by admin | Jun 15, 2015
(Painting by Karen Mathison Schmidt)
(Originally published on Dr. Maisel’s blog)
If it’s become your habit to apologize for your work, to hide from potential buyers, to avoid marketplace interactions, to dismiss yourself as soon as you can (as if beating others to the punch), then these are bad habits that you will want to change.
To change a habit means to work on it for months and even for years, not to work on it for just a few minutes. It is unlikely that, for example, you can change from not taking opportunities offered to you to suddenly taking them just by snapping your fingers. Rather, you need to be on a lifelong strengthening program, a self-coaching regimen where each day you remind yourself that you intend to manifest your strength and your confidence.
Remember: it is one thing to be quiet; it is another thing to be meek. It is one thing to be modest; it is another thing to be self-disparaging. It is one thing to be principled; it is another thing to live by the principle that everybody else comes first. You want to step out of the shadows and risk standing up for your work and for your future. Maybe you doubt your work: either stop doubting it or create work that you doubt less. Maybe you doubt yourself: stop doubting yourself and, over time, create a version of yourself that you have no reason to doubt.
Present yourself with strength. If this doesn’t come naturally to you, practice. Practice in your mind, in the mirror, or with an art buddy. Practice saying, “I love my new work.” Practice saying, “If your gallery has an opening for one new artist, it should be me, and here’s why.” Practice saying, “I know that you collect contemporary surrealists and I’m pushing the surrealism envelope, so you must visit my studio!” Practice saying, “Let me describe the nine ways in which I will be an asset to your gallery.” Practice saying, “I am doing excellent work and you should really take a look.”
It is not just what you say—it is how you look out at the world, how you think, and what you do. You are either looking for opportunities to show or you aren’t. You are either mulling over new marketing ideas or you aren’t. You are either thinking about your next sales opportunities or you aren’t. You are either calculating what might work in the marketplace or you aren’t. You are either a player in the game or a spectator in the stands. You are either fantasizing about what lucky break might come your way or you are taking action.
Remember: take action and present yourself with strength!
by admin | Jun 11, 2015
June 16th –
“Do you enjoy writing or would you rather stick knitting needles in your eyeballs?”
Good question!
Denise Michaels needs an answer to differentiate her clients – those who need book coaching or those who need a ghost writer.
Either way…
In this show, we dubbed Denise a book “shaman,” someone who lives behind the scenes but is a major player in bringing someone’s vision into the world.
Denise spoke with us about setting the foundation for a book, discovering the reader, siphoning information, and even playing devil’s advocate.
It’s all part of her thoughtful, full-proof procedure she’s used for many years that ensures clients are proud of their work now and for the years that follow.
Formal Bio:
Denise is a highly-sought after marketing mentor, book mentor, speaker, author and copywriter. Her mission is all about using her expertise and skills to support small business owners and aspiring business owners to get far better results, live their dreams and build a great income.
As a wise marketing mentor to over 1,500 and a professional speaker, Denise combines her down-to-earth message with a boost of confidence-building, giving her extraordinary insights, especially for women.
Her experience includes buying a ten year old business at age 25 for $10,000 and increasing revenues 40 percent in one year while decreasing costs by 10 percent.
She is experienced in public relations, promotions, advertising copy writing, professional speaking, strategic planning, online marketing, social media and networking, marketing plans, goal-setting, market research and sales, sales, sales and more sales.
Listen to “Doing Business with Denise Michaels 6/16/15” on Spreaker.
by admin | Jun 4, 2015
(Art by Heng Swee Lim)
Ten Steps of Optimism
1). Gratitude. Gratitude for even the smallest things is important along with savoring every moment. It truly prevents us from sweating the small stuff and allows to appreciate the blessings in our lives.
2). Stories. When people are going through tough times, they tend to think that they’re alone. However, when they hear stories of how others have persevered, it gives them hope. And hope is the foundation of optimism.
3). Magnet. “Optimism is a happiness magnet,” -Mary Lou Retton. You want to surround yourself with good, uplifting people. Their happiness and positive attitude is certainly contagious. It brings you up and adds light to your day.
4). Reflection. Look in the mirror and remember that what others do or say is a reflection of their own self, not a reflection of you.
5). Altruism. No matter what is taking place in your life currently, helping others is tantamount to your own happiness and to the happiness of others.
6) Embrace Change. If you accept change and embrace what life offers, it is more likely that you will be successful when you come across the peaks and valleys that we all encounter.
7) Believe in Yourself and the Value You Possess. Every one of us has value, unique value. And no one person is more or less valuable than another person.
8) Service the Engine. Healing not only comes from medical and spiritual professionals, but it also comes from within.
9) Reclaim Your Personal Power. No matter what life holds, you are not alone. There are people who have been through it and together you can surmount the obstacles.
10) Stay Inspired. Inspiration is fuel for the heart, fuel for the mind, and fuel for positive living.
In closing, picking up optimism and passing it on is something that the world can never get enough of. Whether we are experiencing peace or war, recession or prosperity, sunshine or clouds, etc. there can never be enough hugs, enough smiles, enough elation, or enough love to keep us all going. The cost is zero but the rewards are priceless. The key is for us to share our experiences with others because everything we do in life (successes and failures) serves as the basis of our wisdom. And sharing wisdom is a major way to facilitate contagious optimism. It’s the key to evolution and the constant improvement of mankind.
by admin | Jun 4, 2015
June 9, 2015 – David Mezzapelle believes that we all have the capacity to make optimism contagious just by sharing our life’s adventures. Mezzapelle is the founder of the Contagious Optimism movement and the author of Contagious Optimism, a bestselling book series that contains real stories from real people around the globe, which demonstrates that every cloud has a silver lining.
Mezzapelle was inspired to write this book series based on his life’s experiences, his own contagious optimism, and the encouragement of his Alma Mater, Fairfield University in Connecticut.
Throughout his life, Mezzapelle has encountered great peaks and valleys all of which he is grateful for. He never lost sight along the way and has kept his glass “completely full.” He has influenced many people with his outlook and Contagious Optimism is his way of offering optimism to others.
Mezzapelle has been a guest on various radio and television programs along with being a contributor to numerous publications around the globe. He is also a TED and Contagious Optimism LIVE speaker.
by admin | Jun 2, 2015
Replay Nov. 23, 2015 from June 2, 2015:
Don’t you just love hearing great thinkers talk?
Derek Rydall joined us last week, Tuesday June 2nd, and man, did he have some beautiful things to say.
In an acorn shell:
- Society has reared us backwards. We’re like an acorn, equipped from the beginning with everything we need. So now what?
- We lead with our desires, but first we must know what they are.
- Where do desires lead us?
- The importance of beginning.
- You don’t want to live by emotion; you want to live by vision.
To hear the goods, hit play.
Formal Bio:
Part of the new generation of spiritual visionaries and thought leaders, Derek Rydall is the author of the #1 Amazon/Barnes & Noble best-seller EMERGENCE: Seven Steps for Radical Life Change and the world’s expert on the revolutionary Law of Emergence.
He has trained top executives at Fortune 500 companies (from American Express to Disney) in empowered leadership and communications, coached celebrities and media professionals (including Oscar and Emmy winners) on creating conscious entertainment, regularly writes for The Huffington Post, and has touched hundreds of thousands around the planet with his message on finding your path, living your purpose and making a powerful impact!
In his weekly Best Year of Your Life! podcast on iTunes, he reveals cutting-edge spiritual principles and success strategies to achieve financial freedom and abundance, master productivity and creativity, and gain true wealth and happiness.
FREE GIFT: Derek would like to offer his free Law of Emergence eBook to your listeners! It is a 95-Page PDF eBook, powerpacked with 12 detailed chapters outlining the foundation of the Law of Emergence, with Q&A exercises to unlock your full potential: www.lawofemergence.com/FreeReport.
Listen to “Emergence with Derek Rydall 6/2/15” on Spreaker.
by admin | May 28, 2015
We have been born under a mistaken identity.
And almost everything that we see, hear, and experience – almost everything produced by society – keeps us in the dark about who and what we truly are.
The mistaken identity is that we are merely human beings, having an occasional spiritual experience; that we are born in sin, worms of the dust; that we are circumscribed by our personality, a product of our culture and family, conceived on a certain date, destined to die.
But that’s a lie.
And when we peel away the dogma and doctrine of all great spiritual teachings, we discover that they have been trying to wake us up from this illusion or Maya all along.
“Sin,” as it turns out, is not some demonic quality of our soul; it is an archery term that means “to miss the mark.” The only “or iginal sin” we were born under is this false belief about who we are.
The fact that this human self we perceive isn’t who we really are doesn’t mean it’s bad or that we should disregard it (as some extreme religious practices have concluded). This human incarnation is a magnificent thing, with the potential to reveal beauty, power, and greatness beyond our imagination.
But it’s a pale reflection of the truth.
Every level of our experience – mental, emotional, physical – is a relative expression of an Infinite Perfection, an Eternal Self, forever unfolding in this timeless moment.
Our human self is like a great character in this “divine drama” that we are acting out for the evolution of our soul; a work of art we are painting on the canvas of our consciousness.
We’re the Actor, not the character; the Painter, not the painting.
Your true Self is “made in the image and likeness of God:” eternal, changeless, and infinite; whereas your human self is made in the image and likeness of your history, culture, and the transitory world of changes that arise out of the Self and dissolve back into it, over and over, like a wave upon the ocean.
Everything you need for your total fulfillment is already within you, constituted as a part of this essential Self.
And when you are more identified with THAT, all your needs will emerge without the effort and struggle so common to the human experience.
We spin our wheels trying to come up with solutions to all our social, political, personal and professional problems, creating new policies, more restrictive laws, bigger prisons, and more powerful weapons to “attack the issues” …or just twisting ourselves into pretzels trying to solve things.
But no matter what new invention, theory, or practice we engage in, if it doesn’t emerge out of some degree of true Self-realization, out of an awareness of our innate wholeness, it will never create lasting peace, abundance, or fulfillment in our lives or on the planet.
It can’t.
Because we don’t get what we want, or even what we fight for and claim – we get who we are in consciousness. Nothing more, nothing less.
It’s not personal, it’s Principle.
How would you act if you knew you already had everything you need within you, that you were already whole, perfect, and complete?
Ask that question throughout the day, before you enter into a meeting or interaction with someone, before you begin that project…and honor the guidance that arises.
Practice this for the next 7 days and notice what shifts…then share it with me and this community on the Facebook page.
To Your Emergence!
by admin | May 23, 2015
At every point in time,
there are infinite possibilities
and a parallel reality exists for each possibility.”
–Daniel Jackson, Stargate
Imagine this?
A foreign exchange student from a tiny African village with no running water or electricity comes to the West and gets dropped off at a hotel room. The hotel maid, who has a giant crush on George Strait and loves to listen to the local country and western station, forgot to turn off the radio when she finished tidying up the room.
Hours later, the student walks into his first hotel room ever to find a radio playing non-stop country and western music and loud, obnoxious ads.
He much prefers the drumming of his little village, but unfortunately he has no idea that a) the radio has an off switch or b) that, at any time, he could simply move the dial to a different, more pleasing station.
Hopefully, the above scenario has never happened, but it’s a perfect metaphor for life. An extensive line-up of music stations with an immense variety of options is available for anyone with a car, a boom box or a computer with Pandora.
Life, too, offers a dizzying choice of consciousness options. We can choose joyful thoughts or thoughts of fear. We can choose to celebrate or worry. The station we tune into is completely up to us. It’s the most important decision we ever make. Our consciousness channels create the quality of our life.
Most of us are like the exchange student, stuck on one channel and unaware that, at any time, we could pick a different reality. We are the captains of our fate, the master of our mind’s channels that all too often get stuck on an endless loop.
Before long, we start believing that reality is nothing but the loud, obnoxious C&W station playing in our consciousness. We fail to realize that a) there’s an off-switch, b) there are lots of other channels and c) the world only appears the way it does because, in our ignorance, we chose the wrong channel. Isn’t it time to change the dial?
by admin | May 21, 2015
May 26th, 2015 – “Natural Success is predicated on the idea that we all have Genius, a metaphysical force within us that works outside the limitations of time and space and our rational senses to support us in living life as an expression of our highest potential.” ~William Whitecloud
Born in the small African country of Swaziland, Whitecloud was immersed in the supernatural worldview of the tribes people around him.
However, after boarding school, a career in finances, battles with addiction, money loss, and a critical health diagnosis, the magic of childhood was long gone.
With life at rock bottom, his attention turned from merely observing the phenomenon of life at work to seeking ways to direct it, creating a life of health, wealth, love and creative expression.
His studies led him to discover the alchemical principles of Hermetic Philosophy and the ideas of Robert Fritz, founder of Technologies For Creating.
Both modalities pointed to the premise that people subconsciously create their own reality and that there is a way in which they can direct the subconscious mind to create the reality they choose. In other words, Whitecloud changed his life story.
He is founder of the program Living From Greatness, a personalized course dedicated to empowering participants in discovering and living their authentic nature and potential. He’s involved in the LFG program and the Natural Success project.
He is the author of two books, The Magician’s Way and The Last Shaman. Currently, William lives in Santa Monica, California, where he’s devoted to developing the Natural Success curriculum, his community, writing, and family.
Listen to “Natural Success with William Whitecloud 5/26/15” on Spreaker.
by admin | May 14, 2015
Sex desire is the most powerful of human desires.
When driven by this desire, men develop keenness of imagination, courage, will-power, persistence, and creative ability unknown to them at other times. So strong and impelling is the desire for sexual contact that men freely run the risk of life and reputation to indulge it.
When harnessed, and redirected along other lines, this motivating force maintains all of its attributes of keenness of imagination, courage, etc., which may be used as powerful creative forces in literature, art, or in any other profession or calling, including, of course, the accumulation of riches.
The transmutation of sex energy calls for the exercise of will-power, to be sure, but the reward is worth the effort.
The desire for sexual expression is inborn and natural. The desire cannot, and should not be submerged or eliminated. But it should be given an outlet through forms of expression which enrich the body, mind, and spirit of man.
If not given this form of outlet, through transmutation, it will seek outlets through purely physical channels…
…Fortunate, indeed, is the person who has discovered how to give sex emotion an outlet through some form of creative effort, for he has, by that discovery, lifted himself to the status of a genius.
Scientific research has disclosed these significant facts:
1. The men of greatest achievement are men with highly developed sex natures; men who have learned the art of sex transmutation.
2. The men who have accumulated great fortunes and achieved outstanding recognition in literature, art, industry, architecture, and the professions, were motivated by the influence of a woman.
…The emotion of sex contains the secret of creative ability.
Destroy the sex glands, whether in man or beast, and you have removed the major source of action. For proof of this, observe what happens to any animal after it has been castrated. A bull becomes as docile as a cow after it has been altered sexually. Sex alteration takes out of the male, whether man or beast, all the FIGHT that was in him.
Sex alteration of the female has the same effect.
by admin | May 14, 2015
May 19th, 2015 – Mali Apple and Joe Dunn coach singles and couples to feel more love and acceptance for themselves, more connected to those around them, and more confident about the possibility of creating their own soulmate experience.
Together, they have authored two books. Their most recent, The Soulmate Lover, contains chapter titles such as Connecting with Your Sexual Energy and Opening Up to Your Orgasmic Potential, that keep the pages turning.
At it’s heart, however, the book is about creating relationships that are intimately connected on every level: emotional, physical, and spiritual.
Mali and Joe have dedicated their working lives to exploring the question – What keeps the magic alive? – and bringing their answers to their clients and books, helping others to apply their discoveries and transform their lives.
Their previous book, The Soulmate Experience, was a 2012 International Book Awards Gold Medal Winner and Living Now Awards Silver Medal Winner. They offer a CD, “Mantras for making love,” as well as classes on the Daily Om, “Overcoming Jealousy.”
Link to free chapters of the book The Soulmate Lover
Listen to “The Soulmate Lover with Mali Apple and Joe Dunn 5/19/15” on Spreaker.
(Painting by Karen Mathison Schmidt)
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