When people consider writing a non-fiction book, they are sometimes disappointed because of their expectations about the publishing world.  There seems to be a pervading myth that simply publishing a book, on its own merits, is enough to bring fame and fortune to any author.  This may come as a surprise, but if your purpose in wanting to write a book is to make money, then read on as I shed some light on the real truths behind book publishing.

The truth is that very few non-fiction authors make much money from their book alone. Publishing a book and getting nationwide distribution is an exorbitantly, and in most cases prohibitively, expensive process. It’s time and energy intensive, and will take massive amounts of resources.  In fact, non-fiction authors will spend thousands of dollars marketing before they even break even with book sales (anywhere from 200-350,000 copies sold).  So if it’s that difficult and expensive, what’s the point of publishing a book anyway?

There are two main reasons to write and publish a non-fiction book, and to make money certainly isn’t one of them.  The two reasons are to market your business and to gain credibility.

Marketing

Unless you have a baseline business platform, other than your book idea, to drive traffic to, there’s very little point in publishing a non-fiction book. You won’t make any money and it won’t be worth the effort. The successful non-fiction authors are those who understand that their book is nothing more than a marketing tool to drive traffic to their business, and who exploit this knowledge effectively.

The real money to be made from publishing a book doesn’t come from the book itself; it comes from the business that the book is designed to market. So what does this mean for you?  You should spend far more time and effort developing a legitimate business, rather than writing a book.

Your time is much better spent focusing on your business, products, and services and then writing a book – think of it as a giant and useful brochure – to market those products and services.  This approach will ultimately result in far more dollars to you than trying to make money from book sales alone.

Credibility

In today’s world, your audience is drowning in information. They’re constantly bombarded with television, radio, books, advertising, Internet, blogs, music, etc.  So why should they listen to you, especially when there may be countless competing factors sending them conflicting messages? When faced with information overload, people listen to and buy from those they deem to be credible.

Think about it.  Why are quotes so powerful? It’s not usually because what is said in a quote makes it relevant and important to you–it’s because of the credibility of the person saying it. When you hear the words, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” the quote sticks with and impacts you not because of the actual words, but because you know they came from Gandhi, a man who earned ultimate credibility on the subject of changing the world. Your neighbor could say the same thing, but unless he has credibility on that subject, the words will impact you far less and you will quickly forget them.

The phrase “Imagination is more important than knowledge” could be seen as nothing but a trite adage, but coming from the mind and mouth of Albert Einstein, it carries substantial weight and meaning.

Credibility is a precious commodity in the world, and it’s one that, once gained, will dramatically increase your bottom line. There’s something about being a published author that gives a person instant credibility. Imagine being at a party and meeting three new people. Suppose the first two people you meet are incredible businesspeople and the third is actually far less accomplished than the first two. But if you learn that the third is a published author, suddenly you pay more attention and give more weight to their words. And the chances are high that the published author, despite any of their other accomplishments, is the one that you will remember months later.

If you are thinking about writing a non-fiction book, first understand that publishing a book is not a good way to make money in and of itself.  You absolutely must develop an amazing business that the book is deliberately designed to market, and it’s through increasing traffic to this business that you will make your real money.  And by gaining credibility, which comes from being a published author, the chances of getting people to consistently buy from your business are considerably greater.

In other words, what you need isn’t a good idea for a book, but rather, a good business to market.  Build a business and then write your non-fiction book.

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Do you know what to look for in a motivational speaker for your business?  Studies show the more employees that you have in the business roaster the more profitable your company will be. The thing is that you will need to pick up the spirits in the office at some point and that is when a motivational speaker comes in and tells others how they can work on their own goals, while working towards the goals of the company.  A motivational speaker will not only motivate your workers, they are also there to educate and stimulate the minds of your workers.

Some of the things that you need to look for in a presentation are humor and entertainment, while at the same time educational and stimulating. If your workers leave the office thinking that they just had fun, then it’s great. If your workers leave the office feeling that they have learned something that is even better. You will need to get a speaker who can mix the humor with serious education so that you can make the most out of the time that is spent with the motivational speaker. Keep in mind that a motivational speaker is an investment. You will want to make sure that all of your workers are on board with the plan so that they can make the most out of the time and energy that the speaker puts into the presentation.

Secondly, you need to look for someone who is a strong leader. You will want to make sure that they are motivating and that there are able to prove that there is an effective course of action to help the company and the workers out with the issue your company wants to work on. Understand that the motivational speaker is important to the satisfaction of your employees and the success of your business.

Keep in mind that you are in a competitive workforce and that you have to be able to connect with and inspire your workers in order to maximize profits. Make sure that you deliver a good presentation for your workers so that they will be healthy, satisfied, and enticed to give that extra effort. You need to look for charisma in the speaker. They need to be able to charm a room, so that they can be entertaining and yet informing. You will also find that if the speaker is able to make a bond with your workers, then the workers will be more inclined to listen and really pay attention to the message of the speech.

Check up on the reference of the speaker because you are paying for their services and you want to make sure that they are going to uphold their end of the bargain. Consider the professional strengths and the personal characteristics of the speaker before you hire them, but, also consider your own gut feeling. Basically, if you think that this person would work for your company then listen to yourself.

Hiring a motivational speaker or coach for your employees is one of the best decisions, with long term returns; you will make for your company!

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There are basically six steps in a typical hypnotherapy session.  They are:

1.  The Pre-Talk

This is where you establish rapport, a trusting relationship with the client.  Forms are filled out,  suggestibility determined, and the specific goals of the therapy session(s) decided upon.  Hypnosis is explained and any fear is addressed as well as misconceptions about hypnosis.  You may wish to explain what will happen and what they are likely to experience.  Also, discuss finances at this point- the client can pay upfront for the session at this time if you prefer.

2.  Induction

Once the actual session is started, induction is ANY script or procedure to start the client moving into the hypnotic trance.  Some examples are:  progressive relaxation, guided imagery, non-verbal inductions, eye closure techniques, quick or instant inductions, focusing on breath, etc.  There are many inductions and generally you select the one that works best for the client (or one you have had a great deal of success with).  If the selected induction is not working, you can switch to a different method effortlessly.

3. Deepening

Also a script or other procedure to encourage the client to relax into a deeper ‘level of trance’.  The most common deepening is counting down but there are many other methods.   You could have your client visualize or imagine they are descending a staircase, going down a hole, taking an elevator down several floors, or walking down a beautiful outdoor path.  You can also instruct them directly to go ‘twice as deep’ as they currently are, go to their ‘deepest level’ of relaxation, etc.  The idea with deepening techniques is to focus on ‘down’, ‘totally relaxed, ‘deepest level you can achieve’… that kind of mental imagery.

4.  Suggestions/Session

This is the “real meat” of the hypnosis session, where most directives for positive change are made and all the creative stuff takes place.  Included in these are the optional techniques of: post hypnotic suggestion, anchoring or triggers.  This is where you conduct age and past life regression work, recover memories, suggest changes, undo habits, release fears, gain insights, etc.  Often, you interact and speak with the client at this stage (and they speak back to you) – or perhaps they just listen, depending on what you are doing.

5.  Awakening

This is the process by which the client is gradually brought out of hypnosis and back to waking consciousness.  A common method is counting back up- or some other reversal of the deepening technique used.  Bring them back up the path, back through the hole, take  the elevator to the main floor, up the staircase… becoming more alert and awake with every step that they take.  Alternatively, you could simply direct them to ‘awaken’, open their eyes, and be fully refreshed and alert.  You reorient them to feel their body and hear the noises around them again… etc.  This part is complete when the client sits up, opens their eyes, and begins to act as usual.  But, it is not entirely finished…don’t be fooled.

6.  De-Briefing

This is a post-talk that is very important to make sure your client has reconnected with the present moment, to make sure they are okay to drive (etc.).  Often clients are not instantly fully alert and it may take them several minutes to readjust.  As such, they are still susceptible to suggestion so tell them what a great session they had and that the next session will be even easier, deeper, and more profound (or quickly state again that they are a permanate non-smoker, that their goal is easy and effortless… whatever you were working on).  You need to project that you are confident and certain that hypnosis worked for them and they experienced something real and powerful.  They are still impressionable- the session is not over for them!

De-briefing also allows them time to tell you what they experienced and connections they may have made.  You can answer their questions,  help them make connection, briefly go over the expectations of what is to be practiced until the next session, and reconfirm the next appointment time and date.  The insights you gain from the debriefing tell you how well your techniques worked for this client, what you need to change next session, what was particular powerful for this client, etc.  It is a wealth of information.

Hypnosis sessions come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.  Some may last only fifteen minutes and are used primarily by psychotherapists to induce clients to “open up” in a psychotherapy session.  Some types of regression therapy may last over two hours.  But typically, a standard professional session will last from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Likewise, each hypnotist has his or her own approach and that is why there are success rates ranging from 40% to 95%.  Most prefer the progressive relaxation to induce hypnosis, while others may prefer another induction.  As you develop skills, you will develop your own preferences and style.

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As a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Neuro Linguistic Practitioner, Life or Business Coach, one of the attractive career options is to become a professional speaker and tour the world giving lectures, seminars, workshop, and presentations.

One of the primary reasons people get into the professional speaking business is because they want to earn a serious income.  With dreams of stardom and hopes of owning a million dollar home, they set off in pursuit of getting highly paid engagements only to get knocked down by rejection after rejection.  After doing some research, the new speaker learns that most of their starting events will be free speaking events.   Should they be disappointed?

If “free” is a horrendous four letter word in your career vocabulary, you’ll need to learn the importance and value that “free” can really provide.  There are tremendous benefits that come with speaking for free including having the ability to promote your back of the room products where you can actually profit.  You’ll be gaining new experiences and building your clientele list at the same time.

1. “Free” still gets your name out there.  The more people who hear you speak the more people there will be to purchase your products or services and refer you to other people who are looking for professional speakers.  For example, speaking for free for an organization like a Rotary Club or Elks Club can lead to paying jobs because many of the members who belong to these organizations have businesses of their own or are in positions in their careers to “hire” speakers.

2. You can still have the opportunity to sell your products at these free speaking engagements.  Statistics show that back of the room products account for over 50% of professional speaking profits.  Promote your business and promote your products in the same place!  At the very least, you will be able to refer them to your website for more information or additionally, to purchase your products and services.  The more people that hear you, the more opportunities you’ll have.

3. Free speaking opportunities are still opportunities where you can create a video tape of yourself.  This recording can then become one of the products you can sell in the future.  Many speaker bureaus and meeting planners will not hire you without seeing a video tape of your presentation.  On top of that, many organizations like the Rotary Club or Elks Club have people who can help you create your video.  Can you trade services?

4. Free speaking engagements are a great place to network.  Hopefully by now you understand that you have to get your name out there.  In order to get your name out there, you’ll have to BE out there.  You can mingle with your audience as well as network with meeting planners for the function.

5. A free speaking event is still a great reason to send out a press release.  If you’re looking for a reason to send out press releases about yourself or your career, use free speaking engagements.  Submit them to local newspapers and various online sites that have a “to-do in your area” section.  This is just another way to get the word out about your business.

Speaking for free has many hidden benefits.  What you’ll need to learn next is how to leverage these free events into client referrals and product sales.  As you do this, more people will know about you and your business will be well on its way to success!

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Online press releases are a great way to advertise your practice or service.  They can provide a considerable opportunity to reach a huge online community. This article will provide complete guidance to make out well optimized and well written press release for PR distribution through the press release network.  A well prepared press release will attract journalists and is well optimized for distribution to your target audience.

1. Use the proper keywords

Keywords are the words that are used to find stuff online , in this case, your press release.  Selecting key words is the most important part of press release optimization.  When identifying keywords, select words and phrases someone is most likely to use when searching for your online business or website. A great recommended tool to help you search keywords that others are using is wordtracker.com.

2. Keyword or phrase position

Place key phrase into the headline and the title of your press release. Try to repeat it nearly 2-3 times in the content of the release.   The repetition of keywords helps to get it found online.  But be careful, using the keywords too much will cause it to look life spam.  A good rule of thumb is to write how you would actually speak to someone.

3. Starting should be solid

Remember to make your title and initial lines cover that you want to express. The remaining part of your press release should depict the detailed information.

4. Use service or product name repetitively

Repeat placements of the name of your service or product to make it eminent.  For example, write “neuro linguistic programming” instead of writing “NLP”, this would make your service more searchable and your product name much more popular.

5. Draft it for Journalists/Media agencies

This is the entire reason you write a press release.  The media agencies and journalists will grab your press release and publish it in their publications; they may slightly edit your press release, but make sure it is high quality when it goes out.

6. Consider viewer’s interest

Consider to whom you are targeting your press release, and what is their interest.  Think, if you were a part of audience, would you like to read the press release you have written.

7. Make your press release practical

Point out real facts of you, your company and your services.  Readers are so scholar they can instantly find out ‘what’s true and what not’?  Write something they will WANT to read and that adds value to their life.

8. Make your story include real facts

Avoid untrue examples and add-ons. If you find the content using much added extras, make it natural and real.  Your press release should be in active voice, not passive.  Verbs in the active voice makes your press release live.

9. Use only sufficient and essential words

Avoid using superfluous adjectives, extravagant language, or unnecessary expressions like “The most powerful”.  Tell your story with less  words, as verbosity distracts from your content.  Remember the average American reads at an 8^th grade level.  If it is too complicated, people won’t read it.

10. Avoid usage of terminology

However, a limited use of terminology would be allowed if required, if you aim to optimize news release for internet search engines. The finest technique to communicate your press release is to speak neatly, using regular language.

11. Keep away from too many exclamations

Too much usage of exclamation point (!) may harm your press release.  If you have to use an exclamation point, use only one.

12. Your Practice or Consulting Firm’s Information

The press release should include a short description of your business which depicts you, your products and services, and a brief history of the company.

13. Pick your PR distribution network

Deciding on a press release distribution network is also an important step. There are hundreds of free press release distribution networks.   There are also many excellent paid services like PRWeb.  Do a search online for PR Network and you’ll see many options.

14. Propose RSS feeds

Assist journalist by offering RSS feeds so that they haul to your website.  Through this interested parties will discover that you have relevant new releases on the topic for which they are searching.

15. Publish releases often

Try to publish press releases frequently to be recognized as a news source.   The more you put out there that is picked up, the quicker your business will grow.

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POWER.  We want it.  We have it.  We DON’T use it.

If you are like most people in this world you feel frustrated, maybe even victimized, by what life hands you sometimes.  But, what if YOU were actually creating your life in every moment?  What if what you get tomorrow was directly related to the actions you took (or did not take) and the thoughts you focus most on today?  I am here to tell you exactly that.  You have the power, right now… in this moment… exactly as you are now, to begin to take control over you circumstances.

If power begins in controlling something, then are we powerless prior to controlling?

Yes and no.

We have potential, which is a power in itself, but unused and undirected potential is NOTHING.

Are we powerless if we are not controlling?

We are not powerless, but ignorant (Which is a version of powerlessness.)

We don’t know that we have power and we don’t know that we don’t know.

The end of all powerlessness begins with awareness

A Samurai Warrior learned this by practicing a meditation of sitting on the top of a mountain with arms extended and sword pointing skyward in a position ready to fall.  He would then meditate on that fleeting moment when a balanced piece of metal would turn into an unpredictable falling/killing weapon.  His awareness was on the potential of the weapon. When he learned its potential, then he could study the application of its power.

What is power?

What is power like?

How great is power?

Where is power now?

To Know. To Will. To Dare. To Keep Silent.

These are profound powers that remain dormant in all of us to one degree or another.

To Know

You don’t know what you don’t know. Thus you must seek knowledge in whatever realm you wish to control.

To Will

You must Will, desire deeply, to control the aspect of your life you wish to control

To Dare

Dare to use that knowledge by taking action.

To Keep Silent

This is where power turns to craft. It is the most subtle application of power.  So subtle it may seem that things are all happening in your favor by chance when in fact they happen by your design.

Shih – Potential Force

A bolder resting precariously on a cliff, a bow string pulled tight, these have a quality of potential force, What the Chinese strategist, Sun Tsu, called “shih”.  With just the right action and the force is unleashed.

The silent art of power and control is to see the potential force in everything and arrange it so that, if released, it works in your favor.

The keys to this power are first to know what you want far into the future and to know it in rich and glorious detail (Know). The next step is to develop a precise and detailed plan to your goal (Dare to take action), and to meditate upon it day in and day out (Will). By having this constantly on your mind you will function with the greatest efficiency toward your goal.

You will see the world around you and know “This action will lead me to my goal.  This action will lead me nowhere.”  Dare to take correct action and not waste time with actions that do not serve your purpose.

This task is unnatural for most of us because our natural tendency is to focus on the thoughts of the present and to respond to the urgencies at hand. To master the skill of Power we must alter our thinking and see every action that we perform as an act of manipulating “shih” (potential force) that will create our tomorrow.

To do this is the height personal power.  Your life will begin to fall into place when you follow these simple steps.  It makes mere men seem magical as if they controlled the forces of nature!

Start developing this skill in your own life and help your clients realize the potential power that they already possess.  What could be more profound?

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If you regularly attend IMS class calls or host conference calls in your business then you probably already know the teleconference etiquette that will be gone over.  However, if you have never been a participant in one of our coaching calls or have never hosted a teleconference then there are two common rules of etiquette, spoken and unspoken, that you need to know.  Two simple actions you need to take so you will not be rude to the other members of the teleconference meeting.

If You Are A Conference Call Participant

The first thing that you need to know about being a participant of a telephone conference call is make sure there is no background noise.  Other people generally don’t like to hear background noise on your phone.  Not only do many people consider background noise to be a distracting interruption but the meeting is unsuccessful if there is too much noise that blocks out the important parts of the information.

So instead of having the meeting or class blocked out by background noise, there is a simple fix for this problem – your ‘Mute’ button.  Most phones come with a ‘Mute’ button and all you need to do is press this button to get rid of the background noise that’s coming from your office or house.  Of course, this also means that by pressing the Mute button you will also not be able to speak unless you un-mute the phone.  All things considered, though, the Mute button is handy and serves a good purpose for teleconference meetings and classes.

The second thing that participants of teleconference meetings need to be aware of is that you should hold all of your questions until the end unless otherwise noted.  Interrupting the teleconference meeting distracts the speaker, especially for small questions that could be held until the end anyway. There is often a few moments of lag time and sometimes an echo so it is best to wait until the end of the call.  There is usually a specified part of the meeting that is designated for a Questions and Answers session, and this is the part in which every member can ask the questions that they want to hear.

If You Are A Conference Call Host

If you are the host of the teleconference call then there are also some important guidelines to follow when hosting the meeting.  For example, if you have advertised that the meeting will be held at 7pm then the meeting or class should commence on time.  Pushing back the meeting to wait for late-comers is not something that most people want to do and it is disrespectful of the participants who choose to arrive on the call at the proper time.   Pushing back the start of the meeting inconveniences those dedicated individuals who got on the teleconference at 7pm sharp.

At the same time it is necessary that you end the call on time.  If it was intended to be a one hour call, make sure you keep on schedule.  This demonstrates integrity and teaches your participants to trust you and know that you keep your word.

Remember to leave a time for your participants to ask questions.  Make sure the content you just delivered is clear and no remaining confusion over any topic exists for your listeners.  If possible you could supply them with notes or an outline ahead of the call to give everyone something to follow along with.  The outline will help you keep focused, on topic, and ensure that you cover all the information you wanted to cover.

All of these bits of information are important to having a good and successful teleconference call meeting.  Participants and hosts both need to be aware of these simple guidelines if they are to be a success.  Tele-conferencing is a wonderful way to hold classes, conduct group sessions, or contact clients.  Go forth and connect!

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One of the great things about being a Coach, NLP Practitioner, and even a Hypnotherapist is that you are able to work from home.   Coaches do most of their work via conference calls with their clients.  NLP Practitioners can be consultants for businesses or public speakers.  Hypnotherapists can do group seminars, put on stage shows, or work from a home office.  There are numerous options that allow you to structure your career exactly the way you want and still work from home.   It’s important to choose a suitable space and assess your technology needs beforehand so that your new home office is compatible with your needs.

If working from home interests you the next step is to consider how to create your virtual office.

1.  Office Space

You will need a place to actually do your work.  Ideally, this is a spacious and quiet office area in your home but it could be as simple as a laptop at the kitchen table.  Try to find an area that is a dedicated space you can use just for your business; one that is away from the household commotion and has a door you can close, if possible.  This will help you keep organized and focused.  For many people who work from a home office a desk, a chair, a computer with a working Internet connection, a printer, and a phone line with voicemail will suffice.

2.  Computer and Internet Connection

Beyond a shadow of a doubt you will need a computer and high speed internet connection.  Virtually everything about your business will take place on your computer from designing/ordering advertising material to scheduling your clients. A computer is absolutely necessary; do not skimp in this department and get the highest speed internet connection you can afford.  You may also need a printer, fax, and other office equipment but they are not always necessary.

3.  Communication System

You will need a phone line/system to communicate with your clients and leads.  Depending on how much you will need to call, this could be a cell phone, home phone or business phone with voice mail, or it could be online video contact like Skype.  There are many teleconference services out there, some quite advanced, so you can make group conference calls.

4. Virtual Helpers

In today’s world, you do not have to be a one person army.  You can outsource many of your business tasks.  There are virtual assistants for hire who can act like a front office manager for you.   You can use a service like Ring Central that will answer your calls live and follow the protocol you set out.  You can use an appointment making service like appointment quest to schedule clients, classes or meetings.  You can hire a PR person to get your name in the media.  You can hire a ‘ghost writer’ to assist you in creating the book you always wanted to write.  You can even get a ‘virtual office’ that will provide a professional business address and possibly occasional meeting space to give you a more professional presentation when you need it.  The point is, with a little searching online, you can find affordable helpers for ANY aspect of your business you would like to outsource.

5.  A Business Bank Account

It is not legally mandatory but it is very important that you have a separate business account.  Do not mix your personal and business money.  It is also a good idea to have a finance software program like QuickBooks to keep track of your business finances and make it supper simple at tax time.

6.  Decide Type of Business Entity, Business License, Federal Tax ID Number

Decide what type of business entity you would like to be.  Each one has different tax and legal ramifications so educate yourself and choose wisely.  Your city or county may or may not require you to have a business license; it varies per jurisdiction. Contact your local governments to find out. Getting a tax identification number is a must. Get one from the IRS.

7.  A Web Site and E-mail Account   

Yes, you need a Web site, for business and marketing purposes. And you want a Web domain name that matches the name of your business’s name, not some complicated URL that no one can remember. Same thing with your e-mail address- make sure it is professional.  Search ‘domain name’ to find places that sell domains (like GoDaddy).  If you want a simple website you can build yourself for very little money consider WordPress or ViperSiteBuilder.com. Both are very easy to customize.

8.  Business Cards/Etc.

A great place online to design business cards, stationary, envelopes, flyers, postcards, etc. is VistaPrint.com.  It is the small business owner’s best fiend!  Very affordable and fast turnaround, you can get a professional customized look for your business with just a few clicks.

9. Consider Health and Liability Insurance.

Health insurance is probably the biggest thorn in the sides of small-business owners; it’s expensive and sometimes hard to get. One of the best ways to get health insurance is through trade organizations – even your local chamber of commerce may offer a health insurance option. You also need to consider if business insurance is something you will need.

10. Regular Business Hours and a Life Outside Your Office

For many people, starting a home-based business means blurring the lines between your work life and family life. Set regular business hours and stick to them. Be disciplined and plan your work week out at the start of each week. Minimize interruptions just as if you were working a regular job 9-5. But also do not become isolated. Seek out other independent professionals doing similar work as you, network with your professional association, and meet colleagues or clients for lunch as much as possible. Secluding yourself in your office not only ruins your social life, but it’s bad for business.

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Below are several ways that you can market today for little or no money at all to get more clients into your business tomorrow.

To judge which are right for you ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you want to sell this product? Or give it away with the goal of gaining trust in a potential client?

2. How will you sell/ market this product?

3.  Are you up for the work involved or should you choose an easier avenue requiring less marketing time?

4. Is there a method listed that really excites you? What is it about it that appeals to you?

When launching a marketing campaign make a list of everyone you know or have phone numbers of.  These people can include family, friends, colleagues, community professionals that know you (doctor, lawyer), other private practice professionals and local organizations.

Prepare a 30 second speech about you and your product (and why it may interest them) to leave on their voice mail.

Follow up with personally addressed letters or marketing packets that have a clear headline and direct instructions about what you would like them to do “call now and schedule an appointment”.

Questions to Get Yourself Motivated

What can you do today that will get you one step closer to your goals?

What, as a professional coach or counselor, would you want your client to do in this situation?

If you concentrate only on being productive today, regardless of what the end result would be, what would you do?

How can you make this marketing task fun?

11 Excellent Methods

1. Courses. These can be on increasing self-worth, goal attainment, weight loss, divorce recovery.  Courses can be completed by email or in person, for free or for a fee.

2. Books. If you have an overwhelming passion for a particular topic, why not write about it?  The average book is 200 pages and if you allow 3 months for writing and 3 months for editing you should have a final product in a little over 6 months. Chapters can also be broken down and given away as free samples.

3. Open Your Own School. More and more people want to be coaches, hypnotherapists, and nlp practitioners to help create change in the world. This is another area our college specializes in.  If you are interested in opening a school- click here.

4. Seminars or workshops. See courses. Partner with complimentary professionals to bring added values to attendees.

5. Assessments. Help people learn more about their strengths and overcome weakness in their personal or professional lives. Also test for career paths, Spiritual gifts, areas for growth, core values and self-worth.

6. Guest Speaking. Monthly meetings love guest speakers. Collect business cards and phone/e-mail information to follow up with attendees. Also consider collecting useful feedback through forms.

7. Retreats. Nothing can be more beneficial to the human soul then a learning, relaxing, weekend away. Guests can complete assessments, take part in relaxing and engaging activities and you can even choose a popular book to discuss during the weekend as well (or advertise your own)!

8. Motivational or self-help audios. These can be in the form of podcasts, MP3s or CDs.   Make your own recordings that you can easily upload to your website to sell or give away in exchange for an email address and contact information.

9. Videos. Use your camera to record a series of videos that can be uploaded to your website and sold (or given away as a bonus for registering) to all clients. Topics can include daily motivation, powerful questions or daily tasks to ask of your clients to assist with making life change.

10. Newsletter. Not just any newsletter a powerfully packed newsletter full of tips and advice that only special clients normally get to have access to.

11. Group coaching. These groups are a fantastic way for people get their feet wet when it comes to coaching. Meetings can be held by phone (conference call) or in person for a fraction of the cost to the client.

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Life Transformation Counseling is a process of assisting others to transform their lives; assisting others in reinventing themselves and creating a life that they love and live powerfully.  Transformational Counseling is a process of creating a space for others to become aware of their self-limiting belief, to create or invent a possibility for themselves and their life that could not have existed before, and to learn how to be their possibilities as opposed to being that which has always stopped them in the past.

The development of life (or ‘self’) transformation counseling is the result of work in counseling, psychotherapy, coaching, hypnosis, neuro linguistic programming, the work of Louise Hay and especially Landmark Education (much of the ‘lingo’ of this article is directly from Landmark).

To understand and be able to utilize the technology of Transformational Counseling with others, of being able to make a true difference in another person’s life, requires that one understand or get certain concepts or ‘distinctions’ about what it is to be a human being and reality itself.  While the concepts of Transformational Counseling are initially presented separately, it is in their practice or communication with another that a true synergy is reached and its potential or power actualized for the client.  For the counselor as well as the client, the learning that takes place within Transformational Counseling causes immediate and dramatic changes – transformations- thus its name.

The clients that I work with are all experiencing ‘a loss of power, freedom and full self-expression’ in one or many of the various domains of their life.  The clients that I see are all being stopped in ‘living a life that they love and living it powerfully’.  If they continue being as they have been nothing will change, life will be as it has always been.  They will remain stuck and unable to reach their true potential in life.  These clients know that something needs to be different in their life but are unsure of what that something is, of what is not working, of what is missing, of what needs to happen.  It is in assisting a client to discover or become present to ‘that which has been causing’ their depression, sadness, anger, frustration, etc. and to learn how to create a new way of being that the work of Transformational Counseling is all about.

One of the fundamental distinctions of Transformational Counseling is that our thoughts are very important, if not THE most important component of what it is to be a human being.   We tend to believe that the external world, or what we commonly believe to be reality, is what is truly important.  As a result of such a belief, we are constantly engaged in trying to change or fix something in the external world, constantly believing that this type of activity will bring us true happiness and contentment in our life.

Within Transformational Counseling, it is our thoughts or thinking that is of immense importance to us and our process of living.  It is our thoughts and thinking patterns that literally shape or determine our feelings, behavior, experiences and our reality.  More specifically, it is our thoughts that we have about ourselves that create or shape our experiences that form the background of our life and our sense of reality.  It is from the thoughts that we initially create about ourselves that we subsequently develop into a belief about who we think we are, our self-image, of how we define our very being and it is from this belief that we live our life.  We can change these beliefs and our self-image entirely.

Inside the conversation of Transformational Counseling it is also important to understand that we are truly responsible for the thoughts that we have, including and especially those that we have about ourselves.  We literally invent or create all of our thoughts and with them our feelings and behaviors.  To truly get our responsibility in how we create our experiences or reality is to also get how reality itself has no meaning outside of what we give it.  Because of this truth, we are free to give positive meaning to every experience we have of life.

Being responsible for our thoughts, ‘getting it’ that we create them, is completely different from the experience of guilt or blame.  It is not that we are to blame for our experiences but merely that we do create what we think about who we think we are, how we feel about ourselves and how the world appears to us.  There is a distinction between responsibility and blame or guilt.

What we tend to think about ourselves has at its core what can be referred to as our ‘self-limiting belief’.  The self-limiting belief is a belief that was developed between the ages of three to six approximately that defines our identity at its core.  During this time frame in our journey through life something happened, an event took place and it is from that event that we developed or created a thought or belief about ourselves.

The original event is not as important as the fact that we created a belief about ourselves, a belief that has actually limited us in life.  The self-limiting belief is a sense of inadequacy, an idea or thought that something is wrong with us, that something is broken.  Once this self-limiting belief is created or invented we tend to live our lives as if it were true.  Our self-limiting belief is a fundamental, core belief that we have about ourselves, about who we think we are, that creates our feelings about ourselves, affects our behavior and determines our experiences for the rest of our lives.

Our self-limiting belief affects our behavior in that we are constantly trying to fix it.  For example, if ones self-limiting belief is that they are “not enough” that person will constantly try to be “enough”, constantly doing things to compensate for what or who they think they are.  While an individual is constantly attempting to fix it, the self-limiting belief is also in the process of fulfilling upon itself, of becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy, of causing the person to be “not enough.”

Given the fact that one’s self-limiting belief is hidden from them (we are not aware of its existence or its effect on our life) it is difficult to discover on your own.  Even though it is not true, not real, we believe it to be so and as a result the self-limiting belief is that which keeps us stuck, keeps us living in the past, and prevents us from living a life that we love.  Our self-limiting belief is in a very real sense our personal affirmation, an affirmation that is embedded in our “self-talk”, an affirmation that determines how we tend to feel about ourselves, an affirmation that guides and determines our behavior in life, that defines our very way of being and how we appear to the world.

The first goal of Transformational Counseling is to assist an individual in becoming present to his or her core self-limiting belief, of bringing it into ones awareness.  It is this awareness of ones self-limiting belief that is crucial to his or her transformation.  Without such awareness ones future will be as it has been, will be what can be referred to as the “probable almost certain future”.  Without such awareness, ones future will merely be the past and even with a constant attempt on the individual’s part to fix the self-limiting belief, his or her life will merely be to continue with its fulfillment and actualization in their experiences and life.

One can become aware of their self-limiting belief by recalling the originating event and with it the belief that they invented or created about themselves at the time.  An individual can also become present to the self-limiting belief by monitoring his or her spoken word.  The self-limiting belief exists in our language, in the words we say to ourselves and speak out loud.  Regression can also be utilized to assist one in getting the genesis of his or her self-limiting belief.

The second goal is to ‘create a new possibility’.  Once one becomes present to his or her self-limiting belief, the opportunity then exists to reinvent his or her life anew.  Within Transformational Counseling, an individual’s ‘possibility’ is a new or different way of thinking about himself or herself, of who they are and who they will be.  Like the individual’s self-limiting belief, a person’s ‘possibility’ is a personal affirmation or declaration.  Like a person’s self-limiting belief, an individual’s possibility also exists in language, and once generated by the individual, will begin to create or invent their experiences and sense of reality through the power of their thoughts and word.  Unlike a person’s self-limiting belief, an individual’s possibility will allow them to create a life that they truly love and be able to live it powerfully.

The third component of Transformational Counseling has to do with the individual learning about being truly authentic.  Given that a person will either live life as a possibility or as their self-limiting belief, there will be a tendency for a person to go back to or stay in their self-limiting belief.  This is what is easy and very familiar to us.   We begin to make excuses, justify, and reason, etc.  In Transformational Counseling, we learn to recognize these as ‘inauthentic’ or lies that we tell ourselves.  We encourage the client to ‘become authentic about how he or she has been being inauthentic’.  Every problem we encounter, every time we feel uncomfortable or unhappy there is some form of inauthenticity involved.

The implementation or practice of Transformational Counseling with a client takes place inside a conversation about integrity.  Integrity is simply keeping you word.  Clients are encouraged to develop a written plan, a plan for their daily life.  A written plan allows the client to take on creating or reinventing themselves and their life in a new way that supports their wellness.  Implementing ones plan also allows them to confront what has always stopped them in the past.

As clients begin the process of fulfilling on their plan, of working it, of living the life that they desire, they will have a tendency to get stopped, to slip back into old habits (living life as they once did, from the backdrop of the self-limiting belief).  It is in working with a client and their plan that they have the opportunity to learn how to get out of their self-limiting belief and back into their possibility and truly transform their life.  For the client the process is the practice of continuing to experience a true sense of power, freedom and full self-expression.  It is through staying in and working with one’s integrity that a person will have the opportunity to stay committed to living a powerful and dynamic life.

While it is important for a client to begin to act and behave differently, it is crucial that they begin to think differently.  As a counselor or coach, I let the client know that I cannot fix or help them, that they must do this work and I am just along as a guide.  In our work with clients we make a stand for the client.  We want them to assume total and complete responsibility with true empowerment as the goal but we will stand by and for them.   Encourage the client to truly understand that they are the power source for their own transformation.  The client is truly responsible for transforming their life and it is vital to the process that they get this completely.

Transformational Counseling is an extremely powerful technique for assisting others in making a true difference in their life.  For a client, it is a gradual awakening to what has truly been the cause of their discontent and the factors that have created and shaped their thoughts, feelings, behavior, experiences and sense of reality.  When used in conjunction with other techniques, such as mirror work, positive affirmations, therapeutic relaxation, self-hypnosis and NLP patterns, a space is created for a client to transform his or her life forever.

We are merely human beings assisting other human beings to transform their lives, to live a life that they love and to live it powerfully.  It is a privilege to work alongside you in such powerful and exciting work!

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