Master Minding for Success!
When I worked as a top manager in Corporate America I used to train others to create mentoring, coaching, benchmarking, and mastermind partnerships and groups. Because I have always taken a sense of consciousness or Spirit into my business dealings, the Master Mind groups that I set up were the most fun for me. I believe this is because Master Minding, by its very nature, is an energetic exercise. You may read more here about how Master Minding is a simple way to incorporate energy therapy into your life and business.
To set up a successful Master Mind arrangement you may follow these steps:
- Identify what you would like to get as a result from Master Minding.
- Identify who you know that can support you to get the results that you want.
- Make sure that you feel comfortable sharing personal and business details with this individual or small group of individuals.
- Make sure that you can equally share with these others.
- Choose how often and for how long you would like to meet to Master Mind.
- Will you meet in person or by phone, internet, Skype, etc?
- Will the time segment you are considering allow enough sharing time for each member you have identified, or should the time be lengthened or group be limited in number?
- When do you wish to start meeting?
- Now is a good time to approach the others with your plan.
- Identify who is available and interested, and schedule your first meeting.
- Create an introductory agenda for the first meeting that will: a-Introduce all members and their intentions for joining the group, b- co-create a set & routine schedule so that all members can plan ahead, c- co-create a meeting agenda template that can be followed during each MM session, d- allow for sharing and Q/A at the end.
- Get started and enjoy your sharing and the benefits thereof!
There is much to be gained by sharing in a Master Mind alliance. I highly endorse bringing this form of energy therapy into your life and business!
Neuroeconomics: Psychology in Business
Years ago I taught Organizational Behavior classes for several MBA programs. In the classes I taught the psychology behind team-building, leadership development, cooperation with peers, vendors, customers, and much more. For some of us coming from a behaviorist and psychology-based background plus with years of practical business savvy, it made perfect sense to bring basic, natural tenets of how we think and behave into business principles training within an MBA program.
With the new breakthroughs in neurology, psychology has even been introduced into economics, and a number of studies have been done to prove that the mind and its focus on value can influence economics. Attached is a lecture by Drazen Prelec at MIT where he cites three studies that show how our perceptions shape our economies. Having also taught MBA Marketing classes myself, I would add that the marketing surrounding our every waking moment helps to create and mold our perceptions of value.
You may listen to the lecture and read its synopsis by going here. This reminds me that whenever I feel swayed by a strong “belief”, that my belief is only based on my perceptions, and I can change these if I so desire!
Spirit in Business or Religion in Business?
Until just a few years ago I regularly attended a yearly International Spirit or Consciousness in Business Conference . This was sponsored by several very conscious organizations including The Message Company out of Santa Fe, NM. Twice I attended while the conference was held in Mexico and 600-700 people from all over the world attended. The topics ranged the whole gamut around Spirit/Consciousness in Business and the conference was truly outstanding.
A year after the last official conference another group held a meeting where the topics of Spirit via “Religion in Business” versus “Spirituality in Business” came up and there was quite a discussion of the difference. Of course, nothing was really resolved, as each individual feels spirituality in his/her own way and some see it through the filter of a religion while others see it as a direct connection with the Universe/ Higher Self/ One-ness/ Source, etc.
I feel that as coaches we need to be open to speak the language of our clients as well as respect their filters. Not everyone is open to see Spirituality beyond a religion framework.
The Law of Attraction works for everyone, and I believe we are free to practice our own form of spirituality in our personal and professional lives as long as we allow this freedom to others too.
Business Meetings Can Be FUN!
As a long-time member of many chambers of commerce, I usually take time to go network with my business colleagues at monthly Business After Hours gatherings. These are usually opportunities for meeting new folks, exchanging business cards, talking about products and services, and eating refreshments… not necessarily in that order of importance! 
I know that whenever I set my mind to going and having a good time whatever happens, then I do have a good time, and usually something beneficial comes from my attendance. I have managed to have fun in a variety of strange business networking venues with seemingly dull surroundings and questionable agendas. Well, last night the Blairsville – Union County Georgia Chamber had a fun gathering that incorporated fun into the entire theme. http://www.blairsvillechamber.com They hosted a Business After Hours Bunco Party.
Bunco? If you’ve never heard of it, the game is all about rolling dice to advance from station to station until the winners run out of places to advance. I remember being a winner in grade school when we had a school-wide bunco party. I remember that it was fun and exciting – especially when I was awarded my prize!
Yesterday was a good example of blending fun with doing real business. In a game setting – like bunco – people are able to really be themselves. They can let their hair down, laugh, gamble, act silly, and show their human sides. In this spirit of authenticity real business can be done much more easily than in stiff “let’s exchange business cards” settings. I’m glad that I attended last night. Even if I didn’t win the bunco game itself, I enjoyed the process much more than usual!
Blog versus Ezine and/or Blog?
This is the sixth year that I have published my ezine, Conscious Living. http://consciouslivingezine.com Where it used to be my main vehicle through which I connected regularly with my network and shared ideas, now I have my blog, which you are reading now.
From 1995-2000 I published a weekly newspaper business column, so an ezine sent twice per month seemed like a natural descendent from my earlier Business Basics columns about Spirit in Business. More recently blogging has hit it big, and of course, I had to jump in and join the flow.
I have loved my blog from the beginning, and still do. As you probably already know (who am I – preaching to the choir?), I totally enjoy sharing all kinds of thoughts in this venue. It is like a journal with you guys all looking into my brain and learning more about what makes me tick. It delighted me when I first discovered that some people had actually signed up to receive my musings on a regular basis. Wow. Somebody was really interested in what I was thinking about? I was flattered, and still so much enjoy that you are out there… somewhere… hopefully enjoying what I write.
Over the years my Conscious Living ezine has changed shapes. It was originally directed toward business colleagues and friends. My intent was to share Spirit in Business ideas in a very conservative, traditional environment of the southeast US. As my thoughts and ideas have grown more alternative I’ve attracted many new subscribers as some of the original ones have started to fall away. I still feel a bit muted in the ezine venue, although I am coming out with my authentic voice more and more.
It is time for me to get more focused and simplify my life. I plan to continue to share my musings here in my blog Alchemist Anne, and also to share Energy Therapy and EFT case studies on a weekly basis… as I have time. And, in my Conscious Living ezine I will go more deeply into the cases, share some recording links and practical exercise tips, and also include some other articles about Spirit in Business and Conscious Living in general. In this way all of you who may be subscribed in both places will get new or expanded information in each venue.
Well, I so appreciate you all for listening to me think out loud… or at least reading along this far, if you have. It always helps to get your group energy in our MasterMind so that I can better clarify! I hope today and this weekend are FUN for you!!
Networking for Success!
When I first opened my business in 1985 I lived in northern California. I was new to the area and in order to market my services I networked with others at almost daily face-to-face networking meetings. In Silicon Valley there were so many groups then that held breakfast, lunch, or dinner/evening meetings that I often had to toss a coin to determine where I would go to meet more people.
Obviously I chose meetings where I felt the audience would be interested in my services, however there were some meetings where I had to laugh at myself for having no idea what the speaker was discussing. I can truthfully say that each time I forced myself to attend a meeting full of strangers, I did benefit in some way or another, and my business was booming. Then I left town.
Since then I have relocated five more times, each time requiring me to start over with local clients. Each time I found networking meetings to attend so that I could meet people.
A few years ago I arrived in a destination where there are very few networking meetings, and not many people locally who are in my desired target market. My marketing focus now is at least 98% via internet, and the game is different.
Luckily there are numerous ways to network via internet. We are doing that right now. I’ve joined Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, among other sites, where I can connect with people.
Well, times have changed. There are still live networking meetings, and the human-to-human contact is a very important way to attract clients, however when my local community doesn’t provide the demographics of my target market, then I can take that same time that I would normally spend at a live networking meeting and spend it connecting with people on a personal basis on-line. It is still a good use of time and I’m getting to know people on all of the social networking sites just by sharing information and striking up conversations. It is fun even though it is remote rather than live. I’m feeling supported by my new on-line community, and that feels just as good as it used to feel when I depended on my live community to support me.
So, look at the opportunities we now have to connect with others, and I invite you to utilize the local as well as internet opportunities whenever possible. It will keep you in the swing of your game – whatever it is!
Conscious Alignment
For many years I have worked in Corporate America using and developing innovative tools to support Spirit in Business. Conscious Alignment is definitely something that benefits everyone within a business – at all levels.
Conscious Alignment is a part of the Aligned Management Program that I have developed for conscious businesses, and you may read an article about this at: http://www.arielagroup.com/spirit_in_business/articles/conscious_alignment.html to learn some basics.
This Conscious Alignment model is wonderful in its ability to support individuals in their own conscious transformation as well as their teams, departments, divisions, and the entire organization. It is appropriate for organizations and their leaders who truly wish for conscious transformation and the creation of resonance within their organizations. There are a variety of “training” or “organizational & team development” tools that I incorporate into this process, and I support these with energetic tools such as Emotional Freedom Technique/ EFT. I find that this simple-to-use tool greatly supports individuals to clear all resistance and blocks to teammates, their environment, projects, tasks, direction from superiors, just among many other business issues.
For this concept to work the bottom line is that the leaders must really want to change so that the entire organization comes into alignment and all involved share a co-creative resonant field. These leaders must be strong, committed, ready & willing to change, able to allow those not aligned to leave the organization (including some vendors & customers at times). If they truly want conscious alignment, then they will be rewarded beyond what can be imagined, however there must be a strong commitment.
I am so Grateful that I could serve!
Yesterday I met a milestone goal that I had set - to serve at least one hundred people with complimentary one-on-one coaching and energy therapy sessions.
I met that goal yesterday and was happy to have been able to share my abilities and tools with so many people – without charging or asking for their business! This is a way I’ve always tithed back to my community and to the Universe for all of my blessings, and I am grateful that I could do it!
Because energy therapy tools like EFT, NET, applied kinesiology, and distance Reiki are so powerful, it often takes only one session to clear a major life-long emotional block that had previously caused chronic illness, physical pain, self-sabotage, failed relationships, blocked financial income, cycles of “bad luck”, among so many other life symptoms. It is always a gift for me when people report back later that our session literally changed their life. I am grateful for the good news!
So, today, in celebration, I’m going to take some time out of my busy day and go for a walk in the woods while it is still lightly snowing. It is so beautiful here and I am grateful that I am rewarded for my good work by being able to live in such a wonderful part of the planet. We’re not in the big blizzard of the NE USA… just the bottom edge, and it is fun having the beauty of the snow without the hassle that others are having right now elsewhere. This is another reason that I am grateful!
So, think of me out walking in nature, thinking about the many people who trusted me to help them when they needed it! I am so grateful that I could serve them!
Conscious Balance in Business with Spirit!
When I focus on transformation and conscious living I can look back at my own career. When I was in my 20’s with a fresh new MS degree, working toward my Ph.D., I was hired by a consortium of twenty-four corporations and colleges/universities to create an international training institute where I reported to the CEO’s and college presidents and stayed within a set budget. That was a major undertaking for a young person like me.
Under pressure to create everything from scratch, I wore many different hats, and I didn’t wear them all very well or with conscious balance. At that time I built my “empire” where I hired and managed seventeen employees, most older than I, and I created all of the systems for the institute: marketing & PR, curriculum, faculty & staff, student affairs, etc. Recruiting was also my job, and the institute depended on my abilities to communicate to international embassies and agencies and create trust so that they would send their vulnerable students to me to train, nurture, and protect.
Some of the tasks set before me created great stress in my life, and others were more fun. I worked hard and managed with a strong hand. I yearned for more inner peace and balance, and I earned lots of money. I enjoyed my personal relations with some of the students and staff, however there was often a separation in me between my head and heart. I have learned through the years to re-connect these parts of myself so that I can live and work more consciously and take more Spirit into business.
Today I enjoy my peaceful life and I have great passion for supporting my coaching and energy therapy clients with open heart energy and a myriad of tools that I share. At the same time I am happy to hire the younger people who have more fire and passion for marketing to help me in this area. My intention is to create an even balance that will support a conscious business with Spirit, and show the greatest results.
On this note, I am currently looking for a savvy experienced VA team of like-minded “whiz kids”, who will put fire into my business marketing so that I can get the word out about my wonderful coaching and energy therapy services. This will allow me to put all of my energy into my work with clients – where I am now most comfortable and most consciously in balance in my life! If you know of a good candidate VA firm, please feel free to send me the referral. I know exactly what I want and am looking forward to taking my conscious business to its next level with the help of the “right” team around me! I can be contacted at: http://www.arielagroup.com/contact .
Doing Business as UN-usual…
What happened to the days of strong personal connections, friendly support, genuine customer service, quality, dependable follow-through, loyalty in customers and vendors? Have outside economic pressures caused greed and fear to take over, or have the symptoms above created the current economic situation?
I am lucky… or, you can say that I “created” a comfortable life and business situation for myself. I live in a gorgeous area of the planet, in the forest close to several small towns but within two hours of four major metropolitan areas. I have peace and beauty all around me that I can share with my clients and vendors. When I do my local errands I rarely encounter traffic, road rage, or the negative emotions and stress found elsewhere. I intended this in my life, and here I am living it now! Peace of mind and comfort is so important to me now!
What bothers me at this point are some of the wonderful people I am watching who are changing in ways that are placing stress on our working relationship and their relationships with others. There are many creative and talented people offering important products and services to others. As we all evolve and improve our products and services are we keeping the human-to-human aspect in sight? Or, are we focused on the time, money, final business results, and packing as many clients into a short time period as possible?
There seems to be so much pressure to succeed monetarily, grow marketing lists, and compete, that some providers are literally dropping their loyal customers or vendors and opting for the “bigger fish” who can bring them more revenue in a shorter period of time, for less work. I’m all for “working smarter – not harder”, and, at the same time I also endorse balance and the concept of living consciously.
Many of the systems being touted in our banking industry and on internet are “artificial”. Money on paper is not the same as money in one’s pocket. “Friends” and “followers” on social networking sites may not be there for you when you really need a caring human nearby. Numbers on a marketing list are not equal to loyal customers. E-mail marketing blasts do not include the same energy as intentional human-to-human marketing connections. Things have changed, and sometimes I’m not so sure they have changed for the better!
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