Water: What we need to learn from the Kalahari Bushmen

Dr.Moira Gunn catches up with author, James Workman to talk about his book, Heart of Dryness: How the Last Bushman Can Help Us Endure the Coming Age of Permanent Drought and what many feel has become the primary resource battleground of the twenty-first century: the supply of water.

Listen to the 37minute Interview Here

Abundant business for therapists

It's a common story for the huge number of therapists I meet: whilst being talented practitioners, they struggle to financially make ends meet, which becomes a self-fulfilling cycle of struggle, low vitality and lack of financial resources.

One of my collegues, a very successful therapist of over 7 years experience with thousands of clients, yesterday mentioned that in his particular niche, few full-time therapists earn more than £10,000 a year. The story is similar for life coaches, where the average income is (if I recall correctly) around £14,000 per year and most return to part time or full-time work within a year of training. I often wonder how they make ends meet ... or perhaps they're living a low-carbon lifestyle for the benefit of the planet?! I jest not. It's a tough space to live in - I have been there myself which inspired me over the years to Coach individuals and Therapy Centre teams on Marketing Success for Therapists - applying both the mindset and practical action required to attract and retain clients.

However, I do occassionally (and joyfully!) meet FINANCIALLY ABUNDANT independent therapists who say: "I don't have room for any more clients! I have too much business!" It was particularly refreshing today to learn more about the abundant client secrets of leading Bates Method (eyesight regeneration) expert, Lizzie May who generously shared her tips for the prosperity of her London practice ...

... Lizzie has a passion, energy and focus that brightens the spirit of everyone she meets. She is healthy, full of vitality, extremely focussed in her use of language and deeply committed to her purpose of helping as many people as possible regenerate their eyesight using the Bates Method. Here are some of Lizzie's client prosperity secrets she wanted to share with others ...
"I am committed to Bates Method for the rest of my life! Be very, very clear with your intentions. Stop dissipating your attention so much. Focus on just one or two things, and have a single, clear message that your clients can 'get' easily and quickly. Above all, love what you do with all your might!"

Tips for therapists starting out (or wanting to cultivate greater prosperity!): Having been teaching the Bates Method to groups, clients and surgeons (Lizzie speaks at Moorefield Eye Hospital about natural eye regeneration) for nearly 10 years, here is a woman worth listening to about how she positioned herself as an expert in a particular field. Originally, she wanted to add the Alexander technique and other approaches to her kit. "However someone I respected with a lot of experience and wisdom said to me - "Lizzie, let it go - just focus on becoming an expert in one area. Focus on Bates".... and so I did. Now I understand what it is to be a master of 1 trade, rather than a jack of all. It's easier for clients to understand what I do."

When she first decided to study the Bates Method and become a teacher and practitioner, she did a transition of 3 days at her full-time employment then 2 days building up her practice. To grow her practice, she got out and did as many free speaking engagements as she could ... "I put myself about a lot! It was mainly free speaking but I picked up clients from the audience and built my confidence".

Her practice really mushroomed 4 - 5 years ago following consistent marketing efforts, and in the past 3 - 4 years over 70% of her clients come from her online enquiries via her webpage at http://www.seeing.org/teachers/lizziemay/ Lizzie May is also an accredited professional member of the Wellbeing Network and the Hammersmith Lifewheel - read Lizzie's profile here.
The rest come via referrals from current and past clients and she has clients flying from all around the world to come and see her, working only from her home in East Sheen, South West London. She chose to work from home to minimise travel, conserve her energy and money, and ensured her loft studio was thoroughly equipped and comfortable for both Lizzie and her clients.
Essential client prosperity and abundance tips from Lizzie ...

• Be in complete choice - create your business lifestyle; set your own rules of work e.g. days, hours, number of clients, rate you want. Lizzie's full practice is around 20 clients per week at 1.5hrs per client. That leaves her time to re-energise, deliver seminars, do regular active marketing and develop her own expertise.
• Be active and consistent in your marketing rather than passive (emails, letter) - talk passionately to individuals and groups, share your information with specific contacts at therapy centres or natural health outlets, make the local area aware you exist by gettin gon the phone or getting out there and talking to them about what you do.
• Be deeply passionate about your work, from your heart, spirit and purpose. It's catching!
• Be focused yet relax enough that you can notice opportunities as they magically appear
• Be open to the opportunities around you which is linked to being relaxed. Lizzie is a big advocate of daily 'eye palming' and meditation. When she was meditating yesterday she was relaxed enough to listen to her innate intelligence that helps us solve problems and guide us: it popped into her awareness to ask her employed clients if she could speak with their business about delivering her corporate eye care seminars.

It was, as ever, a pleasure to experience Lizzie's passion and clear insights. ratitude and abundance to you!

Note from Alexis: I've been to East Sheen for a Vision Education session - the eyes really are a window to prosperity plus Bates is an incredible pathway to wellbeing and restoring eyesight. Lizzie's work space is bright, airy and wonderfully set up for everyone from children to professionals who want natural vision regeneration sessions. Try it out or check out some of Lizzie's case studies online.

The Happiness Centre delivers expert Employee Wellbeing Seminars to organisations aruond the UK. We have received excellent client feedback about Lizzie's employee wellbeing seminar "Eye Care and Computers". Email alexis@thehappinesscentre.com for details about our full Employee Wellbeing Seminars.

'Natural Vision Awareness Week' this year is from 21st to 28th October 2007 with 2 seminars on Vision and the Out Breath that week at Lizzie's studio in East Sheen, London - for more details email lizzie_may@blueyonder.co.uk

The Secret

Do you know the secret to health, wealth and happiness? Actually, it's only after watching the new movie The Secret www.thesecret.tv for the second time, that a few home truths whacked me in the side of the head. Essentially, I already know WE CREATE WHAT WE THINK ABOUT. However, lately my awareness has been more rapdily evolving that THIS STUFF IS REAL.

'Concidence' or 'synergy' are other words for it, You desire something and then it mysteriously appears. Funny that. So I decided to play with the concept for a few weeks and see where it gets me. Let's check it out (I'll keep you up to date with the facts in my blog).

Right then, Ms Quantum Field - my order list is this, considering that my wish is your command:

• Breathing the sweet air in my house by the sea
• An unexpected holiday in the countryside
• Seeing my book in print
• Driving in my sexy pink sports car

I've played with this rule of manifestation (also know as the cosmic ordering system!) many times ... however my awareness has reached a new level (I really believe it's got to do with that Wellness Water and Supergreen stuff I've been consuming the past week ... my energy levels and clarity of thinking has noticeably increased - mental note to keep enjoying both those health habits!).

brand v campaign

My own creative guru and mentor is the indominatable Paul Reeve, a fellow Australian working out of NYC. He is a creative genius who i call when i want someone to sharpen my perspective on creativity and design. We have a call scheduled for an hour, once a week - and i have to admit - even i feel slightly nervous before the call - getting myself ready to be challenged on lots of levels - emotionally, intellectually, spiritually. This week was a conversation about BRANDING versus CAMPAIGNING.

Reeve shared an interesting insight that designers can spend so much time on Branding (internal focus, more about the organisatation) that they forget about Campaigning (what specifically the external customer is engaged in, even as a focussed theme, as their experience of the brand). All marketing is then hung off that focus or tagline.

My lightbulb moment in the conversation was about how little we'd been considering the CUSTOMER value statement, and planned campaigns for The Happiness Centre linked to that one-liner hook or statement.

Coke is it.
Pepsi. The New Generation.
Nike. Just Do It.
Accenture. High Performance Delivered.

The Happiness Centre. ( ...... tba) [used to be Within Lies the Potential .. ready for a revamp]

Hmmmm ... deeply interesting thought point for me this week. What specifically IS the tagline?

My tip: get a mentor. they'll stretch your thinking.

Subliminal Power

This is one of the coolest bits of software ever for people like us. Subliminal messages work... and all it takes to influence your mind, is a simple 100-millisecond message flashed before your eyes.

It's proven for reprogramming your subconscious mind for total success... QUICKLY & EFFORTLESSLY!!!! Nice. Thanks to Mark Anastassi of www.millionaire-minds.co.uk for raising my awareness of this one!

http://www.subliminal-power.com/?afl=15697

[more info from their website ... ]

The technology behind subliminal messages, however, has stood the test of time. Here's how it works: messages are flashed in front of a subject at high speed. Although the conscious mind doesn't comprehend these messages, the subconscious instantly understands and acts on them.

The Proof that Subliminal Messaging Really Works

Proof? In the 50's: The CIA reported great successes testing subliminal messages in movies theaters. In the 60's: studies by gurus William Bryan Key, Vance Packard, and Eldon Taylor proved the power of subliminals. In the 70's: advertisers pumped millions into subliminal advertising campaigns.

Perhaps the most famous and controversial experiment was performed by researcher Dr James Vicary. He flashed the messages "I want popcorn" and "Drink more coke" for just 100-milliseconds in front of a movie audience. Nobody "saw" the messages, but during that sitting popcorn sales shot up 57.8% and coke sales rocketed 18.1%.

Success made easy. We LOVE that!

http://www.subliminal-power.com/?afl=15697

Who needs training?

Recent research by the UK Learning & Skills Council (LSC) reveals that more employers need to get involved in training staff. According to the LSC's National Employer Skills Survey (2005), more than one fifth (22%) of employers say the skills of the (general UK) workforce are not up to scratch. Having an under-skilled workforce adversely affects the bottom line for more than 30% of these employers, who experienced higher operating costs as a consequence. Over one fifth of these employers said they had lost orders, with quality and customers service also significantly affected. Despite this, nearly one-third of employers admitted that the lack of skills among their employees was due to their own failure to train staff.

Question: Who in your team is performing below capability or capacity? What skills do you or they need to develop? How and when will this happen?

Commit to one training action this week, even if it's a 15 minute coaching conversation to sharpen one key skill of yourself or your team. And then notice the impact on The 3C's of Success: Confidence, Customer service and Cash flow.

Plymouth ... an unexpected lesson in customer service

On Thursday, I had a meeting at Wrigleys, based in Plymouth. As I've been sea-starved for a few months, I figured it would be a great opportunity to have a few days off and balance out the inner ions with healthy morning wanderings by the seaside.

You likely know already that urban living creates too many postive ions in the air, which is what contributes to stress, toxicity and a feeling of 'not quite right' in your body. If you can't get to the seaside [which is abundant with negative ions or charges] to restore energetic balance, then invest in salt rock lamps. Science has proven that salt rocks, when warmed, release an abundance of negative ions, whilst cleansing the air of dust and impurities. I prefer to use the candle holders, although you can buy electric salt rock lamps. If you're attuned, you'll notice the difference in the air quality, as it starts to 'feel clear' and you might notice a feeling of becoming more alert.

Alas, I digress (Although I do believe salt rock lamps should be a standard health investment!)

My visit to Plymouth resulted in a couple of unexpected lessons in customer service from the tiny B&B I found on the internet. The Elizabethan Guest House was located right in the Barbican, the old cobbled harbourside from where the Mayflower set sail to colonise the Americas.

• Firstly, my Googling found their listing on a B&B website, which listed only 2 places in Plymouth [lesson: listings do work. list yourself everywhere you can online. make it easy for people to find you when searching]
• On their website, the testimonials from guests, the family picture and the welcoming words online, were what prompted me to call [lesson: stimulate an emotional response in your website's visitors with words and pictures, to give visitors a spirited sense of your business. give evidence / proof of what they can expect to experience, using stories / testimonials. the personal touch, just as seth goddin, permisison marketing guru states, works wonders.]
• When I called to book, their warm welcome, extremely helpful and friendly attitude reflected the website experience. Diane, of Ian and Diane, went out of her way to be helpful, providing directions and more [lesson: walk the talk on the call, if you're proclaiming to be about friendly service]
• When I turned up on the day, her niece welcomed me and was all clued up about my name, how long I was staying, that Diane was looking forward to meeting me later, etc. Truly interested in me having a great stay. [lesson: know your customer. make it personal. keep your service chain informed]
• The attention to detail in the room was delightful, and reflected a thoughtful consideration for the 'little things that make all the difference'. Matching soap, towels and shower curtains (pine green in my case, as each room was different); fragrant lavendar bag on the pillow; sweets on the bedside table; tea set for one even though I had a double room; impeccably clean; towels neatly rosetted; all items aligned in the room [lesson: take pride in the small stuff]
• Diane and Ian turned out to be lovely, down-to-earth, genuinely helpful hosts who simply wanted me to have a comfortable, relaxing stay. They pointed me in the direction of where to have a massage, to chat with Diane's old work colleague Sally at the Chamber of Commerce (hey, I might as well check out Plymouth as a potential place of business and property investment, as it's undergoing a massive regeneration programme), and plenty of helpful directions about sightseeing [lesson: great conversations help create raving fans. I mean, look, I've written a whole blog entry about the experience!]
• As I was leaving, Diane insisted that I call them in the future, to get their local insight into buying property in Plymouth. [lesson: make friends with your customers, as they'll help you grow by word of mouth. I can shortcut research time by having a local and trustworthy contact, from whom to ask opinions and local knowledge. networking at it's best!]

What a refreshing reminder of how simple it can be to deliver a high standard of customer service, regardless of what business you are in. I'd highly recommend a stay with Diane and Ian Bacon at The Elizabethan Guest House if you like cozy rooms and want to sample local hospitality with a very personal touch.

Deliver the basics beautifully and your business will naturally create raving fans :-)