, Are we satisfying our soul mission with ease yet? Ha ha. Excuse me if my chuckle seems a bit forced – this heroine’s journey can sure be challenging to master!

Well, aren’t you glad it wasn’t boring and so simple it’s over already? That would be no fun, now, would it? Still, lest we spend too many more years flailing and upping the Prozac, I’m going to name four areas one needs to master to reach the happy dance place of Yes, I’m doing the soul mission. Plus I’m happy, I’m balanced, money’s wonderful, and I’m having a good hair day.

Now that happy dance of soul work success has more steps than 7 lifetimes of T’ai Chi training, so … don’t feel bad if you’ve been more like the wallflower in that dance club. It’s more than we’ve ever attempted before, to have all these pieces working together.

In other lives, we just had to survive a few decades, or have babies. Now we’re asked to do all that, plus bring our genius and money together, and have sophisticated discussions and good lovin’. Yep it’s a big job, and all eyes are on us now. No pressure though… I’m sure Zippy would have a nice reframe for that last bit. Well, I guess he has already, hasn’t he – the all-encompassing, Are we having fun yet?

Let me know if you think I’ve left anything out of this hike of all ages. Now, keep in mind, these four areas are in addition to all of the chop wood, carry water, change babies/put them through college/have a great sex life, and stay fit and eat healthy stuff. All of that’s just assumed. Right, I know. Okay – here goes.

1) Keeping the soul mission / creative spark alive

Yep, this is the one that took all these lifetimes to hone to it’s current light-filled jewel. Oh jeez, I’m wheezing here, thinking of all those past lives we were so skillfully thwarted from our soul art skills. And none too gently – wars, famines, plagues, early deaths, losses too huge to manage, insanity, jealous competitors, star-crossed love relationships that broke our hearts and left us in heaps of unmotivated protoplasm, and other mayhem. Of course, there was always that mindset challenge – more on that later – of believing you could do it, that your soul work was good enough, that you weren’t angering god or man by putting your beauty out there, etc.

The gift you now hold XXXX took lifetimes of pain and struggle to become what it is now. And yes, this life will ask you to not only keep clarifying and honing this genius – this life will ask you to integrate many more pieces of balance and skill and earthly money power with that precious flower.

So whatever brilliant whisp of your soul’s breath is still with you, be it on oxygen tank or IV, take a moment now to salute it with high honor. Give yourself and this soul candle a bow. And know that it is your job, whatever it takes, to keep that sucker alive and breathing, for just a little while longer. The end game will be having this baby thriving and shining – keep that in mind when the going feels more like torture akin to the middle ages. It’s probably just a flashback.

2) Business training

I’m sorry to break this to you, and yes, the gods must be crazy. But unless you have the ability to farm this out, and hire excellent teams right away (i.e., mucho capital), most soul gift holders will need to learn business savvy. Oh dear, and if ever there were a maze that could outsmart and quicksand-cement-shoe the most brilliant adept, business training is it. You can get lost for lifetimes here! Plus, you might need a day job in the meantime. Oh, right – didn’t even mention this in that list above of the OTHER things you’d need to be doing while you master soul money work.

The good news is, business training is just another brand of soul wizard training. Need to work on communication skills? That will be come apparent soon enough, as will the need to tweak clarity of intention, fearlessness with money, articulating your soul’s gift and the way it helps others, and showing up over and over again to your next big step in completing your soul genius’ journey.

This sentence from Ralph Blum’s, The Runes of Runes, comes to mind:

A lot of hard work can be involved in a time of transformation. Undertake to do it joyfully. (Yep, sometimes that one’s easier said than done with business school. Just give it the old college try, if you can.)

3) Mindset wizardry

Do you like Harry Potter and other mystical adventure stories? Well XXX, the life you will step into, once you’ve chosen the soul gift money journey, will blow the roof off Harry Potter. Creation is all about mindset, just ask God (see this issue for instructions on chatting with the divine). And changing your mindset from let’s say oh, a starving artist, to say, a thriving rock star… well, it’s basically defeating what’s his name… the one who can’t be named – Voldemort – over and over again. Sorry, and yes, there is lots of repetition in this journey – supposedly we learn well with that over and over again thing.

The cycles of this healing dance started long before birth. Interesting that your birth will often name the main themes and issues you’ll face in your unfolding, in full storybook mode. In your creative process, in your expansions and ceiling raising, you’ll face these issues – over and over again. Birthed with drugs and forceps, fell on your head, mom was asleep? No problem. Part of this path is reprogramming all difficult births to well supported, well breath-coached triumphs of emergence. This is where every belief and fear you have about you, or the world, will get healed. We have to undo a lot of past, and present, life trauma with this one.

Is life or business a struggle? Is it always something that’s got you stuck, as Gilda Radner would say? It is nigh impossible to have money and love? Money and meaningful work? Hit a big WHOA when you start to step into more visibility, power, success? That’s all mindset stuff. Sure makes the story interesting and dramatic, eh? And in the mystical adventure called your life’s work, there are always frontiers of learning.

4) Integrity gap closing

Similar to mindset work but looking more at the big picture of your life and lifetime history, integrity gaps are those places you’re not being honest or living up to full soulhumanhood in the day to day functioning. Now the thing to avoid here is blanket generalizations – such as, all smokers or overweight people or chocolate obsessors or porn readers are out of integrity. Nope, it’s not that simple – one man’s vice is often another man’s virtue. This planet is an experiment in excessive diversity and big ambiguity for THE ONE WAY FOR ALL, if you hadn’t noticed.

Each of us knows or can guess what area of life is out of balance. Success may elude you until you plug the holes in these gaps. Plug one gap up and sometimes the next one raises it’s hand. Our healing themes of our creation/healing cycles repeat themselves and show up in many manifestations. Kind of magic, the way that happens.

Sometimes you must regress to more ancient ways of coping, say comfort eating and weight gain, to get through a particularly hairy creative passage, or success expansion with your business. Once through the birth canal of that anxiety-producing ship wreck, you can once again pick up the fitness/food regime. Yes, the ideal is full blown balance without regression, but there are priorities to manage, and many times you do the best you can. Every soul has a master plan, thank the fairies… It just may not always be apparent to us, while we’re hanging on for dear life.

AND A DEAR LIFE IT IS

We may not call it one from the hammock files when we share the stories and mead around the campfire after this life. There may be many tales of white-knuckle journeys, many vessels lost to the storms. So keep in mind, it’s a constant juggle of a journey. Remember Zippy’s question amidst all of yours. Hold in heart and mind what the essence of success would look like for you. Sometimes it’s s imply keeping the gift alive, or living in balance with the day job and soul hobby for now. You get to define success, and what soul rockstardom looks like for you.

Blessings on your soul business,

Denise

The other day I went to a gathering, and was speaking to a woman I just met. Several of us in the circle admired her gold silk dress. She nodded and looked a little uncomfortable for a moment. Then she said, “Gotta tell you, Salvation Army all the way!”

Just stop and check in for a moment – I’m curious how that statement hits you. In the past, I might have a type of “High five sister, I’m there too” response. This is exactly what she mentioned when I inquired further, too. She make the salvation statement because she figured she was talking to her people, like-minded bargain hunters or similar kin. Maybe it was a way to level the ground with her beauty, versus stand out for a bit. And everybody loves a deal, so the saying goes, right?

I couldn’t NOT comment though, and asked her how that sharing worked for her. She was fast, and said, yes, it made her feel poor. In fact, she has a lot of expensive things she doesn’t wear. In fact, she has some money struggles. In fact, what she might have said instead, and it would have left a much better taste in her psyche, would have been, “Thank You”. Big breath… silence. Receive the compliment… just bask in the glow of the gold dress and your beauty being admired, which the dress is just a layer of.

Words and deeds are so powerful. Let’s look at how your bargain hunter might impact how your clients hire and pay you. I was reminded of this at a workshop in July that Pamela Bruner gave. I can still hear the echo of my “Doh!” and my own desire to reform my inner bargain hunter a wee bit.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Another common statement that defies the bargain logic – you get what you pay for. You get cheap prices, you’ll get cheap products. Built to last – not anymore it seems. “Built to require you to buy newer better models to replace your current model, and fill our burgeoning landfills” is more the norm in the latest cycle of the industrial revolution. Good quality is now rare, and thus stands out.

BUYING AND SELLING STYLE, AND HOW YOUR CLIENTS REFLECT YOUR INNER GERTRUDE

Let’s look at some possible buying styles, some corresponding selling styles, and how they might influence client sign ups to your services and programs.

The Bargain Hunter:

“All hail! Look at what I found at Good Will!” Okay, calm down Gertrude (might be good to give your Inner Bargain Hunter(IBH) a funky name, and see her dressed up in fitting fashions – (establish some distance!) Good job Gertrude. Can you take a (back) seat for a moment?

The bargain hunter is always looking for the lowest price. Quality can be considered, but also can be compromised at times. It takes a lot of time to dig out those best bargains sometimes, sometimes you get lucky. After a while, buying something at the “regular” or in the “normal” price range feels like a transgression, or just something you don’t ever do. And, your income may match that.

When you are selling, and trying to attract clients, what do you think happens if your IBH is your expense account driver? Well, if our clients sometimes/often reflect what you are putting out, they might be looking for cheaper providers. They might like what they see, but say to themselves, “Well, I don’t buy full priced items/services. I need to find a bargain, some huge discount to feel good about that purchase.” After all, let’s hope you’re not the cheapest kid on the block. And if you are, guess what. These bargain hunters will find a lower price. Or if they hire you, they might not be the most ideal clients to work with.

The Endless Market Researcher

Google can be a good thing, but internet research can be an endless process for some. If you need to buy a mattress or a car, and you research it to the extent that it could turn out to be a published scientific study, what’s going on there? Again, like all of these buying/selling styles, they can have a good side, and this one can be certainly more informed than the more impulsive buyer. The down side? There’s a point when the research is a front for deeper anxiety and worth issues, as many of these styles are.

When you have this buying style and are selling programs or services, you may have a hard time getting the offer out the door. You may tirelessly compare your program and services to what’s out there, and lose confidence or momentum. You may get so bogged down in the details, that you pass this on to your client, and kind of lose the forest (the solution you offer), for the trees (the features). If this is your buying style, you may get a lot of “I need to take more time to think about this” at the end of your sales conversations.

The Second Guesser

While decision making is a straightforward affair for some of you, there are those of you who might feel that the door is open for ahem, negotiation, even renegging, after decisions are made. You take the leap, but you’re constantly looking back. Your regrets or questions and wonderings tend to deter you from the diamond focus needed to back up your leap with clear action and further progress.

You know how uncomfortable it can be to support someone who is ruminating and going over and over a decision? Luckily there are tools that help with this. If you have this style, don’t be surprised if you see a bit of hemming and hawing in your work to attract clients. Unfortunately, this second guessing may not stop once your hired, in these cases. This can be a bummer when you have that joy at enrolling someone, followed by that pain of refunding or renegotiating a sale.

OH BUGGERS – WHAT TO DO?

In the sacred and spiritual path of business, that ol’ soul mastery with business dance, looking at your own buying style is a powerful practice in informing your process of enrolling and attracting clients. If it’s all good, no worries, and wow – give yourself a lot of credit. And yes, teach a class for us, okay?

If you have some of the above influences that may be impeding your empowered purchasing as well as your client income stream, here are two actions to take:

Step one: Awareness

Watch the next time you need to buy something. Whether it’s a small or large item, it can give lots of good information. Some things are simple and easy – regular practices of food buying for example – might seem untroubled. But it’s funny how certain price ranges might be off limits, out of the question or off the chart of possibility for us. So just watch, especially with big purchases, really track the details of the process. Watch the emotions, fears, ease, and the insight you gain about how your client attraction might be impacted.

A key point here to check out – do you buy your own services? If you’re a massage therapist or a coach, do you purchase these services for yourself? And if so, how do you do that? If not, what is your reasoning? Inquire within and even with potential clients – is your own rationale being mirrored by the clients showing up, or walking past, your door?

Step two: Shapeshifting

If you do identify less than ideal buying patterns for yourself, and name the fears under them, play with a new approach. Start small. For example with grocery shopping, if an item is off limits, try buying it for a change. Take on the identity, and expand or shape shift into who’d you be if buying that was a bit easier and less out of reach. I don’t advocate going overboard here if you’re working with limited funds, but there is a truth about many successful business people that is relevant here. Many have to invest money they don’t have to take a leap. Now in these cases, their ROI (return of investment) is often calculate ahead of time, and the second guessing is replaced by right action that leads to positive returns. So design a few shape shifting experiments, and loosen the identification you have with your old style, if it’s based on scarcity, competition and/or fear.

Soul Savvy Bottom Line:

It’s one thing to be thrifty and you know I commend living within your means as a empowering spiritual practice. Just the other day I cancelled a hair appointment when I found out that the price would be higher than my usual standard. The good news here was, I’d done the work with the spending plan, and really wanted to stick with it.

That said, if you are having trouble attracting clients, this little window of inquiring about your own buying style can be a rewarding and profitable study. If you are in need of buying services to strengthen your own business, or invest in your own health, keep an eye on how this stretch comes back to your business zone, and pays you forward.

Bows to your soul, blessings to your business,

Denise Barnes