Update on my Retreat

OK … perfect honesty here. I wrote yesterday’s post about going on retreat a full 10 days ago. Wrote it, giddily shut the file, didn’t load it … just found it now. Uh, yeah. I guess I needed a vacation!

And it brought a smile to my face. Because what Tim neglected to say in his ‘just go on retreat’ philosophy in The Four Hour Workweek is to make sure you have a really good working  email program in place. No, I did not have one \went I pushed ‘send’ on the big email that was going to cover me for the next few weeks with my VA … I thought I did, but it turns out setting up my new Mac email was a bit trickier than I thought.

One problematic email connection plus a ten day retreat PLUS an email with all my big to-do’s for the time I was gone meant …  well … the email was never received and not much got done.

If only VA’s were telepathic! 

But in true Tim Ferriss spirit I’ve just cancelled a limited mini-launch, said ‘Que sera sera!’ and pushed ahead. Oh yeah, and I finally got the big email into the hands of my good VA (who would have called me if she’d known it was supposed to be coming and therefore hadn’t arrived.)

When living the 4 hour workweek philosophy, you just gotta roll with the punches, achieve less sometimes, and breathe more.

I Just Went on Retreat!

Wow. Do I feel energized and lighter than air! I just took a big breath, gulped a little, and unleashed my business into the care of my capable team for the better part of two months. OK, I will be checking in by email every three days. And I will be doing some coaching and wrapping up my Extraordinary Business Builder’s Program … but all that other stuff? Email checking, administrating, planning, approving, planning, diddly work and more … done!

It’s that Tim Ferriss who’s to blame and his book, The 4 Hour Work Week. It’s full of excellent suggestions on what to do to trim your actual work time waaaaaaayyyy down. It all makes perfect sense, and at least at this early stage, it’s working like a charm.

What Tim doesn’t tell you is the creeping sense of dread that approaches as you get ready to ‘pull the trigger’. For me, it’s not because I don’t feel I can trust my staff – anything but! They’re A LOT better at all this stuff than I am. (THANK YOU, guys!)

It’s that … I feel sort of vulnerable. Like I won’t know what to do with myself once I pull the plug. I’m not going anywhere specific – just retreating in my own little paradise in the Adirondacks for the next two weeks. But then, even more amazingly, I am going to play with not working a full work week for the rest of the summer – just doing my coaching, launching a series of products that are already in the works (my part’s done pretty much), and, of course, blogging.

Can I get along not compulsively checking my email every fifteen minutes? Can I get along not constantly having my fingers in every corner of my business all the time? I suspect not only will I thrive, but my company may run a whole lot better once I get out of the way and let it really run!

Here’s to the next few weeks and months … I’ll keep posting here on how it’s going. (And if you haven’t read Tim’s book and you feel overwhelmed and overworked, well, read it NOW.)

See ya!

How to Enjoy Work More

Reader Rich McIver recently sent me an interesting, upbeat article called ‘Feeling Unfulfilled? 37 Tips to Enjoy Work More. Here are a few…

1. Listen to music.

Don’t let the phones, clacking keyboards and loud talkers bring you down. Come to work prepared with earphones and some tunes.

2. Stay away from Negative Ned.

That guy who complains about the coffee, the carpet, the customers and your boss is not the person you want to make friends with. Nothing will ever make him happy, and you can bet that he wants you to feel the same way, too.

3. Make Friends With Your Boss. Ask your boss for feedback.

Perhaps you’re feeling underappreciated or looked over. Schedule some time with your supervisor to discuss where you stand. Find out how he or she feels about your quality of work and what they’d like to see from you in the future. This can provide some positive affirmation and guidance about your role within the organization.

4. Ask for a raise.

Don’t be afraid to ask for your fair share. Consider your overall impact on the company and what you’ve done that merits more pay. Perhaps you’ve absorbed some accounts or developed a more efficient work process. Point out how your actions have benefited the company with effort and money saved.

Check out his other lively tips! Thanks, Rich. Feeling Unfulfilled? 37 Tips to Enjoy Work More 

Are You Living the 4 Hour Workweek Yet?

Anybody read Tim Ferriss’s best-selling book yet, The 4 Hour Work Week? I did and as you may have heard, I’m totally cranked up about his concept. Essentially, Tim has designed certain management strategies that ANYONE can follow (yes, that would include you, oh miserable cubicle-trappees) to allow you to live like a king on 4 hours a week of work.

Yeah, you may have to hire help (at $4-10 an hour) and yeah, you may want to live in Thailand. But I’m promising you, this is the real thing. I’ve done this to some extent, as I run a Net business (Tim even interviewed me for this book). But what a great reminder it was that no, I don’t have to be a time-slave to my business.

I’ve been putting in 8-10 hour workdays for the past two months, so I’m ready for what he calls a ‘mini-retirement’ for the rest of the summer. Yeah, I’ll be blogging on my progress right here.

A reader namede Sarah Robinson has done the same with her new blog, Living the 4 Hour Workweek. Check it out! 

Women in Art

This is a just plain beautiful viral video … take a moment of your time just to feed your soul. I did and I was glad I did…

My inner Art History major was highly satisfied.

My Four Hour Workweek Strategy

OK … last post I talked about how I'm going to make this 4 hour work week idea a reality. Well, first of all I've spent some years building up my web business to the point that it doesn't need a lot of management by me to bring in a living wage.

I have a great team running things. I've got my product line carefully established (and continuing to launch). I've got automated marketing tools like bonuses, blog posts and autoresponders in place. So technically, I should be able to focus on other things … right?

One of Ferriss's tenets is to only spend a measly hour per week writing email. I LOVE THAT. I feel so chained to my email inbox half the time that it's almost like an addiction … an unhealthy one. I find myself tangling in stuff I have no business in … scheduling, for instance. My crack VA Deborah handles that. Or reading endless pitches for things. I don't have to put my mind to this. Instead, since I only have four hours to do all of my work each week.

So email is at max, one hour. Put an autoresponder on it… like Ferriss does. "I'm sorry, but I only spend an hour a week on email. So I may not get back to you. It would be better to be in touch with my assistant at …."

I will be setting up my ezine issues ahead of time - or sending the raw pieces to Deborah to assemble. Then I'll be blogging, but only one hour a week with all posts written in one batch.

I find if I time stuff and give myself limits, I really do meet my deadline every time.

And then there's just … not doing stuff. I won't be holding any free classes over the summer. I won't be writing any more sales pages or autoresponders. That's all happening now as I plan my summer product launches and sales. And Deborah and Peggy, my team, will help move that into place while I do other things.

And what am I going to do while I'm gone? Work on my next big project … Serenity Hawkfire, a performance-based humor project that's … well… pretty off the wall.

Lessons learned about the 4 Hour Work Week

OK, so I'm incredibly hot for The 4 hour Workweek. Do you know this great little book? It's really one to read when your whole business needs a colossal shaking up.

I did a call recently with the author, Timothy Ferriss, who is an entrepreneur with a capital E. Ferriss is an escapee from the corporate rat race who learned how to do the impossible - set up a business that can be run remotely in a mere four hours a week … and bring in princely sums.

And his book teaches all. Principles like 'The Pareto Principle' applied to your use of time/income procured are the meat and potatoes here. Yet, the book really digs in on a deeper level, too. For instance, Ferriss encourages people to quit their jobs, and get out of 'I could never do that' mindset by remembering, for instance, that you don't ask permission … you simply tell people what you're going to do. Your boss for instance. And you really DO create the income you want by making strategic choices not only in how you spend your time … but even by what country you live in.

For me, the timing is great on this book, as I keep thinking I'm chained to my desk just a little too much. And I've been looking for the way out. Ferriss reminds us that we're actually ALL in business for ourselves, whether that's in someone else's office or our own.

I'm all for it. So effective June 27, I'll be keeping my own 4 hour work weeks for the rest of the summer. I'll let you know how it goes.

Am I ADD? Are you?

So I recently attended a conference for the ACO, (ADD Coaches Organization), for life coaches who work with folks with ADD/HD, aka Attention Deficit Disorder. That was quite a fascinating experience for me, because by the end of the conference, I was fairly sure I was someone (even entirely?) ADD.

And I wasn’t the only one. Two of the other keynoters also felt the same thing. For here we were, in this sea of intensely creative non-conformists, feeling like we fit right in.

Here’s what I saw in this particular ADD population that made me feel like I belonged:

A propensity to want to do lots of things, all at once, all the time. Man, is that me in a nutshell. The more projects the better.

A certain obliviousness to time. At the start of my talk, I had one person in the audience, who was another speaker. Where were they all? Breakfast. So I went into the dining room and personally invited them all to come to my talk. They looked up at me charmingly, as they were about to tuck into their eggs, and in the most laid back manner possible, assured me they’d be there in ‘just a minute’. While I’m all about being on time these days, I wasn’t always. I can relate.

They are passionate believers in … well … all kinds of things. At least, I saw passion as a real hallmark of this group – maybe because they’re life coaches? Or because of the ADD? Not sure. At any rate, that level of energy always attracts me … cause it IS me.

They’re not afraid to get out of the box and even stand up on their chairs. Or at least a few would. We need more flaming non-conformists in this dreary old life! And yeah, I’ve gotten up on a few chairs in my life.

Finishing things can be hard. It was for me for years – til I finally took myself by the short hairs and forced myself to do the last gnarly bits.

If I’m indeed ADD, I know I’m functional enough to be fine as I am … And I do know is that I’ve set up my life to provide as much variety and spice as possible. It was a pleasure for me (and my fellow speakers) to hang with such a lively crew and learn about this interesting slant on life. Viva la difference!

ADD-ers or not, thoughts?

A Brief Update on My Life

I realize it’s not super relevant to helpful marketing tips, but I thought I’d take just a moment to share with you a tad of the rest of my life. The following are happening/have happened … not ranked in any order of importance.

1. My laptop died, I went looking for a replacement, and here I am … writing on my kid’s laptop. The problem? The power chord goes into the back of a Dell Inspiron (and most other Dell laptops) giving it extra stress, wear and tear when moved around, placed against desk console backs, etc.. So the connection between the AC power jack and the motherboard is quite fragile. Twice, now, I’ve snapped this thing even with careful handling. I’m done with Dell! Who’s got a fave laptop brand to recommend (with a side power connect?)
2. My kid’s home from Ghana! OK, so she came home a few weeks early (she was preferring her own bed to two weeks of vacation time at the end of her 2 month volunteer session.) Kind of a rough landing as she was sick with a nasty flu that appears to be going away. Now she drifts around the house in her sunglasses (her eyes are very sensitive from her flu), saying longing things about her time in the brush.

3. I performed my parody New Age Guru character, Serenity Hawkfire, for 100+ women at North Country Cultural Center for the Arts and … it worked! I did 20 minutes of what was essentially stand-up – Serenity led the group in an interactive ‘mini-workshop’ – and they loved it. One woman in the front was actually laughing so hard she was crying – and I didn’t even know her! Proof: you really CAN safely make a total fool of yourself and sometimes others will even appreciate it. (You can hear my Serenity Hawkfire podcast at www.serenityhawkfire.com ) I seem to be booking Serenity more speaking gigs than me at the moment. Wow!
4. The ice has just ‘gone out’ on Lake Champlain. We’re looking at water again north of The Crater Club. Outside my window is just still a patina of frozen slush. Two more days, maybe. Spring is tentatively here. (The family did the annual slog up Mt Washington to ski Tuckerman’s Ravine on Saturday…. A sure sign of spring if there is one.)

Thanks for listening.

Global Warming Activism Anyone?

Anybody out there an ‘Inconvenient Truth’ fan? Did you stand up and cheer when it won the Oscar for Best Documentary like I did? If so, you may want to know about an upcoming hearing Al Gore will be attending on March 21. He’s asking for a big back up from us armchair activists … and we need to give it. Because let’s face it. It’s not the Sixties, and I personally am probably not driving to Washington DC anytime soon to protest – but this is the easy and painless way to make our voices heard.

Al’s asking us to visit (and send ten friends to) http://algore.com/cards.html

You just fill out an online card, which Al will then hand deliver when he testifies. I’m doing this … will you? And can you nudge ten friends?

Thanks!

Andrea Lee’s Other Blog

My good buddy and partner, Andrea Lee, with whom I have the pleasure of sharing the Multiple Streams Commitment Club, has a cool new blog she just started called Made in Taiwan. It’s all about her experiences as a Taiwanese-Canadian and it makes for a fun, cozy, quite interesting read. Check it out.

By the way, you may have noticed that Andrea’s latest book has made my list on the left for all things Marketing that I find helpful. Honestly, this is a gem of a how to manual … kind of a bible for those who want to coach and actually make a living at it. I highly recommend it! She’s also got a nice free course on that page – ‘The Five Keys to Putting Money in Coach’s Pockets’ … check it out.

5 Things You May Not Know About Me ... (but will you care?)

In keeping with the 'Tag, You're It!' game Sherman Hu invited me to play over at his excellent blog, here are 5 things you probably don't know about me. (Man, I hated games like this as a kid ... see below.) BUT, this is a good idea. Thanks, Sherman.

1. I was the class cry-baby in elementary school, and spent my time hanging with the adults who taught me. They used to send home worried messages about this.

2. In the mid-Eighties I worked delivering 'strip-o-grams' and 'gorilla-grams'. I'd pretend to be, say, a human resources consultant, show up on someone's last day at work on the pretense of doing an exit interview, and then whip out my tape recorder in their office and strip to 'Chaka Khan' while the staff (who'd arranged this) laughed from the doorway. My favorite was the visit to the lawyer's office in my gorilla suit. Boy, was he surprised when I jumped on the guy's desk and began hitting him with a banana.

3. I am learning to play the piano, via my Clavinova (an elaborate Yamaha electric keyboard) which is teaching me how. Very cool. I recently completed a class on reading lead sheets so I can accompany myself using jazz fake books. My next project on the piano is to learn composing. Man, why did I wait so long to learn this?

4. I met my husband, Larry Barns, in a yoga class in New York City in 1985 and we still do yoga together once a week ...after 20 years! (And we're still happily married!)

5. Our daughter is finishing high school early (this week) and shipping out to Ghana on Sunday afternoon for three months as a volunteer teaching English. She's only 17, has scarely been out of her tiny, protected world, and I'm both scared and excited for her. She's thrilled because her dream for years is to learn African music from the source (her dream is to become a professional singer.)

Here are some other sites to check out for Top 5 listings ... or just cause they're great.

Kim George
Andrea Lee
Jennifer Louden
Andy Wibbels
Pam Slim

The Best Way to Teach Something

I’ve got a 12 year old son who for years and years has wanted to learn the banjo, God love him. For some time he wasn’t big enough to hold a banjo (he’s a smaller kid), and so he began by learning the electric guitar which comes in a more child-sized version. For two years we went through the sturm-und-drang of guitar lessons (Did you practice? Would you please practice? No TV til you practice, etc.)

Each week he would plod off, have his lesson, come home and avoid practicing. And each week, he’d do just enough work to improve, marginally. Until finally, at the end of two years, he could play some classic hits and scales, and had some command of the instrument. Then … finally … came the pay off. Our boy was big enough to play the long-awaited banjo.

So here’s an interesting thing. Doug Knight (of the redoubtable band, Three Doug Knight) has a better way to teach recalcitrant kids: no one comes back until they’ve truly learned the previous lesson’s homework. Doug’s not interested in making a buck … but in truly teaching the kid the instrument. And it works.

Our son’s been working on the intro riff to Cripple Creek now for over a month and he just about has it. Yes, it’s boring at times to keep working on one thing, but he’s rising to the challenge in a way he just didn’t before. I think that’s because in his prior lessons, nothing much was demanded of him except that he ‘practice’. Which could have been five minutes three times during the week. No results were really expected or accounted for.

Now, however, he’s actually being held accountable for his progress. I like this teaching model and plan to implement it in my own coaching programs. Wouldn’t you rise to the occasion if someone actually demanded it of you?

Your thoughts on this?

What I’m Doing Over the Holidays

You may have noticed by now that we have no snow in the barren muddy hills of Vermont and the North Country at the moment. So ski season’s kind of on hold (OK, I will admit to jumping the mud and rocks at Whiteface … amazing how long a little fake snow will stick around.) BUT … regardless, we all still know how to have fun.

Tonight I’m off with my kids, hubby, brother, his family, and assorted teen age counterparts to catch Grace Potter’s show at Higher Ground in Burlington. Grace is a Vermont phenomenon who’s recently gone national with her first big album – she’s kind of a latter day Bonnie Raitt. Grace is not even 25 and she sings like a woman’s who’s had entire lifetimes of experience … and her original tunes are just great. We love Grace! Check her out….

My Pretty Silly Christmas Greeting to You!

Admittedly I’m a sucker for funny holiday pass alongs – and boy, this is a GREAT example of viral marketing at it’s best. Check out Office Max’s Elf Yourself mini video. Starring yours truly (it’s not that big a deal … you can star in it, too.) Have fun! http://www.elfyourself.com/?userid=3c1b732f006fb35ce18b1ccG06122004

It’s my way of saying happy holidays and thanks for reading the Get Known Now Blog!

An Absolutely Amazing Post

I've been working recently with an end of life coach, Bettina Desrochers, who has a knack for writing the vulnerable stuff most of us long to remember but don't have the guts to share or even think about. Her post about losing her baby at birth is one of the most powerful things I've read on the Web ... check it out.

She's got an incredible gift of love to share this holiday season here -- share it and pass it along.

Resource for Finding Bikram Yoga Classes

Our reader Tiger Beaudoin commented on my recent post about Bikram Yoga by offering up this helpful resource – Bikram Finder. It provides Bikram hot yoga studio locations & reviews – so now you have no more excuses. (Too busy! Can't find a studio! etc.)

Tiger writes (and I heartily agree) that “90 minutes just a couple times a week can make a world of difference to one's flexibility, mental and physical.”

Thanks, Tiger!

My new state of calm

Maybe it’s just cause it’s a holiday week in the US, but I’m feeling a real pull at the moment to blog about ‘rest of life’ stuff here. Particularly, I’ve been experiencing a real shift in my whole way of life and it’s impacting my business in a wonderful way.

About four months ago I began meditating every day for at least 15 minutes (sometimes up to an hour.) I’ve meditated for 25 years in an on-again, off-again way – and in those ‘on-again’ times things thrived.

(Why would I stop? Well, probably because I let my human foibles get the better of me.)

So here’s what my life was like before I started meditating: crammed from when I woke up at 6AM to when I collapsed at 10PM. I always was haunted by the feeling that I had too much to do, more than I could physically accomplish EVER, and yet … it had to get done. Talk about a recipe for stress.

So I instituted regular meditation time, in which I sat quietly with a notebook and let meditative writing pour through me after going into my quiet, meditation ‘space’. I also added two more sessions of yoga per week – one vinyasa yoga which I do in a casual way with hubby and friends, and an additional Bikram yoga class (90 minutes of challenging yoga taught in a room heated to 104 degrees F.)

The result: I now find myself casually sauntering through my day with less of a frantic buzz. I give myself a reasonable number of things to do, I delegate the rest, and I conduct myself in a relaxed, chill way that has nobody stressed out – least of all, me!

And man, does this FEEL GOOD. So yeah, I might work all morning, but then I’ll take an hour to work on my piano playing, or go for a walk, or bake some pumpkin bread – or maybe all three. I spend my nights playing with my piano, or reading, or hanging with hubby instead of working. And somehow, I’m still getting the work stuff done even though I work half as many hours.

I feel so much more grounded and effective – that’s what’s really funny. I don’t have the sense that I’m ‘cheating’ or being lazy. Instead, I feel more powerful and focused in my business than ever.

Lesson learned: more is not necessarily more … less really is. I recommend some quiet time to get rebalanced.

What’s your balance between work and relaxation like?

Got aging parents? Read this.

And now for something completely different ...

I realize that I usually write here about matters of marketing and getting known, but recently I've gotten to know a coach who has a major contribution to make around end of life issues. So I wanted to share her work in a fre.e call with you.

Whether you’ve got aging parents, or an actively dying or seriously ill family member or friend … or you yourself are grappling with these issues … sooner or later you will need to approach the reality of death.

And yet – who is ever prepared for such a final moment? Death is the one thing none of us ever want to confront. Yet, the confronting of it often leads to a life more fully lived, and a death that is memorable, moving and spiritually complete.

End of life coach Bettina Desrochers is here to help you ease into the experience in a conscious way. So the death happens with grace, dignity, and a powerful sense of completion.

In this one-hour teleclass conversation, Bettina will share insights gained from the 1000+ deaths she has attended both as a coach, hospice owner and bedside attendant. Bettina will give you perspective into

- What a ‘conscious’ end of life requires

- How you can assure a peaceful, emotionally complete end for your loved ones

- How and when to get children involved

- How to manage deaths amidst difficult family dynamics

- Important end of life rituals that provide closure and comfort

Bettina will also touch on how and when to begin preparing for your aging parent’s death … and what to do first.

Register for this one-hour teleclass

Thanks for taking a moment to consider this -- hope you can join us!

My Fender Bender (sigh) … Yeah, I Was On a Cell Phone

Ever have one of those moment when your mother was right and you spend a lot of time silently cursing yourself as a result?

Had one a few days ago when I ran into the back of a Toyota at a sunny stoplight on Rt 7 south of Burlington VT. Yeah, there was glare. But the real reason I ran into the car was because my cell phone rang and I glanced down to simply look at the phone. Not open it and see who was calling. Not stare at the screen and consider whether to answer.

I simply looked, for a millisecond, at the ringing phone in my lap, which I was connected to via an ear piece.

Mind you, cell phone usage while driving is legal in Vermont. But I’m now convinced it shouldn’t be. As soon as I glanced down, I heard a sickening thud. When the local police officer showed up, he told me more than 80% of all car accidents in VT are caused by cell phones.

Wow.

I don’t know about you but I’ve been terribly casual about my cell phone and other electronics use while driving – probably because I do A LOT of driving in my world. About 35-40K miles per year (I live way in the country.) So I think nothing of flipping the iPod dial, or punching in cell numbers as I drive.

I’m newly reformed. I have a new promise to myself that when I start driving somewhere, if I have my cell phone with me I will turn it off and only turn it back on when I’ve arrived at my destination. Otherwise, I already know I can’t be trusted to do the right thing.

Similar experiences anyone? I think I got off easy this time.

I am now officially available to speak to your group

Ahem! (Throat clearing … paper shuffling … mic testing) A small announcement.

After a few years' hiatus (well, OK … I spoke about three times each year), I've got the itch to speak again. I did A LOT of presentations from 2000-2002, and took a deserved rest. But now … I'm back.

I am currently available to speak to your group about the following topics:

1. How to Package Yourself for Success on the Internet
I about how and why your Web presence can kill possible deals, offers, joint ventures and more if not done correctly … or attract national media when done right. I get into personal branding, blog and site optimization, and just which pieces need to be in place to really make your platform take off.

2. Automatic Marketing - Promote Yourself While You Sleep
Here's a neat system I cooked up that will help you get yourself out in front of the people you need to find … without a whole lot of stress and angst on your part. Using this very system, I've been covered in two major magazines in the past year (Home Business and Writer's Digest) and now have 42,500 links under my name on Google (up from 11,000 one year ago.)

3. How to Explode Your Income and Your Reach by Licensing Your Workshop or Seminar
I explain how and why anyone can take their workshop and repackage it to be a licensable 'Train the Trainer' package. I cover how to tighten your concept into workshop-able material, and then what's involved in setting up a successful licensing program.

4. Creativity Coaching: The Next International Trend in Coaching Comes from the Heart
As the author of one of the original books about getting on with your creative dreams (How Much Joy Can You Stand?), I can safely say I'm considered an expert on coaching others for creative breakthroughs. And I've trained more than 300 coaches worldwide on how to coach creativity, and create their own variations of my How Much Joy Can You Stand? workshop. This talk would cover basics on what creativity coaching is, why it's needed, and how to approach it.

(… or possibly some related topic you suggest? We can see how it fits.)

If you find the quality of information useful on this blog, and think I'd be a great fit for your group of entrepreneurs, solo professionals, coaches, speakers, authors and writers, consultants, professional services pros, personal trainers, pro organizers, small business owners, MLM marketers, wellness pros, chiropractors, or Net practitioners, be in touch using the email link up above in the margin.

Oh yeah … and I've spoken to many large and small audiences all over the US and Canada, including the ICF, Coachville, ASJA, PMAU, Kindermusic, Women in Communications, BPW, NAWBO … and well, the list goes on and on.

PS. While I've done plenty of conference keynotes, I do actually like small groups of 35-100, too. Especially if they're in New England or Mid-Atlantic. Call me. I'm good. (518 963 8927)

The Latest Consumer Trends - Where Do You Fit In?

Joan Stewart, aka The Publicity Hound, has some interesting info she's gleaned from a recent white paper she read on Profiting From Mega Trends. Kindly, she's distilled the nuggets for us in an excellent post on her Publicity Hound's Blog.

Here's what's new:

1. People are charging up more and more - or cutting back on the cheap stuff to swing the more expensive stuff. Which is why you see a Lexus in a Wal-Mart parking lot.
2. Hiving. Generation X types born between 1965 and 1981 are into hiving - cause they probably are starting to have kids now, and going into homebody mode.
3. Thirty is the new Twenty. It's taking longer to scratch your navel and learn what you 'really want to do' with your life. Now it's happening around age 30.

Fore more trends, check out Joan's post. This is good stuff … as usual.

Anyone spot any other trends? Do tell.

Tags: Mega trends, consumerism, cultural creatives

Yep, You Really Can Think Yourself Thin

I wanted to do a quick follow up to an excellent call I had with Dr. Roberta Temes last night. She’s an expert on hypnosis and weight loss. According to Roberta, if you are overweight, it's because of

a) conditioned beliefs that are buried deep in your psyche
b) genetics that pre-condition you to accumulate fat
c) habits, like sleep deprivation, that make us eat even when we're not hungy

... but here's the good news: each of these can be changed with hypnosis!

Dr. Roberta shared some excellent tips with us on how hypnosis works to get deep into our psyche and convince us of healthy lifestyle choices - like choosing vegetables, or removing the bread basket in restaurants.

Wouldn't it be great if that kind of thinking was just automatic? And you didn't have to dredge up will power around food?

That's all possible, if you work with a great hypnotist. Conveniently, Roberta has a CD series that does just that AND she's making it available to you for an insanely low price. I've managed to procure a really excellent deal for you, my joyful friends.

But first - if you missed the call and you'd like to listen, here's a link to the recording: http://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WJSrBt94

And here's the special offer. Buy 'Enjoying Weight Loss', Dr Roberta Temes' special weight loss-hypnosis CD program before Monday night, May 15. You'll get a whopping 60% discount on some amazing goodies - for only $97.

You get Roberta's CD plus a special product bundle we put together for free!

You'll get...

Bonus 1: Managing Stress and Anxiety hypnosis CDs (regularly $69) FREE
Bonus 2: The Coping wth Stress and Anxiety System© (ebook; value $39) FREE
Bonus 3: How Much Joy Nurture Yourself Bundle (ebook; retail value $27) FREE

Total retail value: $254     Your price: $97 (over 60% off)

Offer expires at midnight on Monday night, May 15th

Take advantage of this offer at www.hypnosisnetwork.com/102

Here's to a healthier, more energetic you ... ready to live your dreams!

Tags: Weight loss, hypnosis, finding more energy

What I See Outside my Office Window These Days (if I get up early enough)

That's Camel's Hump, the Vermont mountain shown on the VT quarter, rising above Lake Champlain at sunrise. (Thanks to Frank Hain who was awake at this hour and took this picture.)

My List of Fun Goals, Too

OK, now I’ve taken a step back and looked at my goal list for 2006, I feel like a dreary bore – she who is All Work and No Play. Even Lorraine Carol, my trusty VA, said she had to sit down after she read the list.
    And a coach named Karen Knowler submitted a comment suggesting I set up some rewards for getting all this work done.
   So in the spirit of living a full and balanced life, here is what I plan to do for fun in 2006:

1. Every quarter, take one week off with my family. Possible destinations include a discount cruise to the Caribbean to be entirely planned by my teenage daughter, or a trip to Europe in April in which the entire family would speak French at least part of each day, or learn some basic Italian, depending on where we go.

2. Ski two Fridays each month this winter. I have a great discount pass with a VT radio station called The Point, in which hubby and I will get 50% off lift tickets. I’ve already lined up January 20 to ski Mad River Glen with my buddy, financial coach Christine Moriarty. (Would that be deductible!?)

3. Have a ‘Come As You Will Be in 5 Years’ Party. I read about this in Jack Canfield’s book The Success Principles. The premise is all guests come in costumes and with props indicating where they will be in 5 years. Actors playing paparazzi are hired to ‘snap photos’ or beg for autographs; others play reporters begging for interviews. All of this is serious brain imprint stuff for just how we plan to feel once we’ve accomplished our goals.

4. Swim in Lake Champlain at least 4X week from May to November. That would be thanks to my new winter weight swim skin hubby gave me for Christmas. It’s a light neoprene wet suit that makes my very favorite form of exercise way more doable in the cold months of September, October, November and May. Love it!

5. Play more with my gal and guy pals. OK, all you personal friends of mine … I want to play more! That would be you, Trisha, Stever, David W, Christine, A, Marilyn S-W, Andrea, Linda P, J-Lou, the Essex and Westport pals, and well … there are a whole lot more, many of whom are not even in the geographic area. I miss you guys… let’s get together! By phone at least?

6. Download A LOT of music. In 2004 I was given an iPod and then WON two iPod Nano’s. So I figured the Universe is trying to tell me something. I will purchase at least 4 albums or 40 songs per month from iTunes. That just makes my soul feel good.

7. Re-institute Family Movie Night. Used to be we watched a movie every night back in the Little Mermaid days. Now the kiddies are nearly adults so this is tougher to make happen … but we can do it. Thank you Netflix!

8. Re-write Serenity Hawkfire. This must happen and CAN happen, despite a wildly ambitious year ahead. My parody of a New Age guru, Serenity, needs to have some script time every day for at least an hour. And frankly, once she starts burning that indigenous prairie grass, just about anything might happen… so this gets popped on the Fun Goal list. You can meet Serenity at her new blog.

That’s it for now … I figure the rest of the fun stuff is just going to plain old … happen!

Our Vacation Miracle

Forgive the gap that showed up last week in my blog - I was just back from a vacation and some things slipped through the cracks as I hit the ground running. But I am back… with a vengeance!

I spent ten days around the US Thanksgiving allowing myself time to totally empty out and fully relax - a luxury I haven't taken for, well, years. Two friends had retired to a sailboat in the Bahamas, and so we lived on a 43' Nauticat for eight days and cruised the tranquil turquoise waters, and it was beyond great.

And here's what was greatest of all. The first night of our vacation, we got stuck in Nassau, en route to the Abacos, due to big storms ahead. So we made the best of it. We zipped over to a hotel near the airport and headed for the nearest beach before it started to rain in Nassau.

I immediately collapsed on the sand and just soaked up the absurdly blue water and the darkening skies over head, while my husband and our two kids, ages 11 and 15, ran up the beach to explore. Every so often I'd lift my head and see them down at the other end of the beach painstakingly combing through rocks and sand. I chuckled, wondering what they were all so intent on finding.

About fifteen minutes later, I found out. They came running up to me in high excitement - the three had found a 14K gold bracelet studded with diamonds under a rock, where it had apparently been for some time after washing up. Net research has since helped us locate the designer of the bracelet, and the value is more than the cost of our trip. However, our daughter's not so sure she's willing to give up her greatest beach treasure ever.

Who knew a delayed flight would literally yield buried treasure?

The Value of a Vacation

For the past ten days, I’ve been on vacation. (Thank you, Typepad, for having a delayed publication feature on your blog posts.) I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about the value or rest and recovery when I get back.

For years, I’ve resisted the sort of vacation I’ve been on – cruising in the Bahamas with old friends who have a great big boat and, of course, my dear family. I just never felt like I was actually one of those people who was ‘allowed’ to stop working and take a major, even expensive (dare I say ‘hedonsitic’?) break like this.

But now that our kids are 11 and 15, and we’re not getting any younger, it’s started to become clear: time is a-wasting. Life is short! You simply can’t sit at the computer and tap away your entire life.

I do love my work, but I have been definitely out of balance for some time now. I can feel it when I pad downstairs to get lunch, and my body is stiff and cranky from sitting for so long. And I’m spending way too much time on the couch, in front of a lovely fire with hubby … tapping away at the laptop. Where’s the richness? Where’s the rest? I’ve been craving it.

I invite you, too, to take the leap, pry youself loose, and plan a vacation. No, not just the heartwarming visit home to the relatives; plan the kind of getaway where you savor the idea, love the research and think about it for days leading up to departure.

Stay tuned. I’ll be posting photos here!

What I’m Thankful For

OK, I’m joining the chorus on this day of thanks. I do, indeed, have a lot to be grateful for. I won’t bore you with the long list – just the short will do:

1. My awesome family – Larry, Luke and Teal
2. The ability to earn a great living deep in the country, by magnificent Lake Champlain
3. The Internet … without whom …
4. Excellent teachers like my coaches and mentors, Travis Greenlee, Rich Scheffren, Michele Lisenbury Christensen
5. Serenity Hawkfire, my occasionally scary altar-ego you’ll be hearing more from in 2006
6. Hot baths
7. My iPod .. and iTunes … and Stevie Wonder
8. The ability to work out and sweat away my cares at the end of the day
9. Dear friends on the Net like Andrea Lee, David Wood, Jennifer Louden, Milana Leshinsky,
10. My excellent support team: Lorraine Carol, Peggy Murrah, Tammy & the Mountain West Communications Crew, Brett & Speaker Fulfillment Services, Jeff Speiser, Grace Gilbert and our newest additions, Suzanne Guthrie and MK Haines
11. … and of course, you, dear reader, without whom, my words would simply gather dust.

My Birthday in the Booth

OK, so I’m someone who has to celebrate her birthday for at least a week. Seriously, I wouldn’t mind it at all if someone brought out a small marching band.

So I was perfectly delighted by all the following delights, surprises and tributes. First of all, I was literally moved to tears by Andrea Lee’s thoughtful gift of a domain for my birthday, which I’ll be launching in December or January … so it’s a bit of a surprise for now. Guess only us Net marketing types would cry over the gift of a domain! Thanks, a.

And David Wood followed suit with a gorgeous surprise. First he pulled a plastic spoon out from under one of the skirted tables in my booth … then he materialized some cups as a demonstration of his power of ‘manifestation’. But then he blew us all away with a perfectly chilled bottle of champagne. Wow!

I’d tried to buy some champagne earlier but gave up when I realized the liquor store I was in also sold porn videos… (“ I … uh … guess I’ll be leaving now.”)

As if that wasn’t enough, dear Linda Puig offered me a 30 minute massage at the chair massage station, AND all sorts of folks clustered around my booth to sing Happy Birthday.

But it didn’t end there! Through some stroke of divine guidance, I won an iPod Nano being raffled away at the next booth. WOW! Then I came home to my dear little family at the Burlington VT airport, who presented me with a REALLY NICE digital camera. And THEN I came home to an impromptu surprise party organized by my husband with some old friends, a crackling fire and a gorgeous dinner made by my daughter and husband … and pals!

I feel enormously blessed to have such a rich, abundant life full of such wonderful people. I am, indeed, a lucky girl.

So as soon as I can emerge from behind this computer, I’m going off to take some pictures so I can share it all with you.

How Not to Network

Here’s a networking move I don’t really recommend. Get yourself totally undone physically and emotionally by living in your booth 24-7, for three days straight at the ICF conference. Dash out in a low traffic moment for the ladies room.

Whirl into the men’s room by accident, instead.

Stop only when you realize you are not alone and a strange man is standing at a nearby urinal. Notice his stricken look over your shoulder as you flee.

Find yourself ducking behind pillars in the convention center should you encounter said stranger again. Check not once but three times before you enter any more bathrooms.

Consider yourself lucky that you didn’t totally lose your head and attempt to press your business card on him.

Manhattan on a Budget, Part II

So in my last post, I neglected to mention that supreme

Manhattan

money-eater: parking. This over-trafficked city wisely has a huge tax levied on all parking garages, so it was going to cost us roughly $75 for about 48 hours of parking in a garage in our neighborhood. Hubby was outraged, and so he spent two hours driving around the neighborhood in search of a spot (it was about 4 PM.) He was richly rewarded.

In many residential neighborhoods like ours – the Flatiron district between 23^rd and 14^th on the

West Side

– you can park easily on the street at 6PM … but not a moment before. Because all cars parked from 8AM to 6PM on these blocks are towed; so parking’s not allowed until 6PM. That makes the block gloriously clear and park-ready come 6PM. In fact, some eager beavers park at 5:45 and sit in their cars to avoid a ticket. (It happens if you leave it there early.) Do take note if you have to show up at 8AM the next day to move your car… that’s only from Monday to Friday, however. The weekends are often free.

We got free parking from Thursday PM until Monday PM because Larry dug in and found the right spot. So bring your i-Pod or a pal and do what the cabbies do. Relax and drive around. You’ll find your spot if you’re patient.

The rest of our trip passed in a blur, with two notable exceptions. I did my favorite seasonal cheap shop at Daffy’s, a discount designer clothing store at 18^th

and Fifth Avenue

. There I found an excellent black cashmere sweater for $69 reduced from $239, a wonderful pair of flannel PJ’s reduced from $79 to $29, and a great 9 West purse for $23, down from $59. Even bought the kiddies a reduced box of Belgian chocs for a skimpy $9. Gotta love it!

A final note: Larry’s photos looked gorgeous at the opening. If you’re in town, drop by Barbara Gladstone’s gallery and watch Shirin Neshat’s latest art film, Zarin. As with all of her work, it is haunting, beautiful and poignant. Her art films help us viewers understand the plight of women in fundamentalist Islamic countries (Shirin is Iranian.) This particular films is part of a trilogy that

will

become a feature film based on the best selling Iranian novel, Women Without Men. It’s a real thinker … and I’m terribly proud of hubby’s gorgeous still shots from the set. See the back room, in which he captured huge, incredible pictures of the Moroccan women and men in the film. They’re gripping.

Manhattan on a Budget

I'm writing this from a cyber-cafe in my old neighborhood, the Flatiron District of Manhattan, near Union Square, where I lived for ten years before moving to the Adirondacks. So I learned a thing or two about living in the middle of NYC on a shoestring -- back when I was a struggling writer and did EVERYTHING on the cheap.

Here are a few hints, and keep in mind these are all oriented towards the area between 14th Street and 23rd street, and Fifth Avenue west to Tenth Avenue. Well, OK, we do dip below 14th. Anyway, it's a very cool neighborhood if you haven't been this way.

Why? Because it's not the mega-touristic heart of Manhattan from 34th - 59th. That's where a sneeze will cost you ten bucks.

Hubby and I began our visit by picking up a $3 copy of Time Out New York --- the magazine that has virtually EVERYTHING in it a visitor could want to know. And we had a trusty copy of Frommer's New York for Free or Dirt Cheap. I needed a workout after five hours in the car. And since I'm recovering from a sprained ankle, I headed for a health club  with an elliptical cross training machine. Crunch, at 13th and Broadway, was not cheap. $24 for a drop-in, but I had the run of the place, and they have excellent equipment, lots of classes, etc.. If I was not injured, I'd be going for a run along the great, landscaped bike and jogging trail along the Hudson from 14st (?) south to the Battery. That's free. :-)

Next stop was a lovely dinner. We chose Lannan (in the Frommer guide) at 13th & University. This is an excellent Vietnamese restaurant with incredible flavors, bright, fresh food and huge servings. And gloriously cheap! Two entrees, a large shared appetizer and two beers ran us $38 including tip. Then off we ran to catch a movie -- we chose Capote, as we'd both read the Gerald Clarke biography of the same name. And yeah... a movie you can't get at home is definitely cheaper than a Broadway Show. BUT, if I were up for that, I'd do my old trick of dropping by TKTS, the booth smack dab in the middle of 45th & Broadway (in the triangle,) at 7PM. About that time a whole new wave of tickets that aren't yet sold for the night show up at the booth. And many shows not previously listed are now available at 50% off. Whenever I go at that time, I see well known actors buying cheap tickets.

So now we're here for one more day. Just had a lovely cheap breakfast at my favorite place, The Adore on 13th between 5th and University... and wandered across the street to use the Net. I'll post more tomorrow about how the rest of the day progresses. We're here because tonight there will be an opening of my husband, Larry Barns, photographs for Iranian conceptual artist, Shirin Neshat.

And did I mention we're staying in an inexpensive apartment provided by Affordable New York City? This service helps you book an apartment with a kitchen or a private B&B so you don't have to pay big hotel prices AND you can cook meals for yourself in the apts. No more $20 breakfasts at the Hilton! And in these residential areas, things tend to cost a little less.

That's all for now... we're off to hunt down a hot yoga class and maybe see some art.