JK Rowling – Part 1 – 10 minutes

JK Rowling – Part 2 – 5:16 minutes

JK Rowling Part 3 – 5:24 minutes

I just read an amazing blog post by Andy Dooley – a truly funny, goofy, artistic but deeply spiritually insightful guy.

If you don’t get around to popping over to his site for a chuckle, art appreciation and an “aha” moment, then here’s the essence of what impressed me:

In life you ALWAYS get what you WANT if you remember you’re ALWAYS after the FEELING! Whatever you want right now is because of the feelings you want!

So when you’re visualising your goal, go for the feeling.  I mean, REALLY go for the feeling.  I mean, really, Really,  REALLY go for the feeling.

Did I mention you should go for the feeling? (Kidding…)

And the image – the blueberry peace pie – If you read Andy’s other posts, it’s kind of an in-joke with him.

Peace!

I’ve been making a few more decisions about the future of this blog, as well as other directions I want to explore, and I wasn’t sure about how to integrate this blog into the overall scheme.

But I think I’ve got it sorted.  Again.

You see, I have a number of interests, that are all fruits off the same tree.  So I’ve been prioritising and trying to fit them all into a cohesive and do-able model.

So my decision is that “Big Sister Coaching” will be my brand.  And under this brand, we (“Big Sister Coaching” and I) will deliver a number of programs.

One of the programs that I’ve been working on builds on my longstanding passion of how places affect and influence people.  My “Success Environments” will teach people how to modify their homes, workplaces and internal environments to help them get in the flow that takes them more easily to their goal.

As an extension of this, I’m also developing a “Life Design for Success and Happiness” course that will explore different facets of life, and the conscious choices you can make that put you more in tune with the flow of energy.  And when you’re in the flow of energy, there is less struggle, less drama, more joy, more self-confidence.

I’ve also been reflecting on a number of issues that I’ve seen friends and colleagues struggling with, so I’ll be writing on that in the context of my brand in the next few posts.

So I’ve been busy plotting, planning, scheming and dreaming.  I feel a renewed vigor and excitement about this blog, and that I can offer something truly unique and empowering for my readers.

I also plan to use the social media a bit more in order to reach out to more people to make them aware of the (I think) exciting stuff that I’m offering.  And I plan to put more of an effort into encouraging a bit of interaction on this blog.

Something else I’ve done on my break from this blog is to focus on my health and fitness,  which you can read about on another blog I’ve started – Chrysalis Emerging.

So it’s NOT that I’ve been idle and abandoned my coaching and writing.  On the contrary, I’ve been busy planning, researching and learning how to offer you even better stuff more often.

Oh well, here goes.  I have a day job.  There, I’ve said it.  It may sound like a bit of a let down; maybe you were expecting something far more titilating.

You want to know what I do?   I drive taxis.  It’s something I do while this stuff that I’m working on falls into place.

I drive taxis because I actually like it.  It sure beats working in an office rampant with small politics.   I love talking with a whole variety of people. And I even get to do some very focused coaching once in a while.

I enjoy driving taxis because my creative energy is not compromised – I can plot and plan, and scheme and dream to my heart’s content.  I don’t have to figure out how to sell more of the boss’s stuff, and compromise my creativity to solve his problems.

Also, I drive in a very pretty tropical city, and I only drive a few days a week – no nights.  Being interested in public spaces and private homes makes this an ideal little job because I see so many cool things, and I get to go into all kinds of out of the way places that you wouldn’t usually see unless you were invited there.

But it means there are some quite long shifts and early starts, and yeah, sometimes it saps my energy from being here more often, especially when I have a number of other things to attend to as well (called husband, LOL)

Visual “To Do” Chart for Creative People

Easy to set up – just use the back of a laminated poster.  Just use a clip to attach and hold against a bookshelf, for instance.

Put one task per post-it

Group them together – rearrange by time or project

Colour code your projects or task type.  Or code by post-it shape.

Routine tasks can get routine post-its.  Project-related tasks get special post-its.

Big tick on post-it when completed

Use for ideas as well

Easy to remove, reorganise, reprioritise.

Just take post-its with you in your purse or bag, and jot down any further “to do’s” that come to mind during the day, then simply place them on your chart when you come home.  No more forgetting to copy across to your master list.

Advantages

All tasks in one place – not scattered over various notebooks or pieces of paper – or in various files on your computer

Can see at a glance the progress you are making – even when computer is turned off, or all your notepads and papers are tidy and put away.  No out of sight, out of mind.

Better for visual people than word lists – especially if you use colour and interesting shapes.

Fun reminders of the building blocks required to build your online business.

If you wish, you can save all your ticked post-its to remind yourself how much work you’ve actually done.

Image by Inottawa. Flickr Creative Commons Licence.

Gender Issues:

Most are men, who are not likely to worry about keeping a household running smoothly and deal with the daily minutiae of a happy household. Their minds are unencumbered with a multitude of deadlines and to do lists.

Most are men, who willingly give up free leisure time to pursue their online business goals. Research shows that many men don’t know what to do with their leisure time anyway, so usually spend it drinking.

Women, on the other hand, generally have far less leisure time to sacrifice, and in order to put in as much time as men, in pursuit of their online business goals, typically need to sacrifice their sleep time.

There was a recent example offered by one of the “master gurus” who spoke admiringly of a colleague, at how he had travelled two hours to work, and two hours home again, and STILL found at least two hours to spend building his business in the evenings.

I dare say few women would be able to achieve this, unless they were single and unencumbered by family obligations, or had a totally supportive partner and family, or a nanny or housekeeper to take away many of the daily time consuming chores.

Men have a competitive approach to business, while women tend to have a cooperative approach. Most online products reveal this competitive approach by the Rambo words they use in the titles or the headlines for their sales copy: Murder, Stomper, Killer, Avenger, Pimp, Conquer, Gladiator, Boot Camp, and so on.

Many copywriting courses for sales letters and headlines are written by, and probably for, men.

Initially there were a few female entrepreneurs who where basically imitating what the guys were doing. Personally, I didn’t feel comfortable with their style because it came across as contrived, and certainly not coming from their authentic selves.

But this is certainly changing – seeing more successful women entrepreneurs online, and doing it their way – feminine, caring, cooperatively. There is a growing movement of women – and men – who are bringing their heart and soul into their online business activities.

Left Brain Learning

This is similar to many gender issues discussed above, because men tend to be left-brain focused, while women tend to be right brain focused.

But it also has to do with passion and creativity versus method and logic, so it’s not strictly a gender thing.

Passionate and creative people hate following rules because, and by their very nature, they like to be innovators and to take risks and to push boundaries.

But most online entrepreneurial courses are offered on a “Do As I Say” or “Do As I Have Done” basis. Just like at school, the instructors have little patience with you if you deviate from the lessons in your own creative way.

As things stand at the moment with regards to learning your ideal way to run YOUR ideal business, you will find you really need to go through a lot of “This is the way I did it” courses to learn basic fundamentals that are common throughout all business models, but also what differentiates one from another, and to recognise which ones click with you.

The risk that passionate and creative people face when trying to build their own online business is going around in circles as they learn from here and there, making many false starts and spending a lot of unnecessary money along the way. In short, your typical chaotic, creative process.

However, the biggest risk that I see, is that passionate and creative people give up. They give up because it’s too hard, or too technical, or they have no mentorship to help with the doubt and confusion.

Timing

Most online gurus started when the internet was very young (mid to late 1990’s) and there was not the amount of choice or distractions that are there today. Their challenges were different to what they are today.

Early gurus essentially had open slather on the online marketplace because there was very little competition – very few people realised what the internet might be useful for. The public was hungry for information, so whatever was offered was eagerly consumed. The downside for early gurus was they had to teach themselves how to build an online business at a time when there was nothing available – it was a lot of trial and error learning.

Nowadays, the playing field of online business has changed considerably. There are rules and regulations that must be followed due to earlier abuses of the system. There is a chaotic amount of information available on how to make money on the internet. There are many more business models to choose from, and a multitude of options for earning money online.

Your challenge today is overwhelm, and trying to sort the treasures from the trash. But the tools you need to build a great online business have been made much easier.

The only thing that hasn’t changed over time is the level of determination required to succeed online.

Existing Networks or Relationships

This is an insidious issue, because it lies hidden. Success breeds success, and successful people love sharing how they became successful – and charge you to learn their techniques.

But it’s a little bit like taking 5 years to be an overnight success. Few people let on about the struggles in their early days. They don’t mention the trials and failures along the way.

How it happens is like this: You’ll see a headline or opener that basically reads how they made $23,489 in two weeks with no previous list to speak of, and they’ll teach you how to do it as well, for a nice price. But what they don’t make so clear is that they may have a few people in their network who were willing to promote their product to their own substantial list, in return for a cut of the sales.

Well, you might think there is nothing basically wrong with that, and that you could do that too. Okay, but let me tell you it’s not that easy trying to sell yourself, an absolute newcomer, with no track record, to a big player who get hundreds, if not thousands of these requests all the time.

But then you could be lucky. You might have such a player as a member of your extended family, or who is in your golf club or who you meet at a friend’s wedding.

What I’m saying is that serendipity often plays a critical part in success, and it isn’t often acknowledged.

However, there are a few real gems out there that do teach new online entrepreneurs how to build their business up step by step. But it’s not glamorous, or easy or quick.

Final Thoughts

You will make a number of false starts – it’s part of the game, so don’t be so hard on yourself.

Keep at it. It is a complex field, and it’s a chaotic learning environment at the moment. Hopefully I can help to make it better.

Remember most online business courses (offline too, for that matter) are not designed for passionate and creative people. So learn what you can, and hunt around for some good, understanding mentors.

It’s a long term thing. Don’t give yourself unreasonable expectations. It’s totally okay to be a tortoise than a hare – especially if you’re a person with many responsibilities to juggle.

The process of building an online business can be considered a process of self discovery, as you define your service that you gladly offer the world, recognise and overcome your resistances to technology, and also recognise and overcome your resistances to being successful.

An online business can be considered a creative product. Learn to use your tools, learn the techniques, explore your personal styles – and then create your life’s work.  Mold it, shape it, refine it. Then, leave it alone.

These are dangerous words I write.

I guarantee that you have never read words like this before, because most people who are selling business opportunities on the internet want you to believe that it is easy and simple, that they have the master key to quick profits, and that you’ll be up and running in next to no time.

Furthermore, if you fail to be up and running in next to no time, it will be assumed to be your personal failure and that you have either character or motivational flaws.

However, I beg to differ.  Human beings cannot be put into an educational sausage machine and be expected to emerge all the same.  Especially adults.

So,

Assuming you’ve already done some online courses about building an online business and you work at your online business five to ten hours a week, on average, you can typically expect to encounter many of the following scenarios:

1.    It will probably take you about a year to figure out everything you need to learn in order to make money.   Just imagine having three years worth of university studies in any field, just dumped on your lap, out of sequence, with the expectation that you sort it out yourself.

Some courses might outline certain strands, or be the bare bones outline, but for your own sense of competence and confidence, you feel that you need to know a fuller body of knowledge.

2.    It will take you about two years to realise that it takes a lot more time and effort than you’ve been putting in.  You wonder where you can squeeze the extra time from.  You need to find time to learn, as well as time to plan, as well as time to create, as well as time to market.

3.    It will take you about two years to work out your angle, or your niche, and how to position your expertise to your profitable advantage.

Sometimes it seems that there is always someone already doing what you were hoping to do, so you want to avoid imitating them and try to think of a different approach to offer.

So as a result, you make many false starts.

Sometimes you’re just not sure what area of your expertise you WANT to offer online.  Especially if you have a broad interest in many things.

4.    It will take you about two years to begin getting subscribers to your list, because your sense of perfection will not allow you to begin building a list before you feel that you can truly offer something of value.

5.    It will take you about two years to figure out what to offer subscribers on your list. And in what order.  E-book, e-course, workshops, audios, videos, free reports, special offers …

Again, you make many false starts.

6.    It will take you about two years before you start earning $200 a month – maybe longer.

7.    You’ll discover that it’s not as easy as everyone has been making out.  You wonder if you’re the only one who is just not getting it.  You feel like an outsider desperately trying to come in, but just can’t find the right doorway.

8.    You’ll change your business models a number of times in three years.  Mini sales websites, membership models, blogs, forced opt in pages ….With a fresh start, and maybe a fresh focus each time.  You have a collection of domain names, half baked websites, and an abundance of half finished documents scattered on your hard drive.  You spend a lot of time looking for documents that you know are there somewhere …

More false starts.

9.    You’ll feel like quitting at least once a month, when you’re feeling totally exhausted.  It feels just too hard, with no rewards immediately on the horizon.  But you’ll also feel like you’re so close, that you’ve put in so much work and invested so much money already, so you keep hanging in there.

10.    You’ll get your hopes up once a month because a motivating email announcing a brand new program or system or ebook comes your way.  Maybe this one will provide that missing key?

11.    You’ll feel guilty most days, for spending so much time on the computer.  Your partner sighs a lot and makes pointed remarks.  (Women with clean houses aren’t trying to build an online business.)

12.    You’ll discover that many of the products you’ve invested in were not worth the money you paid for them.  But because they’ve been sitting unused on your computer for a few months before you tried them, the return guarantees have expired.  You only bought it at that time because the price was going to go up the next day, even though you knew you couldn’t get around to it till weeks later.

13.    You’ll learn that there are many business models that leave a bad taste in your mouth because they don’t fit with your values or strengths. Or they require you to learn something else before you can successfully implement them.  However, keep in mind that it is just as helpful to know what you don’t want to do, as it is to learn about things that you do want to implement.

14.    At the end of the first year, you’ll have spent at least $2000 online.   At the end of the second year, it’s more likely that you will be around $10,000 in the red.  All education requires an investment.

15.    You’ll discover that there is no support for when you feel stuck or discouraged, unless you commit to one teacher, and you do it their way.  There don’t seem to be any or many freelance online business mentors.  And chances are that there is no one else in your circle of acquaintances or friends who is interested in the online business world.

16.    You’ll begin to believe that there are easier ways to earn money – like taking on a second or third job.

However, these are no reasons to give up.  It is helpful to your overall goal to simply recognise them for the stumbling blocks that they are.  Remember not to take them personally.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with you if you don’t achieve the proclaimed results in a short timeframe.

The breakthroughs come when:

• You allow yourself to experiment and try things out without feeling like it’s a lifetime commitment.  Try things on for size.  Give yourself permission to “fail” at least seven times.
• You keep the end goal in mind and think on it often, using the Laws of Attraction.
• You relax, and appreciate that ALL highly skilled professions require steep learning curves.  Being an online business person is a very technical and skilled professional.
• You implement systems to organise your burgeoning knowledge.  Online and offline.
• You put as much time into strategic planning as you do in learning and implementing.
• You realise that you don’t have to put on any false personas in order to impress your potential customers.  Just be your real self, speak in your natural voice and speak from your heart and soul.
• You become aware that despite all expert advice, only you can decide what marketing strategies and business models feel right for you.  You will know when they click.  Sometimes it might appear that you have missed some clue the first time around, but maybe you were required to have the idea “ripen” or be supplemented with other knowledge that was unavailable the first (or second or third) time around.
• It becomes okay for you to travel at your own pace, according to your own schedule and priorities.  Don’t believe that you need to imitate the achievement of others.
• You learn how to call for help when you feel stuck – maybe using online forums for programs you’ve already subscribed to, or maybe online friendships you’ve established with other online business students, or maybe even just knowing where to outsource that darned task to.
• You learn to appreciate that small numbers of loyal subscribers are more valuable than large numbers of uncommitted subscribers.  It feels great knowing that you don’t have to please everybody.
• You allow your inner guidance system to steer you into your decisions.
• You begin to have fun with your online business.
• You treat your online business as your life’s work, not as a race.  One step at a time.
• You learn to think about it as undertaking professional education for your final career change.
• You realise that to become successful, it’s not necessary to do exactly as others have done, but to think like they think.

Image by Lilly (Flickr Creative Commons License)

One of the main problems for online marketing newbies is being overwhelmed with information.

With the spiral method of learning complex information, you see an overview of the field – without being expected to remember anything, but simply to put a model in your mind that makes sense, and seems do-able, so that you feel excited about proceeding in your adventure.

This course is specifically designed to lay a solid foundation for your online business success.  Of course, you will be expected to continue your learning once you have finished this course, but you will have the advantage of knowing what you want to learn, and knowing why you want to learn it.

Sounds easy, but too many people just jump in to the deep end, get overwhelmed with the amount of information, and end up being paralysed into inaction.

1. Adults have the need to know why they are learning something.
2. Adults learn through doing.
3. Adults are problem-solvers.
4. Adults learn best when the subject is of immediate use.

These principles lay it out pretty well.

Considered reflection is a major key to inspired learning.  Time to think and review is another essential key to creating powerful learning experience for adults. Adult learners need time to absorb what they learn and to contemplate the implications what they have learned, and how their plans need to be adapted in light of the new knowledge.

The spiral method of learning is ideal for complex learning like building an online business from scratch, because it is always expanding, but never covering the same ground, and while it clarifies and sheds light what has already happened, it is also leading constantly to new discoveries.

My Heart Based Business Program ™ presents a map of where you could take your own entrepreneurial online adventure.  I give you overviews of various territories, advise you on the highlights and features of various options, the challenges you’ll face along the way, and how to cope with them.

Then when you have finished my program, you then chart your own course, and get more specialised tuition on an as-required basis from subject-matter experts of your choice.

So rather than teaching you EVERYTHING all in one hit, you will get a big picture, an introduction to all the buzz words, and a SYSTEM for building future knowledge on.  I work WITH you to explore your options on how you want to shape your business.

But, for most creative and passionate newbies, you’ll most likely be exploring a few different options to see how they fit.  You absolutely hate paint-by-numbers approaches to creating, except maybe as a way of learning basic principles.

Artists make sketches.

Writers make drafts.

Creative online business people make exploratory websites.

So don’t give yourself a hard time if it’s not working out as quickly or as easily as you’ve been led to believe elsewhere.

You are creating, in the fullest sense of the word.  Take your time.  Craft it well.  Explore your inner self to see what message or service is trying to come out.  Research, feed your imagination, see what other people are doing.

And unlike many other courses that are offered, once you have finished my program, you are always welcome to stay in touch with me if you feel particularly stuck at some point in your journey.  Ideas and solutions come easily to me, and I love to help people get unstuck.  Or just write me about how things are going for you.  I love to hear success stories too.

The primary role of the maiden is to keep the species going – nature’s sneaky little biological tricks.  A woman in this phase of her life is often hijacked away from her dreams by love and sex.

Then, once the ongoing of the species is assured, with the arrival of some little ones, women move into their next phase of life.  In motherhood, many women are flat out busy with attending to the needs of her children, and running a household.  Personal fulfillment dreams are often put on the back burner at this stage of a woman’s life, because all her attention is on the essential, but often trivial and mundane details of keeping everyone happy and functioning well.

Then comes the best part of a woman’s life – The Witch.  My favorite definition of a witch is simply a woman that a man can’t control.  When a woman comes into her Witch phase, her life is back in her hands.  With few obligations and distractions, she is now free to focus on whatever her heart desires.

Many of us have found Marianne Williamson’s words about our deepest fears inspirational.  I have adapted them slightly to personalise it for you.  Read it thoughtfully and see what difference it makes coming from the first person voice:

My deepest fear is not that I am inadequate.

My deepest fear is that I am powerful beyond measure.

It is my light, not my darkness that most frightens me.

I ask myself, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who am I not to be? I am a child of God.

My playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around me.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. I am born to make manifest the glory of God that is within me.

It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.

And as I let my own light shine, I unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As I am liberated from my own fear, my presence automatically liberates others.

So here is my challenge to you:  How can you let your light shine more strongly?  What knowledge or skills do you have that can liberate others from their limitations?  Why are you not moving into your full power – what is stopping you?

And finally:  What are you going to do about it?