February 2010

What Shining Possibilities Is All About

February 17, 2010

Rainie and Sammy Bear

I’ve packed a lot of life experience into 43 years! I married while still in high school, only to be divorced before my 20th birthday. I joined the US Army, to the horror of my stay at home mom, who’d hoped I’d make babies and learn to make biscuits and gravy. I married again, not for love but stability, only to discover life without love is insufferable. I got my degree in Social Work by attending evening classes over six years while I worked full time. I abandoned a government job I’d been at for 8 years, a house, and all of my belongings that couldn’t fit into a Geo Storm to move to another state and live with a man I’d met only once.  Thirteen years later, I’ve never looked back and never been happier.

Taking risks can be…well…risky! But, I’ve learned to trust my intuition, to listen to that inner voice that speaks from love and for my highest good. When I listen to that voice, things don’t necessarily go the way I’d planned but things do end up serving me well. Despite the seeming insanity of my decision to quit my job, sign my half of the house over to my ex, and move 800 miles away, everything in my being told me I was on the right path. The experience taught me my most valuable lesson:  the smart thing to do is not always the right thing for you.

My family thought I should have battled it out to get my portion from the sale of the house. I should have gotten a truck and taken my furniture with me. I should have stayed with my ex and made it work because he was financially stable and reliable. I should have kept my government job because it provided a livable wage and I’d get a nice pension when I retired. I should, I should, I should!

I could no longer do the things I should. The “should” was slowly drowning me, cutting me off from my spirit, gasping for air, and longing to feel anything except disappointment, bitterness, and obligation.  I needed to “walk the earth”, as my youngest sister says. I needed to love and feel loved, I needed to breathe easy. I needed to feel supported, uplifted, in touch with my spirit. I needed to feel alive!

Driving away in my Geo Storm, clothes in garbage bags so more would fit, I had my dog and my freedom. With every mile, I felt my breath coming more easily. My muscles relaxed. My head felt clearer. I felt all of those things one feels when one is following one’s heart.

That is what my coaching business is all about. That is the feeling I want for my clients. I want the weights to lift away, the air to flow naturally, and I want my clients to know to their very core that they are doing exactly what they were meant to do.

We are all given challenges and gifts. Sometimes it takes those challenges to reveal our gifts. Sometimes we need someone to help us sort through those challenges to find the gifts. That’s what I enjoy doing – sifting through the rubble to find the treasure, shining a light on all of the possibilities.

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Using Twitter for Business Growth

February 15, 2010

It seems to me that everybody’s a social media expert these days. It’s weird. There are millions of people living their lives without “new media”. I go to meetings with highly educated professionals who are clueless about blogging, Facebook, and most of all, Twitter. I’m disturbed by many of the articles written to help businesses learn how to use social media for advertising, recruiting, and customer service because I think they often miss the point.

Here’s the way I view Twitter. It’s a relationship and community building tool. If you own a business and you want to use a tool like Twitter to help you grow your business, hire a person to Tweet for your company. Make it that person’s job to cultivate relationships with people who are potential customers. Tell that person that they are NOT in sales; they are in the relationship building business. THEN, Twitter might become a successful way for you to grow your business. This is because, when I need a plumber, I’ll remember the person I’ve joked around with, the person who sent out a link to a really interesting article on water conservation. I’ll remember that I KNOW a plumber and that’s when using Twitter will pay off. Twitter is like word of mouth advertising – you can’t pay for it, you can’t truly monitor it, and it may be months before the customer shows up at your door.

Both my husband and I use Twitter. I use it primarily for the social aspects of it. I find out what’s happening around town, I go to TweetUps and other events arranged using Twitter. Hubby, @CintiTxGuy, (a licensed professional clinical counselor) shares bits of advice, positive vibes, and all around good will. I don’t know if it has grown his business or not but people know who he is and that he is a therapist. I  know that we’ve eaten at restaurants because we saw a tweet about them – whether they were advertising a great special of the day or someone we follow recommended them.

That’s Twitter’s power for boosting business. You can’t simply show up, send a tweet, and watch the money flow into your bank account. Auto follow programs are not the key to Twitter success.  I know there are lots of ebooks and seminars out there that want you to believe differently but I think they are wrong.

Here are some examples of real businesses using Twitter (and Facebook and other social media tools) to their great advantage.  Note the direct conversations, helpful suggestions, and real involvment they use to make customers not only remember their businesses, but truly care about their success. *Please note, none of these businesses are my clients – I am their student.

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Procrastination

February 12, 2010

For me, procrastination is often about perfectionism…all these things to do that then make me feel too overwhelmed or feel that I don’t have enough time to get all of that done.

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